New Windsor Volkswagen Location Opens As Diesel Wounds Heal

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A new bigger, brighter location for Volkswagen of Windsor opened recently amid the worldwide Volkswagen emissions scandal, but local management says the wounds are healing and the brand is continuing to impress local customers.

The new dealership location, now located at 9700 Tecumseh Road East, recently opened their doors this fall. The building is now approximately three times the size from the dealership’s previous location.

General Manager, Erin Revenberg said they expanded because it was time.

“We were growing, it was out of need. It is part of the Volkswagen image program, so that all of the Volkswagen facilities look the same across Canada, but primarily out of need.”

The new dealership has state of the art amenities to better serve the community, with two new service lanes compared to the previous location’s single lane.

Revenberg said she hopes to see a positive impact from the business for the city.

“In time as we grow we’re hoping to increase employment here. So we’ll be hiring probably a few new people. One, two or three people in each department.”

News broke in September after the United States Environmental Protection Agency issued a notice of violation to the company following an investigation into diesel vehicle emissions reporting. Volkswagen officials said the problem existed in models from 2009-2015. It affected around 11 million vehicles worldwide.

Since the emissions compliance issue, Revenberg said the business has not seen much of a fall in sales.

“Very little, approximately 22 per cent of our business was diesel, so you know it hasn’t impacted us too greatly so far. We’ve had approximately 18 diesels on ground that we’ve been unable to sell. In comparison, for a store that is selling 500 cars a year, 18 is not a giant factor.”

The emissions compliance issue is still an ongoing matter worldwide. However, Revenberg said she is very hopeful for the upcoming year and to see Volkswagen correct the situation.

“Volkswagen Canada is working diligently with the EPA to correct the issue and we are expecting a repair early next year. In addition, Volkswagen is announcing a Goodwill Customer Appreciation package for those Customers who have an affected vehicle.”