Motorvogue to open first standalone Hyundai dealership

Motorvogue Group is to open a new Hyundai showroom in Dunstable on April 15.

The Bedfordshire site is Motorvogue's sixth and represents the group’s first standalone dealership, as opposed to the multi-franchised sites it has steadily developed.

In addition to car displays the new state-of-the-art site has nine servicing bays and an MoT station, plus parking for up to 60 vehicles.

Dunstable joins Motorvogue’s existing dealerships in Northampton, Bedford, King’s Lynn, Norwich and Bury St Edmunds.

These currently are home to 31 different sales operations for brands including Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Jeep, Hyundai, Renault, Dacia, Seat, Cupra, Citroen, Peugeot and DS Automobiles. 

By mid-2024, this will rise to 34 with the opening of Hyundai Dunstable as well as a new Jeep showroom in Northampton and a Citroen dealership in King’s Lynn.

Jon Pochin (pictured), managing director of Motorvogue, said: “Motorvogue is proud to represent the Hyundai brand, and we are delighted to open our third dealership and first Hyundai standalone site. The brand continues to go from strength to strength, with a fantastic range of cars.”

Business will get under way when the Dunstable Hyundai showroom officially opens its doors for the first time on Monday 15 April which coincides with the launch of the IONIQ 5 N performance electric car

The dealership will also feature a Hyundai Business Centre where fleet customers will receive advice on purchasing and aftercare from dedicated advisers.

A number of key employees are moving to the showroom from elsewhere in the business and Motorvogue will also be launching a recruitment process.

Nick Tunnell, business transformation director, said: “The opening of a new Motorvogue showroom in Dunstable is great news for Bedfordshire. We have seen from Motorvogue’s two existing Hyundai operations what a great partner it is for our brand, and we are looking forward to working even more closely together this year and beyond.”

Pochin told AM in an in-depth interview in 2017 that Motorvogue's strategy was all about scale, not the type of scale that comes with the likes of Sytner, Pendragon and Lookers, but scale in terms of its sites: a property footprint that allows him to incorporate showrooms for five or six brands, separated by walls if those brands demand, and served by a single, large, multi-franchised workshop.

Expanding further with the brands Motorvogue represents was also a strategic ambition for Pochin. At the time, he said: “If you have one of something, it doesn’t maximise the benefit. The more you have, the more focus you get, the more expertise and sales drive you get from that brand.”