Lookers Motor Group has launched a new Lookers Paint & Body Centre on Tyne Tunnel Estate in North Shields.
The new site represents a combined investment of £5m by Lookers and estate owners UK Land Estates, which will trade as Lookers Paint & Body Centre.
It will also include an accident and repair centre, which is a VW Group service excellence centre.
In addition, an Electric Vehicle Battery Competency Centre has also been incorporated into the new facility.
The new Lookers Paint & Body Centre will support the creation of up to 15 specialist new jobs, adding to its 65-strong North Tyne workforce, as well as bring operations currently performed in three units, under one roof.
Lookers franchise director, Derek Lyon, said: “We’re delighted to be investing further in the North East and to be delivering an enhanced customer experience for our customers across the region with new capacity and additional expertise in a world class, innovation-focused facility which has been carefully designed to meet existing and future needs with speed and exacting precision.”
The facility will be overseen by Lookers’ General Manager, David Morallee: “We’ve worked closely with UK Land Estates and Focus Architecture to create a next-generation repairs facility that delivers to our exacting requirements and unlike any other in the UK,” said Morallee.
“Once a car enters our site, it does not leave until all areas of repair work are complete. Aesthetically, it will have the look of a bright, modern retail dealership – even boasting a glazed hand-over bay adjacent to reception where customers can inspect their vehicle prior to collection.”
Lookers has invested £2.75 million in the facility, with UK Land Estates, one of the region’s largest business park owners, funding the balance.
