Dealer brings in new vehicle range

The Mahindra XUV 500 is the range-topping model from the Indian car maker that will soon be sold in Wanganui.

After years of dealing in used cars, one of the city's best-known caryards is moving into the new car realm.

Harvey Round Motors in Dublin St will soon be selling a range of utes and sports utility vehicles sourced from Indian motor manufacturer Mahindra.

Dealer principal Antony Rountree said the move to include new cars on the yard was an ideal fit and came about through the Japanese firm his company had been buying its used cars from.

"They have taken over the franchise and offered us the option of taking it here in Wanganui," Mr Rountree said.

And he said the time was right to make this move, as the Mahindra brand would fill a niche missing in the Wanganui market.

He said they would be selling two types of ute, including the Pik-Up and the Genio. Both are available in two-wheel or four-wheel-drive single and double cabs with starting at $23,995.

All the utes are powered by a 2.2-litre diesel engine which is a joint development between Mahindra and AVL, an Austrian diesel power train engineering specialist.

Also coming is the XUV 500 SUV, recognised as the flagship model. A seven-seater, it is finished with leather upholstery, carries a high level of specification and will be priced under $38,000.

Mr Rountree said they expected to have two of the Pik-Up utes on site within the next few days with the Genio and XUV 500 arriving in mid-November.

With the Dublin St yard selling new and used cars, he said they would soon be adding a workshop and service department to its operation.

"It means taking on another two staff but it's really two things built into one. It gives us a service centre for the new vehicles but probably, more importantly, a servicing centre for used cars as well.

"A lot of our customers have been asking us why we haven't got that option on site, so that's what we've decided to do."

Mr Rountree said there was ample room on the site to handle the new vehicle side of the business and the new workshop and service department, and they expected to be fully functional with the new vehicles early in the new year.

Founded in 1945 as a steel trading company, Mahindra entered car manufacturing in 1947 to build the Willys Jeep under licence.

Now a $18.3 billion multi-national group, it has more than 144,000 employees working in more than 100 countries across the globe. It is also now the largest tractor maker by volume in the world with manufacturing in India, China, Korea and Japan.

Two years ago Mahindra acquired the major shareholding in Korean maker Ssangyong. Both Mahindra tractors and Ssangyong vehicles are sold in New Zealand.

Mr Rountree said Harvey Round Motors would continue to stock a large range of used vehicles sourced from Japan,