More than 100 people attended the official opening of F1 legend Nigel Mansell’s new Mitsubishi showroom.

More than 100 people attended the official opening of Formula One legend Nigel Mansell’s new Mitsubishi showroom and workshop in Jersey.

The champagne reception saw guests, including customers and suppliers, enjoy a live jazz band at the unveiling of the extension to the showroom and the new workshop. There was also the chance to look around The Nigel Mansell Museum, displaying trophies and race-winning cars.

Mansell Mitsubishi opened in 2014 with Nigel as Chairman and his son Leo as Managing Director. The dealership has been a great success, having been named Mitsubishi’s New Dealer of the Year at the brand’s annual awards in March this year.

The extended showroom now enables the dealership to have up to 40 cars on display at any one time, while the state-of-the-art new workshop includes four bays with all the latest equipment.

Leo said: ‘This is a natural progression for us, representing the growth of the business and our commitment to offering customers an excellent service. Tonight is a thank-you to customers and suppliers for their support over the past 18 months. Mitsubishi is a great fit for us, going from strength to strength with a loyal customer base and excellent product offering. The manufacturer is nice to work with, too.’

Nigel added: ‘It’s excellent working with Mitsubishi. They are a company sharing our belief in relationships. It’s a brand that has a great dynamic with a range that crosses many sectors, and it’s leading the way with its hybrid technology and is clearly going from strength to strength.

‘Customer feedback from our opening night has been amazing. People have been wowed by what we’ve done to the facility and they didn’t expect it. They’ve been very impressed and pleased with the quality presentation of the build.

‘We’re riding the crest of the wave now and we have the right product, an excellent facility and great support from the manufacturer. With all this, we certainly won’t be resting on our laurels and we can build on what we’ve achieved and continue our customer focus where we believe in no pressure and a completely transparent service. With the vision that is coming from Mitsubishi, we’re very excited about the future.’

Lance Bradley, Managing Director of Mitsubishi Motors in the UK, joined Nigel and Leo for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Lance said: ‘What Mansell Mitsubishi has achieved is extraordinary, becoming Mitsubishi’s “New Dealer of the Year” for 2015 and selling more vehicles in their first 12 months than we have sold on the island in the previous two years. When you visit the dealership, the main thing that’s obvious is the pride everyone has – you can feel how proud the whole team are in what they do and strive to achieve.

‘The workshop is amazing - Nigel wanted it to be similar to a top-flight motor sport operation. So impressive is the facility and customer service that the team are now even seeing owners of non-Mitsubishi vehicles wishing to have their cars looked after by Mansell Mitsubishi.’

Mitsubishi Motors is seeing a strong and sustained period of growth. Statistics from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show Mitsubishi Motors in the UK has been the fastest-growing mainstream car manufacturer for the past three years. The company saw sales growth in passenger cars of 44 per cent in 2015 compared with the previous year, against an overall market up by six per cent.