New York Auto Dealers Association and Toyota Team Up to Provide Specialized Training

NEW YORK, Sept. 26 -- Marking another industry first, Toyota signed a long-term lease agreement with the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association (GNYADA) to become a full-time tenant and provide advanced training at the organization's all-new Center for Automotive Education & Training in New York City.

The $25 million education and training project, a first-of-its-kind to be built and managed by an automotive association, will serve the educational community and the automotive industry.

"This education complex, which is celebrating its Grand Opening on October 31, 2005, will serve multiple training providers," said GNYADA president Mark Schienberg. "It will provide training for individuals pursuing careers in the automotive industry and it will serve the industry as a continuing education facility for automakers and dealers. The facility features state-of-the-art service training areas, classrooms outfitted with the latest digital teaching systems, lecture halls, and a 5,000 square ft. all-glass atrium, perfect for vehicle reveals, special displays, and sales training in a simulated show room atmosphere," added Schienberg.

Toyota Training Program

Toyota's training wing will serve as a training facility for dealers in the New York Region. It will include a dedicated classroom and shop area with vehicle stalls, lifts, alignment machine, the most modern service equipment and the latest computer diagnostic equipment. It will be used to conduct ongoing technical training for Toyota and Scion dealership associates.

"Toyota is pleased to be part of this precedent-setting arrangement with the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association," says Jim Press, President of Toyota Motor Sales, USA. "This state of the art training facility is a great example of how Toyota and the dealers of the Greater New York area are combining forces to advance the capabilities of dealership associates who sell and service today's advanced technology vehicles." The automaker expects to train up to 800 technicians from the Tri-state area each year at the facility, which features a multitude of e-learning and instructor-led courses. Courses taught in the GNYADA training center will include new model introductions as well as advanced courses in areas of engine, electrical, chassis, drivetrain and Hybrid Systems.

Toyota currently offers more than 40 hours of Hybrid Synergy Drive System Training for Toyota Dealership Technicians. Courses vary from Hybrid General Service to Hybrid Systems and the Hybrid System Diagnosis Course. Technicians that complete this training program will join the first generation of highly skilled Hybrid Synergy Drive Diagnostic Technicians in the USA.

"As the leader in the development of hybrid-electric powered vehicles and other advanced automotive technology, Toyota takes its responsibility to provide an industry-leading ownership experience very seriously," says Bill Bergen, National Dealer Education Manager for the University of Toyota. "The partnership between the Greater New York Dealer Association and Toyota will make specialized training much more accessible for dealership Technicians in the New York Region. This new facility will play a key role in developing the knowledge and skills needed to provide the 'fixed right the first time, every time' service of Toyota and Scion vehicles in the New York area."

Other Automotive Training Programs Available

In addition to Toyota's space in the Center, Lincoln Technical Institute, a national leader in automotive education, will provide training for over 1,000 post-secondary students each year and prepare them for careers in the auto industry. The facility will also accommodate GNYADA's own broad range of education and training programs and courses, which currently consists of nearly 100 seminars and workshops held each year for local dealership personnel.

Currently, the automotive industry is facing an annual national shortage of over 30,000 trained automotive technicians, according to the U.S. Dept. of Labor. GNYADA's Center for Automotive Education & Training will help curb the shortage here in New York by creating a larger pool of qualified technicians.

GNYADA's Center for Automotive Education & Training is located four miles from LaGuardia and eight miles from John F. Kennedy airports in the College Point Corporate Park, an area managed by the New York City Economic Development Corporation.

The Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association, a not-for-profit organization represents 650 franchised automobile dealerships in the metro area of New York, which sells more than 700,000 cars each year. Its members generate over $1 billion for state and local governments and employ approximately 52,000 (directly and indirectly) individuals in metro New York.