Chrysler dealership opening in Moosomin
March 14, 2017, 2:13 am
Kara Kinna
Moosomin will soon be the home of a new Chrysler dealership.
Ron Kaban-who owns Yorkton Hyundai and Whitewood Chrysler Dodge, and is a partner in other dealerships around Western Canada-says that he plans to open a Chrysler dealership in Moosomin.
While Kaban said he could not yet confirm the location of the new dealership, he said plans for a dealership in Moosomin are currently in the works.
“It’s going to be great for the town,” he says. “Chrysler gave me the okay to put a location there. I’m hoping to have a sales office in Moosomin by April or May and the location will be in full swing by the start of 2018.”
Kaban said Moosomin’s location and the growth of the business community are the reasons he decided to open a dealership here.
“It’s a central location, it seems to be the place that things are happening,” he says. “It was something I discussed with Chrysler.
“When I first bought Whitewood it was one of my long-term goals and plans to put a location in Moosomin because it is a good location and that seems to be where everything else is located.
“It’s been in the making for a couple of years but I wanted to see how things were going to go in Whitewood and they’ve been awesome there. But we have to branch out.
“And let’s face it, Moosomin is a central point where if oil takes off again, which it will, that’s where you want to be.”
“There’s no Chrysler representation in the area outside of Whitewood so we need to fill that void for Caryle and Esterhazy and Rocanville by putting a store in a centralized area like Moosomin.
“In Moosomin the farming community is good. You’re close to oil activity and the mines. There is the activity of all those things that add to the reason why you want to be in a place like Moosomin. It’s because you are centralized in a location that has a lot of activity when it comes to other things besides farming.”
Kaban says adding a Chrysler dealership to Moosomin will be a benefit to the town, especially since there is already a Ford and GM dealership in Moosomin. He says he’s seen the impact of having multiple dealers in Yorkton, where he owns Yorkton Hyundai.
“Having more stores like import stores in Yorkton, no one goes to Regina anymore to shop for cars,” he says. “When there were no import stores, people went out of town and we don’t want that to happen. The more stores you have in any town, the less people opt to go out of town to look at other brands.
“I think it will be beneficial for the whole town and the other stores too.”
Kaban says he plans to keep the location at Whitewood as well.
“Whitewood is staying open. I’m not taking anything away from Whitewood. Whitewood has been great for us for the past couple of years,” he says.
When the dealership in Moosomin opens it will employ at least 10 people.
“Between parts, service and sales we are going to be looking at 10-12 people,” says Kaban.
“I’m looking forward to it. My daughter is in Whitewood running the Whitewood store and I will have different people coming over there to Moosomin. I will have to hire some people for Moosomin.”
The new facility will be built in Chrysler’s Millennium style, which features a large central arch over the main door.
Kaban says he can’t divulge yet what the square footage of the building will be, but says “It’s going to be a nice sized store for the town of Moosomin.
“It will be equivalent to other Chrysler locations in towns the same size,” he says.
Kaban says his long term goal is to expand into Southeast Saskatchewan with more Chrysler dealerships in the future, although that will depend on the economy and other things.
“It’s the start of our expansion of more Chrysler dealerships in the area,” he says.
“No one reads the future, we hope that’s going to be the trend, but no one knows. So we should just be thankful that Moosomin was the first pick on the list.”
