Heavyweight media campaign to launch Motorpoint Manchester car supermarket

Motorpoint has said that a “heavyweight media campaign”, customer prizes and gift giveaways are set to drive footfall into its new Manchester used car supermarket.

The new facility, located less than a mile from Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium at a former LSH Auto Mercedes-Benz dealership on Ashton Old Road, officially opens for business this Friday (October 1).

The UK’s largest independent used car retailer has created 30 new jobs with its latest site opening, which is part of a strategy to achieve an annual turnover of £2 billion, in a bid to accelerate its growth ahead of market rivals Cazoo and Carzam.

Its strategy will deliver a further 12 new retail sites, on top of its recently-expanded 14-site network.

To launch the new business, the group said that it would be embarking on a heavyweight regional media campaign across print, outdoor, radio, TV, press and digital and series of customer incentives.

Motorpoint Manchester’s employees will be giving away scratch cards to the first 150 visitors, with every customer winning a prize including Dash Cams and meals out in Manchester on Motorpoint.

Customers will also be invited to compete in the Motorpoint Grand Prix – a giant Scalextric racetrack game – with the best time winning a driving experience.

The team in Manchester are led by head of retail operations Jordan Dean, supported by general sales manager Fowaad Malik

Dean said: “It’s brilliant to finally be opening our doors to the public.

“The Motorpoint brand is already well-established in the wider region thanks to our existing network of branches in the North-West, and we’re looking to build on that awareness further with our drive to make car buying easy in Manchester, whether that’s buying in store, reserving online or arranging to have your new vehicle brought to your home.”

Motorpoint Manchester will stock 150 cars and light commercial vehicles from 30 manufacturers’, according to the retailer, most of which are under four-years-old and with less than 30,000 miles.

Every vehicle onsite is checked by experts from Motorpoint and comes with the balance of manufacturer’s warranty, or a three-month Motorpoint warranty

Motorpoint Price Promise also means that customers will be refunded the difference if they find the same car cheaper from a competitor within seven days. They also receive £50 worth of Amazon vouchers.

Earlier this month Constellation Automotive’s cinch online car retail platform has strongly denied “far-fetched” rumours that it is lining up an approach to acquire Motorpoint.

Reports had linked BCA’s sister retail business with a move for the UK’s largest independent used car retailer in a bid to emulate Cazoo’s acquisition of Imperial Cars, which allowed it to quickly establish a network of physical Customer Centres.

When AM asked about speculation suggesting that cinch is preparing to bid for Motorpoint, a senior contact at cinch commented: “The rumours circulating about cinch and Motorpoint are far-fetched and completely unfounded.”