Hyundai will be back in city soon

The Hyundai brand will be back in the Wanganui marketplace before Christmas with Wanganui Motors taking over the franchise.

Mark Quirk, Wanganui Motors dealer principal, confirmed that his company and Hyundai NZ had reached agreement recently and work would soon start on building a new showroom.

And Mr Quirk said servicing of vehicles for existing Hyundai owners could start earlier than that. "We'll be contacting those owners when that's ready to go," he said.

The showroom will be built facing St Hill St and Mr Quirk said he was confident it would open for business in December.

"We've got the ability to handle the extra business with our existing staff but positions would be created," he said.

He said with a new showroom, the Hyundai flag would operate as a stand-alone business within the Wanganui Motors complex. "We'll have a designated area within our workshop for servicing Hyundai vehicles and a specially trained technician would handle that side of the business."

The decision by McVerry Crawford to close it's Wanganui branch in Purnell St created the vacuum which Mr Quirk said his company was "more than happy" to fill.

"We'll offer the full range of vehicles Hyundai make, including cars, SUVs and commercial vehicles. This is all about choice for the buyers and we need to be able to give them that. It's also about keeping people shopping locally."

Mr Quirk said Hyundai was "on the move" globally and was another reason why Wanganui Motors was keen to secure the dealership for this region.

"We've had strength in the vehicle market since the Dyke family established our business in 1963 and we'll be offering full sales and service for the brand just as we do with Ford and Mazda," he said.

"We're excited about it. It's a positive move and it's good for Wanganui."