New Audi Facility to Be Built In Wescosville; Subaru Dealership to See Expansion
Wescosville, Pa. –The Ciocca Dealerships has expanded its commitment to the Lehigh Valley with the purchase of two more dealerships and an auto service center in Wescosville.
Founder and CEO Gregg Ciocca in May purchased Gilboy Volkswagen of Whitehall and Knopf Audi of Allentown, along with the Queen City Tire Center adjacent to Ciocca Subaru – former Becker Subaru – in Wescosville.
The Audi dealership has moved to Wescosville where a new Audi Allentown facility will be constructed over the next 18 months. It will be located adjacent to the existing Subaru dealership where Route 222 meets Interstate 78 in Wescosville. The Volkswagen dealership has merged with Ciocca Volkswagen/Allentown located at 1346 Lehigh St. in the city.
Queen City Tire Center has become the service center for Audi Allentown.
Knopf Porsche and Mercedes-Benz will remain on Lehigh Street under their current ownership and Gilboy Ford will remain in Whitehall under its current ownership.
In addition, Ciocca says he is moving his personal office to the Audi dealership on the Wescosville campus and the Subaru facility will also undergo a significant expansion and renovation to include more service bays and showroom space.
“Our real growth came when we purchased the Becker store. It’s now the No. 2 Subaru dealership in the nation and it really opened our eyes to the Lehigh Valley community and the people of the Lehigh Valley,” Ciocca said. “I really do love this region. There are a lot of good things happening here and the loyalty of the employees and customers is really very special. I see our future here in the Valley.”
The Ciocca Dealerships were founded in the 1970s when Gregg Ciocca began buying and selling cars at his mother’s home in Warminster, where he grew up. As the business grew he began purchasing pre-owned car lots in high-traffic locations throughout Philadelphia and its suburbs.
In 1993 he bought his first new car dealership – Quakertown Ford. Today the Ciocca Dealerships includes Ciocca Ford, Ciocca Hyundai and Ciocca Chevrolet, all in Quakertown; Ciocca Ford of Souderton, Ciocca Hyundai in Lebanon, Ciocca Honda of Harrisburg, Buick GMC in West Chester; and Ciocca Subaru and Ciocca Volkswagen, both in the Lehigh Valley.
The new acquisitions bring the total to 11 dealerships that account for almost $750 million in annual sales. The Ciocca Dealerships employ approximately 750 full- and part-time employees.
Ciocca says he is particularly proud of his low employee turnover rate– two of the first three employees he hired remain with the business today – and calls that a testimony to the values that has made Ciocca Dealership a trusted brand from Philadelphia to Harrisburg.
“We have a lot of great people here,” he says. “Our business philosophy is based on three simple things – Employee Satisfaction equals Customer Satisfaction, which should equal Success. You cannot have the last one without the first two.”
In addition to the new acquisitions, all of the dealerships have been rebranded with the Ciocca name over the past two years to recognize the family ownership that is now moving into a second generation. Gregg, a proud father and husband of Sharon for 28 years, has his eyes on the future as the next generation of Cioccas prepares to join the business. His oldest son, Gregg Jr., has already come on board as Business Development Manager and his second son, Dylan, will join the company as in-house counsel when he graduates from Villanova Law School. A third son, Cole, attends high school in Bucks County.
“Our goal has always been that this will remain a family business,” says Ciocca, of Buckingham Township.
The Ciocca Dealerships are proud members of their communities, sponsoring and supporting non-profit organizations such as Alzheimer’s research, the Auto Dealers Caring for Kids Foundation, Woods Services, Lehigh Valley Health Network and Special Olympics.
