Rosner Auto Group opened its latest area venture over the weekend, a 30,000-square-foot Nissan dealership near the intersection of U.S. 1 and Garrisonville Road in North Stafford.

Rosner President Clay Huber said about 150 new Nissans and about 100 used vehicles will be on the 5-acre lot in the next few days. The dealership is at 1 Coachman Circle in front of the Hills at Aquia subdivision.

G.L.M.G. Inc. General Contractors, whose staff recently joined Wack General Contractor, built the new facility for Rosner.

In addition to the Nissan dealership, Rosner owns Toyota facilities in Spotsylvania and Stafford counties, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz dealerships in Fredericksburg and a large used-car operation in Spotsylvania. The company may someday build another dealership on five acres adjacent to the new Nissan facility in Stafford.

Among the features at the Nissan dealership are charging stations for the auto-maker's electric Leaf cars, which Huber said will be in stock soon. The company is doing service work on the Infiniti, Nissan's luxury brand, and selling used models of the car. It will also sell Nissan's GT-R "supercar" as well as commercial vehicles.

Huber said the company hired 50 people to staff the new venture, and that could increase as business grows. Rosner is offering free oil changes and inspections for life for people who are already driving a Nissan as well as new customers.

Rosner's Nissan facility isn't the area's only new auto dealership. DLR Contracting Inc. is building a Fiat dealership for Safford of Fredericksburg at the intersection of Courthouse Road and U.S. 1 in Spotsylvania that is expected to be done by Sept. 1. A temporary facility has already opened at the site.

The new ventures come amid improving vehicle sales in the region, a trend attributed to pent-up demand, aging vehicles that weren't replaced during the recession and available financing. Year-to-date through July, vehicle registrations in the Fredericksburg area were up 16.7 percent from the same period in 2010, according to data from the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association.

Bill Freehling: 540/374-5405
Email: bfreehling@freelancestar.com