Steele Group celebrates grand opening for Audi Halifax

HALIFAX, N.S. – Hundreds of guests, executives and VIPs helped officially open the new home of Audi Halifax this week roughly a year and a half after breaking ground.

The 40,000-square foot, four-floor dealership sits on the same site as the old store on Halifax’s auto alley, Kempt Road. The franchise has been in the Steele Auto Group for nearly 10 years and company president Rob Steele said this project was a long-time coming.

“We moved to temporary facility in an old Chev dealership down the road during construction,” he told Canadian AutoWorld. “It is definitely nice to be back.”

In addition to adding square footage and service space, the big move for the store saw it do an about face. While the old point faced Kempt Rd., the new facility now faces Massachusetts Ave., though the actual address is on Columbus St.

“We had to radically alter the site for new dealership. It was on a hill and we basically moved the hill,” he said, noting there was some trepidation with the 180-degree spin for the showroom.

“The end product is great. I’m really happy we did it as it gives it such a higher profile.”

The store boasts an 11-car showroom, nine service bays and some volume targets that are just as impressive. Steele said annual new car sales are forecasted at 360 units but could top 400 as the brand continues to grow.

He blamed the lengthy construction process on the amount of site preparation required, the logistics of sourcing materials from Europe and the “horrendous” winter that nailed Atlantic Canada earlier this year.

The Steele Auto Group owns 18 dealerships.