By Leow Ju-Len

THE CAR INDUSTRY is about to play musical chairs. Alexandra Road will soon be the venue for a huge new Mercedes-Benz Centre as well as a Ford/Land Rover/Peugeot complex for Regent Motors.

That will see Cycle & Carriage Kia moving from Leng Kee Road to the existing Mercedes-Benz floor at Cycle & Carriage on Alexandra, and Regent vacating its Leng Kee showrooms altogether. Which means three empty showrooms on Leng Kee Road alone.

The question then turns to the matter of what, if anything, will fill these vacant places?

Regent currently rents a showroom from Hyundai distributor Komoco Motors for AutoFrance, the Peugeot importer. With Peugeot on the way out of that location, that paves the way for Komoco’s Chrysler-Jeep Automotive subsidiary to slot into the space.

That would make sense, for it would mean Chrysler and Jeep models no longer having to share showroom space with Hyundai’s line-up, creating more space for a greater range of products from all three brands.

Chrysler and Jeep, both units of DaimlerChrysler, could use the extra room, too, for both brands are about to embark on product offensives that see them entering new market segments.

As for Regent Motors, once the new Alexandra building becomes operational in October, there’s some doubt as to what will occupy the Ford showroom now at Ubi Road 4. One possibility: BMW could move to Ubi.

The Ubi building is owned by Regent parent Sime Darby, which also owns BMW dealer Performance Motors. Performance, in turn, has a main showroom on Alexandra Road next to Ikea’s building. However, Performance’s BMW showroom is currently rented. So with its parent company in possession of a soon-to-be empty building, would it not make sense to relocate the BMW showroom to Ubi Road 4 in order to give the business its very own premises?

There are two complications to that picture, however. Performance Motors might prefer to keep on leasing its showroom, in order to please investors of its listed parent. Owning a showroom would beef up the asset side of the company’s balance sheet by a hefty amount, which in turn would immediately lower its Return On Assets figure (defined as net income divided by total assets). And if it’s one thing fickle investors dislike, it’s sudden dips in key performance data like ROA.

The other snag with the scenario is that Performance Motors is said to be already considering a move elsewhere. No doubt mindful of the upcoming Mercedes-Benz Centre, a grandiose project, the company is toying with the idea of purchasing a plot of land beside it in order to develop its own mega showroom.

If Performance Motors does stay at Alexandra, where would that leave the Ubi building? Most likely with a fourth brand for Regent Motors that has yet to be clinched. Like all motor groups, Regent is constantly on the lookout for new franchises, and what better impetus to search for one in earnest than a building that needs to be filled?

That begs the question, of course, of which brand the company is after. Regent would not comment on the situation, but managing director Say Kwee Neng recently told CarBuyer (see Issue 31) that he thought mainland Chinese-manufactured cars were an “interesting prospect” and “could be the next big thing” in the car market here. He did add, however, that Chinese cars would probably make their impact “in two or three years’ time”.

Nevertheless, senior executives from Regent have been making trips to China lately, and are undoubtedly there scouting for a budget brand to slot in below the Ford family of cars.

While we’re on the subject, the upcoming shuffle of showrooms is being accompanied by a few movements in local franchises, as well. One of the industry’s most open secrets is that 2006 will see Mini skirt off from Performance Motors’ custody and into the hands of Karsono Kwee’s Eurokars group. The well-established entrepreneur is widely-experienced with premium brands, and Mini makes a good fit with the marques currently under the Eurokars umbrella, which include Opel, Saab, Porsche and Rolls-Royce.

So where next for Mini? The trade is currently speculating that Eurokars will acquire the building currently adjoining its Rolls-Royce and Porsche centres on Leng Kee Road, and have it renovated to house the Mini business.

Another brand said to be on the move is French marque Citroen, which is having a torrid time. From a high of 280 cars in 2001, annual sales sank to 67 in 2004, and only 34 Citroens were sold up to July this year.

Advance Automobile is thus widely expected to give up the Citroen franchise, and other players have made bids for the business. Sime Darby, Jardine Cycle & Carriage and Alpine Group, currently a Renault dealer, are all known to have made a pitch for the brand.

Assuming Advance hands over the Citroen franchise to another player, that would mean one more brand looking for a new home. With so many showrooms in the Leng Kee car belt soon to be empty, though, whomever wins the business can feel free to take their pick.