Who says there's no money in car sales?

-Chris-

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2010/0819/1224277150631.html

Charles Hurst group to run Audi dealership
MICHAEL McALEER Motoring editor

BELFAST-BASED car retail group Charles Hurst has been appointed as an Audi dealer for south Dublin following its purchase of the recently opened Audi Centre in Ballsbridge.

The investment by Charles Hurst – and its British parent company Lookers Plc – is believed to be about €20 million. It gives the firm access to one of the country’s most lucrative new car sales regions, with an expected 1,500 new car sales annually. The area accounts for about 35 per cent of Audi’s national sales, according to Fintan Knight, managing director of Audi Ireland.

While Charles Hurst will begin trading from the Ballsbridge premises – and its aftersales centre in Sandyford – from September 1st, it plans within the next three years to move to a new purpose-built 30-car showroom near the M50, housing both the service and sales arms of the business.

The Audi Centre employs 25, with plans to raise this to 40 when the new facility is opened. Since it was opened in February as a showcase for Audi’s business in Ireland, the Ballsbridge outlet has sold 160 new cars and 130 used vehicles.

The Charles Hurst move marks the latest change in the Audi network after dealer contracts were terminated at the end of June as part of the firm’s plan to cut the number of sales and service outlets from 34 to 14 by 2013. At the time the firm said it would welcome interest from new entrants to the Irish market. Audi was distributed by the Motor Distributors Ltd, part of O’Flaherty Holdings, until October 2008, when control returned to the VW Group.

Charles Hurst has been part of British car dealership group Lookers since 1986. Lookers operates more 120 dealerships at 76 locations in Britain, handling 32 car brands. The group reported half-year profits before tax of £22.7 million (€27.4 million) yesterday, up 29 per cent on the same period last year.

While the Charles Hurst group handles numerous brands from its Belfast outlets, including Ferrari, Maserati, Bentley and Aston Martin, chairman Ken Surgenor told The Irish Times its Dublin business will focus solely on Audis. However, he said the group was always open to expanding its business in the Republic.

It had been thought the Charles Hurst group might move to Dublin when prestige cars were selling strongly in the middle of the last decade. Ferrari was believed to be particularly interested in this happening. However, the business case didn’t add up.

Established in Belfast nearly 100 years ago, Hurst traded in Dublin at 31 Upper Dorset Street from 1927 until the mid-1940s, selling Crossley cars and Dennis Trucks.

I'm not sure what Audi Ireland spent on setting up their garage in Ballsbridge, but it strikes me that this was a pretty canny (and profitable) deal.

After years of garages operating in their typically "Irish" fashion, what do you think the impact of a major UK player setting up in ROI will be?

VolvoMan

Was the Audi Centre not an official sales outlet of Audi Ireland It seems strange they'd sell it so soon after opening.

Drummerboy08

Better customer serivce hopefully.

voteforpedro

VolvoMan wrote: »

Was the Audi Centre not an official sales outlet of Audi Ireland It seems strange they'd sell it so soon after opening.

what use'd that building be? id say they got it for half nothing coz its straight out of the 70's!!!!

hoodie6029

voteforpedro wrote: »

what use'd that building be? id say they got it for half nothing coz its straight out of the 70's!!!!

used to be an office block.twas vacant for a few years. I forget now which business was in there.

Cookie_Monster

Thurles is rumoured to be getting a new Audi dealer too
The current Saab and Hyundai dealer...

opinion guy

voteforpedro wrote: »

what use'd that building be? id say they got it for half nothing coz its straight out of the 70's!!!!

It use dto be a Bank of Ireland branch but that moved a few doors up the street a number of years back.

Gotta say I looked into trade in deals at Audi Centre a while back and out of all the garages I spoke with they offered me the least for my car and tried to charge me the most for a audi

Doyler92

There has been an increase of 60% in sales of new cars since last year also.

Matt Simis

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

Better customer serivce hopefully.

A quick Google is not promising:
http://www.4ni.co.uk/northern_ireland_news.asp?id=63395
http://www.northernireland.gov.uk/news/news-deti/news-deti-august-2007/news-deti-280807-charles-hurst-in.htm

All public domain info and not opinion.

Seperate

Doyler92 wrote: »

There has been an increase of 60% in sales of new cars since last year also.

A 60% increase on feck all, is still feck all though in fairness. Going in the right direction though.

€20m is a serious wad of cash. They're obviously thinking long-term in the Irish market, which can only be a good thing.

