Irvine, California & Santiago, Chile, 16 August, 2010 – Aston Martin has announced the opening of Aston Martin Santiago, marking the first official entry for the luxury British marque into Latin America.
The standalone automotive showroom in Santiago, officially opening for business on August 17, beautifully incorporates Aston Martin’s retail design elements, display gallery for five cars and a dedicated service facility. Located in the heart of the city’s most sophisticated commercial district, it is only a few minutes from the exclusive Alto Las Condes shopping centre.
Aston Martin Chief Executive, Dr. Ulrich Bez, said “The luxury car market in the region is expanding and, with increasing foreign investment and economic growth, this city and our new partners have a lot to offer. We have taken our time to find the right partners for Aston Martin in Latin America and I am confident Santiago will perfectly represent our brand and be central to our growth in Latin America.”
President of Aston Martin Santiago Martin Borda Mingo expressed similar enthusiasm for the new partnership, saying “It is a tremendous honour for me to be welcomed into the Aston Martin family, and a point of great pride that Santiago will be the first city in Latin America to open an official dealership. With the support of Aston Martin, I am very confident Santiago will successfully increase brand presence in Chile and the rest of the region.”
Passion for motorsports at Aston Martin Santiago run deep, including Director Hugo Leon Babarovic, who says “As an industry insider and motorsport enthusiast for more than 35 years, I have long followed the achievements and developments at Aston Martin and I consider the appointment of Aston Martin Santiago a personal accomplishment. I am very pleased to have an ongoing relationship with a company whose history is as long and as well-regarded as Aston Martin’s.”
Matias Velasco Streeter, Commercial Director Aston Martin Santiago, said: “Being the first dealership in Latin America to partner with a brand as exclusive as Aston Martin is a great achievement for both our organization and our region and it solidifies Santiago’s spot on the list of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities. The completion of our dealership has been a careful and considerate process, with no detail left unattended and employing all the experience of our more than 20 years in the industry. It is this same passion for quality, luxury and elegance that will ensure Aston Martin is appropriately and successfully represented in Chile.
The new Aston Martin showroom, a private display area of 245 m2, has been designed to house the full Aston Martin model range including the V8 and V12 Vantage, DB9, DBS and new four-door Rapide. The dealership, owned by Comercial y Arrendamientos Leon Ltda. will also hold two dynamic cars to give customers that personalised hands-on driving experience.
In a prime location, the dealership is only a 10 minute drive from the heart of Santiago. The city boasts an impressive array of architecture, from cutting-edge modern to Spanish colonial and shopping opportunities that rival those anywhere in the world. The dealership’s proximity to all that downtown Santiago has to offer places it in an optimum position for both sales and service for Aston Martins from across the region.
Aston Martin maintains a global network of 126 dealerships in 35 countries. As part of the company’s ongoing expansion plans Aston Martin has recently entered into Poland, Croatia, Czech Republic and Taiwan, with plans to open in Brazil, Greece, South Korea & Sweden whilst seeking continued growth in emerging markets such as China and the Middle East.
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