Dealership Builds A Richmond Store Expands to Become Largest Toyota Dealership in Canada
OpenRoad Toyota in Richmond has been a market leader since 1978 when it first opened its doors as Richmond Toyota. Since 2001, when it re-launched as OpenRoad Toyota Richmond, the dealership has won numerous awards, including a nod as the number-one Toyota dealership in Canada. Most recently, it has been honoured as Best Managed Company (2014) and Best Employer (2017). Now the innovative, award-winning dealership is poised to take another big step, announcing plans to start construction in March 2020 to build a brand new, state-of-the-art showroom and service facility in what will become the largest Toyota dealership in Canada. “We’re proud of the service we have provided for almost 40 years—and our new facility will ensure we’re ready to continue to provide the best service experience to current and future customers in the Vancouver area,” said Christian Chia, dealer principal at OpenRoad Toyota. The new facility, to be built right across the street from its pres-
Northern BC
ent location in the Richmond Auto Mall, will be five times larger, with a surface area of 205,000 square feet. It will incorporate leading-edge environmental systems, as well as more space to showcase and service the full range of Toyota models. Customers will find several amenities, including two lounge areas, a children’s play area, plus a full-service café with TVs, a fireplace and Wi-Fi access. The new vehicle showroom space will encompass more than 15,000 square feet, making it the largest Toyota showroom in British Columbia. It will have space to display 36 vehicles on two levels, plus 10 indoor new vehicle delivery bays. Toyota dealers have long prided themselves on offering excellent customer service, and OpenRoad Toyota Richmond will aim to add to that reputation, with a 12-bay drive-through reception service, 30 full mechanical service bays, and four express service bays for routine work such as oil changes. There will also be two automatic carwashes and six detail bays. Outside, the new site’s architectural design will incorporate many cutting-edge environmental features such as a green roof and water collection system on the car wash, high-efficiency heating and cooling systems and energy-conscious LED lighting.
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Many of the initial headwinds holding back LNG expansion have subsided. There are signs that the looming US-China trade war may be resolved before it worsens, and long-term contracts for supplying LNG have been successfully negotiated with major customers in Japan and China. The scale and scope of the pipeline and LNG projects are impressive, so simply constructing accommodations for all the expected workers and trades people is a massive undertaking. A workers village called Cedar Valley Lodge is being com-
pleted near Terrace; it will have 4,500 rooms and feature its own movie theatre and recreation complex. So with all that activity, how are automotive dealerships in the region responding? Most analysts anticipate a robust demand for trucks of all sizes in the north (about 90 per cent of the overall sales). But the flip side of any boom-time economy is the increased difficulty it presents in finding and retaining employees to deal with the increased demand.
But it’s a challenge Prevost readily accepts. He says MacCarthy GM has added 18 new staff this past year with plans to keep hiring even more in 2020. He says, “We know we can’t compete on salaries alone [with employers like LNG Canada] but we can on culture,” and this is why they hired a Human Resources Manager for the first time in 2019. More changes lie ahead, along with immense opportunity for growth on the north coast.
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