New dealer principal extends family legacy
Colonial Motor Company has appointed Nick Hutchinson as the new dealer principal of its subsidiary Timaru Motors, a franchise dealer for Ford and Mazda.
He is the fourth generation of the Hutchinson family to work for the company and took up the role in Timaru, South Canterbury, this month.
Hutchinson previously worked at Team Hutchinson Ford in Christchurch. He spent more than eight years there, starting as a marketing assistant in 2015 before moving into fleet sales in 2020 and becoming fleet sales manager in May 2023.
To date, four generations of the family have given 138 years of service to Colonial Motor Company and the first three generations have all served as directors.
It began with Ormond Hutchinson joining the company in 1920. He was sent to Timaru and became the first road organiser in New Zealand, which involved visiting Ford dealers from Kaikoura to Invercargill to help them maximise vehicle sales.
In 1935 he transferred to Ford Motors (Canterbury) in Christchurch, which was later renamed Hutchinson Motors Ltd when Ford asked for the marque to be removed from all dealership names.
Ormond Hutchinson retired as managing director of Hutchinson Motors in 1973 after 53 years with Colonial.
His son, Ormond Alexander, or Hutch as he was known, joined the Christchurch business as assistant accountant in 1953 and was dealer principal from 1973 to 1990 when Russell Lange took over.
Hutch spent 37 years with Colonial and was chairman of the board when he died in 2000
John Hutchinson, son of Hutch and father of Nick, joined what had since become Team Hutchinson Ford in 1993 in vehicle sales and became dealer principal in 2006.
