Capital City Motors on the move

Wellington's Capital City Motors is moving to Lower Hutt as rising commercial property values force it out of the capital’s CBD.

The Ford and Mazda dealership is merging with Stevens Motors and shifting its sales and support departments to a purpose-built facility at 434 High Street in Lower Hutt. 

Capital City Motors last year sold its 7,500-square-metre site at 97 Taranaki Street for $25 million to developers Thames Pacific, which has plans to build terraced housing.

Matthew Carman, chief executive and principal at Capital City Motors, says increasing commercial property values in Wellington made it harder operate on a large site in the central city.

The business will continue to operate its sales departments at Taranaki Street until October, but on a reduced site.

The Colonial Motor Company, which owns Capital City Motors and Stevens Motors, has been buying land and buildings around Stevens Motors in Lower Hutt for the past five years and purchased the last piece in 2019, reports Stuff.

Carman says the merging of the two teams, which will be branded Capital City Ford and Capital City Mazda and represent the marques across the Wellington region, will secure the businesses' future.