Mercedes-Benz Canada completed the sale of its corporate-owned Mercedes-Benz dealerships in the Greater Toronto Area to a new ownership team: the AWIN Group of Dealerships and Zanchin Automotive Group.

Eva Wiese, President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Canada, said the completion of the sale marks the next chapter in this story. “We are excited to see how the AWIN and Zanchin teams will push even harder to deliver the highest level of customer experience for our loyal customers every day.”

The OEM first announced its selection of the new ownership group in December. The company sold all of its Toronto Retail Group locations: Mercedes-Benz Downtown, Mercedes-Benz Markham, Mercedes-Benz Thornhill, Mercedes-Benz Maple (Mercedes-Benz Maple Van Centre), Mercedes-Benz Midtown, Mercedes-Benz Mississauga (Mercedes-Benz Mississauga Van Centre), and Mercedes-Benz Etobicoke.

The AWIN/Zanchin groups both own and operate Mercedes-Benz dealerships. AWIN’s Sylvester Chuang owns and operates Mercedes-Benz Oakville, Mercedes-Benz Victoria and Mercedes-Benz Nanaimo, while the Zanchin Automotive Group owns and operates Mercedes-Benz Newmarket and Mercedes-Benz Durham.

Mercedes-Benz Oakville, Mercedes-Benz Newmarket, and Mercedes-Benz Durham were all recognized with Star Dealer awards in February by Mercedes-Benz Canada.

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Richmond Acura has announced its relocation to the Richmond Auto Mall, located at 5580 Parkwood Cres. in Richmond, B.C. The new store will open it’s doors on July 25, 2016.

The 33,000 sq.ft. space includes a state-of-the-art service area featuring 12 bays, a customer drive-in area and a greeter.

The new store will also feature a drive-through car wash and three separate detail bays.

“We can tell you that BPL Auto Group’s Richmond Acura will be a key addition,” said Gail Terry, General Manager of the Auto Mall Association in a written release. “The expansion will definitely enrich the customer experience even further,” Terry added.

Richmond Auto Mall is one of the largest complexes in Canada, located at Westminster Highway and Knight Street in Richmond, B.C.

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Though auto sales have taken a hit in Alberta, the province came out recently with good news that shows how important its auto industry is to the economy.

According to a recent study, Alberta’s new car dealers sold nearly 242,500 new vehicles in 2015, amounting to $16.9 billion in retail sales. This represented 22.4 per cent of Alberta’s total retail sales compared to 20.3 per cent nationally.

Moreover, the auto industry in Alberta had an economic output four times larger than all annual travel and tourism to the Rockies, with $16-billion in operational spending in 2014 injected into other industries.

The report also found that Alberta’s auto industry employees 36,000 full-time workers, making auto dealers one of the largest employers in the province.

“We were pleasantly surprised with how big Alberta’s impact was in comparison to other provinces that have done these reports recently,” said Denis Ducharme, President of the Motor Dealers’ Association of Alberta (MDA) in an interview with Canadian auto dealer, adding this is the first fiscal study his association has conducted on the province.

“We felt that we as an association should know what role the franchised new car dealers play in Alberta’s economy. We felt that the information was very relevant for us…it could make the government aware of what contribution this industry plays in Alberta’s prosperity,” said Ducharme.

Ducharme also noted the $8.4-million given to Alberta charities, which shows how generous dealers are in their local communities.

He told Canadian auto dealer that the report has been circulated amongst municipal governments so they understand the value that new car dealerships bring to local communities.

“We needed to bring some positive news out there,” said Ducharme.

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Porsche Cars Canada and the Wyant Group officially broke ground on Porsche Centre Kelowna, their newest location slated to open in British Columbia in Q1 2017.

The new Porsche facility is located at Finns Rd. and Stremel Rd. just off of Highway 97, and will feature a nine car showroom, new vehicle delivery experience location and a 10 service bay workshop.

This is the eighth Porsche Centre in Western Canada, and the second location for the Wyant Group, which operates stores in Saskatchewan and British Columbia.

“Kelowna marks an area of strong potential for the Porsche brand and we are glad that Vaughn Wyant and the Wyant Group are going to be taking care of our loyal, growing customer base in the area,” said Alexander Pollich, President and CEO of Porsche Cars Canada, in a written release.

