This article, by Doreen Hemlock, ran in the Sun Sentinel on January 23.

The world’s largest Kia store will open Sunday in Sunrise, and there are plenty of reasons why the Rick Case Automotive Group invested $20 million to build the massive dealership right where it is.

Research shows many Kia customers switch from Ford and Chevrolet, so the Case group set up its its new store directly across the street from two of the largest Ford and Chevy stores in Broward County.

The five-story Kia store will debut at 14500 W. Sunrise Boulevard near the Sawgrass Mills mall.

The group opted to develop the world’s biggest Kia in west Broward, because the area is red hot for vehicle sales. Its population has been the fastest growing for years in auto-dependent and rapidly expanding South Florida, and local dealerships enjoy sales from seasonal residents and tourists too.

That explains why the group already operates the country’s top-selling Volkswagen and Fiat stores in nearby Davie, said Rick and Rita Case, principals of the Fort Lauderdale-based company.

“There’s just no better place in the country to be a car dealer,” said auto veteran Rick Case.

The Case group beat out dozens of rivals for Kia’s west Broward franchise. The South Korean automaker set a minimum size for the store, based on the typical formula using census data for population.

But the Cases went lots bigger — for a sprawling 260,000 square feet — recognizing that the census doesn’t count part-time residents. That includes the rising numbers of South Americans with second homes plus Canadian and New York snowbirds, who are significant customers in the Broward area.

“There’s nowhere else that has as many people stay all winter as in South Florida. It doesn’t happen in Southern California, and it doesn’t happen in Orlando,” said Case, as workers put final touches on the new Kia store. “That’s the main reason that the dealerships are so much bigger here than in other places.”

The Cases hope the new store eventually sells around 4,000 Kias per year, including the brand’s most popular models: the Soul subcompact, Optima midsize sedan and Sorento crossover.

Kia now advertises as the official vehicle of the Miami Heat basketball team, and that could influence sales. “We hope that’s going to help, especially if they improve their season,” Rick Case said.

To mark its grand opening Sunday, the Kia store will offer extra perks. Stop by to receive a booklet with some $500 in coupons for stores at Sawgrass Mills mall. Some cars also will be available with no monthly payments until June and no money down.

Like all Case stores, the Kia dealership also will offer double warranties, discount gas and free car washes as part of its customer rewards program. Trade publication Automotive News named Case the country’s best privately held dealer group in 2013, citing its marketing savvy and rewards program.

The new Kia store — with a sleek, modern design and pops of red color — will open with roughly 100 employees and aims to reach 150.

It will offer customers Internet access stations, a café, windows to see into the service area, plus covered parking for vehicles serviced, among other features.

From the outside, it’s designed to look like an office building to blend with corporate parks nearby.

Many Kias offered are built in the United States. Kia has pumped more than $1.4 billion into a factory in Georgia that employs more than 3,000 people and can produce up to 360,000 vehicles yearly.

The debut comes as the U.S. auto market climbs back to pre-recession levels topping 16 million new cars and light trucks sold yearly, even as vehicles on the road average about 11 years old.

The Case group expects sales to top $1 billion this year at its 16 stores in Florida, Ohio and Georgia. 

 

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