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USA TODAY, USA TODAY
HYANNIS — Huge piles of sand and gravel dot the four acres on Yarmouth Road where a new Jeep dealership is being built. By the time construction is complete, a 30,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility will have risen. And it will all be dedicated to Jeep vehicles.
On Friday, Premier Companies Inc. Vice President Christopher Laham checked on the construction activity. Laham, his brother, Nicholas, and their father Joseph, are a power triumvirate behind Hyannis-based Premier Companies. The auto group includes five dealerships on the Cape, one in Plymouth and one in Oyster Bay, New York. Those dealerships sell Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Mazda, and Volvo brands.
On Yarmouth Road alone the company operates BMW, Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep dealerships. It built a brand-new car wash that opened recently with an eight-bay detail center, 12 power vacuums, and even a pergola for those waiting for their cars to be detailed.
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The Hyannis properties and 16-plus acres of land are assessed at more than $20 million, according to the Barnstable Assessor’s office.
Luxury vehicles, commercial vehicles and pick-up truck sales have been good to Premier. Jeep has been good to Premier, too.
Laham called Jeep one of best manufacturers in New England. And the market has been strong for 20 years on the Cape. Now Jeep is focusing on SUV’s, crossovers, and full-size cars after recognizing the niche market and unique offerings they have, he said.
“Jeep has opened up a luxury market for us that you would have never known existed with that Jeep brand,” Laham said. “They want to be considered a luxury brand and we feel we need to build a facility to match.”
Serving the demand for luxury
Luxury brand sales were nearly 16% of the market in late 2021. In the first half of 2022, luxury brand sales rose to 17.8%, according to Cox Automotive, the world’s largest automotive services organization.
SUVs accounted for about 52% of the market in 2021; Jeep’s Grand Cherokee led all midsize SUV sales, according to J.D. Power, a consumer research firm.
A Baltic Gray Metallic Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland 4X4 with 20-inch machined face aluminum wheels listing for $56,240 sat inside Premier’s current showroom. Next to it was a Jeep Compass, and next to that, a Jeep Cherokee.
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Laham said customers run the gamut.
“Jeep shoppers are looking at everything,” he said. “We see everything from low-end models of $30,000 to $40,000 to $100,000. When you’re looking at a $100,000 car, you’re looking at Volvo, Audi, BMW, and now Jeep.”
Consider the numbers. A 2022 Jeep Wrangler starts at $29,725, but add on packages, and that number climbs. A Jeep Wrangler Rubicon model starts at $42,000. A Jeep Grand Wagoneer, with three rows of seats and capacity for carrying eight passengers and towing 10,000 pounds can cost close to $100,000.
Two new Jeep models sat parked side by side on Friday. A white 2022 Grand Cherokee L Limited 4X4 on the lot had a $48,645 price tag. A 2022 Grand Cherokee Trailhawk 4X4 had a base price of $54,235. These days, dealerships have fewer models for people to look at. Laham sees that as a wave of the future.
“There is a lot more ordering and preselecting and building vehicles the way you want,” he said. “When you go to a dealer in today’s world, you can’t pick from 20 models. It’s more about customization, and the packages you want.”
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In other words, the shopping experience has turned digital. Manufacturers have made it possible for shoppers to do things digitally, like get the specifications on different models, get trade-in values for their cars, and submit applications for financing.
Laham said people who show up at the dealership are more ready to buy than customers in the past.
“They aren’t visiting four or five dealerships,” he said. “They aren’t looking at 10 different cars.”
For those who want to kick the wheels, sit in the driver’s seat, see a vehicle in person, and take one for a test drive, the aim is to have one model of every vehicle on the lot.
Sales rebound post pandemic
The current Jeep/Dodge/Chrysler/Ram building will remain, but its focus will shift to trucks, another hot market. Laham said they want to target the commercial business on the Cape. About 20% of Premier’s business is commercial, and the company intends to focus on that and build the business on Yarmouth Road. That strategy seems sound, based on J.D. Power’s research that showed truck and SUV sales accounting for 80.2% of December 2021 sales.
Jeep offers one hybrid electric model, but Laham expects the manufacturer to ramp up production over the next 10 years.
“EV hybrids are the future,” he said, “but going from one model to 20 might take time.”
Premier has plans for that as well. All their dealerships will have electric charging stations for their customers. The dealership buildings and the car wash are already solar powered, and the new Jeep dealership will be solar as well, he said.
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Sales numbers are down nationally — not just for the Jeep brand — because of supply shortages and the aftereffects of the pandemic.
But Laham is confident. He believes it will take one to two years for there to be normalcy in production.
“It hasn’t affected our brand and what we’ve been trying to do,” he said.
Contact Denise Coffey at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @DeniseCoffeyCCT.
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