Vehicle Technician / Mechanic - Service

Lookers shifts up a gear with £5 million repair hub. A "world class" £5 million vehicle repair hub is set to create up to 15 specialist jobs and support thousands of motorists across the North East. Lookers Motor Group has moved into a new 66,000sq ft facility at the Tyne Tunnel Estate in North Shields, bringing operations previously spread across three units under one roof. Trading as Lookers Paint & Body Centre, the site represents a combined investment by the dealership group and estate owner UK Land Estates. Lookers has invested £2.75 million, with UK Land Estates funding the remainder. The facility will include an accident and repair centre and a Volkswagen Group service excellence centre, alongside specialist electric vehicle facilities. An Electric Vehicle Battery Competency Centre has also been incorporated to meet growing aftercare demand from EV drivers and support the group's transition towards new automotive technologies. Bosses say the development will be one of the most advanced facilities of its kind in the UK. Derek Lyon, Lookers' franchise director, 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. David added: "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. "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." The new roles will add to Lookers' existing 65-strong North Tyne workforce and support services for customers across the region. Located around seven miles east of Newcastle city centre, the new centre is expected to officially open later this month. Lookers' existing Paint & Body Centre at Tyne Tunnel Estate will remain operational until the move to the new facility is completed. David Gibbs, managing director of UK Land Estates, added: "UK Land Estates takes great pride in providing the best business space for our tenants and creating the buildings and conditions that allow businesses to grow and thrive. "Our relationship with Lookers goes back over 20 years on the Tyne Tunnel Estate. Lookers' new base will deliver A-grade energy performance certification, helping the company to meet its ESG commitments." Want your business, product or service to be seen regionally and nationally? Bdaily helps you get your story in front of the right audience, every day. Find out how Bdaily can help Join more than 55,000 subscribers by signing up to our daily bulletin each morning here. Explore these topics. Enjoy the read? Get Bdaily delivered. * Occasional offers & updates from selected Bdaily partners

How old Land Rover dealership will become Omoda Jaecoo London flagship. * By Tim Rose * | * 7 September 2026 * News AM100 dealer group Lookers is set to open a flagship showroom representing Chinese brands Omoda and Jaecoo in London. It will mark the start of Lookers partnership with Omoda Jaecoo. Lookers is currently refurbishing a former Jaguar Land Rover dealership at Battersea to become one of the UK capital city's most visible representations of the ambitious Omoda Jaecoo dealer network. It is just over a decade since the site, designed in line with JLR's ARCH corporate identity, was opened by Lookers on Lombard Road to retail Land Rovers and Range Rovers, at a prominent corner plot just 1.5 miles from the Central London. At that time, it had space for five cars in its lower showroom and 11 cars in its upper showroom, plus a 14-ramp workshop. Including its rooftop parking area, it has space for around 170 vehicles in total. The dealership closed in 2025 and then it was marketed as available to let by property firm Savills, which stated it had a lease until 2040 at a passing rent of £235,000 per annum. JLR and its franchise investors has been consolidating its dealer network in the UK, leading to some showroom closures and some dealerships continuing as approved used car and service locations. Bringing Omoda Jaecoo to prime London location. David Tyler, Lookers' property director, wrote on LinkedIn: "Lookers Motor Group are refurbishing a vacant dealership to create the UK flagship for Omoda UK and Jaecoo UK. "A major transformation is shortly beginning, bringing two exciting automotive brands to a prime London location. "We can't wait to see the finished result and welcome customers through the doors. "This will be an amazing facility once it's opened." Sales of Omoda and Jaecoo new cars have passed 100,000 units less than two years after the first of the two Chery-owned brands entered the market. That rapid sales growth has been accompanied by an equally fast expansion of the brands' dealer network, which now extends to more than 144 dealerships nationwide, helping Omoda and Jaecoo build a combined UK market share of almost 5.7%. At the centre of that performance have been the Jaecoo 7 and Omoda 5, which together account for the vast majority of registrations so far. As the brand's marked their achievement, Gary Lan, chief executive of Omoda and Jaecoo UK, said: "We have never shied away from the understanding that to be successful in the UK, it would require investing heavily in our people, our retailer network, and the ownership experience, and we've done that since day one. "When Omoda launched, followed closely by Jaecoo, our ambition was to create two brands capable of delivering exceptional value, innovative technology and outstanding customer experiences. Surpassing 100,000 vehicle sales in under two years is a significant milestone for everyone involved. It demonstrates the strength of that proposition, the dedication of our teams and partners across the country and the trust customers have placed in our products and long-term vision." Automotive Management Live 2026 set to be biggest event yet. Automotive Management Live returns with the 2026 event set to become the biggest in its history as the UK automotive industry continues to throw its support behind the annual gathering. Following a record attendance of more than 1,300 industry professionals last year, this year's event is on course to welcome more than 100 exhibitors for the first time. * Receive exclusive speaker and exhibitor announcements. * Get early access to the full conference agenda across all three theatres. * Discover more than 100 exhibitors showcasing the latest products, technology and services for dealerships. * Hear from over 50 industry leaders sharing practical insight and real-world experience. * Stay up to date with the latest event news and plan your visit ahead of November. DIARY DATE: November 11 at the NEC.

