The Artarmon, NSW, dealership – opened while still being built in mid-January and only recently completed – posted sales of more than 100 units in May, a figure that has Alto Group managing director Anthony Altomonte “absolutely delighted”.

“It’s a great location and every month sales are getting better,” he said.

The new purpose-built dealership is on land owned by the Alto Group and was previously its Holden outlet. Mr Altomonte said it now employs 20 people, half of which are new to the company.

“We are getting council approval now for a refurbished building about two kilometres away from our Hyundai workshop,” he said.

“We expect it to be open next month and it will provide employment for about 25 more people.”

Asked if he would consider a second Hyundai franchise given the success with its sales, Mr Altomonte said “definitely”.

The Alto Group inherited the Hyundai franchise from McCarroll’s Automotive Group that relinquished the brand in December last year after an eight-year tenure.

It meant the closure of McCarroll’s Hyundai Artarmon premises and a hole in Hyundai Motor Company Australia’s dealership coverage.

McCarroll’s chairman Phil McCarroll told GoAutoNews Premium in December that the franchise was being returned because of a change of direction within his company.

“It was difficult to make it work on a site that we were leasing and in an expensive area of Sydney,” he said.

Mr McCarroll said it was “an amicable arrangement’’ with Hyundai and said if the situation was different – such as owning a site for a dealership – he wouldn’t have left Hyundai.

By Neil Dowling