A CAR dealership has launched a recruitment drive – as work progresses on its new £3m showroom.

Arnold Clark expects to create 80 jobs with the new Renault and Peugeot dealership, which is on schedule to open at Leeds Road, Deighton, in November.

The new development will house 300 new and used cars on a three-acre site.

It will include a sales area, servicing and repair facilities boasting eight service bays and one MoT bay, and an extended parts department.

The Arnold Clark Group also plans to develop a separate valet building and service building for commercial and motor home vehicles.

It has released an artist’s image of the new development, which will be near Arnold Clark’s existing Motorstore on Leeds Road.

Sir Arnold Clark, chairman and chief executive of Arnold Clark Automobiles Ltd, said he was excited by the scheme, adding: “The Renault/Peugeot dealership has been completely transformed and I credit all who have been involved with the project.

“I am looking forward to the opening in November.”

While the new Peugeot sales and service facilities are being renovated, the existing workshop at the Arnold Clark Huddersfield Motorstore has been appointed as a temporary Peugeot approved service centre offering Peugeot servicing, parts and warranty work to all Peugeot drivers in the Huddersfield area.

Sir Arnold said the company was now recruiting for a variety of positions including, sales executives, sales managers, MoT technicians and office staff.

He said the company was keen to recruit residents of local and surrounding areas, who could contact the recruitment department on 0845 602 3232 to discuss the opportunities on offer.

The investment in Huddersfield is part of a drive by Europe’s largest independently-owned motor dealer to create 700 new jobs in the UK by February next year.

The new positions comprise 500 sales posts, 120 apprenticeship places and 80 supporting roles for Arnold Clark’s existing sites and proposed developments across northern England.

It also comes as the company reported a 25% increase in new car sales since the Government introduced the £2,000 Scrappage Scheme in May.