A rendering of the new showroom at Mercedes-Benz of Richmond on Broad Street. (Courtesy Mercedes-Benz)
Two years after getting a new owner, Mercedes-Benz of Richmond is getting a new look.
The auto dealership at 8225 W. Broad St. is underway on a $4 million renovation that will overhaul all parts of its customer-facing interior, including the showroom and service area.
Joe Norris, the store’s general manager, said the project started about a month ago and is expected to conclude by November.
He said it’s part of changes instituted by Murgado Automotive Group, the Miami-based company that bought the dealership and its sister location in Midlothian in 2023 from longtime local owners, the McGeorge family.
The upgrades began that same year when Murgado, which has grown to 31 dealerships nationwide, renovated the Broad Street store’s second floor business office.
Joe Norris
For this current, larger overhaul, Norris said Murgado is tapping into the German automaker’s Mercedes Evolution concept, a design playbook for franchise dealerships to follow. It involves changing the whole showroom layout and the color scheme, with a heavy emphasis on black paint and black furniture.
“The whole idea is to minimize the surroundings and make it more of a focus on the experience and the cars themselves,” Norris said. “The focal point will really be the cars. They want that to be the heart and soul of the dealership. Your eyes gravitate toward the shiny objects in the showroom.”
The formula also puts a focus on better experience for customers waiting for their cars to be serviced. That includes a larger and more welcoming waiting area, private customer workstations and a bigger refreshment area.
There will also be a “parts boutique,” featuring Mercedes swag and accessories and an increased emphasis on giving those waiting customers easier access to see new models in the showroom.
Another angle of the new showroom.
“We want to encourage service customers to check out the newer models and not be separated from them,” Norris said. “Typically, when they start driving Mercedes we get a lot of repeat business. We want to try to encourage that just by enhancing their overall experience here at the store.”
The upgrades will be done in phases to allow the dealership to remain open for business.
The initial ongoing phase involves closing the showroom. When that work is finished in July, operations will move into the new showroom so phase two can begin in the service area.
Phase three involves upgrades to the mechanics shop with cleaned flooring, new toolboxes, equipment, workstations and locker room for technicians.
Norris said it’s the first major upgrade in the ’90s-era building since it had an exterior facelift in the early aughts.
“It’s going to be wildly futuristic when it’s all done,” said Norris, who leads the location’s team of 75 employees.
While the renovation isn’t required by Mercedes corporate, Norris said individual dealerships get perks from the company for doing so, such as increased inventory of more favorable models.
For example, he said the Broad Street store will get a 2026 Mercedes-Maybach SL680, a high-end convertible sports car, of which only 99 are expected to be delivered to the U.S. this year. They sell for around $250,000.
The dealership’s exterior will also get some cosmetic updates.
The Broad Street store’s more regular sellers are the GLC, GLE and GLS, and G 63 and G Wagon, all SUVs.
Norris said the store keeps an inventory of around 100 pre-owned and 130 new vehicles, along with a fleet of 50 loaner cars. It sells about 50 new vehicles and 80 pre-owned per month, with prices ranging from the upper $40,000s to $300,000. The average SUV is $65,000-$70,000, he said.
Norris said he, Murgado and Mercedes are all keeping an eye on the constantly changing international tariff situation, particularly between the U.S. and European Union.
He said Mercedes has chosen not to raise prices in 2025 even though the Trump administration and the European Union are still at odds, so the trickle-down effect into Richmond hasn’t occurred yet.
“It hasn’t started affecting us yet,” Norris said. “There will be an effect on the price of parts and potentially 2026 models if they don’t come up with some sort of agreement with the EU. About half our cars are built in Europe and the other half here in Alabama.”
He said Mercedes has one advantage on that front, as the bulk of its best-selling models in the U.S. are made at that Alabama plant and that many of those are popular exports to other countries.
“Mercedes is optimistic and hopeful it will work out,” he said.
A rendering of the new showroom at Mercedes-Benz of Richmond on Broad Street. (Courtesy Mercedes-Benz)
Two years after getting a new owner, Mercedes-Benz of Richmond is getting a new look.
