POCATELLO — The general manager and the owner of Cole Chevrolet have partnered to purchase another local automobile dealership, Pocatello Nissan Kia.

Art Beery, general manager of Cole Chevrolet, and the dealership's owner, Greg Cole, closed on the deal on Thursday. They will rename the dealership, which they purchased from Salt Lake City businessman Chris Russell, Cole Nissan Kia.

Beery said he and Cole have been exploring options to buy another franchise that wouldn't compete with their Chevrolet dealership for the past two years.

"We knew this are was going to grow," Beery said.

Beery said the Kia and Nissan dealership will be the first foray into non-domestic automobiles for both himself and Cole. Beery said trucks and SUVs represent about 76 percent of sales at Cole Chevrolet, and Kia and Nissan will provide new options in other classes.

He believes Kia, which sells cars starting at $15,000, will provide a good price point for the community and will appeal to the millennial generation.

The COVID-19 pandemic hasn't slowed local auto sales, Beery said. At Cole Chevrolet, he said new car sales are up 26 percent compared with last year, and used car sales are up by 50 percent.

"It shocked us," Beery said, adding the other local dealerships have reported similarly strong sales lately. "Some of it could be attributable to this community where the growth is coming."

Beery believes consumers may also be responding to concerns about potential supply-chain challenges and buying while the inventory is in stock.

"Some of it was just out of concern they wanted to have reliable transportation because they didn't know what was going to happen," Beery said.

He said he's even seen many recently unemployed people coming in to buy cars, explaining they'll need reliable transportation when things get back to normal.

Beery moved to Pocatello from the Chicago area more than four years ago, after retiring from General Motors. He explained he was responding to an offer from a business acquaintance who was retiring as Cole Chevrolet's general manager. He intended to take the job only temporarily, but both he and his wife grew to love Southeast Idaho.

Beery said the Nissan Kia building is a fairly new facility. In fact, he recalls attending the grand opening shortly after he moved here.

Beery has been involved in leadership roles with a host of local organizations, which he said help him track the pulse of the community. He serves on the boards of the Pocatello-Chubbuck Chamber of Commerce and Bannock Development Corp. He also serves on the advisory boards of Court Appointed Special Advocates and the Mountain View Event Center, and he's a member of Pocatello Rotary Club.