Dealer ventures into car rental
Jan 15 2008 by Chris Knox, The Journal
AN INDEPENDENT Tyneside car dealer expects to increase its turnover by £12m to £70m after opening a new site and introducing a rental division.
The launches at Newcastle company Hodgson form a big part of its expansion plans, which it expects to add more than 30 to its 140-strong workforce this year.
The new site in Gateshead, to be opened this year, will complement its dealerships at the Gateshead MetroCentre and Silver Link retail park in Wallsend, which include four showrooms and three after-sales departments.
Although the new venture is still in the planning stages, it is expected to add £12m to the firm’s annual turnover of £58m.
Group general manager David Lowes said: “Although much of our expansion is in the planning stages, there are certainly a lot of developments on the horizon at Hodgson, of which the rental division and the new site play a big part.” Mr Lowes also expects Hodgson Toyota Rental, launched last November and operating from the MetroCentre site, to achieve a turnover of £350,000 in its first year, a figure he believes will grow “considerably” in the next three years.
He also believes the division will be able to double its current rental fleet of 50 Toyotas within the same period and add three jobs to its workforce of four by the end of this year.
Hodgson has also benefited from the backing of Toyota Customer Service, which has recommended that all Toyota franchises in the area without their own rental business should use its new rental arm.
The division is headed by rental manager Sarah Sanderson, who has seven years of experience in car rental, including running her own business. She said: “Short-term vehicle rental is convenient for people visiting the area, people going on holiday, if their car is off the road, or are looking to transport goods.
“We are now responsible for providing many of the region’s Toyota dealerships with rental cover for their customers in the event of a breakdown or warranty work.
“But this is just the beginning for us and we are actively pursuing new business from both corporate and individual customers.”
Hodgson offers rentals for as little as £11 a day and has a fleet which includes low emission dual powered hybrid vehicles for the eco-conscious through its Toyota Prius cars.
The dealership saw annual sales of the Toyota Prius grow by more than four times the national average of 35% in April 2007, which helped create 35 jobs between its bases in Wallsend and Gateshead.
