Tim Lamb Group assists Gervais Auto Group in acquistion of Atamiam VW

Atamian sells VW unit to Gervais

By Cassidy Swanson, Lowell Sun December 13, 2015

Auto dealer Atamian has turned over its Volkswagen component to Gervais Auto Group, moving Volkswagen sales from Tewksbury to its dealership complex in Lowell.

On Monday, a deal between Atamian and Gervais was completed to make Gervais the dealer for VW’s Lowell market, according to Gervais Auto Group general manager Peter Gervais.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Atamian was looking to focus more on its sale of Honda vehicles, said Peter Gervais, and announced its intentions to get out of the VW business last year.

Despite controversy plaguing the German car manufacturer, which admitted to cheating on emissions tests for its diesel vehicles earlier this year, Gervais said his company — which also sells Kia, Ford and Lincoln vehicles — was optimistic about Volkswagen’s future, citing several new vehicles in the pipeline and strong sales in October.

“Every (auto maker has) kind of had their turn where they run into trouble,” Gervais told The Sun. “What these guys did differently is they just came out and said they did it. If you follow history, the American public is usually pretty forgiving.”

Gervais said his company also wasn’t concerned about damage to the VW brand worldwide hurting his bottom line.

“They’re the second-largest car maker in the world, so they do have plenty of resources to deal with this,” he said. “The exposure to the problem over in Europe is going to be less than what they figured, and (the company will be) focusing on the U.S. market and the seven products coming out over the next couple years.

Gervais Volkswagen is located in Gervais’ former Suzuki dealership, next to its Kia facility on Industrial Drive in Lowell. The sign for Atamian Volkswagen in Tewksbury has been taken down.