Even as the car market consolidates because of the rapidly tightening COE supply, Volkswagen is expanding aggressively.
The fast-growing German brand is taking over the Renault showroom that is part of the same building it is in and located back to back with its own showroom on 247 Alexandra Road.
Volkswagen plans to move into the Renault showroom at 26 Leng Kee Road in mid-June, after construction work begins in May.
When that happens, it means Volkswagen will occupy the whole four-storey building that straddles both Alexandra and Leng Kee roads and have two entrances in Singapore's premier motor belt.
As for Renault, the Wearnes-owned franchise will move next door to 28 Leng Kee Road, the former Chevrolet showroom behind the SM Motors building on 249 Alexandra Road.
SM Motors is the Volvo distributor owned by Wearnes, whose subsidiary Starsauto used to be a Chevy dealer until last July.
Volkswagen Group Singapore (VGS) sold 2,421 passenger cars in 2009, up 110 per cent even as the overall new car market shrank by a massive 29.3 per cent to 68,862 units.
Among authorised distributors, VGS entered the Top 10 last year by zooming into ninth position from 14th previously.
With its all-time-high sales in 2009, VGS's estimated profit before tax also jumped 190 per cent.
That should come in handy for the expected expenditure of up to S$1.5 million for the expansion of its direct dealership.
Volkswagen became the only car manufacturer with a direct dealership in Singapore when it set up retail operations here in February 2007.
This year's renovation work comes slightly over a year after the main showroom underwent a $5 million makeover last year to become the biggest Volkswagen facility in the region, except for China.
Then, the showroom area was increased by 75 per cent to accommodate up to 25 cars and two expanded customer lounges.
With the new expansion, the showroom will be enlarged by another 75 per cent, while workshop capacity will go up 35 per cent.
'With Volkswagen's growing model range and larger owner base in Singapore, we need a bigger facility to make all our customers comfortable in terms of sales and after-sales,' said VGS managing director Zeno Kerschbaumer.
Although 2010 would be a challenging year for the car industry with the expected reduction in the COE quota, he said that Volkswagen's modern, fuel-efficient models will provide the opportunity for continued growth.
'We would like to break the 3,000 figure this year,' said Dr Kerschbaumer.
'In the longer term, our aim is to make Volkswagen one of the top five car brands in Singapore.'
