TrustFord has hosted an official opening event for its new Colchester Quick Lane fast-fit aftersales centre.

Colchester is home to the Ford of Britain-owned AM100 car retail group’s head office and, as such, was described as an “important location for the company”.

The 5,000 square-foot new facility, situated on Peartree Road Retail Park, close to Colchester town centre and the Tollgate shopping park, represents a £1.1 million investment for TrustFord.

It is the second standalone site for TrustFord, following the opening of their Prestwich site in Greater Manchester.

Stuart Foulds, the chairman and chief executive of TrustFord, said: “At TrustFord, we’re committed to driving the standard in customer care. We know that efficiency and convenience are crucial for our customers, so we’ve been making investments across our network to ensure the efficient delivery of vehicles and servicing.

“These new facilities will give us the scale and resource to meet our customers’ servicing needs, and help our colleagues deliver the excellent service that they’re known for.”

Wednesday’s (January 29) official opening event saw Foulds and members of his senior leadership team joined by John Dines, operations director at Quick Lane UK; Alan Long, operations manager at Quick Lane UK; and Rakesh Chetal, local operations manager at Quick Lane UK.

TrustFord said in a statement that the employment opportunities delivered by the new Quick Lane franchises will add to TrustFord’s wider commitment to developing careers for individuals, which has been strengthened by a recent partnership with The Prince’s Trust – giving fifteen 18 to 30-year-olds the chance to undertake free training and become technicians at TrustFord and Quick Lane sites.

The Quick Lane franchise was borne out of consumer research into motorists’ needs from automotive repair centres.

Drivers cited transparency, convenience, confidence and a stress-free environment as their key priorities. This created the Quick Lane ethos: to provide ‘convenience with confidence.’

Dines said: “We understand that people value products and services that give them time back into their day.

“We’re taking away the inconvenience of vehicle repair by offering a rapid service that fits around our customers’ busy lives.

“Our focus is on being brilliant at the basics and providing local motorists with transparency, convenience and confidence and this will be reflected in our new Colchester site.”