A new Mitsubishi dealership has opened in Eastbourne and it’s raring to go.

A Mitsubishi dealership has opened in Eastbourne and it’s raring to go.

Birchwood Mitsubishi is part of the Birchwood Group, which has been established across Sussex for more than 20 years and employs just short of 200 people.

The Eastbourne showroom, in Lottbridge Drove, has been refurbished especially for the Mitsubishi franchise, including installing a state-of-the-art IT system. 

As well as space for new and used car sales, it also has a plush customer waiting area with coffee machine, TV and guest wi-fi, plus full disabled access, in addition to a workshop as well as areas for parts and accessories.

The dealership employs five people, who have been recruited from existing staff, creating jobs elsewhere. Operations Director Ian Tuttiett said: ‘Opening the Mitsubishi dealership has meant promotion for a couple of people while others have transferred across, because we were keen to get off to a really good start with the Mitsubishi brand by having in place staff we already knew and who had excellent experience and a proven track record.

‘We’re extremely pleased to have joined the Mitsubishi network. It’s a terrific brand with such great vehicles. We’re particularly excited about the Outlander PHEV because of its fantastic environmental credentials and the fact that it can save people so much money. It’s a great vehicle to be able to sell.

‘We’re also particularly proud of the fact that all the work to convert the showroom has been done by local businesses, who have done it in an incredible time for us.’

Lance Bradley, Managing Director of Mitsubishi Motors in the UK, said: ‘I’m delighted to welcome Birchwood Mitsubishi to the Mitsubishi family. It’s a well-established company, and its firm belief in providing excellent customer service fits perfectly with the Mitsubishi ethos. I wish all the staff well and look forward to it contributing to the growing success of Mitsubishi Motors in the UK.’ 

The multi-award-winning Outlander PHEV is the nation’s favourite choice of plug-in vehicle, with Mitsubishi having sold more than 15,000 of them in the UK since the SUV’s launch here in 2014. It can travel 32½ miles in electric mode alone – more than enough to accommodate most daily average journey distances – and has an official combined fuel consumption figure of 156mpg, while CO₂ emissions are just 42g/km. This means it’s exempt from vehicle tax as well as the London congestion charge.

It qualifies for the Government’s £5,000 Plug-in Car Grant and up to £8,000 of the Government’s Plug-in Van Grant, and attracts just five per cent taxable Benefit in Kind, giving company car owners a virtual pay rise of thousands of pounds a year.