Mercedes-Benz Rive-Sud turns soil on new larger dealership at same location in Quebec
Mercedes-Benz is continuing its torrid pace of dealer development with yet another sod-turning ceremony.
This latest event saw company executives like president and CEO Tim Reuss joino Mercedes-Benz Rive-Sud president Claude Leclair, V-P Carolynn Leclair and dealership general manager François Leclair on June 6 to turn over the first shovelful of soil to start the construction of the new home for Mercedes-Benz Rive-Sud.
The Leclair family will build a brand-new dealership, from the ground up, on the same property located at 4844 Taschereau Boulevard in Greenfield Park, Que. ; the spot has been home to Mercedes-Benz Rive-Sud for more than 50 years.
The plan will significantly expand both the dealership’s sales and aftersales potential in this important area of Montreal. Scheduled to be up and running in December, the 120,000 square feet dealership will stand two storeys high and house a roomy new and used-vehicle showroom totaling 35,000 square feet.
In addition, 45,000 square feet have been earmarked for the service area that will include 40 state-of- the-art service bays. Twelve will be dedicated to detailing while four will service Sprinters.
The automaker says the new store will follow the Mercedes- Benz Auto Haus image design concept with its emphasis on the use of glass for transparency and to create a bright, open-concept feeling.
The dealership will also reflect the new Mercedes-Benz retail corporate identity where black with accents of silver replace the blue colours traditionally seen in Mercedes-Benz dealerships.
It has been a busy 2014 for the luxury brand’s dealer network. Brian Lowes and his partners Bruce and Doug Danylchuk broke ground for their new Mercedes-Benz Winnipeg store in early May while similar events were held for a new point in Pointe-aux-Trembles, Quebec and a total rebuild of the top-performing corporate store, Mercedes-Benz Thornhill just north of Toronto.
During an interview with Canadian AutoWorld earlier this year, Ruess said the growth has far more to do with service capacity and fixed ops than simply building luxurious showrooms for the sake of image.
“[With fixed ops] we are playing catch-up to be quite honest,” he said this spring. “The showroom space is about future growth and we’ve achieved some tremendous growth. That’s coming from all our new products. But I need service capacity to deal with all the units I’ve already sold.”
