Plans submitted for Audi dealership to neighbour Skoda showroom

Plans have been submitted by an AM100 dealer group to add a second franchise beside the Audi dealership in Ipswich.

If approved by councillors, part of the Audi dealership's existing parking and display area would be redeveloped to allow for a new Skoda showroom to be built.

Marriott Motor Group said its Ipswich Audi site, which opened in 2016, would not be affected by the loss of some of its display area due to the changes in the ways that cars are bought by consumers. 

At present there are spaces for 268 cars on the property, and the planning application reports that the Skoda dealership would use around 28 spaces for used cars and 27 for customers' parking.

Marriott's current Skoda dealership at Ipswich, which has continued to trade under the Bristos name since Marriott bought it in 2015, is in a largely residential area and operates as a split site, with its service workshop down a side street across the road from the showroom.

Its relocation would put it also near other dealerships with Volvo, Mazda and JLR franchises and in sight of shoppers visiting Waitrose and John Lewis.

The applicant said: “In the eight years since the Audi dealership site was first opened there have been significant changes in the business of car sales and as such it is considered that the loss of the space to the new Skoda facility can be accommodated with no impact on the existing Audi business.”

Marriott Motor Group runs dealerships in Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds and King’s Lynn.