Half-Way Motors Nissan Complete Expansion!
by Scott A. Sumner
The familiar Half-Way Motors brand started in Thunder Bay in1963 as a service station on Hodder Ave, originally selling Studebaker automobiles. Today in 2025, some 62 years later, they operate 5 distinct businesses including: Half-Way Motors Nissan, Half-Way Motors Mazda, Half-Way Motors Powersports, CarStar and Half-Way Motors Turf!
“ There is still a service centre and a church in the old showroom on Hodder Ave. Over the beginning years we had Jeep when it was a stand alone brand, Fiat during it's first time in North America and Volvo as a primarily brand,” said Patrick Trevisanutto, Managing Partner Half-Way Motors Group. “In 1968 the Japanese with Datsun were coming into North America and they started leaving vehicles at the Hodder Ave shop - 4 or 5 at that time. My grandfather, John, sold them all! The guy came back a couple weeks later and left some more. There was a lot more trust back them. We did that for about a year and in 1968 we officially became a Datsun dealer and are the third oldest continuously family owned Nissan dealer in Canada.
” The Half-Way Group now have three new, expanded and renovated properties in the area of Memorial Ave and Carrick Street. It started with a brand new Car Star facility. Then they renovated a building for the Mazda image program moving into a better location to represent the brand a little stronger. Now next door Halfway have added 7500 square feet to the Nissan store, updating to the current Nissan image program. Down the road on Carrick Street is Half-Way Motors Powersports and Half-Way Motors Turf which sell BRP and John Deere products.
“ Most manufacturers are global businesses and have standards that must be maintained, so they dictate what the building looks like, including the finishes. The old Nissan building wasn't very old, only 17 years, but we had outgrown it and the new image program was required. Ultimately it will allow us to serve our customers better. We are growing and have increased our sales over the years so Nissan looks at that and says you need a bigger building to facilitate this product. It is really a faith in us from them that we are going in the right direction with the brand.” said Daniel Trevisanutto, Partner Half-Way Motors Group.
As Half-Way Motors Nissan sell more vehicles and get more customers a big portion of their expansion is additional shop space.
“ Nobody wants to wait a week or longer to get their vehicle in for service, as it is an important part of their life to get to work, to get to their kids sports games, etc. Primarily the addition was additional shop space. We added additional hoists so we could bring in more technicians and have more customers. The service department moved into part of where the showroom was. We needed space to show cars inside because of the winter season here and rain. We also added two indoor delivery bays so someone can take delivery inside,” said Patrick.
Halfway Motors Nissan have a strong customer base in the Thunder Bay primary market, after 62 years of operation, but also can serve a broader base with their unique geography area including Nipigon, Marathon and out to Dryden and Fort Frances. The nearest other Nissan dealers are at Sault Ste Marie or at Steinback near Winnipeg.
“ We started this Half-Way Motors Nissan expansion with some ground work prep but it has only really been 11 months of renovation for us to get to where we are today. We have had great work from our contractor RML Contracting and the fantastic trades that really pulled together to get the job done in a timely fashion. As we have had to be working out of a trailer or temporary work locations it is nice to have the quickest time frame. Also it was harder on our customers to know where to go. We are looking at the end of May to be in mostly complete with some paving left to do.” said Patrick Trevisanutto. “ Our Half-Way team has risen to the occasion. Our service team had to work out of a trailer. Our sales team were out of the old Volvo building ( which will be torn down to make way for more parking) so we tried to make the space work and have been able to service our customers the best we can.”
“ The new building will be fantastic to have everyone back in one facility and bring the team back together. It makes a big difference in servicing the customers when everyone is close together. It will be a more comfortable experience for the customers.” said Daniel Trevisanutto.
I asked Patrick about whether US tariffs have affected the business operations? “ Tariffs have had a little effect on us, as some product is built in the US and being kept in the US. The only consistent is change over the last 5 years. We had Covid disruptions, then supply chain disruptions and now tariffs. At the end of the day you can't control it or change it so you have to deal with what we have and control what you can. It is easy to get bogged down in the noise and forget why we are here and that is to sell cars and service customers.”
“ Nissan is a global company and we do have product coming out of Japan - including the Rogue, the Armada and the new electric vehicles. Some are built in Mexico- the all new Kicks, Sentra and Versa. We have the Pathfinder and our trucks built in the US so it is a mix.”
“ We haven't seen a sales push because of tariffs. January and February tend to be slower periods of vehicle sales and then they increase March and April into the summer. We've seen the regular cyclical situation. There is some talk by people about tariffs, but for most people a vehicle purchase isn't impulsive, but well timed process.
“ Thunder Bay, overall is a very stabile economy in the sense that we normally don't have a boom or bust- No boom or bust, so stable which is nice. We are a very diverse economy which allows for stability.”
Patrick and Daniel are the third generation of the Half-Way Motors Group. They have another brother in sales at Nissan and their sister helps with administration.
Patrick started working in the business at a young age! “ I remember being very young, waking up for Saturday morning cartoons at 5 AM, and my dad John coming down and saying you're up why don't you come with me for breakfast. Breakfast was really quick and then it turned into sweeping the shop floor for the rest of the day! said Patrick. “ My father John is still around, retired from the business, but still active in the community. He likes to stay engaged with the staff that have been here for a long time. He enjoys the dirt tracking racing we are involved with as a family team.”
“ There isn't anything new imminent for the Half-Way Group but if opportunities arise and we feel it works to benefit the community, our customers and ourselves we will consider it . We are busy right now and it's been 5 years of renovations so some normal business time would be good.” noted Patrick.
