ATL Autohaus, representing Volkswagen (VW) and Audi motor vehicles in Jamaica, will, on Monday, open its dealership to provide parts and service for the popular German brands.

Vehicle sales is scheduled to commence in May.

The ATL Autohaus opening comes in the wake of the VW Polo this week being named car of the year and the Audi R8 performance car of the year at the New York International Auto Show, which closes Sunday in the US.

“Audi has once again demonstrated that its uncompromised passion for technological innovation and exceptional quality, deliver the most spectacular results, ATL Group’s deputy chairman, Adam Hyde commented on hearing of the Audi selection.

He added that the Audi brand entered the super car arena just a few years ago and their rapid dominance is “a testament of their pledge ‘Vorsprun durch Technik’, which means, advancement through technology.”

“ATL Autohaus is proud to represent this premium brand and its commitment of a fantastic driving experience with a car for every customer,” Stewart declared.

A new 8,000-square-foot facility is planned for the Oxford Road location in Kingston, however, in the interim the company has decided to offer the sale of parts and servicing of the brands from the site adjacent to the Mas Camp compound.

ATL Group, headed by Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart, earlier this year signed agreements with Volkswagen and Audi for the exclusive dealership locally through ATL Autohaus.

This bold move will see ATL, which is already the home of Honda in Jamaica, restructure its automobile division into two distinct entities under the parent company ATL Automotive Limited.

In a US$13-million investment the dealerships will be housed at three locations totalling 42,000 square feet.

The 8,000-square-foot Oxford Road premises will eventually offer full sales and service facilities for Volkswagen and Audi vehicles.

And in July of this year, ATL will open another facility in Bogue, Montego Bay, at approximately 9,000 square feet and will sell and service Honda, Volkswagen and Audi.

At Hagley Park Road, where the Honda dealership already exists, ATL Autohaus is planning a new 25,000-square-foot facility, which is scheduled for opening to the public in early 2011.

ATL Automotive Limited says that it remains on target for a January 2011 deadline, which will see the launch of the ATL Autohaus brands on Hagley Park Road. The principals, however, stressed that Honda Motors will continue to reside on Hagley Park Road as a stand-alone, full-service dealership

On the world market VW challenges as the leading auto seller holding down number one spots in Europe and South America.

ATL’s multimillon-dollar investment is expected to see VW strongly vie for a share of the local middle-income market while Audi positions itself as a viable option in the premium auto market dominated by Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

Both VW and Audi were previously represented by the Issa Transport Group.