Business could be Humming soon

Oct 6 2007 by Ben Guy, The Journal

HUGE vehicles that are a favourite accessory of the rich and famous will be arriving in the North-East this weekend.

The Northumberland-based Northern 4x4 Centre has become only the second dealer in the UK to be granted a franchise to sell Hummers, the giant American vehicles made famous by celebrity owners such as David Beckham, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Paris Hilton and footballers like ex-Newcastle Kieron Dyer.

Stewart Rogers, a director of the company with his son, Paul, said: “We were looking for a product that was a bit special and the Hummer certainly falls into that niche.

“We started looking into the idea about 11 months ago, and with all the credibility checks that you have to go through it has taken that long to secure.

“It hasn’t been easy and it has cost a bit but we are very proud to have been given this franchise.”

Before the opening of the North-East branch, the only other Hummer franchise was in Manchester. Mr Rogers added that he had already had orders for eight of the vehicles, which range in price from £26,000 to more than £50,000.

One of those vehicles was sold to a celebrity customer, but Mr Rogers declined to name the person.

The franchise itself will be at the firm’s garage on the Tynedale industrial estate, in North Shields, one of four of the firm’s garages in the region. It is all a long way from the company’s beginnings as a small car dealership in Thropton, near Rothbury, Northumberland, where the head office is still based.

Mr Rogers said: “We set up about 20 years ago as a car dealers but realised it wasn’t the market for us. We branched into 4x4s and now we have the Hummers.”

To celebrate the new franchise a weekend long event is being held at the centre in North Shields.

The top attraction will be a ‘metal mountain’, brought over specially from Holland, which is effectively a giant rollercoaster that the Hummers can be driven round to show their capabilities.

The centre is open between 8am and 5pm on both today and tomorrow.