Dealership gets new CEO and new home

Aaron Frazer has been promoted to chief executive officer of Lexus of Christchurch, with his appointment coinciding with the opening of a new two-level dealership.

He steps into the role after spending the past three-and-a-half years as general manager at the business, during which time Lexus sales in the region have grown by more than 120 per cent.

Lexus of Christchurch is part of the Miles Group, which Frazer joined about 14 years ago as a new vehicle specialist for Volkswagen. 

He then worked at various management levels representing the Skoda, Toyota and Mazda brands before joining the Lexus operation.

Frazer, pictured, hails the new Lexus of Christchurch building, designed by award-winning architectural firm Warren & Mahoney, as setting a “new benchmark for dealerships in New Zealand”.

Based at 54 Tuam Street, it boasts 572sq m of showroom space – up from 400sq m site at its previous Montreal Street site – as well as customer lounges, offices and car parking. 

The showroom can display up to seven vehicles and provides four 22kW chargers for electric vehicle customers.

The new site has a number of sustainability features to optimise and minimise its energy inputs and the construction of the building saw more than 70 per cent of construction waste diverted from going to landfill.

Carpets through the premises are 100 per cent recycled and carbon neutral, 95 per cent of the steel in the construction is sourced from a responsible steel maker, and the same percentage of all timber used is either certified by a recognised forest certification scheme or from a reused source.

Bruce Miles, Miles Group founder and governing director, says he is proud to have a retail premises that reflects the “focus on design, technology, sustainability, and of course the fun of the Lexus brand”.

Andrew Davis, Lexus New Zealand vice-president, was also at the official opening of the dealership that he says symbolises two of the core brand values of Lexus – brave design and craftsmanship. 

“We and our dealer partners are very much in a growth mode with Lexus,” he adds. 

“We had a record year in 2023, achieving more than 1,300 new Lexus sales, more than 90 per cent of which were hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or battery electric vehicles. 

“The investment in new or refurbished dealerships from our partners highlights the strength of our brand, and our excitement for the sustainable future of Lexus here.”

He notes growth at Lexus of Christchurch has been particularly strong recently with a 50 per cent increase in new vehicle sales volume over 2023, of which 88 per cent were electrified.