Great Western Auto Brokers in Rapid City has big plans for its newly acquired new-car dealerships.

The company, at 222 Cambell St., took over the Mitsubishi and Suzuki franchises from Jacobs Motors.

Great Western will construct a new parts-and-service department, expand its showroom and raise its profile in Rapid City as a new -car dealer, general manager Aaron Banks said.

"We're very excited," he said. "We've found that this market is super-responsive to our way of doing business."

It is unclear why Jacobs Motors shed its Mitsubishi and Suzuki franchises. Company officials have not been available for comment.

In addition, there are unconfirmed reports that Jacobs is selling its Nissan line to McKie Automotive Group. Officials at McKie were also not available for comment.

Great Western is a chain of dealerships based in Rock Springs, Wyo. It has two locations each in Rock Springs and in Casper, Wyo., and one each in Gillette, Wyo., and Layton, Utah. It sells GMC, Pontiac, Buick, Jeep and Mitsubishi.

Great Western Auto Brokers opened in Rapid City in 2005 as a used-car lot. But Banks said the company's intention all along was to sell new cars here. "We wanted to get a feel for the market and see where the opportunities were," he said.

Banks said the company's construction plans include building a new addition at the rear of the existing building. The new service department will have 10 service bays instead of the current four bays. He said Great Western will break ground on the new addition in the next few weeks.

He said the Mitsubishi and Suzuki lines of automobiles complement each other. Mitsubishi has a lineup of midsize sedans, more sport-utility vehicles and a truck model. Suzuki focuses more on passenger cars.

Rapid City saw another new name in the new-car business in recent months. Late last year, Billion Motors of Sioux Falls opened a Kia new-car dealership on Cambell Street in Rapid City. Kia is a new name for Rapid City.

Contact Dan Daly at 394-8421 or dan.daly@rapidcityjournal.com