Benfield Motor Group has opened its new Ford dealership in Sunderland following a £5.8 million investment.

The new site on Newcastle Road has officially opened after an eight month construction period. Benfield already has four dealerships with Ford in West and North Yorkshire and have been operating a temporary ‘pop up’ showroom on the Newcastle Road site since spring 2012.

Mark Squires, Benfield chief executive, said opening the Ford site was a natural geographic fit for the group.

The new business has created 45 jobs. The showroom has space for 12 cars to display the Ford range, there is space of over 80 used cars. The site also has a workshop and aftersales facilities, as well as a dedicated Transit Van centre.

Benfield employs over 1,500 staff across its group and has 34 retail outlets throughout the North East of England, Yorkshire, Cumbria and South West Scotland across a portfolio 16 franchises.