No. CS/HB 989
Filed under Transportation.
Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, Importers, and Distributors and Franchised Motor Vehicle Dealers; Authorizes licensee to reject ownership succession of motor vehicle dealer if such succession will cause violation of certain provisions; clarifies what motor vehicles licensee must repurchase from motor vehicle dealer upon termination of franchise agreement; provides that licensee who distributes 1,000 or more motor vehicles of particular line-make to motor vehicle dealers in this state during any 12-month period must have established network of at least three independent motor vehicle dealers in this state; authorizes licensee to reject proposed change in ownership if such change would cause violation of certain provisions.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDA manufacturer, importer, or distributor that sends 1,000 or more vehicles of one line-make to Florida dealers in a year cannot route more than a third of them to a single dealer, or to dealers under common ownership.
The cap does not apply to a line-make that already had a licensed franchised dealer in Florida on January 1, 2026, or to a manufacturer already allowed to own or operate its own dealership.
A licensee may now refuse to approve an heir's succession to a franchise, or a dealer's sale of the franchise or its stock, if allowing it would push the licensee into violating that new cap.
Separately, the amount a manufacturer must repurchase from a terminated dealer's inventory is broadened from 'car or truck' to any motor vehicle other than a motorcycle.
AIOnce a licensee distributes 1,000 or more vehicles of one line-make to Florida dealers in any 12-month period, it may not send more than 33.33 percent of that volume to a single dealer or to dealers sharing common ownership or control.
AIA licensee may reject an heir's or devisee's succession to a dealer franchise if the succession would directly result in the licensee violating the new distribution-concentration cap.
AIA licensee may reject a dealer's proposed sale of a franchise, or of stock or ownership interests in the dealer entity, if the transfer would directly cause the licensee to violate the new cap.
AIThe inventory a manufacturer or distributor must repurchase from a terminated dealer is expanded from new cars or trucks to any new motor vehicle other than a motorcycle.