Bethesda’s Euro Motorcars, a Mercedes-Benz dealership, has demolished part of its showroom with the goal of rebuilding within the next year, the dealership’s president said.
General Manager and President Charlie Harmel said in an interview Monday afternoon that the demolition started a few weeks ago. The business, he said, is staying open and different parts of the operation are sharing part of the showroom.
“We have new and used car sales put together under one roof,” he said.
Harmel was not sure how much the work will cost.
He said the renovation is happening because of architectural standards required for every Mercedes-Benz dealer. He said the standards apply to aspects such as the size of the showroom and the number of sales desks.
“It goes down to the color of the toolbox,” he said of the standards.
He said that in January, renovations will start on the underground portion of the dealership, which houses the service department. He expects the work to be completed by November 2020.
Harmel said Euro Motorcars has been at its current location of 7020 Arlington Road since 1986, and several minor renovations have been done since then for similar reasons. But none has involved rebuilding the structure.
“This is being done as one complete rebuild,” he said.
Harmel said the renovations are more than cosmetic and will improve the experience for customers and the dealership’s 180 employees.
“We feel that we have to better service our customers, and that requires building a new dealership,” he said.
“It will be an easier [space] to work in. There will be easier access for [customers]. The display will be better. The functionality of the showroom will be better.”
Dan Schere can be reached at Daniel.schere@moco360.media