- The dealership will have to pay roughly $3.5 million to cover the insurance deductibles of the cars.
- Kia has already started sending replacement vehicles to the dealer.
- Included among the cars ruined were 12 customer cars that were in for servicing.
Hurricane Helene has totaled 672 vehicles at a single Kia dealership in Florida, with an estimated total loss of between $28 million and $30 million.
The vehicles were kept at Ken Ganley Kia New Port Richey and consisted of 660 new and used vehicles as well as 12 customer cars that were in for servicing. The site first lost power in the early morning hours of September 27, and some parts were under four feet of water. According to owner Ken Ganley, the only cars that survived were ones being driven by staff members off-site at the time of the Category 4 hurricane.
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Ganley estimates that 500 of the vehicles destroyed were new Kia models, while 160 were used vehicles. The dealer is part of the broader Ken Ganley Automotive Group, the 14th largest dealership group in the US. Speaking with Auto News, Ganley said he’ll have to pay roughly $3.5 million to cover the insurance deductibles of the cars destroyed in the storm.
Most of the vehicles were damaged by the flood waters, but several others caught fire. Other vehicles damaged in the hurricane also had their airbags deployed.
Despite the huge loss, Kia quickly responded by sending new inventory to the dealership, including 15 new vehicles sent the following day. A further 300 to 400 are expected to soon arrive from Kia, and the dealer group will send roughly 100 used vehicles from its stores in Ohio to the Florida facility, making up for the lost stock.
“It was about 6 a.m., and I looked at my phone, and said, ‘Oh, God, something’s wrong,” Ganley said. “We did have cars that caught fire. We had multiple cars where the airbags blew. We had cars floating around the property. I’m in Ohio, so you can just look at your computer screen. This is just one of those things that’s hard to get your head around. We’re going to make sure that all of our employees continue to be paid, and we’re going to find our way through it. We’re gonna do the best we can.”
The death toll from Hurricane Helene has surpassed 130 in six Southeastern states.
