Toyota Looks to Expand Dealer Service Capacity

Washington DC June 21, 2005; The AIADA newsletter reported that as part of an initiative launched late last year, Toyota is looking to expand capacity at more than 1,200 dealership service departments across the country as a way of providing consumers with quick maintenance and repairs, reports The Wall Street Journal.

"Servicing experience is a very, very critical element that determines what your customer’s next purchase is going to be," Bob Carter said while vice president of American sales for Toyota (Carter has since been promoted to group vice president and general manager of the Lexus division). "Customers may come into the dealership every three to five years, but they are in the service shop every three to five months," Carter added.

While Toyota sales have surged from 834 new cars annually per dealership 10 years ago to 1,448 new cars per dealership annually, the company has focused on ways to improve customer satisfaction scores relating to efficient servicing of vehicles. Currently, Toyota has about 300 dealerships under construction to improve facilities. According to a company spokesman, since announcing the initiative last year, Toyota dealers have committed about $1.8 billion in facility and capacity expansion over the next two years.

Carter insists this is only the beginning of Toyota’s expansion efforts. "Frankly that’s just the first wave of expansion," Carter said.