FIRST PICS: VOLVO OPENS KEY AUD$35 MILLION DEALERSHIP AND BUS SERVICE SITE IN SYDNEY

EXCLUSIVE: DEMONSTRATING the company's “commitment to customer service and support”, and its investment in “continually enhancing the customer experience”, Volvo Buses officially opened the doors to its new purpose-built, AUD$35 million dealership and service centre in Sydney this week, it’s reported recently.

The new, large and modern Volvo facility is located at Prestons on Sydney’s South-West edge close to the M7/M5 interchange. With easy access from the motorways for customers, the new facility will become the key servicing site for buses and coaches in the Sydney region, it states.

“With state-of-the-art service bays dedicated 100 per cent to buses and coaches; a team of 12 specialist-trained key Volvo bus and coach technicians – who are also RMS approved; onsite bus brake and roller testing; three dedicated bus-only service and support vans; and a bus-only after-sales representative; we expect our service and support to be second to none for bus and coach customers in the region,” said dealer principal, Greg Sargeant.

The bus and coach division at the new Prestons dealership will operate from 6.00am on Mondays through to 1.00pm on Saturdays, and also offer a 24/7 bus-dedicated roadside assistance van and two additional bus-only support vans for onsite service and maintenance support at customers’ facilities, says Volvo.

“While we leverage greatly from our commonality with Volvo Group Trucks in our organisation, for a very long time now we have seen tremendous advantages in setting up dedicated bus teams who have specialised bus and coach knowledge, and complete understanding of the unique nature and intricacies of bus and coach operations,” said Lauren Downs, general manager Volvo Bus Australia.

FIRST PICS!

Australasian Bus & Coach magazine was curious to actually see what the new Volvo bus venue looked like, so it took a casual stroll in the beautiful Western Sydney sun, amongst the chirping of the local birds, and clicked off a few behind-the-scenes shots. And there they are:

ABOVE: New Volvo Dealership and Service Centre foyer at Prestons.

ABOVE AND BELOW: New dedicated Volvo bus service bays.

BELOW: The location has been doing business for the past two weeks and workflow is already busy.

NB: Much thanks to the hospitable Prestons staff there.

DEDICATED TEAM

This bus-focused approach is not new to Volvo, with the dedicated bus service team philosophy and set-up seen nationwide across the Volvo network, including in Newcastle, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, and other regional sites, the company states.

This structure is also seen in Volvo’s Australian head office, which has the largest dedicated bus team in the industry that boasts more than 200 years of combined bus and coach industry experience, it says.

ABOVE: Members of the specialist trained Volvo Bus and Coach Key Technician team at the (previous) Sydney dealership, headed by Bus Workshop and Technical Support manager, Michael Brijeski [far right]…

…AND BELOW: Pictured outside the old VCV Chullora building, the dedicated bus support vans with members of the Sydney bus service team, ready to provide onsite support to bus and coach customers, says Volvo.

The new Prestons dealership and service centre is in addition to the Volvo dealership located at Blacktown in Sydney, which was again purpose built and added to Volvo’s dealer network only two years ago.

The two facilities, in key locations for customers, will together provide excellent coverage, service and support for the Sydney region, and replace the now outgrown Chullora dealership, it’s claimed.