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08
Sept 2023
One of Harrogate’s most prominent car dealerships is rebranding and restocking after its owner changed supplier.
The Citroën showroom on Wetherby Road is in the process of becoming an MG Motors dealership; the premises are being repainted, staff are being trained on new software and a fleet of brand new cars arrived this morning. Managers expect the change to be completed over the coming week.
Just Motor Group, the Keighley-based firm which took over the dealership 10 years ago, has invested about £50,000 in revamping the premises. All employees have kept their jobs, and the business has taken on two more, bringing its headcount to 15.
Kevin Tyrrell, sales director of Just Motor Group, told the Stray Ferret the move had come about because Stellantis – the automotive multinational that owns Citroën, as well as Fiat, Jeep, Peugeot, Vauxhall and others – had terminated all dealership contracts and then offered new ones on different terms. He said:
The change from Citroën to MG Motors is expected to be completed over the coming week.
But he said the garage’s existing Citroën customers need not worry that they are being left in the lurch. He said:
MG Cars was founded in Oxford as Morris Garages Ltd in 1924, later becoming part of British Leyland and then the MG Rover Group. It is now owned by SAIC Motor Corp Ltd, China’s largest state-owned car manufacturer, and the cars are made in China.
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