9:13 am, April 11, 2024
Here in the UK, the motor trade throws up more than enough headlines to keep all of us at Car Dealer HQ busy every day.
However, a treasure trove of stories also exists from outside of our borders with car dealers around the world hitting the news for a variety of reasons.
To save you all the bother of searching for them yourselves, we have created this handy round-up of what’s been catching our eye from around the world recently…
Woman arrested after luring car dealer to his death with fake sale
- Montego Bay, Jamaica
A woman has been arrested after setting up a fake car sale in order to lure a motor trader to his death.
Tiandra Reid is said to have led car dealer Robert ‘Priest’ Harvey to an area of Montego Bay, Jamaica, under the pretence of wanting to sell him a Toyota Corolla.
However, when he arrived, the 42-year-old was shot several times by gunmen, who then fled the scene. Harvey was taken to a nearby hospital but later died as a result of his injuries.
Reid was arrested two weeks later arrested and charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and misprision of a felony.
She has since been released on bail and will appear in the St James Circuit Court on July 5.
(Source: Jamaica Star)
Teens steal $500,000 worth of Land Rovers from luxury US car dealership
- Wisconsin, USA
A group of teenagers stole $500,000 (c. £398,000) worth of Land Rovers from a luxury JLR dealer in Wisconsin, before leading police in a 40-mile chase.
The gang stole a total of nine vehicles from Land Rover Waukesha with CCTV footage at the dealership showing them crashing through a closed entrance to escape.
That footage can be viewed here but after leaving the dealership, the youngsters fled before stopping to fill up in a nearby petrol station.
Their presence – wearing masks in the early hours of the morning – alerted suspicions and police were called.
They then pursued the convoy for around 40 miles, before one of the vehicles crashed, leading to a single arrest.
Eight of the teenagers are believed to still be at large.
Luxury Car Theft Ring Targets Waukesha Dealership
A multi-county police chase involving several luxury cars ended in a crash, with one person arrested on Sunday, Feb. 18.
According to West Allis Police, at around 6:30 a.m., the West Allis dispatch center received a call… pic.twitter.com/ADrKYYQw08
— D. Scott @eclipsethis2003 (@eclipsethis2003) February 24, 2024
(Source: Fox 32)
Several vehicles damaged in huge fire at Dublin car dealership
- Dublin, Ireland
View this post on Instagram
A car showroom in Dublin has been left as a burnt out shell after a huge blaze, caused by a gas explosion.
The fire brigade rushed to the scene of Deane Motors in Ballycoolin yesterday (April 10) after flames were seen billowing from the showroom.
Specially-trained officers spent five hours battling the fire but were unable to stop serious damage being inflicted to the site.
Several cars were damaged and the showroom itself was burned to a crisp. Gardaí and Dublin Fire Brigade are now investigating the incident.
In an emotional Instagram post, the business said: ‘Unfortunately our family business is no more. 50 years to build it, 5 hours to destroy it. The most important thing is, everyone is safe and nobody was harmed.
‘We really want to thank everyone for their kind words and support. If it weren’t for people like yourselves, none of this would have been worth it.’
View this post on Instagram
(Source: RTE)
BYD reveals ambitious plans for Aussie dealer network
- Australia
The influx of new Chinese EV brands has been one of the biggest topics on British dealers lips’ over recent times and it seems things are no different on the other side of the world.
Over here, BYD has been one of the biggest players in the new wave and over in Australia, the electric car giant is being similarly ambitious.
Bosses have now announced plans to more than double its Australian showroom, service network by end of 2025.
BYD says it wants to operate up to 100 dealerships and service centre locations in the country by the time next year ends, having already set itself the lofty target of being toppling Toyota as Australia’s best-selling car brand by 2030.
The outfit BYD currently has an Australian network of 27 showrooms and 15 in-house service centres.
The brand also operates in every Aussie state and territory, except for the Northern Territory.
(Source: Drive.com)
Huge hailstorm caused $1m of damage at US car dealer
- Tennessee, USA
A Ford dealer in Tennessee is counting the cost of a freak storm after hailstones caused over $1m of damage to the business.
Bolivar Ford was deluged by hailstones the size of golf balls in a five minute blitz that arrived without warning earlier this week.
Around 200 vehicles, many valued at roughly $100,000, were damaged in the downpour, with the showroom also suffering heavy blows.
Bosses now say they are planning a ‘hail sale’ in a bid to raise much-needed funds.
Manager Cody Waddell told Fox Weather: ‘”It lasted about 5 minutes.
‘Blue skies (then the storm) gave us no warning — just kind of blew in, and the rest is history.’
(Source: Fox Weather)
