What's the news?
I.M. Group, the company that imports Citroen, DS Automobiles as well as the Subaru and Great Wall, has announced plans to expand its Citroen dealer network in Ireland. The current dealer network consists of 20 authorised sales dealerships with a further six serving as authorised repairers. Initially, the company is looking to appoint dealers in key areas that include South Dublin, Cork East and Wicklow.
Chris Graham, Managing Director of Citroen and DS Ireland, said: "We are delighted to begin 2017 with this positive news of our network expansion project. The I.M. Group acquired Citroen Motors Ireland from PSA in October 2015 and has since continued to invest in its network and team. We place great value of our existing partnerships with our network of 20 authorised sales dealerships and strongly believe that now is the perfect time to further expand and strengthen this network."
This is the second time since I.M. Group's acquisition of the Citroen and DS brands that it has announced plans to grow its network; the first was reported by CompleteCar.ie back in March 2016. Since then its network has reduced by one.
Anything else?
In 2016, Citroen and its now stand-alone sub-brand DS saw a total of 1,421 new cars registered, a decline of 22 per cent compared with the previous year. Overall the number of new car registrations in the same period grew by 17.4 per cent. It is hoped that the introduction of new models such as the C3 and updated C4 Picasso range will help to boost sales.