Barely three months after Vaden Nissan of Statesboro officially changed its dealership name to Vaden Hyundai of Statesboro, plans for an expansion of land, services and employees already are underway.
Jane Vaden Thacher, president of the Vaden Automotive Group, made that announcement Wednesday in Statesboro while attending the official ribbon cutting of the dealership on Brannen Road.
“We knew it was going to be a great opportunity here when we made the switch to the Hyundai brand, but it has exceeded our expectations,” she said. “We are looking at acquiring more land, doubling the size of our vehicle service center and eventually hiring more employees.”
With the Hyundai Motor Group set to begin production of electric vehicles later this year at its Metaplant in Ellabell, the dealership became Vaden Hyundai of Statesboro on May 16.
“We have entered a whole new chapter here at Vaden and we are excited about it,” Thacher said. “We have been a part of the Statesboro community for a long time and have gotten to know so many folks.
“This is a representation of our commitment both to growing our company and to investing in the Statesboro market. We are even more focused than ever on our commitment to Statesboro. We take our responsibility in the community very seriously. We look forward to growing the opportunities here at Vaden in Statesboro.”
The Vaden Automotive Group purchased the Nissan dealership in Statesboro from Cleve White in 2011 and opened its current showroom across from the Walmart Supercenter in 2012.
Tim Canady, general manager of the dealership, assures its Nissan customers locally and in the general area that “We’re still going to service all our Nissan customers. We built a great relationship with this community and I want to reassure all of them we will continue to take care of them.”
The Statesboro location is Vaden’s second Hyundai dealership in its group, with the other in Brunswick. Also, Vaden operates Chevrolet dealerships in Pooler, Savannah and Brunswick, along with a Chevrolet-GMC dealership in Beaufort, SC. It has Nissan dealerships in Hinesville, Savannah and Hilton Head, SC. A Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram dealerships in Brunswick and Savannah and an Infiniti showroom in Hilton Head.
A lifelong resident of Bulloch County and a graduate of Southeast Bulloch High School, Canady started working for Vaden in Statesboro shortly after the Brannen Road dealership opened.
“Everyone is welcome to come see me,” he said. “I’ve lived here my whole life, so I know a lot of people who come in. Either because they are previous customers or I know them from the community. I love meeting and talking to new people, so come down and see us.”