“Breaking the ground on Porsche Centre Kelowna symbolically represents more than just where the next opportunity for the Wyant Group will be built, but it also marks where we will be committed to fostering new relationships and delivering service beyond expectations to the surrounding community,” said Vaughn Wyant, President and CEO, Wyant Group.

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Car dealer review website DealerRater has announced its integration with LotShot, an application that allows DealerRater certified dealerships to produce customer photos.

LotShot, which was previously available only on the web, is now an app feature for DealerRater. Once the app is opened, a dealer can snap a photo of their customer and send it via email.

DealerRater said almost 50 per cent of all LotShot review requests made by salespeople to their customers results in a review on DealerRater.

“LotShot is simply cool,” said Chuck Prosch, Fleet/Internet Manager at Strickland Chevrolet, a Pearland, Texas-based dealership, in a written release. “I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like to see a picture of themselves with their new vehicle,” he added.

To use the LotShot app, a salesperson has to open LotShot on their smartphone, snap a photo of their customer or their new vehicle, enter their contact information and then send them the photo, along with instructions to fill out a DealerRater review.

“What we have found with LotShot is that customers not only get back to us about the experience they had with their salesperson,” said Prosch, “but they also share LotShot photos with family and friends, adding to the positive feeling they have about our team members.”

This feature is available for iOS devices, but dealers can ask to be notified when the Android version will be released.

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ADESA Canada announced that it has integrated CARPROOF’s Vehicle Valuation Report into its auction system, helping dealers make informed decisions when they are buying and selling used cars.

Subscribing dealers can now access this data directly through ADESA’s Market Guide, said ADESA.

“We feel that dealers will find tremendous value in this tool,” said Trevor Henderson, COO at ADESA Canada, in a written release.

“Integrating VVR into our system brings enhanced data-driven decision-making capability to the pre-auction research process. The single-screen access to wholesale, listings and True Retail Sold data empowers a dealer to make informed decisions about how they plan to bid on auction day,” Henderson added.

A VVR QuickView free extension for Google Chrome works on any website that displays a 17-digit VIN, said the companies. Through QuickView, dealers can see the margin between wholesale and retail sold prices by hovering over the VIN.

“The opportunity to use the combined power of CARPROOF and ADESA data to fuel better auction decision-making is a game-changer for this industry, and the sheer reach available through ADESA’s large network and market penetration means that more and more dealers can maximize the value available through this powerful data,” said Mark Rousseau, president at CARPROOF.

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Porsche Cars Canada has announced the opening of Porsche Centre Victoria, making it Canada’s first certified Porsche Classic partner and the fourth of its kind in North America.

The new centre will provide classic car sales, service and genuine parts for Porsche owners who drive models more than 10-years-old.

“We are certainly thrilled to mark this momentous occasion and have the first Porsche Classic Corner in Canada open,” said Alexander Pollich, President and CEO, Porsche Cars Canada, in a written release.

“Over 70 per cent of all Porsche’s sold globally are still on the road today, and with a responsibility to help maintain these classic models and owner enthusiasm,” said Pollich.

With over 52,000 classic parts available and with more being produced, Porsche owners can feel at ease with their service being handled by a Certified Porsche Classic Partner Centre, said the carmaker.

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Mazda, Toyota and Ford won mainstream brand honours at the fifth annual Vincentric Best Value in Canada awards, which took place recently in Bingham Farms, Mich.

Top luxury brand honours went to Volvo and BMW. Honda also received awards for four vehicles.

At the manufacturer level, Toyota Motor Corp. led the way with eight winning vehicles.

“When manufacturers measure and manage a vehicle’s total cost of ownership, they are able to consistently deliver high value to customers,” said David Wurster, President of Vincentric, in a written release.

In the full-size pick-up category, Ford F-series pickups snagged all three awards, while Mazda was acknowledged for its compact and subcompact features.

Vincentric said winners are determined through a statistical model and ownership cost and factors, concluding to whichever vehicles had lower than expected ownership costs given their market segment and price.

The cost of ownership was measured through fees and taxes, depreciation, fuel, financing, maintenance, repairs and opportunity cost.

Each vehicle was reviewed in 10 provinces, including the Northwest Territories, using a range of annual kilometre intervals as insurance profiles.

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It turns out mystery shoppers love the customer service at Infiniti dealerships, according to a recent survey by Pied Piper.

It’s the first time Infiniti has been the highest ranked auto brand since the research firm has been releasing its annual Prospect Satisfaction Index (PSI) survey.

