Auckland to Celebrate Maserati Centenary with All-New Dealer

Auckland to Celebrate Maserati Centenary with All-New Dealership

New Zealand business and sports leader, Neville Crichton is celebrating the centenary of legendary car marker, Maserati, in 2014 with the opening of Auckland’s first dedicated Maserati dealership.

Neville Crichton, whose company European Automotive Imports is the New Zealand and Australian importer of Maserati, has taken over the retail business in Auckland so that the company can directly oversee the creation the new dealership.

“Maserati’s 100th year will see the arrival in New Zealand of the new Quattroporte and Ghibli which have already seen an unprecedented demand around the world,” explains Mr Crichton. “Maserati has an order book for the new cars that is four times that of the company’s entire sales in 2012 and we expect this increase in sales to be matched in New Zealand. This will require an entirely new level of customer service, not just to meet the increased demand but also so that we are able to further enhance our quality of customer service. We took the decision that the best and most effective way to achieve this substantial change in the scale and quality of the business was takeover the responsibility for Maserati in Auckland.”

The new Maserati Auckland business is already operating at 425 Broadway in Newmarket, Auckland’s first dedicated Maserati facility that is already larger than the previous Auckland dealership for Maserati.

“We have opened this facility so that we are able to create the optimum Maserati team as quickly as possible,” says Glen Sealey, the General Manager for Maserati in Australia and New Zealand. “This will enable us to have not just a seamless transition to the new building but also a continuous improvement in our customer experience as we go through the centenary year and hold the launches for the new Maserati Quattroporte and Ghibli.”

Neville Crichton and Glen Sealey have appointed James Berry, one of the country’s leading prestige and premium car experts, as the General Manager of the new dealership.

“Neville Crichton has provided me with a unique career opportunity,” says Mr Berry. “Maserati will enter in 2014 what is quite probably the most exciting period of its long and illustrious history with the arrival in New Zealand of the first of a new family of cars that will take the company to an unprecedented sales level. To be at the centre of this, not just launching these new models, but also creating the business and dealership from which they will be sold and bringing hundreds of new clients to the brand is a career challenge that I simply could not turn down!”

With more than 18 years’ experience in the retail automotive industry in both New Zealand and Europe, Guy Starling provides an exceptional level expertise in the role of Aftersales Manager and he is supported by Neil Griffiths, one of just nine people in the world to have achieved the title of Maserati Master Technician. Completing the senior team at Maserati Auckland is David Nilsson as Senior Sales Executive, who will bring a new sales focus to Maserati in Auckland.

The all-new Maserati Quattroporte is the first of a new generation of Maserati models that will take the motorsport and supercar legend into entirely new market sectors. Following its launch less than 12 months ago, followed by debut of the Ghibli, a new compact sports saloon, demand for Maserati has been unprecedented. The company is holding a 24,000 strong order book, compared to its entire sales of 6300 in 2012. And, this is without the new models having been launched in a number of key markets, including New Zealand and Australia, along with additional new models, such as the Maserati Levante, an all-new SUV, awaiting their debut.

Neville Crichton, with his companies European Automotive Imports and the Ateco Group, is the largest independent car distributor in Australasia and he also runs the Sydney retail business for Maserati. His contribution to both the car and boat industry as well as sport in New Zealand was recently recognised by the Queen. This combination of expertise and support from his companies provides the ideal springboard from which to launch Maserati Auckland and for it to meet the challenges of the coming expansion in New Zealand by Maserati.

“Maserati has invested more than 1.4 billion Euro in new models, factories and facilities to bring its new generation to fruition,” says Mr Crichton. “We are now making an investment in the future of Maserati in Auckland to match the commitment made by Maserati in the next 100 years of this unique, passionate and exceptional company. It will be nothing less than a total transformation.”

(ends)

© Scoop Media