The newly acquired Ferrari and Maserati franchises will replace Lotus at Nick Whale Sportscars site in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.
Nick Whale will continue as an authorised repairer for Lotus, but will no longer sell its new cars.
Nick Whale, chairman of the Nick Whale Group, said: “By retaining the aftersales franchise for Lotus we hope to continue servicing our database of more than 4,000 Lotus owners.”
The group is investing £250,000 in a showroom, workshop and forecourt overhaul at its Bromsgrove dealership to meet Ferrari and Maserati’s corporate standards.
The plan is for Ferrari and Maserati to move over to a purpose-built site in Solihull by 2010.
The venture is expected to create more than 20 new jobs over the next two years and add around £15 million to the group’s turnover.
In 2006 its turnover was reported as £67.5 million.
Whale said: “Historically, we have been successful selling used sports cars and wish to continue selling a wide range of more afford-able used Ferraris and Maseratis, and second-hand Porsches and BMWs.
“We will specialise in older-model Ferraris, such as 355 and 360, as well as the current range.
We hope to sell as many as 150 used sports cars in total, with Ferrari/Maserati making up at least 50% of that number.
We hope to sell more than 50 new Ferraris and 50 new Maseratis.”
Whale said there was big interest in Ferrari’s newest model, the £160,000 California, with pre-orders already in double figures.
He said: “While the credit crunch crisis is affecting parts of the motor industry, we are fortunately experiencing continued demand across our portfolio of prestige luxury marques. “
Ferrari refused to comment on why Stratstone had lost the Ferrari franchise for central England or if its Ferrari dealership in Manchester was also affected, but said it would reveal other changes to its UK network soon.
Login to comment
Comments
No comments have been made yet.