Lookers has continued to invest heavily in its dealership property portfolio with completion of a £1 million transformation of its Nissan Gateshead franchise.

Following on from investments of £750,000 in its Chester and Carlisle Nissan sites in 2022 and 2021, the addition of new Lotus and Great Wall Ora dealerships and its £4.5m transformation of BMW Crewe into ‘regional retail hub’, the AM100 PLC has acted to future-proof its site in the Northeast.

The Stoneygate Close facility’s 12-car showroom has received a thorough makeover – adding three electric vehicle (EV) charge points for customers and five in a dedicated workshop – through the works, which will be officially unveiled in April.

Until then, the business will continue to operate all its usual services, Lookers said.

Martin Watson, General Manager at Lookers Nissan Gateshead, said: “We are incredibly excited about the transformation of Lookers Nissan Gateshead, which further supports our 64-strong team in delivering more choice and an even better service in the most modern purpose-built facility on offer.

“With Nissan among the most popular EV and commercial vehicle brands in the UK, we’re delighted to play our part in moving towards a sustainable future, as well as investing in the local community here in Gateshead.”

Duncan McPhee, Lookers’ chief operating officer said: “This significant redevelopment reflects Lookers’ commitment to investing in our network, supporting our position as the UK and Ireland’s leading automotive retailer.

“We greatly value our strong relationship with Nissan and are pleased to mark this latest milestone as part of our partnership together.”

Nissan is currently in the process of rolling out an 'Ideal Network Plan' which will see its number of UK sites reduced from 166 to around 140.

Speaking to AM in an OEM profile feature Nissan GB managing director Andrew Humberstone suggested that the brand was happy with a market share of arounbd 4% level, adding: "To be honest, our vision is less about market share now. It’s very much value over volume."

The brand's market share rose 0.59ppts to 4.75% in 2022 on the back of a 12% rise in new car registrations to 76,711 units.