Asbury Automotive Group Expands North Carolina/Virginia Group By Adding Three Franchises

    STAMFORD, Conn.--May 20, 2002--Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. today announced that it has acquired two dealerships in the Winston-Salem-Greensboro metropolitan area and has been awarded a new franchise in Richmond, VA.
    All three are being incorporated into Asbury's Crown Automotive Company platform. The dealerships include Dickinson Dodge in Fayetteville, Rice-Marko Chrysler in Greensboro, and Crown MINI of Richmond, VA.
    "The acquisition of these dealerships complements and expands Asbury's existing business in North Carolina," said Michael Kearney, President and CEO of Asbury Automotive North Carolina, Crown Automotive Company. "We're also delighted to be 1 of only 70 MINI franchises awarded in the U.S. by their parent company, BMW. We recently received our first shipment of vehicles, and we cannot keep them in stock."
    "The Greensboro-Winston-Salem market is one that has experienced significant population growth over the last decade," said Kenneth B. Gilman, CEO of Asbury Automotive Group. "As such we believe these acquisitions have high upside potential."
    With these acquisitions, Asbury now operates 21 franchises in North Carolina and Virginia.
    Asbury's acquisition of Rice-Marko Chrysler will further the company's effort to achieve Chrysler "Alpha" status in Greensboro. The Chrysler Alpha program gives preferred dealer status to dealerships that operate Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge franchises.

About Asbury Automotive Group
    Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, is one of the largest automobile retailers in the U.S. Asbury operates through nine geographically concentrated, individually branded "platforms". These platforms operate 91 retail auto stores, encompassing 127 franchises for the sale and servicing of 36 different brands of American, European and Asian automobiles. The company offers customers an extensive range of automotive products and services, including new and used vehicle sales and related financing and insurance, vehicle maintenance and repair services, replacement parts and service contracts.

Forward Looking Statements
    This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements include statements relating to plans regarding the company's financial position, results of operations and business strategy. These statements are based on management's current expectations and involve significant risks and uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in the statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, market factors and general economic conditions. There can be no guarantees the company's plans will be successfully implemented or that they will prove to be commercially successful. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.