Hyundai Dealership Sets Sights on New Location

The grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the fence, but sometimes it offers more room to grow. For Andrew DiFeo, owner of Hyundai of St. Augustine, that greener pasture is located at 1111 Marketplace Dr. near the Interstate 95 and State Road 207 interchange.

In business since 2008 on U.S. 1 in St. Augustine, DiFeo said the new location – which will house the Hyundai dealership while the Genesis side of the operation remains at the current site – offers space needed for expansion.

“The (U.S. 1) facility definitely met our needs at the time,” he said. “Hyundai was a much smaller brand at that time. Hyundai has grown considerably over the past decade, so we were definitely at capacity for our sales and more importantly for our service guests. Capacity was the biggest driver of this.”

DiFeo is not alone is seeing promise along the I-95 corridor. Beaver Toyota purchased property in the same area in 2020. “There’s talk of another brand new to St. Johns County that will be out at the property as well,” he said.

While some business owners might blanch at the thought of competition so close to a new location DiFeo said the clustering of auto dealerships is a good thing.

“Historically as car dealers, we look at it as safety in numbers,” he said. “Auto malls have kind of formed and it usually starts with an anchor brand like a Toyota. When a brand like Toyota moves, a lot of other brands move around there.”

DiFeo said  the different dealerships will make the area an attractive location for car buyers.

“We all complement each other very well,” he said. “We look forward to being friendly neighbors.”

DiFeo is also looking forward to opening the new location, which has been under construction since early 2022.

“We planned to open in March but its looking closer to maybe August, once we make sure everything works properly,” he said. “We’ll do a grand opening some time in the fourth quarter of 2023.”

While he is confident the multi-million investment will pay off, especially with St. Johns County expected to see continued strong growth, DiFeo is realistic.

“We probably should have started this project five years ago,” he said. “We actually did look at some property but it didn’t work out. I am optimistic with an investment of this size and scope we are making the right investment for the long-term viability of the business.”