Volvo Car UK has opened its flagship dealership in Chiswick, West London, which could form the blueprint for other city based dealerships in the future.
Volvo West London is run by HR Owen and is the result of an £8m investment in buying, designing and building the 0.9-acre site which sits on the busy North Circular Road a few hundred yards from the Chiswick roundabout and the M4.
HR Owen opened the site for business on the 1 September 2008. It comprises an eight-bay workshop, a two floor new car showroom that can accommodate 14 cars and external parking for 50 used cars.
Volvo Car UK anticipates that it will have a hand in helping locate and set up new partnerships to develop dealers in other major cities in the UK as part of its latest franchise review.
"We believe the way forward for encouraging investment in our franchise is through a partnership approach with potential dealers. We can use our expertise to locate and develop the site, and support its operation with a partner who is committed to running the site professionally." explained Kevin Meeks, Network & Business Development Director at Volvo Car UK.
"Volvo has a good level of representation throughout the country, but in some areas more impactful sites would strengthen its presence in the UK market," he added.
HR Owen has already seen healthy sales of the seven-seat Volvo XC90 SUV, V50 Sportswagon and C30 SportsCoupe in the first few weeks of operation.
It also anticipates healthy interest in the new low CO2-emitting and fuel efficient DRIVe models, which were unveiled at the Paris Motor Show and are available to order now.
This is the fourth HR Owen Volvo site in London and will employ more than 30 people across its sales, operations, parts and service functions.
Tracey Perry, HR Owen's Divisional Director, said: "We are building up our marketing efforts for new and used vehicle sales now that the site is staffed and operational. We are fully equipped to take care of customers' service and maintenance needs and have transferred expertise from our existing sites.
"So far, the local customer feedback has been great - Volvo owners in West London are delighted to have this facility at their disposal. We are very proud to be operating such a fantastic facility in partnership with Volvo."
Designed by Clerkenwell based designers Bisset Adams who Volvo Car UK has been working with for 12 years and built by Milton Keynes based Cross Keys Construction (CKC), initial work on the site began in June 2007.
The Chiswick area is already well known to motorists in West London as the Volvo site is close to other flagship dealer sites already in operation.
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