SOMERSET. N.J. -

Nissan and Infiniti recently opened their largest U.S. training facility, a brand new operation in New Jersey consisting of 31,000 square feet and aimed at serving dealerships in the Northeast region.

When assessing the site, Nissan Americas vice chairman Bill Krueger said, “Making sure that we have service technicians, service advisers, sales people trained on the new product, trained on the new technology is vital because as these vehicles are going to be hitting the market.

“We want to make sure we have the most informed dealer technicians and dealer sales people as we can,” Krueger continued.

Krueger emphasized the OEM’s growth depends on how customers are treated.

“It’s very important for us to have a trained dealer network. That turns into customer satisfaction.  That turns into customer loyalty,” Krueger said.

In the past four years, Nissan reiterated, the automaker has opened new training facilities in Tennessee, California, Texas, New Jersey, and soon in Washington, D.C., as well as Chicago.

Officials tabulated all of the new facilities add up to a $15 million investment in training.

“The more that my technicians know, the happier my customers will be. They’ll know things were fixed right the first time,” Connecticut Infiniti dealer Shane Hyland said.

The automaker said Nissan and Infiniti dealers are excited about the OEM’s renewed focus on training. Hyland said all of his technicians are currently on a wait list for training with eyes on the New Jersey center.

“When a customer comes in knowing that I’ve got factory-trained technicians, knowing they have the experience, I’d feel a lot more confident dropping my car off to them than I would somebody who says ‘They can work on my car,’” Hyland shared.

Currently, officials said there is a six-month wait list for technicians in the Northeast region.

The automaker said it wants that list eliminated soon; and if the new facility in New Jersey cannot fully do so, the company will build another training center in the area.