Byers Auto

Building a Legacy

We are a completely family owned business succeeding into the 5th generation. Byers began operations in 1897 in the horse and buggy business and transitioned to automobiles in 1929. We truly have went from horses to horsepower!

15 Locations, 15 New Brands, 1 Website!

Byers Auto Group is family owned and operated and has been serving Central Ohio in the transportation industry since 1897.  George W. Byers, founded Blue Ribbon Stables in 1897. He was a horse trader and he built buggies for Chillicothe and Columbus. He was a renowned showman who once staged the largest horse sale in central Ohio. He rented the entire Ohio State Fair grounds and he installed electric lights, at his own cost, back in 1899.

In 1929, the company founded by George W. changed its name to George Byers & Sons, and the two brothers, Frank Byers, Sr. and George Byers, Sr., like their dad, were also forward-thinking and aggressive. They knew that the automobile was here to stay and they began buying and selling cars. The first models of cars that were sold were Hudson, DeSoto, Essex, and Plymouth.  In 1934, Byers added a truck department and started their relationship with GMC. In 1954, Hertz car and truck rental franchises were added. 1957 was when Byers started their import division with Subaru and Volvo. That store is still operating as "Byers Imports" with Subaru, Volvo, Audi, Volkswagen, Porsche, and Jaguar.

In 1977, the company purchased the remaining models and all the rights to the Bricklin car brand. (The Bricklin was a gull-wing door, sports car manufactured in Canada from 1974 to 1975. It was the creation of Malcolm Bricklin, an American millionaire who had previously founded Subaru of America.) In 1982, Byers became a Chevrolet dealer.  In 2003, we added Toyota; in 2007, we added Ford; and in 2008, we added Kia. We recently celebrated our 120th anniversary and we're still family-owned and operated. We're at 15 brands; we have eight locations; and we have around 850 employees.