Ford retailer Jennings has taken on the Subaru franchise at its Middlesbrough site, investing £800,000 in new facilities for the Japanese marque.

Subaru currently has 87 dealers, including five new appointments this year and 10 waiting in the wings, according to Subaru national franchise development manager, Terry Leach.

He says: "In addition to Jennings, we have new builds in Cardigan, Fife, Nuneaton and Doncaster. There is also major refurbishment planned for Bournemouth, Milton Keynes, Wincanton, Brighton and Basingstoke."

Meanwhile, Jennings – which also sells Ford, Mazda and Seat from its Middlesbrough location and is the largest privately owned Ford dealership in the country – feels its new Subaru acquisition will broaden its appeal.

Nas Khan, Jenninngs' group sales and marketing director, says: "Even before we started to advertise, there have been as many visitors to our Subaru showroom as any of our other franchises and these people stay longer and ask more in-depth questions. I am delighted at Subaru's following."

Subaru is also looking for significant growth in aftersales: it has slashed parts prices by up to 56%, covering 200 individual component numbers.