Georgian Chevrolet Buick GMC is one of Canada’s largest General Motors dealerships, and over the 40 years the Massie family has been running it, it has gained a great reputation in the Barrie community for good management and great service. Reputation and the strong Chevrolet brand were both important considerations for Canada One when they decided to buy the dealership, according to Canada One’s Vice-President Daniel Priestner in an interview with Canadian auto dealer.
So how does this particular store fit in with Canada One’s expansion plans? “So this dealership has been run by a family that has been in that community for 75 years,” said Priestner. “They have been serving the community, and they’ve done an exceptional job, and have an immaculate reputation. That was one of the main reasons that we were very interested in this particular location.”
Canada One has stores from Ontario over to British Columbia, with a focus on GM, which was another deciding factor in Canada One’s decision. “Well, we’re always interested in growing with General Motors. I believe this is our third addition in the last year and a half to the General Motors Group in Ontario,” said Priestner. “We’ve always been really pleased with the support we received from GM, and we obviously love selling and servicing world class vehicles, and we feel like General Motors is clearly in that category.”
Canada One is in growth mode at the moment, and the company philosophy obviously is embracing this moment in the industry, regardless of what other companies are doing. “We’re at a great point in our business evolution for Canada One,” said Priestner. “I’m a 40-year-old leader. I have a team of young leaders around me that are competent and capable. So we feel very confident about growing regardless of the economic conditions.”
In terms of two of the major factors facing the industry, inventory supply, and the evolution of the company to electrification, Priestner is bullish about both. “I do think everybody believes that eventually supply will return, probably never to pre-COVID levels, but certainly to something that represents a better and more healthy supply than we’ve seen the last couple years. And I’m very excited about electrification. I think it represents an opportunity to reach a whole segment of customers that have been waiting for this. And we think we’ll be in a great position to sell those vehicles when the time comes.”
