- Multinational distributor Inchcape has revealed it will be dropping the LDV brand from its local portfolio.
- The move come weeks after the company announced it was ceasing distribution of the KGM brand here.
- Both LDV and KGM are expected to stay in New Zealand, with future distribution arrangements yet to be revealed.
In a significant, but perhaps not surprising, shift for the local automotive landscape, the UK-based multinational distributor Inchcape has announced it will cease the distribution of LDV vehicles in New Zealand. This move marks the second major brand departure for the company in quick succession, following the recent announcement that it would also be dropping the KGM (formerly SsangYong) brand.
According to an official press release, the decision to end the partnership with LDV - a commercial vehicle arm of the Chinese company SAIC - is part of Inchcape's "standard approach to portfolio management". The company stated it continuously reviews its partnerships to ensure its brand portfolio aligns with "strategic growth objectives".
While a final date for the exit has not yet been confirmed, a transition period is underway, with Inchcape saying it is working with LDV to ensure a smooth transition, while SAIC is expected to announce future local distribution arrangements for the LDV brand "in due course".
Inchcape has assured current customers that service support remains unchanged during this time and that existing vehicle orders will be delivered as planned.
The exit from these brands comes less than three years after Inchcape significantly expanded its footprint in the New Zealand market. In August 2023, the company acquired the distribution, retail, and vehicle leasing operations of Great Lake Motor Distributors (GLMD).
This acquisition saw Inchcape take over the distribution of LDV and SsangYong, integrating them alongside its long-standing Subaru operation, which it has managed exclusively in New Zealand since 1992. At the time of the 2023 deal, Inchcape expressed excitement about the partnership, aiming to use its digital and data capabilities to grow the business further.
The LDV news follows a similar announcement at the start of this month regarding KGM. Inchcape and the Korean manufacturer reached a "joint decision" to end their distributorship following a review of the brand's suitability for the New Zealand market.
The move was not entirely unexpected, as Inchcape does not handle KGM across the Tasman in Australia, where the brand operates as a factory-owned entity. KGM has promised that the brand will continue in New Zealand in some form, though new distribution arrangements have yet to be detailed.
Despite these high-profile exits, Inchcape maintains that it remains "committed to the Australian and New Zealand markets". The company will continue to offer a range of vehicles through its remaining brand portfolio, which is currently anchored by its established Subaru operations.
For consumers, the transition means that while warranty and service plans remain valid for now, the future of both LDV and KGM in New Zealand will depend on as-yet-unannounced distribution partners.
While options for KGM would seem largely to lie with whether or not the factory-owned Australian distributor is interested in expanding into New Zealand, LDV has a bit more wiggle room.
MG Motor NZ is now a wholly separate factory-owned entity here in New Zealand, and is also part of the SAIC group. A range of vans and utes would fit in nicely with MG's local line up, but there is also another possibility in the form of Maxus Automotive that launched here recently with a range of trucks and caravans.
Maxus is also a SAIC brand (being the Chinese domestic market brand LDV vans and utes are sold under), and the local company was started by the former owner of GLMD, Deon Cooper and GLMD General Manager Andrew Bayliss.