Kenworth dealers have invested nearly $500 million in new and relocated facilities in the past five years, according to Jason Skoog, Kenworth’s assistant general manager for sales and marketing, “And that is reflected in a 20 percent growth rate for dealership locations,” he said. “We now offer over 360 locations in the United States and Canada, and nearly 75 percent of those locations are full-service stores.”
Skoog said the growth is in response to the change in the industry, and to be ready for future needs of customers: “With a strong truck market over the past few years, along with improving retail market share, there are more Kenworth trucks on the road than ever before. And, as trucks become more complex and computer-based, dealers become an integral part for service. Downtime is no longer an option in our industry. Uptime is what it’s all about, which is also driving us to expand to be closer to where our customers need us. The partnership between customers and Kenworth dealers will only become stronger. Our dealers are there for full vehicle support, from cradle to grave. They’re the backbone.”
Skoog offered some examples of recent dealer expansion. “Wisconsin Kenworth recently broke ground on a 75,700 sq. ft. facility just outside Madison. They’ll include Kenworth PremierCare ExpressLane bays for 2-hour diagnostics and estimates, which is part of new Kenworth’s PremierCare Gold Certified program that we’ve just announced,” he said. “What’s more they’re building a specially equipped area to service CNG powered units.”
Twenty-five Kenworth dealerships have $1 million or more in facility improvements in 2015.
