Honda to share space with Autohaus at new MoBay salespoint
Published:Friday | June 25, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Avia Collinder, Business Writer
THE ROLLOUT of its new German car dealership will cost ATL Automotives Limited considerably more than announced four months ago. The bill is now estimated at around US$23 million for the development of showrooms and service centres in both Kingston and Montego Bay, under a plan that will see the Honda dealership also expanding to the western city.
ATL Automotives, parent company of ATL Autohaus and ATL Motors, will open a sales and service centre in Montego Bay for German brands Audi and VW as well as Japanese brand Honda, in August, Andrew Brennan, head of ATL Autohaus, said Wednesday.
ATL is spending US$2 million to US$3 million (J$172 million to J$258 million), Brennan said, to develop the facility which will include 5,000 square feet of service space and 7,000 square feet of showroom.
He said the facility, for which the facia, or structure bearing the name of the marquees, is being imported from Germany, will be "like nothing Montegonians have experienced since the days of NIG" in the western city. Staffing is projected at 35.
ATL Autohaus has operated from New Kingston at 3 Oxford Road since April, after ATL Automotives acquired the dealerships for VW and Audi, previously held by the Issa Transport Group.
For now, only servicing, parts and repairs are on offer there.
"We wanted to create a separate entity for the German vehicles," said Brennan, referring to the creation of Autohaus as sister dealership to ATL Motors, the distributor for Hondas.
By 2011, ATL plans to have a 25,000-square foot facility in place at the New Kingston site, inclusive of show-rooms for Audi and VW, which will incorporate the adjoining lot that now houses Mas Camp. The Mas Camp property is owned by the ATL group.
That investment will be about US$20 million (J$1.7 billion), Brennan said, adding that there would be no disruption of business during the construction. Previous reports had placed the cost of establishing Autohaus at US$13 million.
The shared ATL Autohaus/ATL Motors dealer locations for Montego Bay will be at Units 1-3 at the Bogue City Centre.
The addition of two brands by ATL Automotives will improve the economies of scale of the Bogue facility which, before this year, was being considered for opening with Honda alone, Brennan said.
"It would have been difficult for one brand to pay all the bills," he said, declining to discuss the initial outlay in vehicles and parts for the August opening.
Motor car line-up
Vehicles will be sourced from Germany, as well as Central and South American production plants.
"Volkswagen and Audi are going through this very exciting development phase. We are very confident," said Brennan, noting that passenger vehicles from Audi for the Montego Bay plant will include the redesigned A4, a new A6, and a new Q5, which is a smaller version of the Q7.
Under VW, ATL Autohaus will sell and service the Polo, Jetta, Passat and the CC, which is a sportier version of the Passat.
The VW SUV line will include the Tiguan and the Tuareg, while the commercial vehicles will include the double-cab pickup, Amorak, intended to compete with the Hilux and others in its category.
In the commercial line as well for VW are the Caddy, the Transporter and the Crafter which comes as a truck or a 22-seater bus.
The decision by ATL Autohaus to start selling vehicles first in Montego Bay, Brennan said, was both sentimental and market-dictated.
"Sandals is very committed to the North Coast and CEO Adam Stewart had the desire to do something in Montego Bay to show that western Jamaica is not second-class. The city is our home, and this is what we wanted."
ATL group was founded by Chairman Gordon 'Butch' Stewart, whose son, Adam, is in line to succeed him and is currently running the family operation, which incorporates hotels, retail electronics, air conditioning and automotives. Stewart is also founder of the Sandals Resorts International hotel group, which had its beginnings in Montego Bay where it owns three properties.
In terms of the market, Brennan noted that the city has undergone extensive infrastructure develop-ment and business diversification, plus the addition of new hotels within the last four years.
This, in turn, he added, has created more jobs at all income levels and more desire for automotive products.
"We are building for the future," Brennan said. "Montego Bay is a prime market."
ATL Motors will continue to operate on Hagley Park Road as a stand-alone, full-service dealership for Honda.