10:52 am, September 13, 2023
A car dealership group is expanding with the addition of the MG brand to its portfolio.
The move by Just Motor Group will see the SAIC-owned British marque replace Citroen in its Harrogate branch, following a network shake-up by Stellantis.
The Just group will also be putting MG in at its Keighley showroom – it already sells Citroen there and at its Preston site and will continue to do so.
Managing director Max Croft told Car Dealer today that both MG sites should be up and running by the end of September, with the refurbishments still taking place.
She said: ‘We’re introducing MG into our portfolio of brands but are still very much a Citroen dealer and can still supply Citroens to our Keighley branch. It’s a better balance of our portfolio.
‘We’ve introduced one of the fastest-growing brands in the country. Culturally, it fits with the market-town areas that we’re in, and we think we’ll do really well with it.
‘We’re retailers, we’re not fleet people, we’re not big-time. We want to give service and value and I think MG is doing that with the cost-of-living crisis. It’s got the right cars at the right time.’
Just said it was switching from selling Citroen in Harrogate after Stellantis ended contracts with all its dealerships and offered alternative terms that group sales director Kevin Tyrrell said didn’t make financial sense.
According to The Stray Ferret, two more staff members have been brought on board at Harrogate, taking the number of employees to 15, with none being laid off and a retraining programme taking place.
Tyrrell was quoted as saying: ‘It just wasn’t going to be financially viable for us.
‘Historically, we’ve sold about 300 new cars a year from that site, but that wasn’t going to be possible under the new contract [Stellantis] offered.
‘Fortunately, it was then that MG Motor stepped in with a better offer – it was perfect timing for us. They offer a seven-year warranty, they’re affordable and they’re up and coming.’
He added: ‘Citroen has a 1.6 per cent market share in the UK, whereas MG Motor has a 4.6 per cent share and it’s growing, so we’re definitely going in the right direction.’
The Harrogate dealership is still an authorised Citroen repairer, though, and will continue with servicing, MOTs and warranty work for the brand.
Just Motor Group also represents Peugeot, Hyundai and Maxus.
Pictured via Google Street View is the Harrogate dealership site before its transition to MG
