Albert Lea’s Marthaler Honda set to make move to Owatonna
Marthaler Honda is set to build a new dealership in Owatonna within the next year. The building will be one of the first new-style Honda dealerships and will look similar to the Honda of Altoona dealership pictured above. Photo from hondaaltoona.com
Owatonna’s commercial growth continues as a new car dealership is slated to open on the north side of town sometime within the next year.
“We are supposed to break ground in the next two to three weeks,” said Chris Knutson, owner-operator of Marthaler Honda. Majority owner Aaron Marthaler has eight dealerships throughout the U.S. “The big goal is to break ground before the end of July…The dealership should take about nine months in total from the time they break ground to the time they have a grand opening.”
The anticipated timeline would have the new dealership ready to open sometime in April or May of 2025.
Marthaler Honda, previously Wuerflein Honda, will be making the move north to Owatonna after being located in Albert Lea for many years.
According to Knutson, the move is “something that Honda has wanted to do for a little while.” Owatonna was chosen because it is “a nice growing community” and is closer to some of the “larger suburbs.”
Even with the move, Marthaler Honda is hoping to retain their customers from Albert Lea.
“We truly hope that…all the customers we’ve served will follow us up there to Owatonna,” Knutson said. “It’s a 26-minute drive up the road, but we’re hoping that (with the) brand new, beautiful building that people will make the trip up there.”
The new dealership in Owatonna will be built on 26th Street in between E. Frontage Road and the Straight River. The location offers easy access to those traveling on Interstate 35.
Marthaler Honda will sell new Honda vehicles with the goal of selling 100 to 150 cars per month. The dealership will also offer auto service.
“We’ll have a brand new, state of the art service facility, as well as…multiple EV chargers,” Knutson said. This means that the dealership will be equipped to handle both gasoline and electric vehicles.
“We’re just so excited to get up there and serve the community,” Knutson added. “Not only helping and servicing them in the store but being a part of the events within the community, as well.”