The multi-award-winning John Mulholland Motors business in Randalstown is to stop selling new Skodas following a cull of UK franchised dealerships by the troubled Volkswagen Group.
Mulholland Motors, which won the prestigious UK Škoda Dealer of the Year Award three times (a notable achievement for a modest-sized provincial dealership), has written to customers to say it is ending a 30-year association with the brand.
The move is part of a cost-reducing plan by VW plans to remap its UK dealer networks, with swingeing cuts to the number of dealer outlets and fewer investors.
The revamp of the networks – described by one dealer as ‘brutal’ – impacts the brands VW has in the UK, including Audi, Volkswagen, SEAT, Cupra and Škoda.
A spokesman for Volkswagen confirmed to the Irish News that a number of Volkswagen, SEAT and Škoda retailers in Northern Ireland will be closing from the end of November.
Just two dealerships will remain - the region’s largest independently owned vehicle retailer Donnelly Group, and also Agnew, a group established in 1931.
The VW spokesman added: “We’re moving through a period of unprecedented change, prompted by new technologies and changing customer expectations.
“The necessary evolution of the Volkswagen Group UK retailer network, to ensure that we have appropriate representation to meet our customers’ future needs, is a process that has been under way for a couple of years already and will continue into the future.
“We will be writing to Volkswagen, SEAT and Škoda customers in Northern Ireland to advise them of alternative sales, service and parts facilities in due course.
“Upgrades to showrooms in Belfast and Mallusk, along with an expansion in Ballymena, and a new site in Dungannon, will support customers in the region going forward.”
He added: “Our future vision sees our Northern Ireland network ultimately operated by two brand-aligned and financially viable investor partners.
“From a customer point of view - and of course this is our priority - our focus remains on convenience and the highest levels of service, with local, technically qualified, dedicated people at the core of our brands in the years to come.”
In a letter to its customers, John Mulholland Motors said that when its founder the late John Mulholland took the leap of faith to partner with Škoda, it was a brand often met with laughter rather than loyalty.
“Yet John, driven by his lifelong motto ‘support those who support you’ believed in the underdog and took great pride in changing opinions. Through his commitment, determination, and genuine belief in the product, he helped transform Škoda into one of the most respected and best-loved brands in Northern Ireland, often rallying the roads of Ireland in Škoda rally cars making sure to get the brand out there and be seen.
“He quite literally put Škoda on the radars of some of Northern Ireland’s largest fleets. The chances are, most taxis you sit in or vehicles that respond to you in an emergency are Škodas, sold on relationships built by John Mulholland and maintained by the team in Randalstown.
“Together we built trust, credibility, and a reputation for excellence, and the success of Škoda in Northern Ireland today owes much to John’s foresight and the family-run ethos he and his wife Alicia built from the side of their home as newlyweds.”
Its statement added: “The decision by Volkswagen UK to restructure and consolidate their network is a global business decision and not a reflection of our performance or customer satisfaction.
“We remain a proud, community-focused, family business that knows our customers by name, not by number. The restructure will mean prospective new Škoda customers will be forced away from the familiar family-run dealerships who established the brand locally.
“This change will not alter who we are or how we care for you. We will continue to serve our customers with the same enthusiasm and dedication through an expanded Hyundai operation, our Škoda authorised repair facility, and we will also continue to source high-quality used Škoda and non-franchise vehicles and deliver outstanding value for money, because that’s what we do.”
ICDP, a consultancy that specialises in dealer issues, said the VW plan “carries a fair degree of risk”, and says its implementation in Northern Ireland will effectively require the current investors (other than the two who continue) to sell their businesses to the preferred investors.
A spokesman said: “That sort of closed sale process obviously depresses values, and the terminated investor could decide to continue with other brands, switch to used or redevelop the site for other purposes.”
