Local dealership Collie Toyota, located in Western Australia, is expected to close down as early as November.
The closure is expected to cost the town several jobs and will leave only one car dealership in Collie, Station Motors Holden.
It is feared the closure may also affect other businesses reliant on the health of Collie’s automotive industry connections.
Station Motors Holden owner Paul Pilawskas told the Collie Mail that the lack of competition when Toyota closes will not only affect his dealership but other businesses involved in the auto market in Collie.
He said the car industry was a very competitive and demanding operation and there had been healthy rivalry between Station Motors Holden and Collie Toyota for 40 years.
“Customers had a choice of product, visiting car yards, shopping around, comparing pricing and demonstration drives,” Pilawskas told The Collie Mail.
“Competition always has and will have a positive result in sales, service and parts.”
Pilawaski says Collie had seven dealerships in the 1970s offering apprenticeships, administration, mechanic and sales personnel jobs. Now the town will be down to one Holden dealership.
“Not only do we employ locally, but the dealerships have offered sponsorship to local sporting clubs and community projects,” Pilawskas adds.
Collie Chamber of Commerce chief executive Richard Jackson says the closure of the Toyota dealership was very disappointing but inevitable as the ‘baby boomer’ generation retired and moved on.
Jackson told the Collie Mail he hoped “a new tenant was found soon who could bring more employment to Collie.”
This article originally appeared on the Collie Mail. Click here for the original article
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