How this California car dealer handled pandemic-related challenges to open a new Lexus store in the fall

Last year, crews broke ground on Lexus of Temecula Valley in California. This fall, the car dealership is expected to open its doors on nearly five acres. The store will be part of the Temecula Valley Toyota ownership family, and on today’s show, we’re pleased to welcome Tom Rudnai, President of Temecula Valley Toyota.

The Lexus store was supposed to break ground a year ago but was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Temecula was able to reconstruct a plan for starting work on the new location. Rudnai says that everyone in the company is very excited to get the Lexus store built and ready for business.

Rudnai says that 2020 was a strong year for his car dealership group. While sales were initially shut down due to the pandemic, Temecula was able to come back stronger than ever. The car dealership ran with a limited amount of salespeople, and they haven’t slowed down since May 2020. Rudnai says the group really doesn’t see an end in sight with demand as high as it is currently.

“We broke ground about three months ago,” said Rudnai. “When we broke ground we were pretty confident that the worst was behind us and better things were going to come moving forward. We’re very confident, business has been extremely strong for Toyota and all the manufacturers, not only here in Southern California but throughout the nation. So I think our timing was fantastic.”

Rudnai then discusses the impact digital retailing, also known as modern retailing, has had on the construction of large car dealerships. He says that spending on facilities has decreased dramatically because data has shown that consumers aren’t driven by the size of the car dealership. Rudnai does believe the move to online shopping has changed the mindset of car dealers, as many are seeing record-highs in digital activity and selling.

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