Jardine Motors Group

Jardine Motors Group, is a multi-national operator of franchised motorcar dealerships in the United Kingdom with international outlets in Hong Kong, Macau and China.Group Companies - Jardine Motors
Jardine Matheson.
Jardine Motors Group market their vehicles under a series of brands worldwide including Zung Fu, Lancaster and Scotthall, and the worldwide group net profit, for the year ended 30 April 2012, was US$61 Million,2012 Group Outline
Jardine Matheson. based on revenue of US$5.128 Billion.Annual Report 2014
Jardine Matheson.

The company is a part of Jardine Matheson and is headquartered at Quarry Bay, Hong Kong.

Jardine Motors UK

Jardine Motors UK was created in 1981 when Jardine Matheson acquired a stake in the East Anglian motor company; Lancaster Group, from its founders Ronald and Nicholas Lancaster.AM100 analysis: Jardine Motors drives ahead with expansion
AM Online.

Jardine Motors UK was at one stage the largest UK automotive group by turnover, but today has fallen behind rivals such as Pendragon and Sytner and is now one of the top 10. In 2014, Jardine Motors UK turned over £1.5 billionAM100 2014
AM Online.

History

Lancaster Group was established in 1969 when Ronald and Nicholas Lancaster took control of a Ford Dealership in Ongar, Essex, where Nick had been working.Lancaster's dream: the Harrods' factor
AM Online. By 1981 Lancaster were running Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Ferrari and Volvo dealerships in East Anglia, and Hong Kong-based Jardine Matheson purchased a 76% holding in the company. The company was floated on the stock market as Lancaster plc in 1986.Owen Goals
MotorTrader.com. Jardine took total ownership of Lancaster plc in 1992. Nicholas Lancaster left the business to run Malaya Group plc, which would purchase H.R. Owen in 1994.

During the 1990s the company made a series of acquisitions including the purchase of a Land Rover/Rover Dealership in Stratford, London from Malaya Group in 1994,Lancaster Group expands its dealership base in Kent
MotorTrader.com. Wiggins BMW Winchester in January 1995,Lancaster acquires Wiggins
MotorTrader.com. Polar Motors in February 1995, Kent-based Loxley KJ in October 1995, BPW Group in April 1997Acquisition Ends Appleyard Blight
MotorTrader.com. and Appleyard Group in October 1997.Barkas, Eric (1997) Appleyard in the Can for Jardine. ''Yorkshire Post'', 11 October 1997, p. 14 The merger with Appleyard resulted in Jardine becoming the largest UK dealer group that year.Lancaster Silent on Appleyard Plans
, MotorTrader.com.

By the end of 1998, Jardine announced a joint venture with the manufacturer for its Ford dealerships,Barkas, Eric (1998) Ford Poised to Become a Retailer with Jardine-Polar Joint Firm. ''Yorkshire Post'', 1 October 1998, p. 14 a venture which by the end of January the following year had purchased Dagenham Motors.Dagenham Accepts Polar Bid
MotorTrader.com. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Jardine struggled to integrate the Appleyard businesses and saw profits slide,Appleyard Tough Nut for Lancaster
MotorTrader.com.Lancaster and Polar Ford cause headaches for Jardine
MotorTrader.com. but acquisitions soon resumed. Polar Ford purchased three North London dealerships from Stripestar in May 2002London Ford Dealers Join Polar Expansion
MotorTrader.com. and Alperton Ford in February 2003,Polar Buys Alperton Ford in North West London
MotorTrader.com. before Jardine sold their 51% stake in the joint venture to Ford Retail Group in March 2004.Ford acquires Polar Motor Group
MotorTrader.com.

