Two-million-dollar investment for Wellington
Expansion of High Street site set to accommodate Peugeot & Citroen
Armstrong Motor Group has broken ground on a multimillion-dollar dealership rebuild at the current site of Armstrong Nissan in Lower Hutt.
The High Street dealership will undergo a total redevelopment, with the addition of six service bays to the existing six currently in the workshop; as well as extensive changes being made to the showroom. These renovations will result in the structure tripling in its proportions in order to facilitate two of the motor groups’ other major brands; Peugeot and Citroen.
Managing Director, Rick Armstrong says that the renovation was necessary due to the unprecedented growth of demand for the brands within the region. “We’re doing this renovation because we’ve outgrown our Armstrong Motor Group dealership on Railway Avenue, and we have the additional space available at the Nissan site to facilitate Peugeot and Citroen” he says. “This is not only due to the growth of Peugeot and Citroen in Wellington but also Subaru, which has been hugely successful and now requires its own dedicated space”, Rick continued. He also noted that the Armstrong Subaru dealership will remain at the Railway Avenue site.
“Lower Hutt is a place where we see huge opportunity. We’ve witnessed its immense growth over the years, and it has always been a viable area for us that we want to commit to and do business in” Rick says. “This multi-million-dollar overhaul of the entire facility really shows our dedication to these brands in Wellington and we are really excited to show our customers the finished product in June this year”.
Dealer Principal of Armstrong Nissan, Stuart Webley, has been working out of the Lower Hutt dealership for the past eight years. “It’s great to be a part of a company that’s really investing in helping the region grow”, Stuart says; “we’re really excited to be creating new jobs and supporting our local community with this development”.
Stuart says the dealership has sold over 4,000 new Nissan vehicles since Armstrong Motor Group acquired the business in 2012. “Nissan has always been an incredibly strong brand within the Wellington region. Nissan’s product mix offers intelligent and reliable vehicles at highly competitive prices, that paired with Nissan’s extremely low finance rates, really make it a smart choice. You get a whole lot of bang for your buck and I think that’s why we keep seeing our customer base expanding, as well as current customers coming back for more.”
Nissan is launching a number of new models into the New Zealand market in 2019 including the Micra and the world’s best selling electric vehicle, the Nissan Leaf. “We’ve seen a huge amount of interest in the Nissan Leaf already - it’s no surprise really considering it’s the number one EV hatch on the market as a used import. The Leaf also won Most Reliable Car in New Zealand in 2017 following a comprehensive study by Consumer New Zealand. With this model on the way, we’re only expecting to get busier which is why we really need to facilitate this growth” Stuart says.
Jason Schrijvers, the new Dealer Principal at the group’s current Subaru, Peugeot and Citroen dealership on Railway Avenue, sees the growth of these brands as an organic result of the dealership’s product mix aligning with the region’s vehicle requirements.
“Both Peugeot and Citroen align with the capital’s culture really well, I think Wellingtonians tend to have an appreciation for individualism and design aesthetics which is really what separates these unique vehicles from other brands” Jason says. “I also think that the strength of the Peugeot brand has been underestimated until recently. They have a very impressive mix of products. With the launch of their new SUV range including the 3008 and 5008, we’ve seen a large migration of customers moving from the traditional SUV brands sold within New Zealand to Peugeot, which offer a whole lot more style and flair at competitive prices.”
Rick Armstrong’s group recently acquired the distribution for both the Peugeot and Citroen brands on a national level and also retail the vehicles from dealerships in Auckland and Christchurch as well as Wellington.
“I believe being the distributor at a national level, really shows how much faith we have in these brands and it has also given us the opportunity to present these cars properly to the New Zealand market” says Rick. “Having these new facilities dedicated to Peugeot and Citroen on High Street will only increase our ability to create the unique buying and servicing experience we want for our customers”.
As well as the changes to the dealership itself, the year has some exciting model introductions lined up for Peugeot, with the new 2008 Crossway and the highly anticipated 508 being launched in the coming months.
On the Citroen side, the recently arrived C4 Cactus with its Progressive Hydraulic Cushion suspension has been in hot demand. The new Citroen C3 Aircross has also been a hit for the dealership promising the quirky, unique fun filled drive that only a Citroen can deliver.
With the relocation of Peugeot and Citroen from the Railway Avenue dealership, the site will become dedicated entirely to Subaru. Jason says his Subaru customer base are undoubtedly the most enthusiastic and dedicated he has ever dealt with. “I’ve always known Subaru to be a brand that people tend to buy for personal use, not so much on the commercial side” Jason says - “I think that’s because Subarus really represent a lifestyle, and after selling the brand here I can see why they’re incredibly popular and iconic in Wellington. Subarus are so adaptable, like Wellingtonians they appear right-at-home in an urban or country environment. In saying that, there are plenty of other reasons for Subarus being so popular, they have an extremely high resale value and are very reliable which is why we continue to see customers sticking with the brand, car after car”.
Jason says the entire Subaru range has demonstrated huge success in the last couple of months. The XV and Impreza showing some fantastic growth within their segments - both being aggressively priced. The all-new Subaru Forester also scooped up an accolade of awards including the AA Driven Best-In-Class Medium SUV and also the coveted 2018 Car of the Year Award plus several others internationally.