Jardine Motors Group

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Jardine Motors Group
Company typeMultinational
IndustryVehicle Retailer
ProductsNew Cars, Used Cars, Servicing
Revenue$5.128 Billion
Websitewww.jardinemotors.co.uk

Jardine Motors Group, is a multi-national operator of franchised motorcar dealerships in the United Kingdom with international outlets in Hong Kong, Macau and China.[1] Jardine Motors Group market their vehicles under a series of brands worldwide including Zung Fu, Lancaster and Scotthall, and the worldwide group net profit, for the year ended 30 April 2012, was US$61 Million,[2] based on revenue of US$5.128 Billion.[3]

The company is a part of Jardine Matheson and is headquartered at Quarry Bay, Hong Kong.[2]

Jardine Motors UK[edit]

Jardine Motors UK was created in 1981 when Jardine Matheson acquired a stake in the East Anglian motor company; Lancaster Group, from its founders Ronald and Nicholas Lancaster.[4]

Jardine Motors UK was at one stage the largest UK automotive group by turnover,[5] but today has fallen behind rivals such as Pendragon[6] and Sytner[6] and is now one of the top 10. In 2014, Jardine Motors UK turned over £1.5 billion[6]

History[edit]

Lancaster Group was established in 1969 when Ronald and Nicholas Lancaster took control of a Ford Dealership in Ongar, Essex, where Nick had been working.[7] By 1981 Lancaster were running Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Ferrari and Volvo dealerships in East Anglia, and Hong Kong-based Jardine Matheson purchased a 76% holding in the company.[4] The company was floated on the stock market as Lancaster plc in 1986.[8] Jardine took total ownership of Lancaster plc in 1992. Nicholas Lancaster left the business to run Malaya Group plc, which would purchase H.R. Owen in 1994.[7]

During the 1990s the company made a series of acquisitions including the purchase of a Land Rover/Rover Dealership in Stratford, London from Malaya Group in 1994,[9] Wiggins BMW Winchester in January 1995,[10] Polar Motors in February 1995,[9] Kent-based Loxley KJ in October 1995,[9] BPW Group in April 1997[11] and Appleyard Group in October 1997.[12] The merger with Appleyard resulted in Jardine becoming the largest UK dealer group that year.[5]

By the end of 1998, Jardine announced a joint venture with the manufacturer for its Ford dealerships,[13] a venture which by the end of January the following year had purchased Dagenham Motors.[14] In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Jardine struggled to integrate the Appleyard businesses and saw profits slide,[15][16] but acquisitions soon resumed. Polar Ford purchased three North London dealerships from Stripestar in May 2002[17] and Alperton Ford in February 2003,[18] before Jardine sold their 51% stake in the joint venture to Ford Retail Group in March 2004.[19]

Jardine posted strong results for 2005[20] and continued its expansion with new dealership openings such as Lamborghini in Reading[21] and McLaren in One Hyde Park in London[22] and by purchase of existing dealers from others; e.g. Milcars BMW in 2003,[23] Marshall Honda in Reading in 2006,[24] Pilling Land Rover in Welwyn Garden City,[25] Merritts Jaguar in Amersham[26] in 2010, the Wayside Group in 2011[27] and five Toyota and Lexus sites in 2012.[28][29]

Today[edit]

Jardine Motors UK today have 70 sales and service locations across the UK[30] representing Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Ferrari, Jaguar, INEOS, Land Rover, Maserati, McLaren, Mercedes-Benz, MINI, Porsche, Smart and Jardine Select.[31]

Although some dealerships historically operated under a variety of brands including Scotthall, Appleyard, Minories, Abridge and Clover Leaf Cars, all dealerships now operate under the Jardine brand.

Zung Fu Company[edit]

Zung Fu Company Limited (仁孚行有限公司) was acquired by Jardine's in the 1990s,[32] having originally been established in Hong Kong in the early 1950s.[33]

Hong Kong[edit]

Zung Fu brought the first Mercedes-Benz vehicle to Hong Kong in 1954[34] and opened their first showroom the following year.[33] Since then Zung Fu have operated as the exclusive retailer for the brand in the region.[33]

Zung Fu operations in Hong Kong now include three sales dealerships[35] and six Service Centres[36] representing Mercedes-Benz, Smart[1] and, through Hyundai Hong Kong Co. Ltd;[37] two Hyundai showrooms[38] and a service centre.[39]

Macau[edit]

Through Zung Fu Motors (Macau) Ltd.[40] the group operate a Mercedes-Benz showroom[41] and Mercedes-Benz Service Centre,[42] both in Taipa.

China[edit]

Zung Fu (China) set up its first repair workshops in mainland China in 1986,[34] at a time when the country was not seen as a market for luxury vehicles and when the operations of foreign companies, such as Zung Fu, were restricted by the government.[34] Building on the existing Mercedes-Benz relationship, an authorised Service Centre was opened in Shenzhen in 1993,[34] but government restrictions still prevented from operating sales dealerships in the country.

