Rochford Motors, the official Seat dealership in Mayo is set for a major boost following the announcement that Seat, the Spanish car brand in Ireland, is to undergo a radical overhaul of its operations and customer offering as the company prepares to grow its market share to 3.5 per cent by 2017.
Armed with a €20m investment by its parent company Seat SA, and led by a new management team in Ireland which is spearheaded by Adam Chamberlain, former head of sales and marketing of Volkswagen Ireland, Seat Ireland looks set to finally step from the shadows of its bigger sibling brands within Volkswagen Group.
Following a significant review of its model range, Seat Ireland has over the last six months withdrawn approximately 45 per cent of its previous portfolio as it seeks to refine its customer offering. This coupled with a series of new model launches between now and the end of 2012 including the Ibiza, Mii, Toledo, and Leon will, it is anticipated, result in almost 90 per cent of sales for Seat Ireland in 2013 originating from these new models.
Motorists in Mayo can look forward to increased value from Rochford Motors, Ballyhaunis, following the introduction of a new competitive price structure. Representing an investment of approximately €4m this new pricing structure came into effect in August and will be a welcome boost to Seat Ireland’s 18 dealerships around Ireland. This will result in an increased value offer for motorists of between five per cent and 15 per cent on many Seat models through price reductions and increased specification. New Seat customers will also benefit from three years’ warranty and roadside assistance as standard from August.
Finance offers available
In addition Seat Ireland has via Volkswagen Bank access to a range of compelling finance offers based on extremely competitive interest rates enabling prospective customers complete new car purchases. To-date in 2012, Seat customers have already accessed €3m in finance packages and with a number of new packages to be unveiled for 2013 this figure looks set to more than double by year end.
As part of its planning to grow its market share, Seat Ireland is undergoing an ambitious dealership recruitment process as it intends to grow its network from 18 to 28 by 2015. Central to this process is a focus on increasing its penetration within urban areas. This expansion is already well under way with Seat Ireland expected to announce the recruitment of four new dealerships in Limerick, Galway, Westmeath, and Dublin in the coming weeks.
