Prime auto opens Hyundai showroom in Rockland
New dealership to welcome new genesis models.
It was Friday night lights in Rockland last week. But in this case, instead of focusing on footballs and cheerleaders, the lights were shining on automobiles—Hyundai’s, to be precise. David Rosenberg, the 53-year old CEO of Prime Auto Group, which now numbers 28 dealerships and nearly 1,800 employees, was celebrating, along with 250 to 300 of his “closest friends,” the grand opening of his newest dealership: Prime Hyundai South of Rockland.“We invited anyone in this market who owns a Hyundai, and any of our Prime customers who live in this market area who might simply just want to come by and have some food and drink,” said Rosenberg.“We also invited the people from the town of Rockland who helped us develop the site, along with some Hyundai executives. And I really appreciate the support from the town of Rockland. They were extremely accommodating to me, very pro-business, and that doesn’t happen in every town,” said the man who’s been in and around the car business for 45 years. The development and construction of the dealership, which sits on a 10-acre site, took seven and-a-half months to complete. Prime’s most recent acquisition, the Volvo dealership in Hingham, is going to be relocated next door to the Hyundai dealership.“We have 266 striped parking spots, and right now there are approximately 240 cars on the ground, with another 40 in service process,” said Hyundai South General Manager Gregory Howle.The GM is also excited about the upcoming 2017 Genesis line of luxury cars, the G-90 and G-80, which are separate from the Hyundai line, and are expected to appear in showrooms late this year. “By 2022 there will be six new Genesis entry levels, an SUV, coupe, crossover, and sedan, all of which will have a separate identity from the Hyundai. It is very, very, very exciting. To put it simply, Hyundai is looking north,” Rosenberg said.As the beer, wine, and food freely flowed, and the music from the DJ’s reverberated in the high ceilinged, glass and tile showroom, we sat down with the innovative Rosenberg. The CEO got his first taste of the car business at the age of eight when he helped broom snow from the windshields at the Salem used car lot operated by his legendary father Ira. The son sold his first car, an Oldsmobile 98 Regency Brougham, at the age of 17. In a wide-ranging discussion, he talked about his latest showroom opening, the Hyundai product, and his vision of the direction of the automobile business.“We have 45 employees at this Rockland dealership, which is state of the art—equipped with every new technology that is currently available. It is extremely energy- and space-efficient, and that includes everything from the type of glass, lighting, or insulation, and also includes Wi-Fi for the customer,” Rosenberg said. “Our goal for this store is to sell an average of 150 cars a month, and next year, with this new location, we believe that in our strong months we’ll get that sales number up to 200 cars,” he said. When asked why choose a location in Rockland, Rosenberg reduced it to the simplest of terms. “There is an age old saying, the three most important things about a dealership are: location, location, location,” he said.“You want to make it as easy as possible for people to visit you for both sales and service, and this location is literally right off Rte. 3 [the
Rockland exit, then right at bottom of the ramp], and that accomplishes the goal of making it as convenient as possible for the customer, which is an important part of the recipe in the selling of cars.”
Like his general manager, Rosenberg is bullish on the newest line of automobiles being produced by Hyundai. “We’re waiting for the Genesis G-80 [sticker $46,000], which is an unbelievable car. It has generated a lot of buzz and interest. Hyundai had experienced a lull in product introduction, but now there is a whole slew of new and revamped cars coming on line,” said Rosenberg.
Even though the leader of Prime has been involved in the business of cars for nearly a half century, the word boredom is never part of his vocabulary.
“The business remains exciting for me, because it is changing so much every day. Think about it, 98 percent of all the people who are buying a car spend an average of 10 hours of research online, so they know what the price of a car is going to be walking into the showroom,” Rosenberg said. “Our challenge is to figure out how to be a lower cost producer. Figure out a way of cutting down the cost of selling a car in order to be more successful than the next guy. That’s what I think the next big push is going to be.”
As Rosenberg rose from the desk to go mingle with his guests, he paused and said, “It’s a great time to be a Hyundai dealer.”
Etc.
Weather-permitting, there are some nice auto shows on Sunday: The Concord Lions at Concord Health Center on Rte. 62; the Mustang Club of New England’s 36th Mustang and American Iron show at Devens; and the Northeast Region of the Porsche Club of America’s concours at Endicott Estate in Dedham … Next weekend, the Cape Cod British Car Club convenes at the Seacrest in Falmouth with a Saturday cruise and Sunday car show from 9-3 … Next Saturday, the Heritage Gardens and Museums has a Behind the Scenes look at its collection. Call 508-888- 3300 x175 for details.—Bill GriffithPaul Kenney is a freelance writer who lives in Milton, but is originally from Dorchester.
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