MACKLIN Motors Toyota Hamilton has opened following a £1 million investment and the creation of seven additional jobs.
Previously a Ford retailer, the premises on Whistleberry Road closed in June to enable an extensive upgrade and makeover.
The investment follows Macklin Motors being awarded the Toyota franchise in the west of Scotland from April.
The Hamilton dealership is the second of four Toyota locations that the brand will develop. It is the first Macklin Motors Toyota dealership to feature the manufacturer’s new design model.
It will showcase the full spectrum of new and used Toyota vehicles including the Aygo X, CH-R, the all-new bZ4X electric SUV, the Yaris Cross, in addition to Toyota Relax cover, which provides customers with a warranty of up to ten years.
Macklin Motors Toyota Hamilton also offers servicing, MOT testing and aftersales facilities.
Robert Forrester, chief executive of Macklin Motors, said: “This significant investment in Hamilton reflects our reputation for ongoing investment, improvement, and growth in our offering.
“Macklin Motors prides itself on being a beacon for first class customer service and this will continue under the redeveloped franchise, which represents Toyota, a highly respected, market leading manufacturer.”
Michael Clarke, General Manager at Macklin Motors Toyota Hamilton, said: “While the dealership now has a different logo, there will be the same great team and the same great customer service.
“We have a fantastic range of new and quality used Toyota cars to suit a wide variety of needs and tastes; we are looking forward to welcoming customers old and new, following the refurbishment and rebranding of the dealership.”
Paul Marshall, of Toyota GB, said: "We are delighted to be expanding our operations with Vertu Motors plc through their Macklin Motors operation in this key geographic region, and are looking forward to developing several new exciting facilities for our customers."
Customers who purchased a new Ford from the previous dealership can receive any aftersales service from Macklin Motors Glasgow Ford, while used car clients will continue to be dealt with by the Hamilton team.
The Macklin Motors Hamilton Mazda sales outlet on the same site continues to operate. The dealership remained open while the new adjacent franchise was created.
'Golf ball' landmark could become air and space museum
IT became a familiar sight for anyone attending T in the Park between 1997 and 2014, and the Balado ‘golf ball’ could be set to become an air and space educational centre.
Aero Space Kinross has received £1.6m in funding from the Tay Cities Region Deal to assist with turning the disused airbase, complete with Cold War missile detection system, into a learning hub that will inspire future generations.
Shetland broadband and phone lines restored temporarily
ALL phone and internet services in Shetland have been restored after two underwater telecommunications cables were damaged.
A break in the line connecting Shetland to mainland Scotland in the early hours of Thursday meant that residents were left without broadband and phone services.
Sign up for free: You can now get the briefing sent direct to your email inbox twice-daily, and Business Week for the seven-day round-up on Sunday 👇
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here