WEINS Auto Group has grown from a single Toyota dealership, Don Valley North Toyota in Markham, into one of Canada’s leading Automotive Dealership Groups. While the company is known for its deep roots in Markham, its origin is from one of Japan’s most successful Automotive Groups, Yokohama Toyopet.
Amin Tejani, Chief Operating Officer of WEINS Auto Group, says the company’s founder, Mr. Kanji Miyahara, wanted a name that reflected the interconnectedness of the business. Mr. Miyahara collaborated with Dentsu, one of Japan's largest advertising agencies, to develop the brand.
“WEINS stands for West, East, North, South—and the I is for Information, Inspiration, Innovation, and Improvement, which helps guide our company values,” Tejani says.
Today, WEINS Auto Group remains a family-owned business. Mr. Miyahara’s son, Kanji “Toro” Miyahara, is the President and CEO. The family’s connection to Markham and the GTA is also evident in his name. “Toro” is short for Toronto, the city of his birth.
The company started with 27 employees back in 1973 at Don Valley North Toyota. Today, WEINS Auto Group has over 1,400 associates across its 16 dealerships in Markham and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Its brands include Toyota, Lexus, Hyundai, Audi, Volkswagen, Subaru, Mercedes-Benz, and Honda. In addition to its dealerships, WEINS also operates two Collision Repair Centres and an off-site Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI) centre.
“As an Auto Group, we are strategic in our acquisition strategy and are careful to add the right Dealership to our group. A significant part of our strength lies in our centralization and the support we provide to the divisions. Every one of our dealerships has its own DNA, and we respect that,” Tejani says.
While that individual dealership culture is important, WEINS Automotive Group also leverages the core principle of connectedness to differentiate itself from the competition. Tejani gave the example of its centralized marketing department, which supports all 16 dealerships and nine global automotive brands.
Our marketing department is very robust. In the automotive world, new vehicle programs and incentives are released on the first day of every month. Our marketing teams are able to recreate and mirror those programs on all of our individual dealership websites, which makes for a seamless experience for the customer. It’s a lot more complicated than it sounds, and this is just one example of the support the corporate office provides.
Tejani adds that WEINS Auto Group’s success is due to its people. The company has partnered with Georgian College’s Automotive Business program to help high-potential associates develop the skills necessary to advance in their careers and potentially to become General Managers.
Giving back to Markham and the other communities WEINS Auto Group calls home is also part of the values on which the company is based. Tejani says it’s important to support our local hospitals and community fundraising events.
“Our owner has a saying—’Take care of our employees, take care of our customers, take care of our communities, and that'll take care of our business,’” says Tejani. “We use that as our guiding principle, and it’s kept us going strong for 50 years.”
