9:06 am, August 11, 2023
Bosses at what is believed to be the UK’s oldest Jaguar retailer have announced that the business will close as it unable to sell enough electric cars from its historic base.
Hatfields Jaguar Sheffield has been representing the British brand for over a century but will soon be no more following a shock decision.
Founded 101-years ago by Ernest Hatfield, the Sheffield business was the start of what is now a thriving family-run dealer group with nine locations across Yorkshire, Shropshire and the North West.
It claims to be the oldest Jaguar retailer in the country and moved to its current showroom, on Sharrow Vale Road, around 40 years ago.
However, following the surprise announcement, it will now merge with Hatfields’ Wakefield dealership, with many staff moving to work there.
It is not clear at this stage whether there will be any redundancies as a result of the restructure, the Sheffield Star reports.
In a letter to customers, Hatfields’ managing director Gareth Williams said the Sheffield site would not be able to ‘make the leap into the future’.
He admitted that the site’s facilities, size and accessibility ‘have been an issue for far too long’ but promised to continue meeting customers’ needs around 25-miles away in Wakefield.
He said: ‘As long as there have been Jaguars, Hatfields have been selling and servicing them, and we look forward to taking care of our Jaguar clients for many more years.
‘However, our facility in Sheffield is simply not capable of taking that leap into the future. It has been a great servant to the people of Sheffield for over 40 years and there have been some truly memorable events in our Sharrow Vale Road showrooms launching and celebrating iconic cars.’
Williams also described Jaguar’s electrification plans – which will see it ditch ICE vehicles by 2025 – as ‘the biggest change we have ever seen’.
Last year Hatfields was named Jaguar’s Retail Partner of the Year with the Sheffield site taking second place in the brand’s customer service award.
The group regularly features in our list of the 200 most-stocked dealers. You can read the latest report here.
