The brand-new two-storey showroom in Alexandria is close to Bentley’s original home, but is substantially larger and has more room for customer space, as well as the growing pre-owned inventory.
Bentley country manager for Australia and New Zealand David Simpson told GoAutoNews Premium that the new showroom is designed to meet growing sales and to cope with expected demand from the Continental GT that is due here within two weeks.
The Sydney showroom will be joined by the new Autosports Group Bentley and Maserati dealership in Queensland’s Gold Coast that is finalising completion and is expected to open in November or December.
This Gold Coast site will have service facilities for the first time in what Mr Simpson said was “a barrier” for some customers who had to take their cars to Brisbane for servicing.
“The stand-alone Alexandria showroom in Sydney is a whole new setup with its own showroom over two floors,” he said.
“We have the benefit of a lot of car parking space behind the showroom, so that helps us stock a lot more pre-owned Bentleys as well as having ample customer parking which previously had been a problem.
“Customers will drop their cars at our new showroom for servicing and we will take the car to the service centre which is close by. It’s a lot easier for customers to go to Alexandria and have the luxurious experience of the showroom and its facilities. Luxury doesn’t have to be expensive or rare, but it should be easier for people.
“We want customers to relax in the showroom and enjoy the space, get to know the brand and have time to look at our cars.”
Mr Simpson said an additional sales staff member was recruited for the new showroom, with three people in sales, one concierge and one service advisor in the building.
“It’s come at the perfect time for us with the launch of the new Continental GT, which we see as a step change in volume for the brand,” he said.
“It also means we have the opportunity in more pre-owned vehicles given we now have the space to show the cars.
“There will be a lot more customers joining the brand for the first time now and a lot will come through the Continental GT. We know owners of the existing Continental GT will be looking at upgrading to the new model, so we now have a facility in Sydney where we can accept those pre-owned cars.”
Bentley offers a two-year factory warranty on its used cars, and used vehicles are checked to the same standard as new vehicles.
Mr Simpson said Bentley’s range was also boosted by the introduction of the V8 petrol-engined Bentayga SUV that he sees as being the “more urban” version of the model. It complements the V8 diesel and W12 petrol.
“The Continental GT demonstrator cars arrived in some Australian showrooms this week and cars will be docking in a week or two, with Brisbane and Perth being the first to receive their cars,” he said.
The Alexandria showroom in O’Riordan Street replaces a shared showroom with Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin and McLaren.
It joins Lance Dixon’s Bentley Melbourne as the two stand-alone Australian showrooms.
Mr Simpson said the Melbourne site also has its own service centre and plenty of space for parking and pre-owned displays.
“We have known since that was built that it was the right model for Bentley and for its customers,” he said.
By Neil Dowling
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