http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/...10421,00.html?

Published October 27, 2010

Leng Kee Rd to get a lift from new buildings

Eurokars and Audi are building two of the biggest new facilities in the area

By SAMUEL EE


ONE end of Leng Kee Road will soon present a refreshed and more modern face of the motor trade even as it undergoes a shake-up amid a severely shrinking COE quota.


Show and tell: Some of the new buildings being developed along the western stretch of Leng Kee Rd include the upcoming $70m Audi Terminal (above) and the 7,100 sqm, five-storey Eurokars City Centre (next)

The western stretch of this 800m road in Singapore's premier automotive belt is being transformed by a collection of new and refurbished buildings.

Two of the biggest and brightest are the Eurokars City Centre at 29 Leng Kee Road and the Audi Terminal at 281 Alexandra Road.

Standing at 42m tall, Eurokars expects its 7,100 sq m, five-storey flagship facility to be 'a very prominent landmark in Leng Kee Road'.

'Our new state-of-the- art Eurokars City Centre will feature a large LED screen that will play videos of Porsche, Rolls-Royce, and Mini,' says executive chairman Karsono Kwee.

'It will spruce up the image of Leng Kee Road as a place where affluent Singaporeans shop for their cars.'

The bigger premises will be timely for Mr Kwee - he estimates a 30 per cent increase in sales for the Porsche and Rolls-Royce brands by the time the new $35 million facility is ready in the first quarter of 2012.

The Eurokars Group also represents the Saab and Opel brands here, as well as vehicle rental and leasing company Eurokars Leasing, and a pre-owned business.

In Indonesia, the company holds the franchises for Porsche, Rolls-Royce, Saab, BMW, and Mazda.

'The building will be a new milestone for us,' says Mr Kwee.

Diagonally across the road, Audi is equally proud of its upcoming Audi Terminal, which will cost around $70 million to develop, excluding land cost.

'The new building will definitely be the jewel of Singapore's motor belt,' proclaims Reinhold Carl, managing director of Audi Singapore. 'It is yet another example of Audi Singapore's tradition for being the 'talk of the town'.'

The facility opens in two years' time. Mr Carl believes the expense is justified despite a smaller passenger car market.

'The new Audi Terminal has been engineered to deliver the total experience expected of Audi, starting at the stage of shopping for the model to owning it and having the car serviced,' he says, explaining that this is in line with Audi's mission to 'delight customers worldwide'.

'Furthermore, sales figures in the months following the reduction in COE quota have shown that premium segment cars are still very popular in Singapore,' adds Mr Carl.

He says Audi has enjoyed a 32.5 per cent growth in the first nine months of this year over 2009 - 'the greatest leap among the premium brands here'.

'So we need the new building in anticipation of the growth,' says Mr Carl.

Opposite the Audi Terminal, Wearnes Automotive has just finished renovating its Jaguar showroom to include its recent Land Rover acquisition.

The result is a more prominent facade for the sprawling building which also houses the Bentley marque.

According to a representative, almost $3 million was spent to increase the showroom size with a modern and contemporary look and accommodate the Land Rover brand.

It is also the first combined Jaguar and Land Rover showroom in the world to incorporate the manufacturer's new corporate identity.

Wearnes Automotive took over the Land Rover franchise from Sime Darby in May this year.

The new interior now boasts innovative retail features such as a luxurious customer suite, new delivery room concept, and a giant interactive video-wall.

Next door to Wearnes, Lexus could be next to brighten up that part of Leng Kee Road.

There are plans to expand the showroom for the Japanese luxury carmaker's expanding model line- up although a source says nothing has been firmed up so far.

The last time there were any brand new premises for an automotive marque in the main auto belt was when Performance Motors opened its more than $60 million BMW showroom and service centre on 303 Alexandra Road in September 2008.

The massive facility was opened two years after rival Mercedes-Benz completed its equally huge Mercedes-Benz Centre next door.