Wilson Motors has announced that it is purchasing King Nissan.

Julian Greening, co-owner at Wilson Motors in Bellingham, made the announcement Thursday morning, Jan. 24. He expects the sale to officially close Friday, March 1. Terms of the potential sale were not disclosed.

"Being in the import market ourselves, we thought this is a good fit for us," Greening said. "We are very optimistic about the Whatcom County market as national car sales continue to grow."

Greening said much of the Nissan dealership will remain the same; the one change customers will notice is the name transition from King Nissan to Wilson Nissan. In talking with officials from Nissan, Greening said he's interested in possibly adding the commercial line of Nissan models, which would include passenger and cargo vans.

Frank King, the current owner of King Nissan, would not comment about a dealership sale at this time.

Wilson Motors, which focuses on Toyota and Mercedes-Benz, is coming off a strong year in terms of sales. Last year was Wilson's best year of sales since 2008, according to Greening.

Greening said the automotive industry is expected to return to pre-recession sales numbers by either the end of 2013 or 2014. Wilson Motors is currently averaging around 170 vehicle sales a month; before the recession sales were around 200 a month.

In terms of workforce, King Nissan has 19 employees, while Wilson Motors has 91, according to Greening.

According to data from Members Only Inc., which gets its data from the Washington State Department of Licensing, Wilson Motors was the top-selling Whatcom County dealership in 2012. King Nissan, along with King Volvo, ranked 10th.

King Volvo was not a part of this sale.

Reach Business Editor Dave Gallagher at 360-715-2269 or dave.gallagher@bellinghamherald.com. Read his business blog at blogs.bellinghamherald.com/business or follow him on Twitter at @bhamheraldbiz.