The study used 6,157 hired anonymous mystery shoppers at dealerships located throughout the U.S. to help generate rankings, based on 50 PSI factors.

Lexus and Mercedes-Benz dealerships tied for second in 2016, while Porsche, Land Rover and Mitsubishi showed the most improvement year-to-year. Only Mini and Tesla showed year-to-year declines, with Tesla taking the lowest score, said Pied Piper.

The research firm also found that eight of 10 PS sales behaviours have improved in the U.S. On average, when dealers are ranked by their PSI score, dealerships in the top quarter sell 16 per cent more vehicles than those in the bottom quarter, Pied Piper added.

“There is no question that the typical dealership sells more effectively today than it did 10 years ago,” said Fran O’Hagan, President and CEO of Calif.-based Pied Piper Management Company LLC, in a written release.

“However, plenty of variability remains. We have watched some brands completely change the way that they sell, while others sell today no differently than they did 10 years ago,” he added.

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Online used-car trading platform Otolane recently announced an exclusive partnership agreement with Le Parking, a European pre-owned vehicle listing data mining platform.

“The launch of Le Parking in Canada and the U.S. will not only best serve the interest of consumers. It will also help car dealers and manufactures get a clear view of a vehicle’s real market value at any phase of its lifecycle and position their future products accordingly,” said David Sorger, CEO of Otolane, in a written release.

Le Parking will provide data-driven solutions which produce key market indicators such as interest, time to sell, churn rate for trade-ins, average market price, lease returns and a dealer’s entire inventory.

The partnership will give Otolane members access to leverage analytics and data, improving vehicle wholesale for automotive professionals to maximize profitability, said the company.

Le Parking will also enable users to search major pre-owned car websites through a single portal while searching traditional criteria or specific elements.

“Since Canada and the U.S. represents one of the world’s largest used car markets, we feel this partnership will be a major source of growth for many years to come,” said Fabrice Fournier, co-founder of Le Parking, in a written release.

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Copart Canada has launched a new website designed for Canadian dealers with Canadian-specific content.

Through the new website, Copart Canada members will now be able to access weekly Canadian auction updates, specialty auction announcements and updates on industry news, as well as regulatory developments, said the company.

Previously, all Canadian and North American inventory was housed on Copart.com. Copart Canada said the company’s Canadian inventory will remain available on Copart.com to cater to international members.

“This new website is an investment to better serve our Canadian members with direct and easy access to the inventory that is available at our six auction locations across Canada,” said Steve Macaluso, Managing Director of Copart Canada, in a written release, adding the website is also available in French.

“We are committed to providing our members with a great selection of vehicles using our industry leading auction technology in a safe and transparent online marketplace,” Macaluso added.

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BMW Richmond Hill’s service-only centre is now officially open for business.

This 13,000 sq.ft. facility is equipped with 120 parking spots, 12 service technicians, three service advisors, two parts advisors, support staff and management, all designed to service BMW customers in the Richmond Hill area.

Canadian auto dealer was invited to take a tour of the facility and learn more about its features.

“We don’t sell cars, we service them with same service quality you will find at any BMW service centre. It’s as good as you can get, and we think it’s the way of the future for other dealerships,” said Paul Roach, Brand Manager at BMW Autohaus in an interview with Canadian auto dealer.

The purpose of creating a service-only facility is to feed the growing demand of customers needing to be serviced

The purpose of creating a service-only facility is to feed the growing demand of customers needing to be serviced, while not having a long wait, said Roach.

“When you book a service appointment, sometimes you wait a day or sometimes in peak season you can wait a week or two. By adding additional service bays here, it’s almost next day service,” said Roach.

The premium branded BMW elements are all included such as the espresso cafe, the furniture and BMW merchandise, even down to the signage.

“We didn’t want it to be boring or look like a shop — just very customer-friendly,” said Beto Najman, the architect on the project from Weis & Associates.

Although shorter wait times is the obvious benefit, the location sits in a low traffic area, making it an easier location to reach, said Roach.

“Our BMW dealership sells over 2,000 BMWs a year — that’s a lot of customers we need to look after. The other reason why we opened this facility is because traffic and congestion is continuing to get worse, so we’ve given them this option of a less traffic area and shorter wait times,” he added.

The premium branded BMW elements are all included such as the espresso cafe, the furniture and BMW merchandise, even down to the signage.

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