Mackays of Dingwall set to quit Ross-shire's county town to consolidate car dealership in Highland capital as premises set to be sold
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While the firm insists there will be no job losses among its 60 employees when it closes its extensive Strathpeffer Road premises, it will “certainly have a negative impact on the Dingwall economy”, according to one expert observer.
Staff will relocate from Dingwall to Autovision on Harbour Road in Inverness on March 28. The premises in Dingwall are scheduled to be sold a fortnight later.
Mackays, which operates the Vauxhall franchise for Ross-shire, Sutherland and Caithness, has already moved its head office from Dingwall to its new home in Inverness.
The move comes as part of the car maker’s plans to reduce its number of UK outlets by more than half.
Company secretary Joan McMillan said: “The whole motor industry is going through a massive realignment with regard to new car franchising and virtually all manufacturers are reducing their number of dealerships across Europe.
“We had a record year in 2021 but it became clear that the manufacturer was reducing their number of outlets over a four-year period from almost 400 to 176 and that the Dingwall garage’s future was potentially at risk due to its semi-rural location and change in demographics.
“The brand name of Mackays will be incorporated into Autovision in Inverness, of which Mackays are the holding company. We will continue our marketing and future contact of existing customers and will have the same Mackays staff that customers have always dealt with.”
Customers will benefit from a home to home collect and delivery service, she said.
Staff at Dingwall, which has around 60 employees, will be relocated to Inverness with no redundancies.
Financial results released by the company earlier this year revealed the impact of the Covid pandemic with turnover dipping from £18,094,156 in 2019 to £16,102,695 in 2020.
However, the financial report indicated the dealership was on the road to recovery and that 2021 showed signs of good results, prompting a level of optimism.
Highland economic consultant Tony Mackay said: “I am not surprised at the announcement. The latest statistics from the Society of Motor Manufactures and Traders (SMMT) show that 2021 was the worst year for new car registrations and second hand sales since the economic recession in 2008.
“The industry has been badly hit by the Covid pandemic and the related fall in consumer spending. It is not surprising therefore that Mackay’s need to cut their costs and close their Dingwall site.
“However, it will certainly have a negative impact on the Dingwall economy. That might be alleviated by the future use of the Strathpeffer Road site but at the present time it is difficult to speculate what that could be.”
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