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AAA AUTO grows stronger in Prague with new branch opening in Čestlice

The AAA AUTO network has sold 73 000 cars this year; record sales are expected again for the whole year

Prague, 6 November 2019 – Today saw the grand opening of the second branch of the AAA AUTO network in Prague. The new car centre is situated in the Čestlice retail park and it has 180 premium segment vehicles on offer. This brings the total number of cars on sale at AAA in the Prague region to more than 2500. The AURES Holdings group, which operates the AAA AUTO car centre network, now has 57 sales and purchasing branches in four countries.

“This is the first new branch in Prague in the last 10 years. Before 2008 we had a smaller branch in Prague-Řepy, but afterwards the only branch in Prague was the Dolní Chabry head office,” says AAA AUTO Chief Operating Officer Petr Vaněček. The capacity of the Dolní Chabry car centre is no longer enough to meets the needs of the people of Prague and the catchment areas. “Our aim is to get closer to customers on the southeastern side of Prague, which is developing very rapidly. We therefore decided to open another branch, which will also cater to the adjacent parts of the Central Bohemian region,” added Petr Vaněček.

The branch in Čestlice offers all the services of a classic AAA AUTO car centre – purchasing, sales and financial services, including loans to buy cars and car insurance brokering. Given the position and naturally high visitor numbers for the area, AAA AUTO assumes that sales will soon rise to more than 120 vehicles a month. Besides the management of AURES Holdings, the grand opening was also attended by Mototechna’s brand ambassador, the top tennis player Karolína Plíšková, who has extended her contract with the company for another year. The ceremonial cutting of the ribbon was also attended by Martin Diviš, the Mayor of Čestlice, and the singer and presenter Jan Smigmator.

The car centre in Čestlice is the first of its kind, with nearly-new cars meeting the Mototechna criteria making up just over half of the vehicles on sale. “For some time now we have been seeking a site to set up a premium branch, and we are convinced that this retail park, which is visited by hundreds of thousands of people every day, is ideal in this respect. What’s more, a new luxury shopping centre is being built right next door. This “Parisian-style” mall should open in spring of next year,” reports Petr Vaněček.

The Čestlice car centre is now the 57th branch of the AAA AUTO group. Its opening fits in with the company’s development strategy, which expects the number of cars on sale to increase in each of the countries in which it operates. In the Czech Republic it now has 24 branches with almost 11 000 cars on offer, making it the used car dealer with the densest branch network and range of cars. Next year the group will be expanding primarily in Poland, where it now has 13 sales and purchasing branches; this number is expected to almost double next year.

The branch in Čestlice covers a total area of 6300 m2. Out of that total, 600 m2 is taken up by customer facilities and offices used for sales, financial services and administration. The lot and other areas provide space for 200 cars displayed for sale. The branch has its own service and purchasing centre. A total of 4 million Czech crowns has been invested in launching the car centre. On top of that, of course, is the value of the cars on show, which is approximately 60 million Czech crowns.

In the first ten months of this year, the AAA AUTO network sold 73 000 vehicles on its four markets in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary. “In the Czech Republic the figure was over 40 000, which is roughly the same as last year. This year we have twice exceeded the sales figure of 8000 cars per month, the last time being in October. We have record sales in Poland, where this year we will sell around 16 000 vehicles, which is some 60 % more than last year. Overall, the group’s sales figures are expected to be higher than last year, when we sold a record-breaking 83 000 cars, so that would make this year the best in our history,” said Karolína Topolová. Sales records are also set to continue in 2020: “Thanks to our expansion, we want to sell as many as 25 000 cars next year in Poland. This would mean Poland becoming our second biggest market, replacing Slovakia, where we regularly sell 18 000 cars a year. In recent years, we have also been doing very well in Hungary, achieving record sales in October at both of our Budapest branches,” concluded Karolína Topolová.