Griffith City Volkswagen changes ownership in regional NSW
Owen Motor Group has sold Griffith City Volkswagen to employees Damian and Sarah Taranto after a year-long transition, with the dealership now listing the pair in senior roles on its website.
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Dealership ownership changes hands in Griffith
Griffith City Volkswagen has changed ownership, with Owen Motor Group selling the Griffith dealership to employees Damian and Sarah Taranto. Ground News’ digest of the story and Region Riverina’s report on 16 April 2025 both say the Tarantos took ownership after a year-long process, marking a completed transfer of the Volkswagen franchise in regional New South Wales. 12
Who the new owners are
Region Riverina identified Damian Taranto, 35, and Sarah Taranto, 34, as staff members who had worked at the business before the sale. The same publication said Sarah had won the Outstanding Employee award at the 2023 Griffith Business Chamber awards, while Sarah’s earlier profile in August 2023 described her as Owen Motor Group’s brand manager and said she had been recognised as outstanding employee that year. The 2023 profile also said Sarah met her husband through work and that the workplace had become known locally as “Love Island” because several couples had formed there. 23
Transition and training
Region Riverina reported that the handover followed an intensive training program over the previous year, led by Volkswagen Australia and the parent company in Germany. According to that report, the program covered dealership management, sales, after-sales, finance and other assessments, and Dean Owen said in April 2024 that the brand would be changing hands. 2
What the dealership pages show
Griffith City Volkswagen’s own website now says the business is under new management, and its team page lists Damian as Dealer Principal and Sarah T as General Manager. The site places the dealership at 126 Mackay Avenue, Griffith NSW 2680 and presents it as a Volkswagen retailer and service outlet with sales, service, parts, finance and fleet functions. 478
The dealership pages also show the current model mix on offer, including Polo, Golf, Golf GTI, Golf R, ID.4, ID.5, Touareg R eHybrid, Tiguan eHybrid, Tayron eHybrid, ID. Buzz, ID. Buzz Cargo, Touareg, Tiguan, T-Roc, T-Cross, Tayron, Amarok, Caddy, Caddy California, Caddy Cargo, Crafter variants, Multivan and Transporter. The site marks Tiguan eHybrid and Tayron eHybrid as “Coming Soon” on the service and dealership pages, which is a promotional listing rather than a delivery confirmation. 68
Local context around the Owen group
Region Riverina said twin brothers Mark and Dean Owen had run Owen Toyota, Leeton Toyota and Griffith City Volkswagen for several years before the sale. The Area News business directory also lists Griffith City Volkswagen at 126 Mackay Ave and Owen Motor Group at 2 Pine Ave, Leeton, which matches the regional footprint described in the April 2025 report. 25
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8 cited pages across 4 websites
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- griffithvw.com.au4 pages
- regionriverina.com.au2 pages
- ground.news1 page
- local.areanews.com.au1 page
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- Griffith’s ‘Love Island’ car empire sees husband-and-wife duo take over dealershipRole not assessedSource extract saved
Why these labels?Griffith’s ‘Love Island’ car empire sees husband-and-wife duo take over dealership
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Cited in 1 paragraph: Dealership ownership changes hands in Griffith.
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- Griffith’s ‘Love Island’ car empire sees husband-and-wife duo take over dealership | Region RiverinaRole not assessedSource extract saved
Why these labels?Griffith’s ‘Love Island’ car empire sees husband-and-wife duo take over dealership | Region Riverina
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Cited in 4 paragraphs: Dealership ownership changes hands in Griffith; Who the new owners are; Transition and training; Local context around the Owen group.
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- 'Mind reader': Sarah Taranto snares Griffith's best employee gong at ...Role not assessedSource extract saved
Why these labels?'Mind reader': Sarah Taranto snares Griffith's best employee gong at ...
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Cited in 1 paragraph: Who the new owners are.
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- About UsRole not assessedSource extract saved
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Cited in 1 paragraph: What the dealership pages show.
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- Auto in Griffith - The Area NewsRole not assessedSource extract saved
Why these labels?Auto in Griffith - The Area News
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Cited in 1 paragraph: Local context around the Owen group.
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- Departments at Griffith City VolkswagenRole not assessedSource extract saved
Why these labels?Departments at Griffith City Volkswagen
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Cited in 1 paragraph: What the dealership pages show.
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- The Griffith City Volkswagen TeamRole not assessedSource extract saved
Why these labels?The Griffith City Volkswagen Team
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Cited in 1 paragraph: What the dealership pages show.
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- Griffith City VolkswagenRole not assessedSource extract saved
Why these labels?Griffith City Volkswagen
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Cited in 2 paragraphs: What the dealership pages show.
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