Former Lookers Audi boss to lead Vertu Glasgow Geely dealerships. * By Aimee Turner * | * 14 August 2026 * News AM100 dealership group Vertu has appointed Stuart McGilvary as the first general manager responsible for its two Geely Auto dealerships in Glasgow. McGilvary joined Vertu in June from Lookers where he was head of business at its Audi Hamilton dealership, following management roles at Audi Stirling, Taggarts Land Rover and Lookers' used car operation in Carlisle [Vertu expands Geely partnership]. Vertu opened its first Geely Auto dealership in Darnley in February, followed by the Glasgow Central showroom in April. McGilvary will take responsibility for the day-to-day management of both dealerships as Vertu develops its relationship with the Chinese manufacturer. The Glasgow businesses currently offer Geely's first two UK models, the all-electric EX5 family SUV and Starray EM-i plug-in hybrid. McGilvary said: "I'm delighted to have joined Vertu, and to have the opportunity to represent an award-winning retailer and to lead Glasgow's two Geely dealerships is one I'm relishing. "Although the two sites have only been open for a matter of months, we have been seeing lots of interest in Geely from customers from across the local area and fully expect the upcoming EX2 to be hugely popular. "It's a hugely exciting time to be involved with one of the fastest-growing automotive brands in the market, and I'm looking forward to working with the whole team at Geely Glasgow South and Geely Glasgow Central to drive the dealerships on to success in the future." [EX2 set to join Glasgow range]. Both dealerships are preparing to receive the new Geely EX2 electric hatchback, which will expand the manufacturer's UK range to three models. The compact electric car is priced from £20,990 and offers a maximum WLTP range of 214 miles in selected versions. Vertu said the EX2 was China's best-selling vehicle last year. Chris McKenzie, Vertu regional director, said: "Stuart is a proven operator who will not only be strong lead for the team at Geely Glasgow South and Geely Glasgow Central, but will also strengthen our leadership team in the region as a whole. He is already making an impact at the dealership, and has an important role to play as our relationship with Geely continues to develop." Vertu operates 193 sales outlets across the UK and is the country's fourth-largest dealership group. Deputy editor. Aimée Turner is deputy editor at Automotive Management, where she helps steer the daily and long-range editorial agenda for one of the UK's most-read B2B titles serving automotive retail. Award-winning and deadline-hardened, she specialises in the parts of the industry where the stakes are highest and the jargon is thickest: technology, market development and the business model shifts that decide who thrives and who simply survives. With 20+ years in journalism across automotive and aviation, Aimée has built a reputation for turning complex industry change into clear, usable insight. At Automotive Management she focuses on the EV transition, supply and stock-mix dynamics, profitability pressures, and the practical realities of manufacturing and retail transformation, from emerging brands and network strategy to the operational impact of data, digital tools and regulation. Her work is grounded in what retailers and decision-makers actually need: what's changing, why it matters, and what to do next.