Saxton 4x4: The Essex Car Dealership That Conquered Europe

The astronomic rise of a family-run dealership has gifted British commerce a success story of fairy-tale proportions

To say Saxton 4x4 is a British success story would be putting it mildly. What was once a humble dealership in Chelmsford, Essex has rapidly expanded in little over 10 years to become the largest supplier of luxury & modified 4x4 vehicles in Europe.

Sunday Times Top Track 250

Founded by managing director Alan Austin in 2009, the family-owned business has raised the bar in the ever-competitive market of automotive retail. Established in an English county long known for their entrepreneurial spirit and can-do attitude, such unflinching gusto for excellence has seen Saxton 4x4 featured on the Sunday Times Grant Thornton Top Track 250 list, a prestigious league table which ranks Britain's private mid-market growth companies with the biggest sales.

From providing premium 4×4 vehicles such as Land Rovers, Porsches and BMWs as well as an ever-changing variety of Range Rover models, Saxton 4x4 has lacerated its competition and thrived despite prolonged periods of economic austerity in their native UK to post awe-inspiring profits of £138m- a 9% annual increase, and a remarkable 122% profit growth (£6.6m).

Such handsome and well-deserved numbers point to a buoyant future for the company in a marketplace they look to dominate for years to come.

Industry-Leading Modifications

As well as providing a fleet of some 2000 luxury vehicles, the limited company offers a plethora of bespoke add-ons and modifications. These include long-running partnerships with established luxury customisation companies Overfinch, Khan and Urban which sees head-turning features added to the vehicles.

The aspirational aesthetic of the company has attracted an affluent clientele. These include prominent sporting personalities and those working in the financial services.

Proud to proclaim its status as the UK’s number one independent dealership as well as the largest in Europe, the business oversees an ever-expanding operation that currently employs 109 staff members at their impressive Westway showroom complex.

Whilst Saxton 4x4 service some of the wealthiest car owners in the world, they also provide several financing options with many of the country’s leading banks.

No Ordinary Dealership

Unlike others before them, Saxton 4x4 is a company intent on making the car dealership a place of comfort and hospitality rather than intimidating sheen (unlike most showrooms, Saxton 4x4 offers a play area stocked with video game consoles and other amenities for prospective client’s children).

The company has a series of glowing reviews on the leading search engine site Google and a growing YouTube channel that offers would-be buyers the chance to go on a virtual test drive in one of the many high-performance vehicles in their showroom.

Though recent micro and macro analysis of the car market in the UK and beyond points to an undesirable trading climate, Saxton 4x4 has bucked the trend and continues to serve as an outlier and modicum of success in an era of economic complexities and a potential post-Brexit economy.