{"id":625623,"date":"2026-10-09T18:20:17","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T18:20:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/625623\/"},"modified":"2026-10-09T18:20:17","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T18:20:17","slug":"rotorua-car-dealership-to-close-site-to-become-new-nz-post-depot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/625623\/","title":{"rendered":"Rotorua car dealership to close, site to become new NZ Post depot"},"content":{"rendered":"

His 12 to 14 employees were his first priority.<\/p>\n

Shorland said he was reassured to learn everyone had found jobs, \u201cespecially in these times\u201d.<\/p>\n

Others had retired or were on medical leave, he said.<\/p>\n

Shorland said he had a \u201cbad health year\u201d in 2024 and was \u201clucky to be here\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201c[I] got through it good as gold, but it sort of just changed my thinking \u2026 we had a business in Tauranga which we sold just not long after that.\u201d<\/p>\n

An opportunity arose after the family was asked if they were interested in selling the Rotorua business.<\/p>\n

They decided it was \u201cthe right thing\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe looked at relocating, but we couldn\u2019t find anything quick enough for the timeframe for the developer. So, to find somewhere and set it up, it would have been a big gap anyway and we thought might as well \u2026 go and do something else.\u201d<\/p>\n

His next step was still to be determined.<\/p>\n

Shorland said the family-run business had been operating at the site since February 1992.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on his time at the dealership, Shorland said the industry had \u201cdramatically changed\u201d in the last five to six years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019ll never be what it was. I think the loyalty\u2019s gone out of the industry \u2026 from customers, from distributors.\u201d<\/p>\n

He believed this was driven by Chinese brands entering the market<\/a>, which, in his view, \u201cwon\u2019t all last\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can\u2019t survive. It\u2019s unsustainable in this market. We\u2019re not a big enough market to have 30-something Chinese brands \u2026 \u201d<\/p>\n

Shorland said \u201ctoo much Government interference\u201d had also impacted the industry, such as introducing subsidies and taking them away.<\/p>\n

\"ShorlandAutoCoShorlandAutoCo is closing after almost 35 years of operations. Photo \/ Megan Wilson<\/p>\n

He said the dealership currently sold Peugeot and Mahindra cars and Isuzu trucks. It used to sell Holden, Subaru and Daihatsu.<\/p>\n

Shorland said he was trying to work with distributors to \u201cfind a solution\u201d for its Isuzu truck and Holden customers.<\/p>\n

For its automotive customers, he suggested going to Birchall and Maunder or Emersons.<\/p>\n

Shorland thanked customers for their support.<\/p>\n

Depot to be built<\/p>\n

R & B Property Group Rotorua managing director Ray Cook said the company would design and construct a purpose-built 2600sq m logistics centre for NZ Post as part of a long-term leaseback arrangement.<\/p>\n

Construction was expected to start in November, with completion scheduled for June, Cook said.<\/p>\n

Local subcontractors, suppliers and tradesmen would be involved in the construction, he said.<\/p>\n

\"AA new NZ Post depot has been planned for Rotorua, at the corner of Old Taupo Rd and Riri St. Photo \/ Megan Wilson<\/p>\n

NZ Post network management general manager Megan Watson said it would be moving from its Waterford St site in Rotorua to a larger, purpose-built facility.<\/p>\n

This would ensure NZ Post had the space and facilities to serve Rotorua \u201cnow and into the future\u201d, she said.<\/p>\n

Its parcel and mail processing would move to the new site, as would everyone who worked at the existing depot, Watson said.<\/p>\n

Watson said it would be leasing the building and hoped to move in the second half of 2027.<\/p>\n

Megan Wilson<\/a> is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and the Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"His 12 to 14 employees were his first priority. Shorland said he was reassured to learn everyone had…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":625624,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[74,15408,6726,138,3944,651,6789,106398,212186,30608,117,111,139,1536,69,3117,415,1327,1857,61,1865,1530,80],"class_list":["post-625623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-after","tag-almost","tag-become","tag-business","tag-car","tag-close","tag-closing","tag-dealership","tag-depot","tag-familyrun","tag-new","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-next","tag-nz","tag-post","tag-prime","tag-rotorua","tag-site","tag-to","tag-today","tag-years","tag-zealand"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=625623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625623\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/625624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=625623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=625623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=625623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}