China joined the World Trade Organisation in November 2001,[43] one of the conditions of which was that foreign companies would be treated the same as Chinese companies.[43] This paved the way for Zung Fu to open their first sales dealership in Guangzhou in 2001,[34] quickly followed by the first dealership in Sichuan province, located in Chengdu.[34]

As of 2012, Zung Fu Mercedes-Benz operations total fourteen dealerships, ten further showrooms and a service centre, with the group also operating two Smart dealerships.[1] Between 2008 and 2010, Zung Fu's car sales grew from 5,448 to 16,292, and net profit increased by US$19.9 million to US$37.5 million.[44]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Group Companies - Jardine Motors Archived 25 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Jardine Matheson.
  2. ^ a b 2012 Group Outline, Jardine Matheson.
  3. ^ Annual Report 2014 Archived 24 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Jardine Matheson.
  4. ^ a b AM100 analysis: Jardine Motors drives ahead with expansion, AM Online.
  5. ^ a b Lancaster Silent on Appleyard Plans Archived 30 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine, MotorTrader.com.
  6. ^ a b c AM100 2014 Archived 24 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine, AM Online.
  7. ^ a b Lancaster's dream: the Harrods' factor, AM Online.
  8. ^ Owen Goals Archived 8 February 2013 at archive.today, MotorTrader.com.
  9. ^ a b c Lancaster Group expands its dealership base in Kent Archived 29 January 2013 at archive.today, MotorTrader.com.
  10. ^ Lancaster acquires Wiggins, MotorTrader.com.
  11. ^ Acquisition Ends Appleyard Blight Archived 1 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine, MotorTrader.com.
  12. ^ Barkas, Eric (1997) Appleyard in the Can for Jardine. Yorkshire Post, 11 October 1997, p. 14
  13. ^ Barkas, Eric (1998) Ford Poised to Become a Retailer with Jardine-Polar Joint Firm. Yorkshire Post, 1 October 1998, p. 14
  14. ^ Dagenham Accepts Polar Bid, MotorTrader.com.
  15. ^ Appleyard Tough Nut for Lancaster, MotorTrader.com.
  16. ^ Lancaster and Polar Ford cause headaches for Jardine, MotorTrader.com.
  17. ^ London Ford Dealers Join Polar Expansion, MotorTrader.com.
  18. ^ Polar Buys Alperton Ford in North West London, MotorTrader.com.
  19. ^ Ford acquires Polar Motor Group, MotorTrader.com.
  20. ^ Solid Result from Jardine, MotorTrader.com.
  21. ^ Super cars on sale in Whitley, Business - GetReading.co.uk
  22. ^ McLaren to open at One Hyde Park, Jardine Motors UK.
  23. ^ Elms BMW: the next chapter, Cambridge News Online.
  24. ^ New Honda dealership in Reading Archived 13 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine, MotorTrader.com.
  25. ^ Jardine acquires Land Rover site from Piling, MotorTrader.com.
  26. ^ Jardine acquires Jaguar site from Merritts, MotorTrader.com.
  27. ^ EMW, Eversheds drive Jardine’s Wayside buy, The Lawyer.
  28. ^ Jardine Buys Toyota Outlets from Lookers Archived 26 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine, MotorTrader.com.
  29. ^ Jardine buys Toyota and Lexus Cambridge sites, MotorTrader.com.
  30. ^ Jardine Motors Dealerships, Jardine Motors UK.
  31. ^ About Us, Jardine Motors UK.
  32. ^ Financial Times (1982) Financial Times Survey: Hong Kong XI - Finance - Jardine, Matheson - End of difficult decade. Financial Times, 21 June 1982, p.xi
  33. ^ a b c About Zung Fu Archived 2 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Zung Fu.
  34. ^ a b c d e f Thistle, Vol 2, 2010, Jardine Matheson.
  35. ^ Sales Outlet Archived 20 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Zung Fu.
  36. ^ Service Centres Archived 11 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Zung Fu.
  37. ^ Company Profile, Hyundai Hong Kong.
  38. ^ Showroom, Hyundai Hong Kong.
  39. ^ Service Center, Hyundai Hong Kong.
  40. ^ About Zung Fu Archived 28 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Zung Fu Macau.
  41. ^ Sales Outlet Archived 28 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Zung Fu Macau.
  42. ^ Macau Service Centre Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Zung Fu Macau.
  43. ^ a b WTO Successfully Concludes Negotiations on China's Entry, Press Release, 17 September 2001, World Trade Organization.
  44. ^ Award Winners - Pride in Performance 2011 Archived 18 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine Jardine Matheson.

External links[edit]

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