8:34 am, January 31, 2025
With the Six Nations getting underway this evening, rugby fever is once again sweeping the nation – but nobody seems to have told Ford.
That is because the brand is to close its dealership in the Warwickshire town from which the sport gets its name, as part of its ongoing plans to restructure its retail network.
Car Dealer reported last week that the Blue Oval had terminated 50 dealers and it now seems that Allen Ford Rugby is among those to close.
Warwickshire World reports that staff at the site are now facing an uncertain future as it remains unclear whether any jobs will be lost as part of the closure.
Today (Jan 31) will be the dealership’s final day of trading before the sales and service operation is closed for good.
Bosses say that customers have been informed of the closure via letters and emails.
A spokesperson for Allen Ford Rugby said: ‘Effective from January 31, our Ford Sales and Service operation at Rugby will close permanently.
‘Communications in the form of letters and emails have been sent to as many customers as possible to inform them.’
In 2020, the brand said it would be slashing dealerships by nearly half as it looked to improve profitability at dealerships.
The plan was to increase profit by expanding the sales area of the dealerships that continued to work with them
Ford recently revealed to Car Dealer that its network now stands at ‘just over 200 dealers’, meaning it has met the target it set nearly five years ago.
A Ford spokesperson said: ‘We have been actively restructuring the dealer network over the past several years to better align with the evolving needs of our business and deliver enhanced service.
‘It is also worth noting that all but three of the dealerships impacted have retained their Ford Authorised Service section, so they are still operating just without a retail arm.’
