The GTA auto dealership has been a community landmark for decades as both a good business and a good Samaritan.

Pickering Toyota has become integral to its community, repaying the support of its customers with regular community outreach events.

When Andrew Chung decided in 1988 to buy not one but two auto dealerships at once, the Pickering Toyota dealership principal couldn’t imagine the impact the move would have on him, the local community or Toyota’s presence in Canada.

According to Toronto Star Pickering Toyota is a landmark for thousands of drivers who make the daily commute along the 401 to Durham Region. Over the past three decades, Chung’s business has grown into one of Canada’s top 20 Toyota sellers. It is one of Google’s favourite Toyota Corolla dealerships in the GTA, servicing customers from right across the region. And it has become integral to its community, repaying the support of its customers with regular community outreach events.

Its Halloween costume fundraiser this past October raised donations for Durham Region food banks. At a time when many families struggle to make ends meet, Chung says, programs like this help give back and deepen the business’s roots in the community.

Up next is the annual Pickering Toyota Christmas celebrations, which include parties for local families and single moms. Fostering community spirit and engagement helps the staff at Pickering Toyota build a relationship with its customers, and that sense of community spreads to the surrounding area.

As Toyota kicks off the annual “It’s Time to Toyota” campaign, Pickering Toyota is gearing up to connect a growing number of GTA residents to a new car. The dealership has been expanding its digital presence with powerful new build and comparison tools that help make the car buying experience easier and more efficient for everyone from the seasoned shopper to the nervous first-time car buyer.

The dealership also currently has the lowest interest rates in it’s 25-year history and a fleet of updated vehicles, including the popular Corolla. It may be the best value for money that car buyers have yet received, says Chung. The benefits of buying new include a friendly and knowledgeable service team that offers scheduled maintenance, warranty repairs and service. And in 2020, Chung plans to donate a portion of the proceeds from every vehicle sale to a local food bank. For Chung, being a good business and a good Samaritan go hand in hand.