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Virgin Cars Ltd was an internet automobile retailer, established by British entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson and co-founded by Ian Lancaster in 2000 as part of the Virgin brand of companies.

Branson predicted the company would sell 24,000 cars in its first year, with a £300m turnover.[1] By October 2000, the company had sold more than 2,000 cars, generating £30 million.[2] In 2001, the company launched a subsidiary, Virgin Bikes.[3] By 2003, the company had still sold only 12,000 cars.[4] In May of that year, Branson opened Virgin Cars' first showroom in Salford, Greater Manchester.

In 2005, the company stopped all operations and ceased trading.[5]

References

  1. ^ Brabbs, Cordella (25 May 2000). "Virgin Cars aims for £300m sales". Marketing.
  2. ^ "Branson launches Virgin Cars at Motor Show". PR Newswire. 17 October 2000.
  3. ^ "Virgin Cars". Marketing Week. 5 July 2001.
  4. ^ "RICHARD BRANSON'S FAILS: 14 Virgin Companies That Went Bust". Business Insider. 21 April 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  5. ^ "Virgin Cars Homepage after closing". Archived from the original on 1 January 2006. Retrieved 4 May 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)


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