FORTHING’S dealer network is set to expand from 20 to 35 active dealers by the end of 2026, while the new market entrant from China will leverage the Sydney parts warehouse already utilised by its distributor Ateco’s other brands according to its national manager Shaun Garrard. 

Speaking with Australian media at the local launch of the Forthing Electric and Range Extender Hybrid, Mr Garrard explained that the brand’s dealerships – which can be found in every Australian state (but not territory) – are all 4S dealers (equipped to provide sales, spare parts, servicing, and collect customer surveys).

Forthing national manager Shaun Garrard

“So we’ve got 20 dealers currently active, currently trading across Australia. We have a dealer in every state. We plan to have 35 dealers active in Australia by the end of this year. All dealers are 4S in the sense that they all do sales and service,” he said. 

Forthing’s dealerships are currently concentrated on Australia’s major cities… 

Three of its six dealerships in NSW are located in the Sydney area, with the remaining three in Gosford, Gateshead, and Coffs Harbour. 

In Queensland, two of its five dealers are centered around Brisbane, with the others located in the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, and Cairns.Three Forthing dealerships are located in Victoria, with one in Melbourne, one in Geelong, and one Ballarat.

All three of Western Australia’s Forthing dealerships are located in Perth, while its two Tasmania dealerships are in Launceston and Hobart. 

Meanwhile, only a single Forthing dealer is currently open in South Australia in the Adelaide suburb of Hampstead Gardens.

Mr Garrard says Forthing plans to expand its dealer network between these urban centres. 

Forthing Rockingham

“Like any new brand, we focus predominantly on the metro regions: Sydney, Melbourne, Queensland, Adelaide, and Perth. But Ateco’s strategy is always to ensure that customers that are travelling between the major metro regions from day one can get access to service. So we are building a network out between those locations as well.” Mr Garrard says most of its current dealerships are multi-franchise, while a mix of established Ateco brand dealers and dealerships new to the distributor alike have picked up the Forthing marque.

Forthing Auckland

“Predominantly, it’s multi-franchise dealers. Some have been with Ateco before and are representing Ateco brands. Some are new to Ateco, so it’s not only existing Ateco brands. We’re also setting up new relationships and establishing new relationships.”

Ateco – which also deals with Renault, Ram, LDV, and Maserati – is Forthing’s Australian distributor. Leveraging Ateco’s existing Sydney warehouse, its parts distribution network, and dealer relationships has helped the Chinese brand hit the ground running locally from day 1 according to Mr Garrard. 

“So we’ve got a parts facility based in Sydney that functions for all of the Ateco brands. There’s plenty of space in that facility that we’ve set up for Forthing, and we have an active parts distribution network that’s already set up and ready to go.” “So this is one of the benefits of a new brand coming through Ateco. We’re plug-and-play. So we already have the upsells network. We already have the relationship with the dealers. We have the parts infrastructure in place. We just need the brand to support us in providing those parts so that we can set that up. So all of that was ready to go from day one.”

Forthing’s local model line-up is poised to quadruple over the next 18 months, with Mr Garrard heralding at the Electric and Range Extender Hybrid’s launch event the arrival of three new models including an MPV, a “larger SUV” model, and a third undisclosed vehicle.