Abelkop sees potential in Chrysler

By Emily Sorensen

Mark Abelkop and the Poway Auto Group want to make sure you find a car you love.

Abelkop, who owns the Mitsubishi dealership, the Hyundai dealership, and the newly reopened Poway Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram dealership, all located along Poway Road, knows cars.

With his most recent acquisition of Poway Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram, Abelkop said he doesn’t currently plan to expand further, but plans to consolidate his businesses and build up the Chrysler dealership. “There’s lots of possibilities for Chrysler because it’s been out of the market for so long,” said Abelkop.

Born and raised in South Africa, Abelkop grew up in the car business. His father at one point was the biggest Chrysler dealer in South Africa.

Abelkop’s father sent him to California in 1978 to learn how business was done here. “I fell in love with California,” said Abelkop. “I returned once a year for 10 years, to keep up my contacts.” In 1987, Abelkop moved from South Africa to San Diego, along with his wife and two young children, and bought his first American dealership, Mitsubishi, in San Diego. “I got [Mitsubishi] back in 1988 because I was looking for different dealerships, and that was available at the time,” said Abelkop, “and I’ve stuck with it all this time.”

In 2000, Abelkop branched out to Poway, opening his Mitsubishi dealership here. “I was offered a dealership [in Poway] from Mitsubishi, so it was more by chance than wanting to come to Poway,” said Abelkop. Once he was working in Poway, however, Abelkop said he saw opportunity and wanted to expand. He did that by purchasing the Hyundai dealership in 2003. “It was a little dealership at the time,” said Abelkop. “I thought it would be a small addition, but it’s now the flagship [of Poway Auto Group.”

After selling his old Hyundai property and moving into its current location in 2007, he ended up buying back the property in 2011 after it came back onto the market. “I purchased it without a real plan,” said Abelkop. The purchase turned out to be fortuitous, as he was able to negotiate to obtain the Chrysler franchise in December of 2012.

With three dealerships, the Poway Auto Group has something for everyone, both used and new.

Poway Hyundai is located at 13910 Poway Road, and can be reached at 858-746-4602.

Poway Mitsubishi is also located at 13910 Poway Road, and can be reached at 866-237-3922.

Poway Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram is located at 13864 Poway Road. It can be reached at 866-688-6485.