Gowan Auto consolidates nine brands in one space

A new state-of-the-art headquarters in Dublin's Citywest has been unveiled by Gowan Auto, following the consolidation of nine major motor brands and the completion of a phased relocation of 129 staff. 

Gowan Auto is the exclusive importer and distributor of Alfa Romeo, Citroën, DS Automobiles, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Honda, Jeep, Opel, and Peugeot in the Republic of Ireland. The company has united its suite of car brands, teams and expertise and presented its expansive office space, to include a 110,000 sq ft parts warehouse, a contemporary training academy, and an extensive marketing showroom.

Gowan Auto, a member of the family-owned holding company, the Gowan Group, has made a significant commercial investment in the new Citywest premises, to future-proof the business and to meet its dealer partners' sales, parts, technical and aftersales needs, more readily. 

The complex is equipped with 26 electric vehicle chargers, 123 car parking spaces, seven meeting rooms, and two training classrooms in the Gowan Academy which offers Gowan Auto dealers access to dedicated technical, sales, finance, marketing, and digital expertise, to enable in-depth training across all facets of the business.

The new marketing showroom, the Gowan Gallery, is a multi-purpose event space that has been designed for each brand to hold conferences, events and launches, and to welcome dealers and fleet guests.

The introduction of shared services across the brands has ensured greater efficiencies, with the dealer networks now accessing centralised IT support, enhanced customer care, warranty, technical, parts, and finance teams. 

MDL appointed distributor for China's largest passenger EV maker

A compact SUV from Chinese carmaker BYD will be the next electric car from that country to be sold in Ireland, following a deal that appoints Motor Distributors Limited as the representative of the brand in this country, writes Brian Byrne.

It will be the third Chinese company with a position in Ireland, after MG and the Ora companies — the latter which had its Funky Cat launch earlier this week.

The arrival of the BYD Atto-3 compact SUV will be the first in a range of EVs from the brand, a statement from MDL says. The car will have a WLTP-rated range of 420km and an energy consumption of 15.5kWh/100km.

The new franchise will mean an extra 150 jobs at MDL, bringing the total employment to around 450 at the importer, currently distributors of Mercedes-Benz here.

The agreement was signed at BYD global headquarters in Shenzhen, China in the presence of MDL chief executive, Paddy Finnegan.  

Motor Group completes massive warehouse development

With more than 130 motor dealers throughout Ireland to cater for, the Gowan Group has just completed fitting out a 110,000 sq ft warehouse in Dublin's City West Business Campus to ensure speedy distribution of parts, writes Brian Byrne.

The Gowan Group Motor Division now distributes nine car brands, and the new operation will bring management of them under one roof. They are Alfa Romeo, Citroen, DS, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Honda, Jeep, Opel and Peugeot, and Eurorepar multibrand spare parts will also be stocked.

There are 23,000 unique locations for storage of components in the facility, which allows the company to stock components of all sizes, including body panels and glass. Each dealer will receive an overnight delivery service, with three daily deliveries planned for all Dublin dealers.

An Academy for training dealer staff and technicians is also being developed at the site, and there will also be a dedicated marketing suite where dealers can bring potential customers to see specific brands and vehicles.

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A history of 50 years of Car Assembly in Ireland

Stephen Byrne, MD, Mercedes-Benz; Robert Poole, former Secretary of SIMI; author Bob Montgomery; Larry Mooney, former MDL employee and Chairman of C.A.R.; and Gavin Hydes, President of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry, pictured at today's book launch.

Today marked a special day for the Irish Motor Industry with the launch of Bob Montgomery's 'Motor Assembly in Ireland' which charts 50 years of car assembly in this country, writes Trish Whelan.

The event took place in the marvellous car museum in Motor Distributors Limited on the Naas Road in Dublin, home to Mercedes-Benz, and was attended by a huge audience from the motor industry, past and present.

Bob's book is the story of the fifty plus makes of cars that were assembled during the fifty-year lifespan of the Industry. With 240 pages and 205 illustrations, this book is full of information about the makes of cars assembled, many of them surprising, and the personalities involved with them.

Rosemary Smith and Frank Keane.

The book is the result of a joint desire by C.A.R. (whose members include many who worked in the Assembly Industry) and the Royal Irish Automobile Club Archive, to record this important piece of automotive history.

Larry Mooney, former MDL employee and Chairman of C.A.R. said: "Just how difficult this book must have been for Bob can be summed up in an email received the other day from a C.A.R. colleague who said, 'I am glad that the subject has been written up while there are still people around who remember the facts, or at least the facts as they remember them. I think that this book is a significant historical document that has recorded an important part of our economic heritage."

Arthur Collier, Chairman of the Royal Irish Automobile Club added: "The RIAC was deeply involved with the introduction of the automobile to Ireland at the turn of the last century. Therefore, I am especially pleased to see yet another important chapter in Irish motoring history committed to paper so that we can all appreciate the vibrant and varied industry that existed around the production of the automobile in Ireland. Bob's book is a welcome addition to the records that we hold of the history of motoring and motorsport in Ireland for future generations to appreciate."

The manufacturing and heavy industry we know today was a distant dream for an emerging Republic in the 1920s and early 1930s. In contrast to today, The Republic of Ireland at that time was stagnating with an economy almost entirely based on agriculture. Two visionaries understood that developing and encouraging a manufacturing sector would be paramount in dragging such a small economy onto the world stage.

James Wyse, formerly of Citroen; and Gemma Maughan, Gowan Group.

Sean Lemass, the Minister for Industry and Commerce, along with FM Summerfield, understood that this process needed to be jumpstarted somehow. They conceived the idea of assembling motor cars in the Republic which up till then was only carried out in more industrialised countries.

Bob Montgomery said: "It should be remembered that at the time assembly was introduced, the Free State had virtually no light industry manufacturing, yet within six months there were no fewer than 13 assembly plants in operation together with the necessary component suppliers. In the years that followed, in the region of 52 different makes of cars were assembled here."

To get the process started, in 1933 Sean Lemass provided a tax concession to companies who engaged in assembling cars. The result was that within a year there were 13 assembly plants importing cars in in CKD form - completely knocked down - where the key components were taken from the manufacturing line and shipped to Ireland for assembly. A significant light industrial sector developed around these plants providing tyres, batteries, glass, springs, spark plugs, upholstery, paint and other components.

Bob Montgomery at today's launch with his son Robert (Mitsubishi Motors).

Bob explained: "This was the true start of the light manufacturing industry in Ireland that continued until the last cars were produced in 1984 after our accession to the EC. I feel that this is a vital, and often under appreciated, stage in the transition of the Republic of Ireland from an agriculture-based to an industrial economy."

Former Toyota employee Jim Cusack, with Steve Tormey, CEO, Toyota Ireland.

The book is available from major bookshops or directly from Bob Montgomery at dreoilin95@icloud.com. Distribution: Gill Distribution.