AHG expands truck outlets

A $30 MILLION commitment to Western Australia’s trucking sector by national vehicle retailer Automotive Holdings Group Ltd has been unveiled in Perth.

The bespoke state-of-the-art complex for Daimler Truck products is not only part of Daimler’s global vision for the future, but the precursor of other revamped national AHG truck outlets.

Daimler Trucks North America director of international sales and service Claus P. Roth described the new site as a “showcase development”.

“It puts all the business units under one roof and shows a strong focus on heavy-duty service,” he said when opening the building last month.

“To our customer it sends a clear message of customer service commitment.” The site, near the Perth International Airport in Hazelmere, replaces AHG’s existing Welshpool location. It is now the new sales and service centre for Fuso, Mercedes-Benz and Freightliner trucks and Mercedes-Benz vans.

AHG is understood to have secured a site in Brisbane with plans to replicate the Perth complex, but the company would not confirm its expansion of the truck business.

It will be a replacement for an existing Daimler truck dealership in Brisbane. The company also has Daimler Truck outlets in Newcastle and on the Gold Coast.

“There is a great future in the Australian truck business,” said Mr Roth.

“We certainly won’t see a decline in the number of trucks being sold.” However, Mr Roth said sales of trucks in Western Australia and Queensland had declined on the back of retractions in the mining industry.

AHG chairman David Griffiths said the investment reflected the confidence the company had in Western Australia’s economy, “notwithstanding the significant downturn experienced in recent times”.

“AHG remains confident in the future growth in the trucking industry and Daimler represents a key element in AHG’s strategy to prosper from this growth,” Mr Griffiths said.

The dealership is run by dealer principal Simon Ramsay and employs 103 staff.

The 42,400 square metre site features workshops, offices, retail counters and customer lounges and a parts division.

It has 54 workshop bays, five wash bays and three road-train bays. There are two 28m work pits for prime mover/trailer service, 2km of oil and air lines, and 289 truck parking bays.