Piccadilly Motors’ Fiat dealership in Ripon is closing on Friday, April 28 as part of a restructuring of the Fiat and Abarth network.
The group’s Kia business in nearby Knaresborough will be taking over the services for customers previously handled by the Ripon dealership.
The Kia premises on Boroughbridge Road in Knaresborough will continue to offer Fiat, Abarth and Alfa servicing.
Piccadilly Motors managing director Simon Watts told online independent news agency for Harrogate The Stray Ferret:
“We have managed this carefully and because of the growth of the business we have in Knaresborough, most customers have already migrated to the Kia product and we’re also doing Fiat for servicing at Knaresborough, as well as MOTs.
“It’s the same with staff. We’ve really handled that in the most sympathetic manner we could.
“It has been an absolute priority for us to handle it in the most customer- and colleague-friendly manner.”
Watts said the company had looked to find another manufacturer to bring to its Ripon branch, but in a challenging market it had not been possible.
In accounts filed at Companies House for 2022, he said: Our Kia business at Knaresborough continued to trade well, as has Wakefield through the site’s establishment phase, having only taken the Kia Franchise in June 2020, during COVID.
“Unfortunately, the Fiat Brands at Ripon haven’t performed well at all, only managing to breakeven in the period.”
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