Toyota Dealers Invest $3.3 Billion in Dealership Improvements

TORRANCE, Calif., Oct. 28, 2009 -- While the auto market is going through one of its worst downturns in years, Toyota dealers are putting their money on the future.

So far this year, Toyota dealers have invested $800 million in new facilities designed to meet the high expectations and growing needs of customers. Over the past five years, they have laid out $3.3 billion in dealership improvements and have committed another $2.2 billion in the next two years.

"An investment of this magnitude is a strong indication of our dealers' confidence in Toyota products, as well as their long-standing commitment to meet customer expectations," said Ernest Bastien, vice president of retail market development for Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc.

Currently, 400 dealers, or 33 percent, have completed all-new state-of-the-art facilities, with another 200 onboard to open new dealerships by 2012.

In support of Toyota's environmental leadership, some dealers are constructing new facilities that conform to the strict standards of the United States Green Building Council and their LEED certification program. Pat Loeb Toyota in McKinney, Texas, which opened in 2006, became the nation's first LEED certified automobile dealership.

Public Web site: http://www.toyota.com/