Garage Mertens acquisition completed and Van Mossel: ‘This has emotional value’

Van Mossel’s takeover of Garage Mertens is complete, the Van Mossel Group reports. The Belgian branch of the car company is adding Audi, Volkswagen, Seat, Cupra and Škoda to its car lineup in Belgium.

According to Van Mossel, the takeover has ‘extra emotional value for the group’. This is, the company explains, because Volkswagen was the first car brand in the Netherlands. “We are very pleased that the purchase of Mertens is now final,” says Eric Berkhof, Managing Director of Van Mossel Automotive Group. “We have received D’Ieteren’s confidence to expand our offering from 25 to 31 car brands in Belgium by adding six brands from the Volkswagen group.”

Van Mossel announced in November last year that the company would take over Garage Mertens, adding Volkswagen brands to the Belgian portfolio.

Van Mossel opened its doors in Waalwijk at the end of March for the Car Resale Event. Read the report of this event here, where, among other things, the National Event Survey was presented.

Koen Claesen, CEO of Van Mossel Belux, talks about ‘big changes’ for the company. He ensures that Mertens customers will ‘continue to receive the services they trust’. “With the addition of Van Mossel’s comprehensive ‘one-stop shop’ concept, the customer will find everything they need, from purchase and maintenance to insurance, financing and leasing options. In addition, we have an experienced Fleet team that ensures experience in management of the ship is seamless.

Garage Mertens

Garage Mertens is a name established in the region of East Flanders. The acquisition makes the area between Antwerp and Ghent part of the Van Mossel family. The group has showrooms in four locations in three cities. Two Wondercar bodies are also owned by Mertens, the company offers a ‘wide range’ of used cars.

Mertens’ total sales reached more than 100 million euros in 2022. With the help of approximately 130 employees, it sold 1,841 new and 1,280 used cars.

In the new Top 60 Car Sales, which was presented in February, Van Mossel is the undisputed leader. In the Netherlands, Van Mossel sold 42 thousand new cars and 37,000 used cars (B2C).