Toyotoshi Group Canada marked the official grand opening of the new home of Ideal Honda in Mississauga, Ont. on Aug. 17, 2016.
Located on the northeast corner of Dixie Road and Canada’s busiest highway, the 401, it’s a short distance from its previous location.
The move was years in the making — intended to improve customer experience and grow the business.
“In designing this new dealership the vision was to create a very open space allowing customers to see through the facility and feel very comfortable doing business here. The showroom is large enough to display the ever growing lineup of products: the 2016 North American Car of the Year, the Honda Civic, the totally redesigned 2017 Ridgeline, as well as an all-new 5-door Civic and fully redesigned CR-V that will arrive later this year,” said Jerry Chenkin, President & CEO of Honda Canada Inc., during the opening ceremony.
Dignitaries such as Bonnie Crombie, Mayor of Mississauga, former Mayor Hazel McCallion, and Mario Toyotoshi, Chief Experience Officer, Toyotoshi Group Canada, also attended.
In an exclusive interview with Canadian auto dealer, Chenkin added, “Customers are expecting more and more from the dealership experience. And this dealership epitomizes what customers expect… For Honda and Acura you’re going to see dealerships renovating right now. Our dealers are telling us the exterior of the dealership still looks very contemporary, but the interiors now need to be totally upgraded. Dealers are asking us to support their upgrade in design, which is what we’re doing. It’s great to see dealers investing in customer-focused activities.”
That’s exactly what Ideal Honda has done.
The 29,000 sq.ft. facility includes a state-of-the-art shop that’s geared to enhance customer experience. The new layout is an open-air concept with service and sales incorporated on one floor in a welcoming, contemporary design.
Large windows and glass offices in the showroom and service areas give customers a view of all working areas, including the service bays. Honda’s first lean service area in Canada also provides more maintenance services than a traditional express service, while reducing wait times and improving quality of service.
After the official ribbon cutting ceremony, there was a sake ceremony, and a performance by Japanese dance group, Sakuramai Toronto. Toyotoshi Group Canada operates three stores in Mississauga and two stores in Quebec.
