Major regeneration brings jobs to dealership in Darlington

Drive Motor Retail has invested over £2 million into redeveloping its Darlington site, introducing new partnerships with Citroën, Peugeot, Fiat, and Abarth, alongside Fiat Professional aftersales services.

The project marks the first major refurbishment of the dealership in more than 20 years.

Jeff Parkin, general manager at Drive Motor Retail Darlington, said: “This investment represents a major step forward for our Darlington site and reflects the growing demand in the area.

“The dealership hadn’t seen a full refurbishment for more than two decades, so this redevelopment allows us to completely modernise the site and bring together an exciting range of brands in one location.

“Customers will now be able to view and test drive vehicles from several leading manufacturers in one place, alongside our extensive selection of used cars.

“We’re also incredibly proud that this investment is creating new jobs locally, and we’re continuing to recruit talented technicians to support our service capabilities.”

The upgraded site will enable visitors to explore and test drive up to seven new vehicle brands and browse more than 130 used vehicles.

The development includes five dedicated showrooms, expanded workshop facilities, and increased service capacity following the relocation of the MOT bay and the addition of extra vehicle ramps. The project has already created 13 new jobs, with ongoing recruitment for vehicle technicians and master technicians.

For the first phase of the redevelopment, it will see the dealership become an authorised repairer for Citroën, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Abarth, and Peugeot from early April.

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Sales of new Peugeot vehicles will begin from 1 May, with the full brand line-up becoming available from 1 June.

The site will continue to offer vehicles from Vauxhall, Leapmotor, and MG, giving customers a wider range of options.

Further updates on the redevelopment and brand launches will be announced in the coming months.