MG dealer makes sales while the sun shines

Most people just bring a stick of rock back from their holidays. But tourists visiting Devon are taking larger souvenirs home – MG cars!

Blights MG in Bideford, north Devon, is developing a thriving business in selling the latest MG cars to visitors to the holiday resort who to find the dealership by chance. General Manager, Dave Chumbley, said: “It’s amazing really, we’ve had three sales in the past week alone and all of the customers live miles away from us.”

The latest holidaying customer was Coral Taylor from Thatcham – 170 miles away from Bideford. She bought one of MG’s top-selling MG3 superminis. Coral said: “I was in Bideford for a long weekend and fancied a test drive, which Dave kindly arranged for me on the Saturday afternoon.

“I loved it and spotted a bright yellow used one when we got back to the showroom and that was it – I just fell in love with it and signed up there and then.”

The Hello Yellow MG3 had in fact only just been part-exchanged by a couple who had ordered one of MG’s latest models, the MG GS sports utility vehicle, and that customer was another summer holiday buyer!

Dave Chumbley explained: “While we were servicing their MG3, they took our new MG GS demonstrator for a spin, they loved it so much they ordered one on the spot.

“Last week we took the MG GS to the North Devon Show which was packed with holiday makers and blow me, we took another order from a chap who was on his summer break down here.

“There were other cars on show, but the MG GS was certainly the biggest attraction and it wouldn’t surprise me if we get more orders from tourists. It’s a trend that’s now building our sales very nicely!”

Meanwhile, MG’s summertime sales boom continues to accelerate with dealers up and down the country reporting record requests for MG3 and GS test drives.

The UK marque is one of the fastest growing brands in Britain and is on target to set a new sales record in 2016, backed by an ever increasing dealer network. While the UK car industry is currently increasing by an average of 2.8 per cent, MG growth is more than five times that level with official figures showing the brand is up more than 15 per cent so far this year.