O’Brien’s offering massive deals for 60th anniversary

The team at O’Brien’s Motor Group in Mullingar have put together some spectacular deals for the coming week as the firm marks a phenomenal 60 years in business.

The headline grabber is that everyone who buys a used car between now and the end of week will receive a pre-loaded Mastercard credit card containing €500 credit.

“We have a wide range of 2023 Arkana, both hybrid and mild hybrid, some of which have zero kms, and with thousands off the price – and we’re giving a preloaded €500 Mastercard with most of our cars as well,” says Mark Mullen, group general manager.

It was the lure of a job close to home that brought Clara-born accountant Mark back to this country from Scotland, where he had been enjoying an interesting career that took him from the pharmaceutical sector through to IT and then into the oil and gas sector. He has never for a second regretted taking up the opportunity to work with the O’Brien Motor Group.

Mark is proud to witness the business mark its 60th anniversary: “We just want to celebrate with our customers,” he said of this week’s celebrations.

He explains that O’Brien Group see this week as a way to reward their customers while, at the same time, clearing space for some of the exciting arrivals due for delivery for 2024.

“A lot of customers are loyal customers: they have been coming and buying cars off Johnny Rabbitte for 40 years, returning every two years or every three years, whatever it may be. And so, we’re just trying to get as many people in the door next week because we have some good offers out there, especially on our used stock.”

“It’s a good time to buy electric, with petrol prices going up and electricity prices coming down,” says Mark.

The preloaded credit card is not the only special offer in place for the week: customers availing of a finance deal will avail of a reduced rate exclusive to O’Briens for this week only: “It means we can offer finance at a rate 1.9 per cent lower than the current rate,” says Mark.

Mark encourages customers to come in and explore their options: “We have a business manager on site who has access to various banks and the best interest rates that are available, and she can sit down with a customer and work out the best payment plan for them, whether it be hire purchase or a PCP.”

Paddy’s name still revered by staff

One man’s name that looms large in every conversation about O’Brien’s Motor Group is that of the late Paddy O’Brien, for it was Paddy who started the business that today employs more than 50 people in Mullingar alone.

Paddy, sadly, died in 2014.

“The car business started in 1963, in Rochfortbridge originally. He started by selling used cars and repairing cars. And then in only a couple of years - maybe 1965 or so - he took on the Renault franchise,” says Ciarán O’Brien, Dealer Principal Renault.

The O’Brien’s business is run by Ciarán with siblings JP – Dealer Principal Hyundai - and Edel Farrell, who oversees the O’Brien’s Centra. Their mother Moira also participates in the decision-making.

After taking on the Renault franchise, Paddy remained in Rochfortbridge until 1972, when he moved the business in to the Lynn Road in Mullingar, building a premises on the site that currently houses O’Brien’s Centra.

In 2006, Paddy built the modern Renault and Dacia showrooms and 11 years later O’Brien Motor Group opened a second world-class showroom, which is home to the Hyundai brand.

“We also took advantage of the opportunity at that time to put in a full combined services workshop,” says Ciarán, going on to reveal that the workshop has 16 hydraulic lifts and a large team of highly-trained mechanics, and five apprentice mechanics working their way through their education.

JP believes that one of the keys to the success of the business is that it has such commitment and loyalty from its staff:

“We have staff that have been here for years. Some places would always have a quick turnover of staff, but we would always try and hold on to our own staff so a lot of them have been working with us for many years,” he says.

Growing interest in EVs and hybrids

One of the most senior customers to whom O’Brien’s has sold an electric car is a local 90-year-old man.

There is little doubt but that customers are becoming considerably more interested in making the shift towards vehicles that are more environmentally friendly, says Ciarán O’Brien: “The electric vehicles first hit the market in 2012. And Renault were one of the first ones to bring electric vehicles into Ireland.

"Probably it would be fair to say it was a bit slow to gain momentum, but really in the last two years sales have exploded really fast, and now, electric vehicles account for around 20 per cent of all sales.

“However, if you take in all forms of electric - you still have hybrid and plug-in hybrid as well – this would bring up the percentage of electric sales, so here has been a general major shift across to electric vehicles and that will continue to increase probably for next number of years.”

Ciarán gets enthusiastic as he lists off and extolls the advantages of the various vehicles in the stable: “In electric, Renault have the Megane and the Zoe and the Kangoo electric van and next year we’re launching the Traffic electric van and in Hyundai there’s the Ionic 6, the Ionic 5 and we’re just launching the new Kona electric as well.”

