Harris Oceanside Chevrolet Buick GMC Ltd. in Parksville
PARKSVILLE – New product arrivals have the team at Harris Oceanside Chevrolet Buick GMC Ltd. excited about the upcoming months.
Richard Allan
Fleet & Business Sales Manager Richard Allan says “We are going to welcome the arrival of the Hummer brand, which has been relaunched by GM as an Electric Vehicle (EV) in both pickup and SUV format. We have sold nine of them so far through pre-orders.
“We are also excited with the arrival of Silverado EV, and the recently announced Equinox and Blazer in EV format. These vehicles are slated for early 2023 with Silverado EV in 2024, we’re spending $200,000 this year to install new EV chargers to be compliant with GM Canada’s EV Dealer requirement, with more to come in the coming years.”
Harris Oceanside is Vancouver Island’s only General Motors Business Elite Dealer, which includes offering exclusive truck loaners; dedicated sales and service staff; priority parts ordering for business clients; work-ready commercial trucks and vans; express business services including a 30,000 pound hoist for larger vehicles; and GM Enhanced Clean Vehicles.
“The loaner program was removed with the COVID pandemic, but it’s coming back,” Allan notes. “Loaner vehicles will be back for our clients. My colleague Shelia Hopkins in Service is the dedicated Fleet Service advisor, and she is excellent at ensuring business clients vehicles get moved through the shop as quickly and as effectively as possible. We understand time is money, so ensuring we get business vehicles repaired and serviced and back making money is a priority.”
Allan points out that being a Business Elite dealer shows the dealership’s commitment to fleet and business clients in all shapes and forms.
A 2022 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Trailboss Tangier truck
“We took a huge risk signing up for this in a smaller market, but that risk has paid off in massive gains in both sales and service,” he notes. “GM sets higher performance goals for Business Elite dealers, and if you fail to meet them you could lose Business Elite accreditation, so the fact we have continued to meet and exceed them shows just how hard the team has worked to deliver, year in and year out.”
Demand for new vehicles is as strong as ever, as Allan notes that 90 percent of their incoming inventory is sold, and they are still taking more orders for new vehicles from business and customers walking through the door. The used vehicle market continues to be red hot, and the dealership grew in all departments in 2021.
“The key to our success is simple: We work as team, and we win together,” he states. “Our owners Mike Harris and Andy Lankester treat us all like family, it’s a family dealership, we are proud of our staff, our customers and we are proud to sell General Motors products.”