Doing Business the RIGHT Way Since 1953
The Beginning
Lee Motor Group got its start in 1953 in Elm City, North Carolina when James (Jim) Lee, a World War II veteran, purchased a small Ford dealership that he named Lee Motor Company. Later, in 1967, Jim Lee moved the dealership from Elm City to Wilson when he acquired Tobacco City Motors Inc., thus beginning a legacy rooted in the Wilson community. James had a son, John Lee, who worked at the dealership from a young age doing everything from cleaning toilets to light mechanical work. He continued to learn the lessons of hard work as he worked in the tobacco fields for local farmers.
Changes & Growth
John Lee attended Campbell University on a partial athletic scholarship. When John was 20 years old, his father (and founder of Lee Motor Company) died from lung cancer. John transferred back home to Wilson, NC to attend Atlantic Christian College (now Barton College), and to run the dealership. He graduated from college in 1982 with a degree in business.
He and his wife, Lynn, have turned that small Ford dealership in the Wilson, NC area to several dealerships of different automotive brands in multiple states under the Lee Motor Group umbrella. Brands include: Ford, Nissan, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, RAM, Hyundai, Genesis, and KIA.
Shift in the Industry
John Lee saw the shift that was occurring in the automotive industry in the early 1980’s when it was clear that foreign auto makers were capturing the attention of the American market. In 1982, the group was awarded the open point for Datsun (now Nissan) after John was persistent with his outreach to the regional office.
At age 26, in 1986, John set his sights on an open point for Hyundai in Fayetteville, NC, which is now consistently one of the top Hyundai dealerships in the Carolinas. In fact, Lee Hyundai was the third largest Hyundai dealership in the United States in 1988.
Relocating & Expanding to Other States
In 2002, Lee Motor Group added the first KIA franchise in Charleston, SC. From 2004-2013, Lee Motor Group added multiple KIA stores along with a CDJR store throughout various states. Each of the dealerships have been award-winning stores for sales and service.
In 2014, Lee Motor donated its previous property, consisting of 10 acres of land and 43,000 square feet of building space on Ward Boulevard near Highway 301 in Wilson, for use by Wilson Community College. The property had once been home to Lee Ford and Lee Nissan dealerships. Now called the Lee Technology Center, the facilities there house classrooms and lab spaces for several programs including Automotive Systems Technology, Applied Engineering, HVAC, Building Construction Technology, and the Small Business Center, as well as the Wilson Academy of Applied Technology. Because of Lee Motor Group’s donation of facilities, Wilson Community College is able to offer a unique hands-on learning experience that prepares students to be successful trades workers, something the workforce needs more of. After renovating the existing structures and building and additional building, the Lee Technology Center campus was officially completed in 2023, though it was able to start holding classes in 2017.
In 2023, Lee Motor Group opened KIA Country of Hilton Head in Bluffton, SC.
Lee Motor Group now has over 400 employees.
Forecast
BUSINESS will continue to go where invited and remain where appreciated.
REPUTATIONS will continue to be made by many acts and be lost by one.
PEOPLE will go right on preferring to do business with friends.
GO-GIVERS will become the best go-getters.
THE “EXTRA MILE” will have no traffic jams.
PERFORMANCE will continue to outsell promises.
ENTHUSIASM will be contagious as ever.
KNOW-HOW will surpass guess-how
TRUST, not tricks, will keep customers loyal.
QUALITY will be prized as a precious possession.