There is, he says, no typical buyer: “We have a good range of second-hand electrics at the moment – so there probably is a car to suit most people. They may not suit everybody but they are very practical, the current electric cars. The range of most cars is up on 400-plus kilometres. So, you can go anywhere you want in Ireland, and the charging infrastructure has improved dramatically.”

Customers who do make the shift to electric can avail of a €600 government grant to help have a home charging port installed and O’Brien’s can advise them on that process.

An advantage to electric vehicle is that while obviously they require servicing, they require somewhat less servicing than is the case with a diesel or petrol car, which helps keep running costs down.

Exciting offerings in the pipeline for next year that Ciarán and JP are looking forward to stocking include the Scenic, an electric vehicle crossover, and the Rafale: “They are even bringing out the Renault 5 as a full electric car which used to be an iconic car back in the 70s and 80s. They’re also bringing out a retro Renault 4.”

Post-Covid, there was a long lead in time for delivery of new vehicles – and at the moment there is a great supply of second-hand cars – of all brands – in stock: “They have been just flying for the last two years really and became very scarce but we have plenty available at the moment.”

Played a key role

It is almost 12 years since the O’Brien Motor Group took over the Hyundai dealership, and the firm has played a key role in what has been a most successful journey for the South Korean brand.

“Hyundai, at the time when we took it on, was a well-recognised brand, but it probably wouldn’t have been as strong as it is now,” says JP. These days, Hyundai has about an 11 per cent market share, and the trajectory continues in an upward direction, “It’s become one of the big hitters,” says JP, adding that it is now consistently among the top three sellers.

Apart from its acclaimed range of electric and hybrid cars, Hyundai is one of the few manufacturers still producing diesel cars.

“As well as diesel, they have hybrid, plug-in hybrid and a full electric; I suppose the beauty of Hyundai is they have something to suit every person, no matter if you’re a staunch diesel driver or if you want to opt for the electric side of things. They would have a car tailored for everybody’s needs. So, we’re very lucky with Hyundai: they’re just growing and growing and they’re improving all the time and it’s very exciting looking at what they have coming down the line.”

Even the current entry level models far outclass the competition, and include many features such as aircon and sat nav.

Johnny and Owen have longstanding ties with O’Brien’s

One of the best-known faces at O’Brien’s is that of Johnny Rabbitte: he has notched up around 50 years’ service with the firm, and gets emotional as he says Paddy O’Brien was “special” to him.

Another employee whose links with O’Brien’s run deep is Owen Daly, whose grandfather, father and uncle have all worked there.

And reveals Johnny, it was Owen’s grandfather who actually got him his job there, when he was just 16 or 17 years or age. Now Johhny and Owen work alongside each other as sales executives.

“I started off in Rochfortbridge, in the spare parts end of it,” says Tyrrellspass native Johnny.

“And from that I would have moved to the mechanical end of it - the workshop.”

At that point, Paddy O’Brien began the transfer of the business to Mullingar, to a new business on a greenfield site. Once the doors opened, Johnny was again appointed to the parts department.

The job has taken him to motor production plants abroad and he has always found that interesting and useful.

“I would be I suppose. extremely loyal to the late Paddy O’Brien and later, Ciarán O’Brien and family,” he says, describing Paddy as an “extremely straight, honourable man”.

“I would also be very loyal to Renault and Dacia,” he continues, adding that he is also loyal to his customers, some who come to him because their parents or grandparents did.

Owen Daly has been with O’Brien’s since 2004, coming straight in from school to a sales role.

Over those 19 years, the scene has changed: while some customers still prefer to come in and get guided through their options, others will have done extensive research online in advance.

“Here in O’Brien’s, for example, we have a fantastic website that people can log on to before they come in where they can see all the new and used cars, see what’s available and touch base with us then.”

While over time we will all be driving electric cars, some motorists are still hesitant about giving up petrol or diesel:

“For someone who feels that they wouldn’t be at the fully electric car stage, there are great offers and there are great cars out there at the moment, like the Renault Arcana, which would be a self-charging hybrid; the Austral, and also the Captur, another self-charging hybrid,” says Owen.

“So, it’s kind of a mix of both: you have the electric benefits around town and when you go outside the town you have the petrol engine that will kick in. So, there’s a huge selection there at the moment. And also, there is a huge selection of petrol cars as well.”