Guest Truck and Van goes east with two new dealerships

Friday 7th October 2011

Guest Truck and Van, Iveco’s largest UK dealer group, will open a new full sales and service dealership in Ipswich on 17 October 2011. This follows the opening of a new dealership in Norwich during the summer – together the two new sites will provide expert support to Iveco customers throughout Norfolk and Suffolk.

The Ipswich dealership will be located adjacent to the A14, just down the road from the Port of Felixstowe – the largest container port in the UK, and one of the largest in Europe. The 1.5 acre site will incorporate a purpose-built 10,000 ft2 commercial vehicle workshop encompassing eight vehicle work bays.

The dealership in Norwich began trading in July and is located nine miles south east of the city along the A11. The 1 acre facility features a 6,000 ft2 workshop with six vehicle work bays.

Both dealerships will be supported by their own fleet of Iveco ‘Assistance Non-Stop’ 24/7 emergency support vehicles, together with dedicated parts delivery vans. The two sites will operate six days a week, including evening opening for out-of-hours servicing.

Rob Spittle, Managing Director of Truck Operations for the family-owned dealer group, says: “Our number one priority is to deliver the same consistently high standards of support to customers in Norfolk and Suffolk as we’ve built our business upon in the Midlands. “Norwich and Ipswich are both major heavy truck markets and we naturally see a lot of potential for the full Iveco range, and in particular for ECOSTRALIS. We are confident the months ahead will provide many exciting opportunities.”

Bob Lowden, Network Director at Iveco UK, says: “These are strategically key locations in our network, particularly with the Ipswich dealership being so close to Felixstowe. The sheer volume of freight traffic in the area makes this an excellent location for an Iveco franchise.”

The dealer group, which includes Sherwood Truck and Van, now covers an area of responsibility for Iveco which extends to East Midlands, West Midlands, North Wales, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire and South Yorkshire.

This includes 10 full sales and service dealerships under the Guest Truck and Van banner, comprising sites in Birmingham, Boston, Cambridge, Coventry, Ipswich, Leicester, Norwich, Peterborough, West Bromwich and Wolverhampton. Sherwood Truck and Van adds full sales and service dealerships in Blackwell, Nottingham, Sheffield and Stoke-on-Trent.

Guest Truck & Van took over representation for the Iveco brand in Norfolk and Suffolk from Iceni Truck & Van in April 2011.