Who We Are
Since our humble beginnings in December of 1967, Volkswagen of Richmond has been a Richmond family-owned business that consistently puts customer experience as our #1 priority. Thanks to our award-winning Team and dedication to excellence we’ve been a member of the Wolfsburg Crest Club for a number of years. This is a prestigious award bestowed by Volkswagen Canada and awarded to Volkswagen dealers that show outstanding excellence in the areas of overall customer satisfaction, customer loyalty & retention, and sales volume.
The Best Customer Experience in Richmond
Our story started back in 1967 when Gary Cowell, our founder, first opened his converted eight service bay dealership on December 1. He had four employees, and was the first car dealership in Richmond! By 1972, Volkswagen of Richmond had outgrown the original space and so we purchased the property next door to build a brand new location that housed not only Volkswagen but also the Audi brand that we had recently acquired. Later in 1985, we helped co-found the Richmond Auto Mall and relocated the store to our current location (it has had an upgrade or two since then). What’s next? Plans are underway to build a brand new Volkswagen of Richmond in the Richmond Auto Mall to further support our customers, and make room for the exciting new electric vehicle lineup coming soon.
Gary Cowell’s two sons Ryan and Rand Cowell, now both work in the business. They are university and Dealer Academy graduates who were encouraged to broadly explore all career opportunities. But like their father, they love the automotive industry. Ryan and Rand are both very positive about the future of our company, the products that we offer, as well as, the staff and customers that they work with on a daily basis.
“The fostering of our dealerships’ value and culture. We have such a wonderful team of people who believe in the products that we sell and the services that we offer. Happy Staff equals happy customers. It is ingrained in our culture.” – Gary Cowell
Today, the Cowell Auto Group includes Volkswagen of Richmond, Audi Richmond, Jaguar Richmond, and Land Rover of Richmond. All our dealerships are conveniently located in the Richmond Auto Mall and employ more than 300 people.