TWO major car brands are set to stop trading with one of the largest dealerships in the UK.
Staff at affected branches were left fuming after being informed of the decision earlier this week, putting dozens of jobs at risk.
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Stellantis UK, who own huge brands including Peugeot and Vauxhall, confirmed it had terminated its contract with Marshall Motor Group by mutual consent.
It means that Marshall, which represents 25 manufacturers, is set to close several of its 138 stores across the country.
Six branches were unexpectedly closed earlier this year, with another four now also confirmed to be shutting up shop, potentially affecting thousands of customers.
Three Peugeot stores have been culled, with locations in Gatwick, Cambridge and St Neots set to be shut down by the end of June.
And one Vauxhall garage in Ipswich is also set to close its doors for the final time by the end of next month.
Staff members at the affected shops were informed of the shock decision earlier this week following an internal announcement.
Speaking to The Sun, a source said: “Staff at all four branches have been told the exact same thing.
“There is a lot of purposefully confusing jargon being thrown around, but essentially they are not renewing the contracts with Stellantis.
“There are roughly 60 people at each location, so we’re looking at dozens of jobs being put at risk.
“They didn’t give staff any particular reason, it doesn’t seem to make much sense to them.”
It is not known whether Marshall plans to offload staff to other branches or take on new contracts at the eight closed dealerships.
The motor firm declined to comment on the closures.
Stellantis confirmed they would continue to sell cars in the same areas with new investors.
In a statement, the firm said: “Stellantis UK confirms that, by mutual agreement, our retailer agreements with Marshall as a group has ceased at all their sites.
“We have appointed new investors to represent our brands in the majority of these locations, therefore offering our customers continued representation for sales and service.”
It comes after Marshall confirmed in March it was “downsizing” its relationship with Stellantis.
The firm axed Peugeot dealerships in Canterbury, Ashford and Peterborough.
It also shut a Vauxhall store in Peterborough, with all four closing on March 31.
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Employees at these locations were reportedly “blindsided” by this shocking news, according to Car Dealer Magazine.
Staff were reportedly told about the sad news on February 28.
An employee claimed: “We were blindsided by it to be honest, we just didn’t see it coming.
“When the directors came down to tell us last week, they said it wasn’t linked to performance and it’s because Marshall is downsizing its number of Stellantis sites.”
Marshall Volkswagen Horsham and Aylesbury were also culled at the end of March.
A statement on its website read: “Further to a strategic review, Marshall Volkswagen Aylesbury and Marshall Volkswagen Horsham will close.
“Its sales, service and parts operations, including the customer base will transfer to Marshall Volkswagen stores.”
Why are so many car dealerships closing down?
By Summer Raemason
According to Business Rescue Expert there are multiple reasons why car dealerships are folding across the UK.
The first major factor is rising online car sales which are beating in-person sales at dealerships.
With an extensive range of comparison and second-hand sites to chose from, may car buyers don’t even step foot into a dealership anymore.
Secondly, the actual cost to physically run the sites has soared.
Rent, wages and energy bills have all been increasing for roughly the past five years, putting many out of pocket.
Car manufacturing across the globe was also hit by a semiconductor chip shortage in 2022 which made it difficult to produce new motors.
The high demand with limited supply created a backlog, which although has eased, is still having an impact on the industry.
A third reason for recent closures is the shift to electric cars.
They are becoming more popular, given the Government initiative to be Net Zero in 2050.
The industry is also affected when companies merge or are bought by rivals.
This may lead to some independent names falling victim to the ongoing spate of closures.
