Via its daughter Sopadis, D’ieteren Auto wants to take over the dealerships owned by the Jennes family in the eastern part of the Vlaams Brabant province. In a press release, D’Ieteren states that the negotiations for the take-over are in an advanced stage. Just yesterday, the Belgian competition authority approved the take-over without remarks.

The take-over concerns dealerships of the brands Audi, Cupra, Seat, Skoda, Volkswagen, and Volkswagen Commercial. They are all located east of Brussels, in Boortmeerbeek, Machelen, Leefdaal, and Aarschot. Also, the body shop repair unit Caarosserie Jennes and Jennes Used Cars are included in the deal.

Consolidation

For years now, D’Ieteren Automotive has been rebuilding its car dealer network. It wants to reorganize its 171 dealers in 25 so-called market areas. The regional axle Antwerp, Mechelen, Brussels is crucial in these.

That’s why D’ieteren lately already overtook dealers Clissen  (Kalmthout) and Rietje (Kapellen and Zwijndrecht) in Northern Antwerp, Dielis in Bornem (Southern Antwerp), and Bruynseels (Dilbeek and Anderlecht) in the Brussels region.

By acquiring the Jennes concessions, D’Ieteren will further dominate the aforementioned strategic axle, where many big companies are located. Those represent large volumes in the fleet market, and D’Ieteren Automotive wants to strengthen its already market-leading position in this region even more.

Difficult times

Family business representative Rudi Jennes points out that the deal is now concluded. “I saw no successors in the family, and I’m really concerned for the people working for me. That’s why there were already two co-CEOs leading the business now,” he declares.

“For me, it’s of utmost importance that my employees can continue to work under the same conditions as before,” he continues. “And, of course, we all know that dealer margins are dwindling and that smaller dealerships or groups are put under great pressure. They have more chances to survive being part of larger entities. And the customers will also benefit from it, as they still can rely on the service they expect.”