Vancouver Island's only Acura dealership is closing Monday and being replaced by the hot-selling Kia brand. The Graham family, who own the Honda and Nissan dealerships in Victoria, said the shift away from Honda's premium brand was due to a deteriorating market for high-end automobiles and the parent company's new blueprint calling for expensive improvements to lots and showrooms.
Ed Graham said yesterday the family has acquired the rights to sell Kia from Reg Midgley, who is converting his lots on the Old Island Highway back to used vehicles. Kia models were being delivered and Acura signs dismantled yesterday at the dealership at 2620 Government St., at Hillside and Gorge. About $300,000 in improvements will be pumped into the new dealership -- now called Kia Victoria -- and all 24 staff, including sales manager Rick Proctor and dealership manager Eli Pasquale, will be retained in the changeover, said Graham.
Graham said Acura owners can still have warranty and service work done at Campus Honda in Victoria, which has been certified to handle the work. "Acura's new image program and the economy being what it is, didn't make any [financial] sense to us," said Graham, adding higher-end cars were not selling well during the recession.
"We had to look at the viability of the whole organization and things were beginning to get tough in a tough economy. When the economy was going good with Acura we did really well, but when the economy got tough, it got really tough around here. It was time to make a change."