ROUND-UP Hardie's into
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RENAULT * Renault VI is to gain representation in Coventry later this year after a 15-year absence. Diamond Truck & Van of Leicester plans to'set up a new site with a four to six-bay workshop and space for a small display of used trucks. "Coventry is right in the middle of our patch, with a lot of business potential," says dealer principal Mike MacDougall. Diamond has also planted its flag in Birmingham and Banbury.
TC HARRISON • Peterborough Iveco Ford dealership TC Harrison is to lay out its stall in Cambridge. It proposes to set up a three-bay workshop and a Daily 3.5-tonner van centre at Waterbeach; the likely opening date is July.
GLASS
• AutoProVision, the computerised system which forecasts car residual values, is to be developed to forecast light CV residuals too, says Glass's Information Services. It allows users to set their own parameters, such as likely future interest and inflation rates, while being able to rely on Glass's Guides for used vehicle price data.
WESTRUCKS • Westrucks is flying the flag for Scania in the West of England from a new £1.4m, six-acre truck sales site at Avonmouth. The site, just off Junction 18 of the M5, was formerly occupied by UBM Ford. It also boasts a display of up to 50 used trucks, all Scania Approved. The workshop has 11 double drivethrough bays, with two more dedicated to petrochemical work, all supported by a bodyshop and a paint shop.
"We've stripped out the old premises, refurbished and re-equipped them, and built an office block at the front," says managing director Ron Ball. "It's the envy of all the local truck dealers; they're all hacked off because it looks the business."
Avonmouth runs a rental fleet and offers a variety of contract-hire packages. The new site replaces an older depot at Patchway; Westrucks also has sites at Bridgwater, Exeter (where a new branch is planned), Holcombe near Bath, and Swindon.
RO-TRUCK Scania distributor Ro-Truck is spending £200,000 on expanding the workshop facilities at its Felixstowe depot. "We've sold so many trucks locally that we were starting to creak at the seams and we had to do something about it," says sales director Henry Gryblo.