Volkswagen says Nama frustrating plan to buy site

THE MANAGING director of Volkswagen Group Ireland has expressed his frustration at the National Assets Management Agency (Nama) over its failure to respond to the car firm’s plan to purchase a disused site in south Dublin for a new €10 million dealership.

VW Group is seeking to develop the site near junction 14 on the M50 as a “state of the art” Audi dealership, part of a €100 million investment in its Audi network in Ireland. However, according to VW Group’s managing director Simon Elliott, Nama has been very slow to respond and has shown little interest in its proposals. “It’s incredible when you consider that we’re looking to invest, to create jobs and a business on a site that’s empty at present.”

A Nama spokesman said it was not appropriate to talk about individual cases and that there might be a myriad of reasons why a proposed transaction doesn’t take place. “People should realise however that we aren’t interested in approving sales at unrealistic prices as its vital we recoup as much as possible for the taxpayer.”

In an interview with The Irish TimesMr Elliott also said he was disappointed that requests for a meeting with Minister for Finance Michael Noonan prior to the budget received no response at all.

As the head of the largest motoring group in Ireland, with a 23.5 per cent market share of the new car market and a network of 84 dealerships, Mr Elliott said he had expected a reply to his request.

Alongside the €100 million investment in the Audi network, Mr Elliott said the group and its dealers will be looking to hire 100 new staff this year.

Volkswagen took over direct control of its Irish operations from Motor Distributors, part of the O’Flaherty Group, in October 2008. Mr Elliott was appointed managing director of the group’s Irish operation last August, charged with overseeing the German firm’s four brands – Audi, Skoda, Seat and Volkswagen.

Accounts filed for VW Group Ireland show turnover increased by €78 million to €343 million in 2010, delivering a pretax profit of €1.3 million for the year. Mr Elliott predicts the new car market will fall to 75,000 sales this year, down from 89,903 in 2011.