San Bernardino auto dealer receives top award

Toyota of San Bernardino has been named one of the top 60 Toyota dealerships in the United States, based on sales volume, by the automaker’s Board of Governors. The award was presented to the owner, Cliff Cummings, at a ceremony earlier this week in the dealership showroom.

The dealership, located at the San Bernardino Auto Center, sold more than 5,000 vehicles in 2022, improving on its 2021 sales count by 220 units.

One reason for the sales increase was the agency’s move in 2021 to a larger location within the auto center, which gave it greater freeway visibility, according to Cummings.

“We’re very pleased to receive this award,” said Cummings, who said Toyota of San Bernardino has received Top 60 recognition several times in the past. “It shows that we came through the recession, which hit all of San Bernardino hard.”

The Top 60 award is one of the most coveted awards given to the best of its nearly 1,300 dealerships nationwide, said Diana Davis, general manager of Toyota’s Los Angeles region.

“I’ve been doing this for 31 years, and I’ve learned that that we’re not in the car business, we’re in the people business,” Davis said. “We sell cars, but it’s the people that really make this business go, and the teamwork here is amazing.”

The San Bernardino Auto Center is next to Interstate 215 north of Interstate 10. Subaru of San Bernardino and Nissan of San Bernardino, both of which are owned by Cummings, are also located there. Cummings also owns I-10 Toyota in Indio.