Economy forces Centennial Hyundai to close its doors

By Jean Reid Norman

Wednesday, April 1, 2009 | 3:50 p.m.

Centennial Hyundai, which opened in Centennial Centre last June, was to close at the end of business Wednesday in what company officials say is a temporary move.

Employees at the dealership, the fourth Hyundai store in the Las Vegas Valley, will move to other dealerships owned by John Staluppi, spokesman Tom Letizia said. Customers will be referred to Planet Hyundai about 10 minutes away, Letizia said.

The dealership received permission from Hyundai USA to put the franchise on hold for 18 to 24 months, company spokesman Chris Hosford said. Hyundai does not charge fees of its franchisees, but it does require that dealerships maintain inventory and sell cars, and those requirements will be lifted, Hosford said.

Centennial Hyundai is the first dealership in the U.S. to ask for such an agreement, Hosford said.

When Centennial Hyundai opened last June, demand for cars in the fast-growing Centennial area seemed high, General Manager Marty McKenna said. The dealership posted strong numbers in July, but then business started slowing down in August, he said.

“This area was hurt a little more than others in the Las Vegas Valley,” McKenna said.

Centennial Hyundai was the seventh car dealership owned by Staluppi. In addition to it and Planet Hyundai, his Superstar Autogroup owns Planet Nissan, Henderson Nissan, Las Vegas Acura, Centennial Buick Pontiac GMC and World Kia.

Customers were still being served through the end of the day today, and managers were talking to employees about their new assignments, , McKenna said. Work on cars in for service will be completed before employees move, Service Manager Dave King said.

Most employees will move to Planet Hyundai, where they will have better opportunities because of the larger number of customers, McKenna said. Most employees work on commission, he said.

King, who will move with his 13 employees to Planet Hyundai next week, agreed. Service technicians also receive commissions.

“There’s not enough traffic, and without traffic, you don’t get business,” he said. “It will be better for everybody.”

Economic conditions in general hurt the dealership, Letizia said, but the most difficult hurdle was the credit crunch.

“Until that corrects itself, which it will, we won’t see a car market like we experienced in 2006,” Letizia said.

McKenna said he was confident the location would reopen.

“It’s a temporary setback,” he said. “This place will be a high-volume dealership in the future.”