A shakeup in the car dealership row in the Langley Bypass will bring in the Fraser Valley’s first Tesla showroom and move a longtime Nissan dealership.
Darren Graham, CEO of Applewood Auto Group, confirmed that his company is taking over the Nissan dealership that operated in the 19500 block of the Bypass for years as Jonker Nissan.
“I’ve been hunting the franchise in Langley for some time,” Graham said. He finally convinced the owner to sell, and the changeover happens at the end of January.
Nissan will move to the Applewood site near the intersection of the Langley Bypass and Fraser Highway, where Applewood’s other core local dealerships are located.
The former Jonker site will be leased to Tesla.
A representative of Jonkers confirmed Tesla is set to move into the location. This will be Tesla’s first showroom-type location South of the Fraser and the first east of Vancouver in the Lower Mainland. The electric car maker’s other locations are in Vancouver and on the North Shore.
According to the DriveTeslaCanada.ca website, the rear of the dealership will house two “quick service bays” and eight regular service bays, and wall and post-mounted Tesla Destination Chargers are to be installed.
Tesla did not respond to a request for comments.
“It’ll be an interesting dynamic having Tesla right on the Bypass,” Graham noted.
He is not privy to the details, but expects it to be much like a full dealership.
The Jonker Honda store next door will continue trading under Jonker ownership.