Group Changes Up a Gear in Wellington

Media Release for immediate use: Wednesday 30 January 2008

Armstrong Motor Group Changes Up a Gear in Wellington

One of New Zealand’s highest profile motor vehicle dealers has purchased another Wellington car dealership, signalling it’s serious about its commitment to the lower North Island market.

The Armstrong Motor Group has purchased Team European in Wellington, which has the dealerships for Audi and Porsche. The business will be renamed Armstrong Prestige when the Armstrong Motor Group takes over the new franchise on February 1, retaining all staff from Team European.

Owner and Director of the Armstrong Motor Group, Rick Armstrong, says this acquisition gives the company more economy of scale and a non-competing brand with what the company is currently doing.

“The luxury car market is an area we have a lot of experience in. We’ve been involved successfully in this market for a number of years now,” he says.

Rick Armstrong says the company is excited about further expanding the business in Wellington.

“We’re definitely here for the long-haul. Porsche is a niche product and Audi is a brand that is going from strength to strength. It makes good business sense for us to expand into this high profile niche market,” he says.

“We’ve been actively seeking these two brands for some time as they are strong brands both nationally and internationally. They fit perfectly into the Armstrong Prestige side of the business.”

Further to the purchase of Team European, Armstrong Motor Group is investing significantly in its other Wellington dealerships throughout 2008.

“Wellington is a unique city for car dealerships, given its lack of space, unlike South Island cities, making it difficult to accommodate full service dealerships. We are in the final planning stages to invest in all our businesses in the city over 2008, reflecting our commitment to our Wellington side of the business” says Rick Armstrong.

The Armstrong Motor Group has been in the South Island for 14 years, marketing quality vehicles through dealerships in both Christchurch and Dunedin including Peugeot, Mercedes-Benz, Subaru, Dodge, Mazda, Hyundai, Chrysler and Jeep. In the past three years, it has taken over the Wellington franchises of Peugeot, Renault, Subaru, and Mercedes-Benz and, in June last year, launched Armstrong Mitsubishi in Wellington City and Lower Hutt.

This is the third Armstrong Prestige dealership, following on from Dunedin and Christchurch, and with the brand comes the group’s commitment to service.

“A strong service commitment is very evident at Armstrong Prestige. We’ve developed a loyal Wellington client base with our other dealerships here and have the same philosophy for our new Porsche and Audi clients,” says Rick Armstrong.

He says the business has the best facilities in Wellington – they’re brand new and have everything on site.

“We can move straight in and everything is ready to go. We won’t need to redevelop the business, so we can really focus on the most important thing - our customers,” he says.

“We will bring the Armstrong flavour to the new dealership – a strong and highly recognisable profile, a state-of-the-art parts and service department where service is a priority.”

Rick Armstrong has a personal investment in his latest acquisition, too.

“Porsche is a brand I’ve had contact with over the years. Over the past six years I’ve raced my Porsche GT3 at weekends, so it’s great to get the dealership and be able to represent it in the marketplace.”

The new dealership will be situated in Cambridge Terrace, just a few doors down from Armstrong Mitsubishi in the central city.

ENDS

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