Solent Motors go bust

Private car dealer group Solent Motors based on the south coast are the latest company to collapse with the loss of 100 jobs. The multi franchise group which includes Citroën and, Mazda was set up more than 15 yrs ago and had a turnover of more than £27.5 million and although a series of cutbacks had been introduced including some 25 job losses it wasn’t enough to save them with the continuing decline in car sales in the region. Unfortunately we at MTI are realistic enough to know that these small to medium sized family owned multi franchised dealers who are the customer champions of the industry will almost certainly be facing more hardship in the coming months, given their relative lack of financial muscle and that the areas they represent just don’t have the chimney pots required to sustain them during the downturn.