When it came time to move to Florida, Kirk Preiser did his homework before settling on Wesley Chapel. The Southern Region area director for Audi, responsible for the dealerships from Naples to Jacksonville, Preiser felt Wesley Chapel was the perfect spot in the middle of his market and an area that was quickly growing and would eventually have a lot to offer his family.
He admits that he had to convince his wife, however.
Then, he set his sights on convincing Audi it should join him in Wesley Chapel by opening a dealership there.
It may have taken a little longer to convince Audi than his wife, but eventually, Preiser was successful — in mid-November, Dimmitt Automotive Group’s Audi Wesley Chapel will become a reality when it opens the doors at its S.R. 56 location just east of Mansfield Blvd.
“I’ve been pitching Wesley Chapel to the president of the company for years,’’ Preiser told a gathering of local business leaders at the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Development briefing last month at Pebble Creek Golf Club.
“If you’re happy,” he joked, “you can thank me.”
Preiser said the opening of the Mercedes dealership on S.R. 56 a few years ago helped make his case, proof that the area was able to support a luxury auto dealer. Lexus also has jumped into the Wesley Chapel market, and will open off S.R. 54 in December.
Audi chose Dimmitt Automotive Group to sell its high-end automobiles.
Dimmitt, a fourth generation company, was founded in 1924 in Clearwater by the late Larry Dimmitt, Sr., selling Fords and Buicks. Because Dimmitt had traded cars for land, becoming the second-largest landowner in Pinellas County next to the county itself, the company was able to weather the Great Depression better than most.
In 1930, Dimmitt became a Cadillac and Chevy dealer, and eventually grew into selling Land Rovers, Rolls Royces, Bentleys, Toyotas, McLarens and now, Audis. Soon, the company will add a Jaguar franchise to the family, said Dimmitt CEO Scott Larguier.
Dimmitt currently has locations in Clearwater, Pinellas Park and Sarasota.
“Most impressive, after 23 years, is that we are still a very community-minded organization,’’ Larguier said, adding that a number of Dimmitt family members serve on local boards and foundations, and host a Community Values Day at the company where employees are paid to do community service.
By landing Audi, Dimmitt will be selling one of the hottest car makers on the planet, Preiser said. It took until 2010 for Audi to sell its 100,000th car in the U.S., but only five years after that, it sold No. 200,000, while adding seven models.
“We have had a tremendous run,’’ Preiser said. “Since 2010, we’ve been taking off like a rocket.”
The new Audi Wesley Chapel dealership promises high-tech services and state-of-the-art architecture, with a luxury lounge filled with leather club chairs.
“We are building the dealership of the future,’’ Preiser said.
It will be just shy of 40,000 sq. ft., and the lot won’t host a sea of cars like other new car showrooms; instead, it will have 125-150 new Audis on hand at all times. The dealership will have 50-60 employees, and promote a progressive and relaxed environment.
It also is offering an “Inner Circle” club, with special bonuses and perks, to the first 100 patrons who buy an Audi.
And, of course, Audi Wesley Chapel will sell high-quality, technologically-advanced cars, which have dominated the Consumer Reports charts for best car in recent years.
Preiser spoke not only of Audi’s current popular models, but also looked down the road to a time when autonomous and electric cars will be the norm, and Wesley Chapel will be one of the best spots to buy what could be the best in those categories.
In May, Audi became the first company to get a license to test Level 3 autonomous cars, demoing the Audi A7 in New York (and also licenses to test cars in Nevada and California). According to Preiser, the A7 already is performing Level 3 autonomous driving tasks, meaning it can drive unassisted at highway speeds when conditions are optimal.
Audi hopes to have its first Level 3 autonomous vehicle to market in the U.S. next year, and hopes to have Level 4 automobiles — which can do pretty much everything, even without prompts from the driver — by 2020.
It also is hoping to make a splash in the electric car market.
“We weren’t the first in the game with electric, but we won’t launch until we’re ready with an electric vehicle that is, in every way, an Audi,’’ Preiser said.
The German automaker is hoping to get the Audi e-tron Sportback to market by 2019, and it has also been revealed that Audi is exploring the possibility of thin, lightweight solar panels on the roof to help save energy and increase the range of its electric cars.
“We’re betting the farm on electric,’’ Preiser said.
For more info, visit AudiUSA.com or Dimmitt.com.
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