A MAJOR car dealership group has closed two sites in the North of England after deciding they were no longer financially viable.
Vertu Motors has said the decision followed a “careful review” of both dealers.
The closures come shortly after Vertu reportedly entered discussions about shutting three additional showrooms that it had acquired through its takeover of Helston Garages at the end of 2022 – suggesting a wider rationalisation of its site network.
According to Car Dealer Magazine, Vertu stated that there will be no redundancies as a result of these two shutdowns.
Instead, staff from the closed sites are being moved to neighbouring Vertu dealerships with employees from Honda Bradford transferring to Vertu Kia Bradford, while staff from Citroen Macclesfield are transferring to Vertu BYD Macclesfield.
For customers, however, the closures mean longer travel for servicing and other dealership-based support.
For example, Citroen customers who previously used the Macclesfield site are being redirected to Vertu Citroen Derby – roughly a 90-mile round trip.
And Honda customers in Bradford are being redirected to Vertu Honda Huddersfield, around 12 miles away.
In a message to Car Dealer Mag, a spokesperson for Vertu Motors said: “We have carefully reviewed the financial viability of our Honda Bradford and Citroen Macclesfield dealerships, and made the difficult decision to close them.
“All colleagues have retained employment, having been transferred to the respective dealerships of ours next door: Vertu Kia Bradford and Vertu BYD Macclesfield.
“We look forward to welcoming customers at any of our Vertu dealerships, where they may expect the same excellent standard of customer service they are used to.”
This comes as Chinese car giant Chery is close to agreeing a deal with Jaguar Land Rover – that would allow them to build their motors in the UK.
Seen as potentially beneficial both for Britain’s under-pressure car manufacturing sector and for Chery’s longer-term position in the British market, the deal has been linked to Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to Beijing and efforts to strengthen UK-China trade ties.
The PM’s discussions are said to include the two countries’ automotive industries, with this prospective JLR-Chery arrangement seen as one of the possible outcomes.
The two companies already have an established relationship through a joint venture created in 2012 – Chery Jaguar Land Rover – which manufactures some JLR models in China.
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