New flagship Hyundai dealer for Sydney

AUTOMOTIVE Holdings Group (AHG) will officially open the doors to a brand-new flagship Hyundai Australia dealership in the Western Sydney suburb of Castle Hill this week.

Believed to be the largest Hyundai dealership in Australia, the new facility has total showroom space of 1150 square metres – including an indoor display of up to 10 new cars – and a 1455 square-metre workshop with 24 service bays, including two special ‘quick service’ bays.

The site is owned by AHG – claimed to be Australia’s largest motoring group with more than 100 dealer franchises across Australia – and is led by dealer principal Brett Harrison, who was previously sales manager for AHG’s Lander Toyota site in Blacktown.

AHG spokesman David Christison told GoAuto that the group has been selling Hyundai vehicles on the same Victoria Avenue site from a temporary facility for around seven months.

The design of the dealership is understood to have been a collaborative effort between HMCA and AHG.

HMCA currently operates through a nationwide network of 155 dealers. Between 2008 and 2012, its dealer network expanded from 142 sites to 155, while local sales more than doubled from 45,409 vehicles annually to 91,536 units last year.

Mr Christison said Castle Hill was an ideal place for a flagship dealership, with the area identified as a major growth centre.

“The (Castle Hill) site has been identified by AHG as the optimal site in the Castle Hill area and strategically places the Hyundai dealership in the vicinity of established Holden, HSV, Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Toyota and Ford dealerships and in a high visibility and high traffic location,” he said.

“Castle Hill is classified as a Major Centre in metropolitan Sydney and the “capital” of the Hills Shire.

“In 2005, the Sydney Hills was targeted under the NSW Government’s Metropolitan strategy to provide 47,000 new jobs and 36,000 new houses by 2031.

“Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the local Council show the population of the Hills Shire alone in 2010 was 172,000 and is forecast to grow to more than 250,000 in 2031.”

AHG managing director Bronte Howson said the group was confident in the future of the new location, and that the temporary facility had already performed ahead of expectations.

“The dealership commenced trading from temporary showrooms in 2011 and the Castle Hill Hyundai team have done a tremendous job during the transition to the new facility,” he said.