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The dealership will sit next to Interstate 215 and be more than twice the size of the San Bernardino Auto Center’s current Toyota dealership. Expected to open in July and will ultimately be the centerpiece of a revised auto center, one of the city’s largest sources of sales tax revenue.
The San Bernardino Auto Center is about to take the first step in its long-planned transformation.
If everything stays on schedule, the new Toyota of San Bernardino will open in mid-July at 650 Auto Center Drive, next to Interstate 215.
That facility will replace the Toyota of San Bernardino at 756 Showcase Drive, and it will do so in a big way, covering 95,000 square feet on 6.7 acres. The current Toyota of San Bernardino, which has been in business since 1991, covers 38,000 square feet.
“You could fit two-plus dealerships on this site,” said Cliff Cummings during a recent 30-minute tour of the new dealership he conducted for Toyota officials and other dignitaries.
Once that facility is up and running, the current Toyota dealership will be leveled and replaced with a Subaru dealership. The auto center’s current Subaru dealership, also owned by Cummings, is at 545 Auto Center Drive S.
Cummings hopes to have the new Subaru dealership ready for business in two years, and bring a luxury dealership to the former Subaru site. He admits attracting a luxury dealership won’t be easy.
“That will probably take some time, and a lot of work,” said Cummings, who also owns the owns the Nissan dealership at the auto center and a Toyota dealership in Indio. “Lexus would probably be my first choice, but we’ll have to see what’s out there.”
“But [Toyota] is going to be the anchor of the entire operation,” Cummings said.
The Toyota dealership investment is more than $20 million and will employ up to 200 people and generate about 30 percent more revenue a month than the current Toyota dealership, according to data provided by officials.
The building that houses the dealership’s offices, parts and services, and accounting department covers 54,000 square feet. The sales showroom will have a mural depicting well-known local institutions, including the National Orange Show, the San Bernardino Railroad, San Bernardino Symphony and San Bernardino High School.
Being next to the freeway will likely increase sales too. The current Toyota facility sells anywhere from 400 to 600 cars a month and the new location is expected to sell 600 to 800, an increase of about 30 percent, said Eli Rivera, the agency’s general manager.
“Being next to the freeway will make that much difference,” Rivera said. “The foot traffic will go up right away.”
The new dealership is also much larger than other Toyota agencies, according to one company official.
“We aren’t used to seeing this much space,” said Geoff Schick assistant general manager for Toyota-Los Angeles. “Usually we’re trying to [fit] things in.”
Cummings, who has been selling automobiles in San Bernardino since the early 1990s, is proud that his new dealership has managed to stay on schedule despite COVID-19.
“The builders have done a great job keeping everything on schedule, especially with all of the supply chain problems that we’ve had,” Cummings said, referring to Pence Construction Inc. in Redlands, the projects’ lead contractor. “They’ve also hired local sub-contractors whenever they could.”
Though successful – the Toyota agency sold 530 vehicles in March, a solid number – that dealership and the 61,000-square-foot Subaru dealership have to be replaced and upgraded if they’re going to remain competitive, according to Cummings.
“We need modern buildings and modern equipment,” Cummings said. “The Toyota agency is 30 years old, Subaru is about 35 and they’re worn out. “If we don’t do this we’ll probably be out of business.”
Cummings also repeated his contention that San Bernardino’s reputation for being anti-business no longer applies, and that city officials – especially City Manager Rob Field – are doing everything they can to attract commerce.
“I have to thank the city,” Cummings said. “They assigned someone to us from the beginning and streamlined everything. They were phenomenal. The whole attitude in City Hall has changed. Anyone who says San Bernardino isn’t pro-business needs to come talk to me.”
Mayor John Valdivia, who has pushed hard during his two-plus years in office to make San Bernardino less bureaucratic and more business-friendly, said the renovated auto mall will be a major coup for the city.
“The auto center is our largest sales-tax generator, and now we’re going have a chance to generate more sales tax,” Valdivia said. “San Bernardino is undergoing a rebirth right now, moving in a more pro-business direction, and this will help that along.”
With a strong economy and the state of California ready to reopen as the pandemic recedes, July will be a good time to open the Toyota dealership.
“People have some money to spend now, and they’re feeling good,” Cummings said. “Buying a car makes people happy. All of that is going to help a new auto dealership.”
