It all began with the birth of Herman (Harry) August Jacob on the 18th May 1899, the founder of the ‘Jacob’ business name. Harry began working as a clerk for a coachbuilder and blacksmith at Walla Walla in 1915 at 16 years of age. With several years of clerical experience and studying accountancy by correspondence, in 1934 Harry acquired the HV McKay Massey Harris machinery franchise. He operated
this business and in 1941 Harry’s eldest son Lionel joined the company resulting in the formation of HA Jacob & Son Pty Ltd. In keeping with the family involvement, Lionel’s eldest son Neville also joined the company in 1967. In 1972 Harry passed away and Lionel became the managing director of HA Jacob & Sons. Three years after Harry’s death, HA Jacob & Sons were appointed the Toyota franchise and began trading as Jacob Toyota in Walla Walla. Fast forward to 1985, and the company was given the opportunity to purchase the existing Albury and Wodonga Toyota franchise from Brian Lloyd Toyota. They again began trading as Jacob Toyota. In the same year, the company won the Golden Toyota Dealer Award for Sales Achievement. In 1986, they opened Jacob Toyota Wodonga and were appointed a member of Toyota Financial Services (one of the founding members). The Albury branch was re-located from Waugh Road to a new location on Wagga Road Lavington in 1988 and was then renovated in 1991 to incorporate an extended Parts and Service division and allow for an improved New and Used vehicle display area. In 1993 the Wodonga branch also received a facelift. In 2000 saw the design and construction of a new workshop in Wodonga were completed. In 2005, Jacob Toyota celebrated 30 years as a Toyota dealer. In 2010 the Albury Showroom was closed temporarily and in 2016 reopened as a Satellite Service Centre with a modern purpose-built facility to service the NSW clients. In 2011 and again in 2016 the dealership was awarded the Toyota president’s Award for recognition of outstanding service across all facets of the business, with guest satisfaction in both Sales and Service at the forefront. Following on from its success in 2016 the dealership was then awarded to be the 2017 National Dealer of the Year. To achieve this award the dealership needs to be the highest performing dealer across all operational excellence disciplines. It is still very much a family affair as Neville and Susan Jacob are both still full-time directors, and their two sons Adam (Manager of Facility Construction & Maintenance) and Dean (Jacob Toyota Dealer Principal) work for the company, as do Troy Lowe (New Vehicle Sales Manager) and Jason Lowe (Group Service Manager) their nephews. Lionel Jacob was still a very active part of the business that he built, calling in every week to catch up with the staff right up to his sudden passing at the age of 92 in 2019. Now in 2022, the family business employs over 400 staff across the many branches of the Jacob Group of Companies businesses which include Automotive brands Toyota, Lexus, Volkswagen, Nissan, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Isuzu Ute & Holden Service Centres, Hino Trucks, Regional Ag & Construction, Alpine Motorcycles, Shepparton Motorcycles & Power Equipment, Cooks Motorbike Hire, Hertz Vehicle Rentals, Border Fabrications, Jacob Body & Paint panel repairs, Autotek Australia, Tint a Car, Alpine Hotel Bright and Riverina Finance. And there is no sign of slowing down for this family business which holds its employees at the heart and strength of their continued success and is looking forward to Celebrating 50 years as a Toyota Dealership in 2025.
