The opening of the new Collision Center for Franklin Automotive Group was celebrated this week with a ribbon cutting before a crowd of supporters, staff, and members of the community.
The event on Thursday marked the official opening of the 30,000 square-foot Collision Center located behind Franklin Chevrolet Buick GMC at the corner of U.S. Highway 80 and the 301 Bypass.
The new facility is an expansion of the previous collision center and offers a sizable augmentation for the number of vehicles that can be serviced every month. Construction began in June of 2024 with plans to more than quadruple the size of the facility and increase the vehicle traffic five fold.
The grand opening adds to the list a host of accomplishments for Franklin Automotive Group in recent years, including a Top 10 finish for the 2023 Southeast Toyota Elite category, recognition as a finalist for 2024 TIME Dealer of the Year, and a recent announcement that the dealership is #13 out of 177 Toyota dealerships.
Lehman Franklin addressed the crowd briefly Thursday evening, first thanking everyone who helped the collision center come to fruition. He also praised the Franklin ‘family’ of staff, noting that their turnover continues to be low, largely due to the culture they focus on fostering.
“Family and friends and community did all this. Our family truly is Franklin Automotive Group. We’ve got people working for us who have been here for over 50 years and that’s really rare in this industry,” Franklin said. “It’s pretty amazing actually.”
Attendees also heard from Statesboro Mayor Jonathan McCollar, Bulloch County Commission Chairman David Bennett, House Speaker Jon Burns, Billy Allen – Chair of the Development Authority of Bulloch County, and Bill McFarlin – Director of the Collision Center for Franklin Automotive Group. Other elected officials and staff from city and county agencies were also present.
You can see more photos from the event on the Franklin Toyota Facebook page.
Franklin Automotive Group’s roots in the Bulloch County community span nearly eighty-five years. Franklin Chevrolet has been in Statesboro since 1940 while the Toyota dealership was added to the Franklin family portfolio in 1977.