The auto dealership at 8225 W. Broad St. is underway on a $4 million renovation that will overhaul all parts of its customer-facing interior, including the showroom and service area.
Joe Norris, the store’s general manager, said the project started about a month ago and is expected to conclude by November.
He said it’s part of changes instituted by Murgado Automotive Group, the Miami-based company that bought the dealership and its sister location in Midlothian in 2023 from longtime local owners, the McGeorge family.
The upgrades began that same year when Murgado, which has grown to 31 dealerships nationwide, renovated the Broad Street store’s second floor business office.
Joe Norris
For this current, larger overhaul, Norris said Murgado is tapping into the German automaker’s Mercedes Evolution concept, a design playbook for franchise dealerships to follow. It involves changing the whole showroom layout and the color scheme, with a heavy emphasis on black paint and black furniture.
“The whole idea is to minimize the surroundings and make it more of a focus on the experience and the cars themselves,” Norris said. “The focal point will really be the cars. They want that to be the heart and soul of the dealership. Your eyes gravitate toward the shiny objects in the showroom.”
The formula also puts a focus on better experience for customers waiting for their cars to be serviced. That includes a larger and more welcoming waiting area, private customer workstations and a bigger refreshment area.
There will also be a “parts boutique,” featuring Mercedes swag and accessories and an increased emphasis on giving those waiting customers easier access to see new models in the showroom.
Another angle of the new showroom.
“We want to encourage service customers to check out the newer models and not be separated from them,” Norris said. “Typically, when they start driving Mercedes we get a lot of repeat business. We want to try to encourage that just by enhancing their overall experience here at the store.”
The upgrades will be done in phases to allow the dealership to remain open for business.
The initial ongoing phase involves closing the showroom. When that work is finished in July, operations will move into the new showroom so phase two can begin in the service area.
Phase three involves upgrades to the mechanics shop with cleaned flooring, new toolboxes, equipment, workstations and locker room for technicians.
Norris said it’s the first major upgrade in the ’90s-era building since it had an exterior facelift in the early aughts.
“It’s going to be wildly futuristic when it’s all done,” said Norris, who leads the location’s team of 75 employees.
While the renovation isn’t required by Mercedes corporate, Norris said individual dealerships get perks from the company for doing so, such as increased inventory of more favorable models.
For example, he said the Broad Street store will get a 2026 Mercedes-Maybach SL680, a high-end convertible sports car, of which only 99 are expected to be delivered to the U.S. this year. They sell for around $250,000.
The dealership’s exterior will also get some cosmetic updates.
The Broad Street store’s more regular sellers are the GLC, GLE and GLS, and G 63 and G Wagon, all SUVs.
Norris said the store keeps an inventory of around 100 pre-owned and 130 new vehicles, along with a fleet of 50 loaner cars. It sells about 50 new vehicles and 80 pre-owned per month, with prices ranging from the upper $40,000s to $300,000. The average SUV is $65,000-$70,000, he said.
Norris said he, Murgado and Mercedes are all keeping an eye on the constantly changing international tariff situation, particularly between the U.S. and European Union.
He said Mercedes has chosen not to raise prices in 2025 even though the Trump administration and the European Union are still at odds, so the trickle-down effect into Richmond hasn’t occurred yet.
“It hasn’t started affecting us yet,” Norris said. “There will be an effect on the price of parts and potentially 2026 models if they don’t come up with some sort of agreement with the EU. About half our cars are built in Europe and the other half here in Alabama.”
He said Mercedes has one advantage on that front, as the bulk of its best-selling models in the U.S. are made at that Alabama plant and that many of those are popular exports to other countries.
“Mercedes is optimistic and hopeful it will work out,” he said.
Sure … if you are communist or authoritarian government I am sure that is possible. In America it is being called “using your property how you want to use it”.
If the photo is an accurate representation of the lighting in the showroom, it’s not exactly what I’d call conducive to a great customer experience. The showroom looks extremely dark and uninviting. Totally underwhelming IMO.
I was thinking the same thing. I do normally like black, though. Maybe the picture is dimmer than real life.
I thought the same thing. There is not much lighting and all the gray colors make it even darker. I would re-consider the lighting and color scheme