A NEW sales garage in Bury has helped a car company to boost its pre-tax profits.

Bolton Car Centre launched a new Hyundai dealership in Manchester Road recently.

And amid ‘challenging’ trading conditions, the venture boosted BCC’s performance in the second and third quarters. This saw pre-tax profits group wide ending up at £46,681 for 2018, up from £29,049.

Bosses at BCC, which also runs Citroen dealerships in Bolton and Blackburn are concerned at the impact of a ‘no deal Brexit’.

If the UK crashes out of Europe without a trading arrangement, BCC is worried, under World Trade Organisation rules, they would be hit with a 10 per cent levy on imported cars.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders says dealerships may have to bump up the price of imported models by £1,500, in the event of ‘no deal’.

Company director Michael Holt, as part of BCC’s year-end report, said: “This could affect demand for new car sales, with selling price rises inevitable, although used car volumes may increase. On a more positive note, the UK government has stated that car parts imported from the EU would remain tariff free after a ‘no deal Brexit’.”

He told investors 2018 had been “another challenging year”, driven by a continued slowdown in new vehicle registrations and increased regulatory overheads.