Shottenkirk Automotive Group Acquires Desert Lexus and Plans to Build a New Sales and Service Center on East Palm Canyon Drive
Shottenkirk Automotive Group of West Burlington, Iowa recently acquired Desert Lexus of Cathedral City and renamed the dealership as Shottenkirk Desert Lexus (SDL). Today, SDL announced that it plans to build a new Lexus Sales and Service Center on five acres west of the Volkswagen dealership at the corner of Margot Murphy Way and East Palm Canyon Drive (HWY 111). The five acres being purchased includes 2.7 acres offered by the City Urban Revitalization Corporation.
“Shottenkirk Automotive Group and the Shottenkirk family bring over 50 years of excellent automotive sales and customer service experience to the Coachella Valley,” stated Mayor Stan Henry. “The new Lexus Sales and Service Center will allow this luxury brand more space than available at its current location to display its entire vehicle inventory and have greater visibility to potential customers.”
Shottenkirk Automotive Group owns and operates 12 new vehicle dealerships in Iowa, Illinois, Georgia, and California with SDL being its first entry into the golden state. Shottenkirk employs over 1,000 people at its dealerships nationwide including 70 people locally.
“We will build a luxury dealership in the Valley where our customers will be pampered with a fleet of courtesy vehicles, free airport parking and shuttle at three regional airports, and free manicure services while they wait for vehicle servicing,” stated Greg Shottenkirk, President and Owner of Shottenkirk Automotive Group. “Customers see a difference at Shottenkirk dealerships as we truly believe in excellent service and a commitment to giving back to our communities. We don’t just do business here, we will strive to be a part of the greater good.”
Those words of Greg Shottenkirk rang true last month when the Central Valley Little League in Cathedral City had most of their baseball equipment stolen from a storage shed. The new dealership reached out to City staff and offered $2,000 to help replenish the equipment. The generous donation from SDL allowed these kids to start their athletic season without worry.
With the addition of the new Lexus development on East Palm Canyon Drive, talks have already started to place the new dealership facility within the Cathedral City Auto Center zoning thereby expanding its footprint. Future plans for the current Lexus location on Kyle Road, once the new facility is built, are still being worked out. City officials stated the current dealership location could become a site for a new dealership or a possible location for the proposed College of the Desert Automotive Technology Center that would serve as a workforce incubator for the Cathedral City Auto Center.
“As the only Lexus dealership in the Coachella Valley, we had a choice to relocate to any number of locations, but the decision to stay in Cathedral City was an easy one,” stated Mr. Shottenkirk. “The City’s Economic Development Department as well as surrounding business owners strove to find a win-win solution that allows us to build a state-of-the-art, customer centered Lexus dealership that clients, the City, and our dedicated employees can be proud to patronize.”
Here’s a video announcement:
