Celebrations as Pebley Beach celebrates 15th anniversary in Cirencester
Staff at Cirencester Suzuki dealership Pebley Beach are celebrating their 15th anniversary in the town.
When the dealership opened at Love Lane in February 2002 they were one of six motor dealers in the town. Today, only two remain.
Besides selling new Suzukis, the firm also offered Cirencester’s first and only used car showroom – a welcome change from open-air car lots.
Managing director Dominic Threlfall said: “Pebley Beach was based in Wroughton, but our sales area covered Swindon and Cirencester, and we thought the town would make a perfect base for our customers north of Swindon.”
The Suzuki brand proved a real hit in the town. Reliable and affordable, Grand Vitara 4x4s and the smaller off-roader, the Jimny, were soon a common sight on rural roads around the Cotswolds.
“We’ve built up a great customer base here,” said Dom. “We have customers coming in for services, MoTs and new cars who bought from us when we first opened our doors.”
To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the showroom, Suzuki UK sent Pebley Beach a plaque to mark the occasion. The firm will be getting another next year, when it celebrates 25 years of selling Suzukis in the Swindon area.
Meanwhile, Suzuki has celebrated its best year ever – giving staff another reason for celebration.
By the end of 2016, a staggering 38,190 Suzukis had been registered in the UK – 3,700 more than in 2015 and double the number registered five years ago.
The brand’s hugely popular ad campaign starring TV personalities Ant and Dec saw sales of the Vitara Compact SUV reach more than 11,500 alone.
The Celerio was 10 percent ahead of expectation for the year with sales of 8,400 units, and this was bolstered by the addition of the SZ2 model at £6,999 and with low Personal Contract Purchase rates available from just £79 per month.
And Suzuki looks certain to continue its success in 2017, with a clutch of wins in the What Car magazine Best Buy awards.
The Vitara was named Best Buy in the small SUV class, the Celerio was named Best Buy in the City Car under £8,000 category, and the Swift Sport won the accolade of best hot hatch for less than £15,000 for the sixth consecutive year.
Meanwhile, a new model is turning heads in 2017 in the form of the stylish Ignis compact crossover, which starts at £9,999.
Suzuki says the new Ignis is its most technically advanced model in the range, with six airbags, air conditioning, DAB radio with bluetooth, 15-inch wheels, body coloured door mirrors, front electric windows and five seat capacity.
The baby SUV is available in 11 colours with full personalisation options available for both exterior and interior trim.
As an additional safety feature on the SZ5 model, Dual Camera Brake Support is fitted, which utilises stereo cameras located on each side of the drivers interior rear view mirror.
These function in a similar way to the human eye and detect lane markings as well as objects ahead – including pedestrians – and also their distance away.
This new feature has enabled the IGNIS SZ5 to be awarded Five Stars in the latest NCAP tests.
“Suzuki has started the year with a string of accolades, and the Ignis – which is completely different to anything else in the Suzuki range – will attract new customers to the brand,” said Dom.
“We’re very excited about 2017.”