7:18 am, November 26, 2023
Eastern Western Motor Group is to open its first Toyota and Lexus sites in December following months of development work.
Car Dealer reported in April that the dealer group had signed terms with the two Japanese brands and would represent both outfits at a purpose built site in Dundee – the first time Lexus has ever had a presence in the city.
Back then, the West Lothian-based group was targeting an autumn opening but trading is now set to get underway in December, The Courier reports.
Meanwhile, the Car Dealer Top 100 group will also be opening a new Toyota-only showroom around 20 miles away in Perth.
Overall, Eastern Western has ploughed between £13m and £14m of investment into the two sites.
The firm’s managing director, Keith Duncan, said: ‘To be honest, this is just the tip of the iceberg because you also need to stock the sites and have working capital – this adds around another £5m. The two sites will also add about 90 jobs.
‘We bought Fife Motor Village [in Dundee] in February. We don’t run all the businesses there but we own the site. We have plans to expand our own franchises in that space in the future.
‘It’s a very exciting time for the business and we’d like to do more in Dundee in the future.’
The two Toyota businesses will trade as ‘Barnetts Toyota’ while the Lexus site will go under the name Lexus Dundee.
The premises in Dundee will also be home to Eastern Western’s own-brand used car supermarket ‘Car Deal Warehouse’.
Confirming the news earlier this year Duncan
He added: ‘I am delighted to report Eastern Western Motor Group is just about to start work on a major Toyota and Lexus expansion project.
‘We are delighted to have been appointed as Toyota dealers for both Dundee & Perth and as Lexus dealers for Dundee.
‘Lexus has never been represented in Dundee and speaking as a Dundonian, I am delighted the luxury brand is being launched in my home town.
‘Our Dundee development is a state-of-the-art, brand new site on Dunsinane Avenue (off the Camperdown roundabout, or ‘circle’ as we say in Dundee!) and will feature the latest iteration of both Toyota and Lexus showroom designs.
‘Eastern Western has a long and successful history with the Toyota & Lexus brands and the Toyota and Lexus teams cannot wait to get involved in new territories with such brilliant, cutting-edge brands.’
