In a series of articles on the motor industry, Bill Calthrop has been looking at car dealerships in Swindon and the turbulent times that have brought major changes to who sells what in the town. This week he looks at Sytner, the group that now handles the prestigious Mercedes-Benz brand

Taking over the newly organised Mercedes-Benz franchise for a huge area of the South West was always likely to be a traumatic experience even for the Sytner Group.

The group until recently owned by former racing driver Frank Sytner but taken over in March by United Auto Group, owned by another former motor racing driver, Roger Penske is one of the biggest Mercedes-Benz retailers in the US.

After all, the marque had for some 25 years been in the hands of the well established Dick Lovett Group, which earlier this year decided to relinquish it under what might be described as uneasy circumstances.

It followed Mercedes' decision to cut its number of dealerships and reorganise distribution, resulting in all Mercedes dealerships being renamed, regardless of who owns them, by the brand such as Mercedes Swindon in the case of the new Mercedes dealership here.

So how did the changeover go? Was it as traumatic as expected?

"Well, no, actually it wasn't at all. Despite all the doom and gloom predictions from some quarters, everything went remarkably smoothly," said operations director Mike Fellows, smiling widely.

"So the doubters are confounded and we are very much in the business of selling Mercedes and looking after those who already have them.

"Selling quality cars is what we are about and selling Mercedes in Swindon and the area is what we like doing."

What brought matters to a head was that Mercedes decided they wanted to have fewer partners to deal with in the UK and, in a radical move, terminated all the dealer contracts, starting again with fewer retail partners.

Having been involved with Mercedes for a number of years in Bristol, the Sytner group was invited to take on the franchise.

Sytner has 65 dealerships in the UK, is the biggest retailer of BMW in the UK and has Porsche, Land Rover, Ferrari and Jaguar within the stable. So within the premium brands, one would see Mercedes-Benz as arguably the most respected and well known brand of all.

The new franchise covers Weston-super-Mare, Bristol, Gloucester, Cheltenham, Bath, Swindon and Newbury.

In making the move and all the problems surrounding not only a change of name but moving to temporary premises until a new site for a purpose-built Mercedes centre is found what steps were taken so that existing and potential customers were not left in any doubt as to continuity of service?

"There was excellent communication during the transition period where Lovetts wrote to everyone on their customer database advising them of the changes to come," says Mike Fellows.

"As the incoming dealer, Sytner did exactly the same thing, advising people of the new location, phone numbers and the very important fact that the staff employed by Dick Lovett had transferred almost entirely to Sytner.

"In other words, it was business as usual, although at a new site. The product was the same as well as the same friendly faces.

"We believe it has been a smooth transition and from the feedback we have received, it all seems to have been a pretty seamless operation.

"These are exciting times within Mercedes-Benz and it is a very dynamic time within the brand's history in the UK."