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Hidsons group has opened its first Mitsubishi car dealership, in Rainham, Kent.

The family-run enterprise was founded in 1954 by Bill Hidson. Today, Bill’s son Nigel and his wife Sue run the business, which represents six different brands at five locations in Medway and Gravesend, Kent.

General manager at Hidsons Mitsubishi Jim Jeves (pictured) said: “When Bill founded the company he insisted his staff provided excellent customer service and that is still something that is at the heart of the company today.

“We are extremely proud of our long-standing reputation for integrity and personal service and we know that fits well with the Mitsubishi brand. We’re very excited about this new endeavour and we have high hopes for the future.”

Managing director of Mitsubishi Motors in the UK Lance Bradley said: “We are really pleased Hidsons has joined the Mitsubishi family and we wish the new dealership every success.

“The fact that this family business has been going for more than 60 years shows how highly thought of they are in Kent and I’m confident they will become part of our growing success story.”

The growing brand was one of 2014’s strongest performers according to year-end sales results released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) with the company seeing sales growth in passenger cars of 75% compared with the previous year, against an overall market up by 9.3%. January saw a strong start to 2015, with sales up 159% compared to the same month last year.