Popular car showroom suddenly closes with no warning leaving customers gutted as works to remove cars gets underway

CUSTOMERS have been left gutted after a popular car showroom suddenly closed without warning.

Hendy Land Rover in Salisbury, Wiltshire, will no longer sell new cars as part of a shift in its offerings.

The busy garage had sold both Range Rovers and Land Rovers on site until the recent decision to close its sales section.

However, the rest of the business will remain open, offering aftersales support, among other services.

These also include the introduction of a personalised vehicle collection and delivery service next month.

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) said this new service will make MOT tests, repair works, and servicing “as convenient as possible” for customers, reports the Salisbury Journal.

A spokesperson for the manufacturer said: “While Hendy Land Rover Salisbury no longer operates a new car sales function, it remains fully committed to providing aftersales support for existing clients, and will introduce a personalised vehicle collection and delivery service from next month making servicing, MOT tests and repair works as convenient as possible for clients.

“Hendy Land Rover Salisbury remains dedicated to providing the highest standards of aftersales care.”

Work to remove the cars kept at the site is now underway, while pictures have also revealed the dealership has had its signs removed.

The business' typical showroom facilities, including a barista bar and Wi-Fi, will continue to be available at nearby branches.

For those who had used the Salisbury site, their nearest showroom is now 20 miles away in Southampton, Hampshire.

Another alternative is the branch in Christchurch, Dorset, which is around 25 miles away as the crow flies.

This comes as last year, Jaguar, owned by the same parent company as Land Rover, announced it was planning to shrink its UK network of dealerships down to around just 20 outlets.

The iconic British car maker is in the midst of a transition – switching its focus from being aluxurymass producer ofcarsto an EV-only specialist.

It has already unveiled its new-look logo, which has seen the much-loved “roaring jaguar” symbol used on its cars for decades replaced with a fresh, bold design.

At the launch ofJaguar's new direction, the firm's managing director Rawdon Glover also revealed that their dealer network would shrink dramatically.

According toCar Dealer Magazine, Glover said: “We will have a significantly reduced footprint in the UK.”

Glover then answered rumours that the brand will reduce its number of dealerships down to 20, having previously had around 80 across the UK, according to a report in 2023.

He said: “It will not be far off that number, which is a lot [fewer] than when I was running the national sales company.

“We have chosen to have these points on the basis of geographically, those were the most – if we looked at the customer base that we were going after – where the most wealth was.

“If you look at that from a demographic point of view, it takes you to a fairly logical sort of map in terms of the number of locations that you need.”