THERE was plenty to celebrate for aficionados of the BMW marque as local dealers, ATL Autobhan, revealed last Saturday that their new home would be at 33 Lady Musgrave Road in St Andrew.

The announcement was made at the venue dubbed X Oasis, at a black-tie function aptly named BMW X-Event.

“BMW owners can soon expect a continuation of the best customer service from the Unbeatable ATL brand,” Matthew Cripps, ATL Automotive group general manager, told Jamaica Observer’s Auto magazine.

Ground breaking for the new showroom is slated to be in December, and construction is slated to be finished in December 2017. When completed, the building will feature an eight-car showroom, with 15 work bays for servicing, a separate M-Division and a MINI showroom. And since ATL Autobahn – ATL Automotive BMW and MINI division – is the regional master dealer for the brands, there will be training facilities for the nine islands under its umbrella. These are Trinidad and Tobago, The Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Curacao, Barbados, Aruba, St Lucia, Suriname, and Antigua.

“This development shows our confidence in the brands and provide them a home that fits as well,” said Matthew Stevenson, head of business for BMW and MINI.

ATL Automotive assumed dealership rights of the brands in February 2016.

Montegonians, however, will be the first to see what the future of ATL Autobahn has to offer, as a four-car showroom is schedule to be opened in the second city at Bogue this December. Once all is in place, Cripps and Stevenson believes the brand will see new heights.

“I see us selling about 1,300 units, including MINI, yearly from here to Jamaica and the Caribbean,” said Cripps.

Along with the showroom, the property will be shared with the first Sandals hotel in the Kingston/St Andrew area.

“I love the location. Having the hotel will make it a hub of activity, which can only bode well for business,” explained Stevenson.

At Saturday night’s BMW X-Event, all the X models were on show: X1, X3, X4, X5 and X6.

The following day, however, they went from a static display to their true nature – ultimate driving machine – as patrons were allowed to test drive the full range of offering. In addition to the BMWs, a MINI was thrown in the mix for those looking for a bit of Britannia, through a preset route labelled ‘Jamaica’s Pike’s Peak’.

BMW’s current home is 5 Orchard Road in Kingston.