THE prestigious Mitsubishi Motors car marque is joining JCT 600.

The Bradford-based family run firm has been appointed the car brand's franchisee for the Bradford area and has already opened its pop-up sales office at 99 Sticker Lane ahead of the launch of the new JCT600 Mitsubishi Bradford dealership next month (July).

Understood to be one of the first showrooms in the country to feature Mitsubishi Motors' new corporate identity and showroom design, it will also offer a full range of new and used vehicles as well as servicing and parts.

JCT600 is now one of the UK's largest privately owned motor retailers representing 22 leading marques. Mitsubishi complements the group's existing portfolio including Kia, Mazda, Peugeot, SEAT, Vauxhall and Volkswagen.

JCT600 chief executive John Tordoff said: “Having established a competitive edge in SUVs and pickup trucks, Mitsubishi Motors is a welcome extension to our portfolio, giving customers even more choice of models and vehicles, for example, by adding a pick-up variant in the form of the popular Mitsubishi L200.

“Mitsubishi Motors has also been one of the leaders in developing the next generation of engines, pioneering cutting edge technologies to develop electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles which has resulted in the Outlander PHEV consistently being the best-selling plug-in hybrid in Europe for the last four years.

“We’re also proud to be continuing to invest in Bradford, and particularly to be bringing a new dealership to Sticker Lane where our business began over 70 years ago. We look forward to unveiling our new Mitsubishi Motors showroom next month which is expected to bring another 16 jobs to the city.”

Founded in 1946 as Brooklands Garage on Sticker Lane, Bradford, by current chairman Jack Tordoff, JCT600 has grown from a single site to operate over 50 dealerships from Yorkshire and the North East to Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. With a team of 2,250 colleagues, the group last month announced record sales with turnover reaching £1.277 billion.