7:33 am, January 29, 2013
CATERHAM Cars has announced its departure from the dealership in their namesake town in Surrey.
The Caterham Cars showroom on Station Avenue in Caterham, Surrey, is set to be closed down and turned into retirement flats – forcing the sports car brand out of the town altogether, the BBC reports.
The site, opened in 1973, was once home to firm’s production line, but now just handles sales for the south east – with a facility in Dartford, Kent having taken over production of the now-iconic Seven back in the 1980s. It’s as yet unknown where the showroom will relocate to.
‘Unfortunately these plans are beyond our control as we’re only a tenant in these facilities, and we don’t own the site,’ chief commercial officer David Ridley told the BBC.
‘We wanted to stay in Caterham, but nothing was available. We’re going to be making an announcement this week. Hopefully [the new premises] will be in a 10-15 mile radius of our current location.’
The move comes just weeks after Caterham’s recent announcement of a joint venture with Renault – something that’s tipped by many to turn the company’s future around.
‘It is with great sadness and regret that Caterham Cars will leave its spiritual home,’ said Graham Macdonald, chief executive of Caterham Cars. ‘It is not a decision that the company wanted to take but, rather, one in which its hands have been tied.
‘Our brand proudly takes its very name from the town in which it was founded by the Nearn family and it is particularly poignant that, just as Caterham begins an exciting new chapter in its history, it is moving away.’
