Canada’s largest automotive group has started moving into the 705. Last week, the Dilawri Group of Companies announced that it was expanding into Barrie, Ont., having acquired Barrie Autohaus, which comprises both Volkswagen and Audi brands.
“Sharing a common belief in providing consumers with the highest standards in quality, innovation, and service, the partnership between Volkswagen Canada, Audi Canada, and the Dilawri Group was a natural alignment,” says Kap Dilawri of the Dilawri Group of Companies. “The future for both Volkswagen and Audi in Barrie is promising. Our intent is to provide customers of both brands with the level of service they both expect and deserve.”
Dilawri went on to say that as part of this commitment to customers, the post-acquisition plans involve an intention to build two new state-of-the-art facilities, as well as changing the names of the dealerships to Barrie Volkswagen and Barrie Audi, “in order to provide each dealership with the individual identity it deserves.”
The Dilawri Group has over 40 dealerships across Canada — representing 28 brands. Most of the Dilawri dealerships are located in the Vancouver, Calgary, Regina and Toronto areas. The new Barrie acquisition is one of only two Dilawri dealerships that is located outside of a major city centre (the other in Oakville, Ont.). Expanding into Barrie could be a very good move for the otherwise major city–based company, however, since Barrie is considered to be one of the fastest growing communities in the country (the fasted growing, as of the most recent Census in 2006).
