'Auto Trends' Remembers Lexus First Black Female Car Dealer (1943 - 2024)

Car Dealer Ellenae Fairhurst (Photo Credit: TLMDA)

While It’s been widely reported that women influence over 85 percent of today’s car sales, still, this group only owns less than 1,100 out of the approximate 17,000 new-car dealerships in America. When we examine ethnic women, they own approximately 86 stores, according to the National Automobile Dealer Association and the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers.

And, as far as Black women, they barely register on the radar. This group represents less than a tenth of 1 percent of total new car dealerships.

Ironically, in a traditional African American household, Black women are responsible for 51 percent of last year’s new-vehicle registrations, slightly outpacing Black men.

'Auto Trends' Talks To Black-Owned Electric Vehicle Manufacturer Derek Bailey

Derek Bailey, CEO of Derek Automotive, is standing in front of a retrofitted MG electric vehicle in his showroom. (Photo Credit: DA)

As the country slowly makes the shift towards electric vehicles, Derek Bailey, the CEO of Derek Automotive, joins Auto Trends with JeffCars.com, a multicultural syndicated automotive program, talks about what drove him to become the first Black-owned electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer in the United States.

Like CR Patterson, American’s first black automaker, the Louisiana native has found himself patterning after the history maker. Bailey, who opted not to take the traditional path of accepting a corporate position after college opted to roll the dice. After a night at the casino, the daring risk taker earned enough money to secure a one-way flight to Cambodia, using his salesmanship once he landed in town to earn his living.

'Auto Trends' Talks To A Mother-Daughter Team Who Hold The Keys To Two Of Mercedes-Benz Black-Owned Dealerships (Two Shows)

                                               Grene Baranco (l) and Juanita Baranco (r) (photo credit: G&J)

With less than 6 percent of today’s nearly 17,000 new-vehicle dealerships being minority-owned, its literally like finding a needle in a haystack to come across a mother-daughter dealership team. More specifically, a mother-daughter squad who have a financial stake (and hold key positions) in 2 out of 7 of Mercedes-Benz’s black-owned dealerships. The family owned stores are located in Atlanta, Georgia and Covington, Louisiana.

According to the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers (NAMAD), 95 percent of today’s minority owned dealerships are first-generation dealerships. However, when it comes to minority dealers, especially Black dealers, the numbers are grave. One means of creating general wealth is through owning dealerships. They are literally cash cows, if run properly. This prominent Atlanta family has made provisions to hand the keys off to one of their daughters, when the time becomes appropriate, as opposed to allowing the business to slip outside of their hands (into other communities).