Dalton Motors continued its U.S. expansion with the acquisition of a Hyundai franchise in National City in Southern California on January 31.

Buyers of ultra-luxury cars have high expectations, not just of the car and the customer experience, but also the dealership. From the interior materials used to including storage space for clients’ cars, ultra-luxury dealership facilities must create the right environment for their wealthy clientele.

Customer experience is important to all dealerships, but with ultra-luxury brands that takes on a unique dimension. Ultra-luxury brands rely on exceptional events that create and maintain a sense of community among clients and bond them to the dealership. Such bonds are crucial to a dealership’s success.

Ultra-luxury franchises don’t come on the market often, and valuing one involves special considerations that often don’t apply to other auto franchises, say Willie Beck and Todd Berko, managing partners at Bel Air Partners. That’s because ultra-luxury automotive brands are in a league of their own.

As auto manufacturers announce plans to add ever more electric vehicles to their product portfolios, many also are requiring their dealer bodies to make substantial investments to prepare to sell those vehicles. In some instances, the manufacturer also is attempting to assume some aspects of the sales process previously controlled by the dealer.

Ford dealers are worried that some aspects of the Model e program are a slippery slope leading to the agency model of selling vehicles. In an agency model approach, the manufacturer sets the price and manages the online customer relationship. The dealer serves as the delivery point for the vehicle.

As countries around the world move forward with plans to phase out the internal combustion engine, luxury and high-performance brands are coming to grips with perhaps the most significant change in automotive history: conversion to electric vehicles (“EVs”). The change brings feelings of frustration and grief, but also anticipation and excitement to manufacturers, dealers, and customers alike.

Some dealers are finding that the next generation isn’t interested in staying in the retail auto business. Selling cars still appeals to many who grew up at their family dealership, however.

A detailed succession plan, decided upon long before it is executed, is not only necessary in a family-owned business, it can also prevent a family-destroying fallout. Scali Rasmussen’s partners share tales from the trenches that prove that point.

Succession planning is about much more than who takes over when a dealer owner dies. It is also about creating the conditions for the next owner or owners’ success. Hugh Robert, a partner and succession advisor at family business succession planning experts The Rawls Group, spoke with Getting to Go! about how The Rawls Group assists families in crafting a succession plan which benefits diverse needs. Below is an edited version of that conversation.