1 Ontario dealership, 15 spoken languages

TORONTO — Language is no barrier at Roadsport Honda, which has helped the dealership forge relationships with customers in one of the most multicultural cities in the world. 

Fifteen languages are spoken at Roadsport, which is in Scarborough, a former suburb on the eastern end of Toronto that is one of the most diverse areas in the country. According to Statistics Canada and the 2016 census, 57 per cent of residents in Scarborough were immigrants, while 73 per cent identified as minorities. 

The dealership is in a particularly diverse neighbourhood: According to an August 2018 analysis of census data by the Toronto Star, 85 per cent of the population surrounding Roadsport Honda identifies as a “visible minority,” including 33 per cent of residents who are South Asian, 13 per cent who are Filipino and 12 per cent who are Chinese. 

FLUENCY SOUNDS FRIENDLY 

Craig Cowling, general manager of Roadsport Honda, said his employees’ ability to speak different languages can help immigrants and others who aren’t proficient in English feel more comfortable while shopping. 

“We’re trying to speak more to the customers, right?” Cowling said. “It does lend a bit of a comfort level for some new immigrants, let’s say, who don’t really speak English, in some cases, that being their second language or in other cases a third language. It’s more of a matter of comfort to the clients.” 

He said Cantonese, Mandarin and Urdu are the most commonly spoken languages aside from English, a reflection of the surrounding neighbourhood. 

CIVICS ARE APPEALING  

A large number of newcomers in the area also influences which vehicles are most popular at Roadsport Honda, which employs about 80 people. Many new Canadians in the market for a new car tend to gravitate toward the Civic sedan because of its reputation worldwide as a dependable vehicle, Cowling said. In part because of that, the Civic has remained the dealership’s top-selling vehicle, even as the Canadian new-vehicle market shifts toward utility vehicles such as the CR-V. 

“The Civic is that household name for quality…that everyone will buy,” he said. “SUVs seem to be the second vehicle. They purchase the Civic first, and then they need something a little bigger and higher off the ground and go with the CR-V.” 

Because Honda Canada Finance Inc. and other lenders often look for stability before they lend, Cowling said the dealership is sometimes unable to sell to recent immigrants and students who are living in Canada on temporary visas. 

Still, he said, the dealership’s reputation as a comfortable place for immigrants to buy a new vehicle has helped Roadsport Honda attract business outside its immediate market. 

“For years, we’ve reached out to a much broader range than just our area,” Cowling said. 

“We do have people that will travel quite a ways to travel here ... that’s where I believe the comfort has come [from] the relationship-building between the salesperson and the client.”