The Vaughn Wyant Auto Group (VWAG) has opened two new retail outlets; a high-end Porsche dealer in Saskatoon, Sask. and a company-rebuilt Hyundai outlet in Maple Ridge, B.C.
The opening of the Porsche store was marked by a $1 million donation made to the Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan, which is building a new $84 million structure at River Landing to open in 2015.
Vaughn Wyant, president of VWAG, which owns and operates seven dealerships in Saskatchewan, made the presentation on behalf of the group’s 300 employees across 12 Canadian dealerships. The café and adjoining patio at the new gallery will be named VWAG Café, the auto group’s brand name. “It is a great legacy for the company, the employees and of course our family,” he said.
PORSCHE DEALER OPENS
Porsche of Saskatchewan officially opened on September 12 at 335 Brand Road at the Saskatoon Auto Mall. It is the province’s first Porsche dealer since the 1980s and will manage sales and service of the exclusive line.
Wyant said he started working to return the Porsche name to the province 17 years ago. When Porsche executives began scouting for a retail location, he drew out a letter from his file cabinet that was written 15-years ago seeking to bring the vehicle line back to Saskatchewan.
“I am passionate about the brand and passionate about bringing it into the Saskatchewan market,” he said.
“Porsche executives visited and realized right away that this is a pretty hot market,” said Wyant. The new Porsche dealership took over refurbished space in a building owned by VWAG in the Saskatoon Auto Mall but leased out. “The lease came to an end, and we did a major retrofit on the building,” said Wyant, adding the area is adjacent to the group’s Ford outlet and near other Wyant interests. “The building is spectacular — it is beautiful and right next to a pristine lake.”
The setting provided an ideal backdrop for the 700 guests attending the opening party of the dealership. Guests ranged from Porsche executives to members of the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly.
“The recent success of luxury vehicles is being attributed to Saskatchewan’s booming economy, which has attracted high-paying young professionals eager to drive luxury cars,” said Wyant. “They have no qualms about displaying wealth, something the older generations were more conservative about in the province. It is now a point of pride to be successful,” he said.
“It’s thrilling to see so many of our vehicles on the streets and roads of Saskatchewan. The timing is right and we’re ready to grow,” said Wyant. “Saskatchewan’s economy is leading the nation in terms of growth and looks good for the next 20 years,” he said.
Wyant adds Porsche of Saskatchewan to a collection of brands in the Saskatoon Auto Mall that comprise (VWAG). The auto mall development began in 2001 when Wyant moved his Ford, Jaguar and Volvo dealerships to the South Circle Drive location.
NEW HYUNDAI STORE
David Wyant jokes that when they took over the existing dealership at B.C.’s Albion Flats site, about 50 km outside Vancouver on the banks of the Fraser River, the vintage building’s roof was so leaky that “if you put the plants in the right place, they could self water.”
Today, the youngest brother of the Wyant family and B.C. member of VWAG, sits in a new structure that offers a state of the art servicing department. “We shed no tears,” David said, “when the old building came down.”
The site, located near where the old Albion ferry used to sail from, had a colourful past. Originally, it was a wrecking yard, where auto buffs came for parts but then the owner gained an American Motors Corporation (AMC) franchise, which then bought out Jeep, followed by Chrysler buying out AMC. So, when the Wyant family came across it in 1994 when the dealership and site was listed for sale, it had a wrecking yard, a body shop, and list of vehicles, Chrysler, Dodge trucks, Plymouth, Eagle, and Jeep.
After taking over the business, David got rid of the wrecking business and body shop. He also branded himself as “Super Dave’s” offering super deals as a means of standing out. “In Saskatchewan, we were a big fish in a small pond, but in B.C. were a small fish in a big pond,” he said. Since B.C. was a break-in market for the family business, the catchy name became a way of standing out from other Chrysler dealers in the immediate area.
Three years ago, the Wyant group left Chrysler and went with Hyundai.
A year ago, construction on the new building started after almost a decade of planning. In early September, VWAG opened the doors to a new 14,500 sq.ft. structure which has showroom space for nine cars, as well as upstairs offices overlooking the showroom and seven hoists — with room for three more as business increases. The spacious site has room to display up to 245 vehicles. The service department “was spared no expense” in getting the most modern technology and equipment.
The future for the Hyundai dealership looks bright and at present, it has virtually no competition from neighbouring communities. David said he is hoping to secure the franchise for Mission, B.C., near to Albion.
But the area is also developing with land now available for a major commercial development nearby the Wyant dealership. Major retail outlets are expected to draw more rubber-tired traffic to the area.
“Residential development is also booming,” said David, whose dealership operates six days a week. The 2013 Hyundai SUV Santa Fe has proven to be very popular with the families moving into the Fraser Valley area because of lower single family home costs.