Jardine posted strong results for 2005Solid Result from Jardine
MotorTrader.com. and continued its expansion with new dealership openings such as Lamborghini in ReadingSuper cars on sale in Whitley
Business - GetReading.co.uk and McLaren in One Hyde Park in LondonMcLaren to open at One Hyde Park
Jardine Motors UK. and by purchase of existing dealers from others; e.g. Milcars BMW in 2003,
Cambridge News Online. Marshall Honda in Reading in 2006,New Honda dealership in Reading
, MotorTrader.com. Pilling Land Rover in Welwyn Garden City,Jardine acquires Land Rover site from Piling
MotorTrader.com. Merritts Jaguar in AmershamJardine acquires Jaguar site from Merritts
MotorTrader.com. in 2010, the Wayside Group in 2011EMW, Eversheds drive Jardine’s Wayside buy
The Lawyer. and five Toyota and Lexus sites in 2012.Jardine Buys Toyota Outlets from Lookers
, MotorTrader.com.Jardine buys Toyota and Lexus Cambridge sites
MotorTrader.com.

Today

Jardine Motors UK today have 70 sales and service locations across the UKJardine Motors Dealerships
Jardine Motors UK. representing Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Ferrari, Honda, Jaguar, INOS, Land Rover, Maserati, McLaren, Mercedes Benz, MINI, Porsche, Smart and Jardine Select.About Us
Jardine Motors UK.

Although some dealerships historically operated under a variety of brands including Scotthall, Appleyard, Minories, Abridge and Clover Leaf Cars, all dealerships now operate under either the Jardine, Lancaster or Wayside brands.

Zung Fu Company

Zung Fu Company Limited (仁孚行有限公司) was acquired by Jardine's in the 1970s,Financial Times (1982) Financial Times Survey: Hong Kong XI - Finance - Jardine, Matheson - End of difficult decade. ''Financial Times'', 21 June 1982, p.xi having originally been established in Hong Kong in the early 1950s.

Hong Kong

Zung Fu brought the first Mercedes Benz vehicle to Hong Kong in 1954 and opened their first showroom the following year. Since then Zung Fu have operated as the exclusive retailer for the brand in the region.About Zung Fu
, Zung Fu.

Zung Fu operations in Hong Kong now include three sales dealershipsSales Outlet
Zung Fu. and six Service CentresService Centres
Zung Fu. representing Mercedes Benz, Smart and, through Hyundai Hong Kong Co. Ltd;Company Profile
Hyundai Hong Kong. two Hyundai showroomsShowroom
Hyundai Hong Kong. and a service centre.
Hyundai Hong Kong.

Macau

Through Zung Fu Motors (Macau) Ltd.About Zung Fu
Zung Fu Macau. the group operate a Mercedes Benz showroomSales Outlet
Zung Fu Macau. and Mercedes Benz Service Centre,Macau Service Centre
Zung Fu Macau. both in Taipa.

China

Zung Fu (China) set up its first repair workshops in mainland China in 1986, at a time when the country was not seen as a market for luxury vehicles and when the operations of foreign companies, such as Zung Fu, were restricted by the government. Building on the existing Mercedes Benz relationship, an authorised Service Centre was opened in Shenzhen in 1993, but government restrictions still prevented from operating sales dealerships in the country.

China joined the World Trade Organisation in November 2001,WTO Successfully Concludes Negotiations on China's Entry
Press Release, 17 September 2001, World Trade Organization. one of the conditions of which was that foreign companies would be treated the same as Chinese companies. This paved the way for Zung Fu to open their first sales dealership in Guangzhou in 2001, quickly followed by the first dealership in Sichuan province, located in Chengdu.Thistle
Vol 2, 2010, Jardine Matheson.

As of 2012, Zung Fu Mercedes Benz operations total fourteen dealerships, ten further showrooms and a service centre, with the group also operating two Smart dealerships. Between 2008 and 2010, Zung Fu's car sales grew from 5,448 to 16,292, and net profit increased by US$19.9 million to US$37.5 million.Award Winners - Pride in Performance 2011
Jardine Matheson.

See also

*Jardine Matheson
* History of Jardine, Matheson & Co.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official site

Jardine Matheson Group
Auto dealerships of the United Kingdom