HWP has opened a new showroom for its Suzuki line of vehicles with all inventory on site.The new 3,000-square foot space had been the company's cycle showroom for the past five years but was originally built for cars. The new space features all models from their Suzuki line and offers ample space for customers to browse.“It's a very spacious showroom,” said Tom Martin, executive vice president of HWP auto sales. “It's very accessible, we're able to display all the models and there's plenty of parking. All of our Suzuki inventory is based there as well.”Most car dealers store their inventory off site but HWP's new showroom has their entire inventory on site for customers to look at the exact car they may wish to buy.“It's easier to arrange test drives and easier for our customers and sales people,” added CEO Jonathan Brewin.HWP has been selling Suzuki cars for close to 30 years and according to Mr Brewin, it is the number three brand in the marketplace.“Suzuki has been fairly solid in holding that position,” said Mr Brewin. “Suzuki is a well-known brand in Bermuda.”The new showroom is staffed by five sales representatives and overseen by Mr Martin.In celebration of the opening, HWP is offering two-year Smart Choice maintenance service packages for new purchases on select Suzuki vehicles, which can save up to $1850; discounts on trade-ins depending on the age and condition of the vehicle and free car value assessments for people who want to resell their car. The offers last until Wednesday.Last August, HWP's spray centre, car and bike showrooms and administration offices were all gutted in the blaze after half of its 75,000-square foot site on the south of St John's Road caught fire.According to Mr Brewin, the cause of the fire is still unknown and they are still waiting for the fire report. What they do know is that the fire was focused in the body and paint shop.The fire reduced the company's operational capacity by 50 percent but Mr Brewin said they have forging ahead despite the struggling economy.“As an organisation we're striving to come back out of a very difficult situation as well as we can,” he said. “But it's not eased by the economic challenges we all face.”The auto industry has taken the biggest hit with car and bike sales down by close to 40 percent. In November the auto industry saw a drop in both cars (down 51.6 percent) and bikes (down 7.7 percent).“It's a very difficult economic climate; we've never seen car sales, as an industry, as low as they are at the moment,” said Mr Brewin. “I think like all suppliers we are having to come up with different ways of looking at helping potential clients not to just purchase the vehicle but also ongoing after-sales and maintenance care.”He added that the car market has changed over the last few years due to the decrease in number of people on the Island and in the way people view cars.“We recognise a good percentage of the vehicles on the road today are older and the market has turned into a replacement market based on need,” he said. “In the past there were more people on the Island and people who were comfortable replacing their car every three years.”Mr Martin added that the car market was booming in the early 90s, however, even prior to the recession the car market started seeing a decline with the downturn accelerating more in the last six months.“We wish we had a crystal ball, as I'm sure every other retailer and service provider does, but at the moment we don't see growth for some time,” he said.