WATCH: New building, same faces, more cars

• New building for Kelowna Toyota
• Drive-through service bays
• Bigger showroom has 47,000 sq/ft

It’s not only condos and houses that are getting built in Kelowna, but new businesses are also opening shop in new spaces.

Kelowna Toyota hosted a grand opening for its new dealership at the old site of Western RV along Highway 97.

“It’s 47,000 square feet, but when you walk into the building, it still feels like home,” Indy Brar, General Sales Managers at Kelowna Toyota, told Kelowna10. “It’s just exciting, and the opportunity for this store and for this community is huge.”

The two-story building has EV charging stations, and the inside features a ground floor with a showroom, reception area, service bays, and offices. The second floor has offices, storage, and meeting rooms.

“Because of the size of the new dealership, we’re able to have a lot more cars inside rather than having to go outside,” Brar explained. “Our showroom now fits 14 vehicles whereas the old dealership, we fit about four if we were lucky.”

The front of the new dealership is all windows, and it has higher ceilings with various wood accents and touches of red throughout the showroom. It has a drive through style service bay that automatically checks tire pressure and does a wheel alignment.

“We were just getting to that point bursting at the seams,” he said. “We needed to be able to have the capacity to get everyone through in a timely fashion.”

Throughout COVID-19, Brar said dealerships adapted by working more online and through phone services, so they added space into the office for those working with people remotely.

Kelowna Toyota is located at 1624 Cary Rd.