Will they look at it as a chance to charge what Irish business charge and make more €€€'s? or will they adopt the same 'good value' service as they do up north? I know where they first place I'd look for a new Audi would be....

mickdw

This is strange. I thought Audi Ireland were running this premises seperate from the dealer network to a large degree. I thought it was going to be the outlet where they would make available the complete model range including the high end rare stuff.
I thought it was going to be run more as a marketing centre than a sales outlet.
Did we really need another Audi dealer in Dublin?

opinion guy

mickdw wrote: »

I thought it was going to be the outlet where they would make available the complete model range including the high end rare stuff.

They have a gorgeous white R8 Spyder (V10 convertible). As homer Simpson might say
hmmmmm.....R8 Spyder.......aahhhhhhhggggggg

mickdw

opinion guy wrote: »

They have a gorgeous white R8 Spyder (V10 convertible). As homer Simpson might say
hmmmmm.....R8 Spyder.......aahhhhhhhggggggg

Probably the one that did the rounds of all the audi dealers as few months back.

GTE

-Chris- wrote: »

After years of garages operating in their typically "Irish" fashion, what do you think the impact of a major UK player setting up in ROI will be?

If the stories of fellow members are anything to go by then I would imagine it would give the Irish Audi dealers a kick into a better style of business which in time will snowball to include most reputable dealers and garages.

For the local indy gararges that would be considered a typical Irish garage then I fear it would be a generational thing that would change that. However, if the main dealers sort them selves out then I think we are on for a good thing!

dubg

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Thurles is rumoured to be getting a new Audi dealer too
The current Saab and Hyundai dealer...

First i heard of that. I do a lot of business with them. Are they dumping saab?

ninty9er

opinion guy wrote: »

They have a gorgeous white R8 Spyder (V10 convertible). As homer Simpson might say
hmmmmm.....R8 Spyderpig.......aahhhhhhhggggggg

fixed that for you

Cookie_Monster

dubg wrote: »

First i heard of that. I do a lot of business with them. Are they dumping saab?

No they ain't dropping them.
GF's relation, not sure if they confirmed it yet though.

He is driving a brand new A4, I wonder if that had anything to do with it

Seemingly the new 95 vector was there last week too, driven all they way from Sweden by someone

Mr Benevolent

Hehe, as shown above, there's money in car servicing when you scam the customer. Not that I'd buy Audi anyway due to their mech troubles and image, but that's put me off them forever.

MarkN

Did that building not house Texaco's HQ?

dmca77

I heard from a senior manager in the Lookers/Hurst group that they are ready to take over Audi Ireland and this is the first step. Other major frachises are being looked at due to the light years the Irish market are behind the uk!!

opinion guy

Guy in Stansted Audi months back told me Audi's plan for Ireland was to have one big dealership nationwide....

-Chris-

mickdw wrote: »

This is strange. I thought Audi Ireland were running this premises seperate from the dealer network to a large degree. I thought it was going to be the outlet where they would make available the complete model range including the high end rare stuff.
I thought it was going to be run more as a marketing centre than a sales outlet.
Did we really need another Audi dealer in Dublin?

AFAIK the dealer network will shrink hugely in the next few years with only a few in Dublin.

This may be why Charles Hurst put so much value on it.

Confab wrote: »

Hehe, as shown above, there's money in car servicing when you scam the customer. Not that I'd buy Audi anyway due to their mech troubles and image, but that's put me off them forever.

I don't getcha...

dmca77 wrote: »

I heard from a senior manager in the Lookers/Hurst group that they are ready to take over Audi Ireland and this is the first step. Other major frachises are being looked at due to the light years the Irish market are behind the uk!!

They'd be buying the concessionship (or whatever you call it) off of Audi Germany, who only bought it off MDL three years ago or so, which doesn't make much sense - although stranger things have happened I guess.

dmca77

Now what am told, Ken surgenor stepped down this year but all managers uk and Nothern Ireland still have to report to him and a major share holder from Audi uk invested heavly into Lookers. Hence the interest in Audi Ireland.

VolvoMan

opinion guy wrote: »

It use dto be a Bank of Ireland branch but that moved a few doors up the street a number of years back.

I think you're right about that.

On the contrary, I know it's rather ignorant to say, but I wouldn't touch another Audi (or any other VW Group product for that matter) after the amount of trouble our's has given.

-Chris-

MarkN wrote: »

Did that building not house Texaco's HQ?

The building was called Texaco House (although afaik it was empty for a while), so I'd say you're right.

opinion guy

VolvoMan wrote: »

I think you're right about that.

On the contrary, I know it's rather ignorant to say, but I wouldn't touch another Audi (or any other VW Group product for that matter) after the amount of trouble our's has given.

Yeah I used to be in and out of the bank branch quite regularly