9:58 am, January 24, 2024
Here at Car Dealer HQ our primary goal is bringing you the very best stories from within the UK’s motor trade.
However, there is also a healthy bank of stories from all over the globe which come up on our radar from time to time which we think deserve a shout out.
To that end, here is our latest latest round-up of what’s been catching our eye from around the world recently…
Stray dog up for adoption after causing £275,000 of damage to car showroom
- Texas, USA
A pair of stray dogs have wreaked havoc at a Texas car dealership by causing $350,000 (£275,000) worth of damage.
The canine criminals were caught on camera charging around the showroom of G Motors in Hosuton, where they jumped on cars, scratched paintwork and ripped bumpers clean off.
The pooches were eventually captured after staff called animal control, who ruled that one of the dogs – a pitbull who has since been named ‘Dasher’ – was eligible for adoption.
Staff say the incident was not an isolated attack and that the gruesome twosome actually ransacked the dealership at least four times in November and December.
‘You just never think a dog has the kind of power to tear up a car like that,’ said sales manager Gaby Fakhoury.
‘We have never seen something like this — dogs attacking cars and causing damage but things happen and there’s always a solution for everything.’
(Source: New York Post)
Palestinian state news accuses Israelis of targeting car dealership
- Gaza
Israelis in Gaza have been accused of setting fire to a car dealership in the region as the conflict in the Middle East continues.
Palestinian state media outfit, WAFA, says that a group targeted a showroom near the village of Beitin in an apparent arson attack.
According to local sources, all vehicles inside the dealership were burnt before the attackers fled the area.
The local fire service were called to the scene and pictures posted on social media show the vehicles, which have been left as burnt out shells.
Israeli Settlers Burn Car Dealership Near Ramallah in the Occupied West Bank pic.twitter.com/8q1wgXQQbT
— Talal Meshaati (@TalalMeshaati) January 23, 2024
(Source: WAFA News Agency)
Major Chinese dealer group collapses amidst plummeting sales
- Guangdong, China
A Chinese dealer group which operated 80 sites in the province of Guangdong has gone bankrupt amidst falling sales.
Guangdong Yongao Investment Group had a major presence in the south of the Asian Country but has now suspended activities.
Salespeople from the firm are said to have told customers that orders have been halted and employees are still waiting to be paid outstanding wages.
Bosses at the company are said to be blaming ‘Covid curbs, changes in the car market and insufficient risk controls’ for the outfit’s demise.
The bankruptcy comes as car sales in China continue to stagnate having fallen from a record high of 24m in 2017 to just 21.7m last year.
(Source: SCMP)
Two arrests made after car dealer killed over SUV deal
- Ghaziabad, India
Two men have been arrested on suspicion of murdering a car dealer after a deal for an SUV fell through.
The businessman, who has been identified only by his surname of ‘Mehboob’ died after being shot in the chest and shoulder earlier this month.
The two men arrested for his death have been named as Sumit Kumar, 37 and his friend Ankit Tyagi.
Tyagi was known to the victim after he recently agreed to sell him an SUV before pulling out of the deal after receiving a higher offer.
The situation is said to have enraged Tyagi who is accused of luring the dealer away from his showroom before shooting him.
He died a short time later in hospital as a result of his injuries.
(Source: Times of India)
Putin’s government wants to nationalise Russian car dealership
- Moscow, Russia
The Russian government has filed paperwork which would see one of the country’s biggest dealer groups nationalised.
The Prosecutor General’s Office plans to bring Rolf under Kremlin control just weeks after the company was placed in the state’s temporary management.
A lawsuit to make the move official has been accepted by St Petersburg’s Moskovskiy District Court, meaning the seizure of all the company’s shares is set to be given the green light.
The move comes as a result of a long-running dispute between Vladimir Putin’s government and Rolf owner Sergei Petrov, who is accused of illegally moving money abroad.
The Kremlin says the business will now be classed as ‘property obtained in violation of anti-corruption legislation’.
Petrov, who now lives in Austria, continues to deny any wrongdoing.
(Source: Reuters)
‘Shawshank burglar’ arrested after botched theft from car showrooms
- West Virgina, USA
A wannabe thief who built a Shawshank Redemption-style tunnel into a used car dealership has been arrested in West Virginia.
Jerrylee Adams is accused of burrowing his way into Carplug, in Stafford County, enterring through a broken garage door panel.
When he found nothing at the site to his liking, he continued his tunnelling through an adjoining wall into the next door business, Auto Chiefs.
Once inside he grabbed a set of car keys as well as a company hat and pen before being given away when the security alarm went off.
Police found him at the scene, where he claimed to be working as on some damaged plasterboard.
Unfortunately for the 35-year-old, neither business had ever heard of him and he was arrested a short time later.
Cops have now dubbed the case the ‘Shawshank Burglary’ in a nod to the Shawshank Redemption, which protagonist Andy Dufresne dig a tunnel to escape from prison, while posing as a professional.
(Source: BoingBoing)
