John Clark UK Sales, Stock, Locations and Ranking 2024

Dealer History

History

The John Clark Motor Group was founded over forty years ago by the current Chairman John Clark. Clark was born in 1947 in Edinburgh where he grew up and at 17 he joined Ford at their Meadowfield garage dealership.
Guided by the ambition to have his own business, he opened John Clark Specialist Cars in 1977.
During the first year and with a limited workforce, his company only sold six cars, then 100 in the second year and 200 cars during the third year.

Development

In 1982, he opened a new separate business, Tower Garage, after noticing a rising demand in 4x4 vehicles.
Another expansion of the company came into fruition in 1986 in Aberdeen when John Clark purchased the franchise of BMW cars and motorcycles.
He also developed a long-lasting collaboration with the Volkswagen Group, including both Volkswagen and Audi, under his brand Specialist Cars in Aberdeen.
Later on, in 1988, John Clark added a few more famous brands to his company, including Suzuki, Mitsubishi, and ŠKODA.
The expansion of the company didn’t stop there. In 1994, he opened the £1.5m Autoplex, also in Aberdeen. Autoplex was in charge of representing automotive brands such as Suzuki, Audi, Hyundai, and Volkswagen.
Only four years later, in 1998, John Clark decided to return to his roots and opened Pentland Land Rover in Edinburgh, close to where it all started.

Further Achievements

As the company kept growing in the following years, Clark focused on establishing social recognition and winning accolades, such as the Automotive Management Dealer Group of the Year.
He joined the board of Aberdeen VSA, strengthened his support for the Princess Royal Trust for Carers as well as the Prince's Trust.

The story continues in 2001 with a new £1m Volkswagen dealership in Kirkcaldy, while in 2002, the group’s growth plan continued in Aberdeen with a £2.2m BMW motorcycle and MINI center.
The same year, Clark won the Ernest Young’s Scottish Business Entrepreneur awards.

The following year of 2003, was one of the most successful in his career, as it saw the opening of a new £3m complex of Specialist Cars in Aberdeen, together with Volkswagen, making it the largest VW retail venue in Europe.

In 2005, the group invested £4m in the Audi dealership center, one of the largest new and used car centers in the UK.

In 2007, further collaboration with Audi resulted in a new dealership and body shop in Dundee.

The same year, SEAT became part of the dealership group and established a long-term relationship with John Clark Motor Group.
2010 was a year dedicated to taking over ŠKODA dealerships in Dundee and Burrelton.
In the following two years, the group acquired the whole Edinburgh territory for Land Rover, as well as a Nissan franchise in September 2012.

In 2013, the group purchased four businesses from Pendragon PLC while in 2016, John Clark was awarded an OBE for his achievements in business and charity.

Today, John Clark Motor Group has 33 businesses and 1,200 employees. The annual turnover of the group is £700m.
John Clark Motor Group is a UK Top 20 and European Top 30 Motor Trade Group.