We’re moving!
Capital City Ford preparing for another 100 years in Wellington.
Capital City Ford, one of New Zealand’s largest Ford dealerships, is moving its sales and support departments to a new purpose-built site in Lower Hutt.
The multi award-winning business has been providing transport solutions to Wellingtonians since 1923, when the retailing of Ford vehicles was incorporated as ‘Ford Sales and Service Wellington Ltd’.
The first car sold by the dealership was a Ford Model T, which by 1924 represented one out of every three vehicle sales in New Zealand. In the subsequent years it has gone on to sell other iconic vehicles including the Ford Falcon, Ford Mustang, and New Zealand’s number one selling vehicle for the last five years - the Ford Ranger.
The Taranaki Street site was opened in 1938 and served as a distribution centre during the Second World War. It underwent an extensive renovation in 1968 before being demolished and rebuilt in 1983 due to new earthquake standards. In 2005 it received another significant refurbishment.
In 2020, Capital City Ford will embark on a series of changes that will see it move its sales and support departments from Taranaki Street to merge the business with Stevens Ford in a new purpose-built facility in Lower Hutt.
Matthew Carman, Chief Executive Officer/Dealer Principal at Capital City Ford, says the continual rise of commercial property values in the Wellington CBD has made it increasingly difficult to operate across a large footprint in the city centre. The 7,500 square metre site on Taranaki Street was sold to a property development group in 2015 to undertake a residential project.
“We have adopted a ‘hub and spoke’ concept to ensure that our customers will enjoy an experience that is convenient, professional and friendly – regardless of where they are in the greater Wellington region.
“Between now and October 2020, we will continue to operate our sales departments at 97 Taranaki Street. Although we will be operating on a reduced footprint, we will be working hard to deliver a fantastic purchasing experience whilst demolition and construction activities go on around us,” Carman says.
The operational hub will be based at 434 High Street on a site that is being significantly expanded and redeveloped a brand new showroom.
“Over the last 5 years, The Colonial Motor Company Limited (parent company of Capital City Ford and Stevens Ford) has been acquiring the land and buildings around Stevens Ford in Lower Hutt, and in early 2019 purchased the last piece of land that has enabled us to now commence our project.
Later this year, the teams at Capital City Ford and Stevens Ford will merge and represent the Ford brand across the entire Wellington region. Branded Capital City Ford, the new entity will create greater efficiency and secure our combined future for the next 100 years,” Carman says.
The hub will be supported by multiple ‘spokes’ conveniently located throughout the greater Wellington region. All of these are already in place; they include two existing facilities - a sales and service branch at 160 Kapiti Road, Paraparaumu, a dedicated service centre at 10 Tutuira Place, Porirua, the Ford Link showroom in the PWC Centre on Wellington’s waterfront, and a new dedicated service centre at 258 Taranaki Street, Wellington.
Simon Rutherford, Managing Director of Ford New Zealand is also excited about the new premises and the exceptional experience it will give customers.
“We are very excited that we will be able to offer our Ford customers an all new Ford signature store and experience at the hub. Alongside this we will strive to ensure convenient and improved service locations for our customers that are very close to the locations that they are already familiar with.”
Capital City Ford expect to have the new Lower Hutt premises completed by October 2020.