East-Aucklanders will have a brand-new dealership available to visit for all of their Peugeot, Citroen and Nissan requirements when the new Armstrong’s showroom officially opens later this month – but we had a sneak preview.
Located at 277 Ti Rakau Drive, (next to two other successful dealerships) the 5,500m2 purpose-built facility is scheduled to commence operations in coming weeks, in the meantime the finishing touches have been put on the new building and it’s almost open for business.
“This is just a quick preview,” Rick Armstrong, Managing Director of Armstrong’s told an intimate group of motoring journalists.
“There’s something quite exciting about building a dealership from the ground up, there’s a huge amount of work involved but when everything falls in place it’s incredibly satisfying. Now that the building is almost open, we can start preparing for what we know will become a destination centre for East-Auckland residents, especially passionate enthusiasts who are interested in Peugeot, Citroen and Nissan.
“It is also an important development from an Armstrong’s perspective, as it reinforces the Group’s vision of the best people, best locations and best brands.”
The Botany dealership is a key part of Armstrong’s growth strategy and is a precursor to other developments as part of the Group’s expansion plans, enabling multiple brand representation across a significant number of sites throughout the country.
He says that building on that particular site was a no-brainer.
“Botany is an area which is experiencing rapid growth, so it’s vital we have a presence here across a number of brands, to help cater for a variety of different automotive tastes,” said Mr Armstrong.
“It’s also a win for the local community, as we are making a significant investment in the East Auckland economy through the construction of new buildings as well as creation of new Jobs.”
Armstrong’s represents 16 international automotive marques, and this new dealership is the 31st brand location nationwide.
Amongst the impressive additions incorporated into the new dealership, and one of only two similar operations in the country, is the Armstrong’s AutoBody facility with its one of a kind hand over bay.
“It is a specialised panel and paint restoration workshop which is able to cater for the unique needs and requirements of EV and PHEV vehicles, as well as restore damaged alloy wheels,” said Aaron Hodge, General Manager of Armstrong’s Autobody.
“One of the considerations associated with modern vehicles is their light-weight construction and the type of materials used to manufacture them, so it’s vitally important to ensure that they are looked after with the utmost care to ensure they are repaired in accordance with stringent specification levels.”
Dealer Principal Sean Parrey told us he’s proud to be involved in the new facility and it’s a place where ‘sales, service and parts will be living in harmony’ and that he has essentially hand picked the sixteen staff that he’ll be working alongside.
Around thirty vehicles will be displayed on the outside with another ten inside the showroom, the workshop boasts five hoists and they estimate that they will hold over 200,000 parts. What’s more, the facility will be EV ready with eight Type-2 chargers on hand.
The new dealership is set to officially open to the public on Saturday June 26, with a family- fun weekend planned to celebrate the opening – as well as a special recognition of the first Sale.
“We look forward to meeting our very first customer,” said Mr Armstrong. “It will be from one of three specific brands and it will be interesting to see which model makes history at the new location.”
