The building's technical handover took place on Wednesday.
AutoWallis purchased the development plot in June 2020, which now houses a 2,244 sqm building where sales of the two iconic British brands and related services will commence next January. The building houses an 874 sqm showroom suitable for displaying 14 vehicles, a 650 sqm service with 11 bays, and a complete technical inspection area, with 720 sqm for other functions (customer service counter, warehouse, offices, and such).
Commenting on the handover, Péter Antal, head of AutoWallis’s Retail & Services Business Unit, said that the total project cost of the real estate property development was HUF 2.8 billion, part of which was covered by AutoWallis’s green bonds issued this summer. Accordingly, the new complex complies with AutoWallis’s Green Finance Framework, and the investment focused on sustainable operations: the building uses a heat exchanger system for heating and cooling and, after the second-phase commissioning of the solar panels installed on the green roof, it will meet the conditions for an AA energy rating, in addition to which it also offers seven chargers for electric vehicles.
Antal highlighted that the new Budapest dealership will be one of the largest and most prestigious Jaguar and Land Rover facilities in Central Europe. Its development is an important cornerstone of AutoWallis’s growth strategy. The property’s general contractor was Bernecker Zrt. and the general designer was Aspectus Zrt.
As a member of the AutoWallis Group, Wallis Automotive Europe has been the exclusive importer of the Jaguar and Land Rover brands in the Central and Eastern European market (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia) since 2016, and Hungary since spring of 2020.
According to Andrew Prest, head of AutoWallis’s Distribution Business Unit, the past decade has been a clear-cut automotive success story for Jaguar Land Rover, and its representation in Hungary since last year has been similarly successful. The British manufacturer is continuing its dynamic and innovative product development program, significantly increasing its prestige on the premium car market.
Prest believes that the brands’ performance in Hungary shows that there is further room for growth, which is also supported by the fact that the number vehicles sold this year almost doubled compared to 2020 figures. The importer plans to bolster this growth by expanding the brands’ presence outside the capital and building a nationwide network with showroom openings in a number of large cities across the country.
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