Gettel Automotive is proud of its nearly 30-year history. After starting with a single Toyota dealership in Bradenton, FL, the Gettel name has grown to include over 21 dealerships, now spanning from north of Gainesville to Punta Gorda. Along the way we've teamed up with a wide variety of manufacturers, backing up our motto that, whatever your automotive needs are, “Gettel's Got It!”
Opened in 1990, Gettel Toyota of Bradenton is the one and only original dealership under the Gettel name. And we're proud to say it's still going! But it didn't take long for us to get ambitious enough to open a second store, and we didn't settle for just spreading out down the street or in the next town over. We set our sights more than 150 miles away to Gainesville, opening Gatorland Toyota in 1994. Even then, we were just getting started growing.
After just a couple years since opening Gatorland Toyota, we saw more opportunity to grow. But we also looked to expand our manufacturer partnerships. In 1997, we doubled our numbers by welcoming Gettel Nissan of Sarasota and Gettel Hyundai of Sarasota to the group. In 1998 we also added Gettel Acura to our Sarasota locations. After that, we kept within ourselves, letting the Gettel name continue to establish itself for about a decade before planning our next moves.
It took us until 2010 to expand again, but we did it in style. Not only did our number of dealerships double from five to ten, but we added some power and luxury to our lineup with the additions of Porsche of Ocala and two BMW dealerships in Ocala and Gainesville. We also welcomed Volkswagen of Ocala and Gettel Hyundai of Lakewood to the family, and made an extra push in 2011 by opening Gettel Toyota of Lakewood.
We had yet another surge of growth in 2017. Five locations in Punta Gorda proudly bear the Gettel name, forging even more new manufacturer partnerships in the process with Lincoln, Buick, GMC, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram. And in 2020, we announced the opening of our brand-new Gettel Kia of Bradenton location.
We didn't stop there — we're still growing! In 2021, we acquired a new location in Woodstock, GA: Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of Woodstock. We're excited to have another opportunity to expand our family of dealerships, and we'll continue our commitment to providing our customers with an excellent selection of new and used vehicles, as well as dependable automotive service. Stay tuned: Exciting things are in store for the Gettel Automotive group!
Once again we are continuing to expand the Gettel Brand! In 2023, we acquired a new location in Tampa, FL: Stadium Toyota. We also acquired a new location in Ocala, FL, Gettel Toyota Ocala, in 2024. We’re excited to add more wonderful dealerships to our family. We are continuing our commitment to give our customers an extensive selection of new and used vehicles, as well as top-notch automotive service.
What started with a single dealership has become 21 locations with 15 manufacturers under our umbrella just 30 years later. Gettel Automotive is truly fortunate and proud that its name has carried so far in Florida already, and we're looking forward to seeing our reputation and reach spread even farther for generations to come. If you haven't already visited a Gettel dealership in your area, we hope we'll see you really soon so we can show you that Gettel's still got it!
