SAIC owned brand Maxus is expecting to grow its UK and Ireland business by 200% in 2023.

To meet this expansion in sales activity, the Chinese brand’s distributor, Harris Maxus, has moved to new premises in Liverpool, England, officially opened this week by the city’s Lord Mayor, councilor Roy Gladden.

The new Harris HQ is quadruple the size of the distributor’s previous business center, which only opened in 2021. With distribution rights for Maxus vehicles across all right-hand drive countries in Europe, Harris says it has seen significant growth in demand for its EV range of light commercial vans.

The company anticipates bullish sales in 2023, growing from 6,000 units in 2022 to 18,000 over the next 12 months.

The new 52,000 sq-ft premises will house 30 staff, including technical, distribution and sales teams in addition to a parts depot and warehouse. A technical training academy will also be on site.

Mark Barrett, general manager of Harris Maxus said:

"At the start of 2021, Harris opened its first UK headquarters in Birchwood Park, Warrington. In less than two years, we have outgrown what was already a sizable building, moving to a new state-of-the-art campus in Liverpool. The success of Harris Maxus in the UK has exceeded all expectations. So far this year, we have seen Maxus vehicle registrations grow by 52% versus 2021, with 38% of our overall sales in 2022 attributable to our zero-emission range of vehicles.

“We are fully focused on the future, not just in terms of expansion in the UK, but also in terms of the vehicles we put on UK roads. This year, we launched the world’s first all-electric MPV - the MIFA 9. We also launched the UK’s first fully electric pickup truck, the T90EV. Over the next two years, we have plans to introduce four new zero-emission platform vehicles to the market. Our move to Liverpool is central to our future plans and we are committed to growing our presence in the UK, creating more employment, developing our dealership network and making a valuable economic contribution both locally and nationally.”