Home News About The Team History 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s Company Structure Impact IM Review Gallery Properties The Funding Corp. Automotive Contact 1976 Jensen Parts & Services Ltd set up at old premises of Jensen Motors at Kelvin Way in West Bromwich (Bob Edmiston minority shareholder). 1977 Company awarded franchise to distribute Subaru in UK 1980 IM appointed to import and distribute Maserati and De Tomaso range of cars. Company changes identity to International Motors Ltd. Bob Edmiston increases equity stake from 15% to 25%. 1981 International Motors gains Hyundai franchise. 1982 Hyundai cars launched in the UK. Bob Edmiston increases company shareholding to 50% 1984 Vehicle Importers Ireland Limited (later to become IM Automotive), ﬁrst IM operation outside UK, is established to important Subaru cars in the Republic of Ireland. 1987 IM Properties is set up to handle all property development and investment business. Isuzu is launched by International Motors, following bankruptcy of previous distributor, beginning the success story that led to Isuzu Trooper becoming the top imported 4x4 in the UK. International Motors becomes IM Group. IM Finance Limited is established to provide vehicle stocking and retail ﬁnance facilities to dealer networks. IM Construction Ltd and IM Developments Ltd set up as subsidiaries of IM Properties. 1989 Bob Edmiston agrees deal to purchase the remaining 50% stake in IM Group and become the sole shareholder. IM Automotive wins Hyundai franchise in the Republic of Ireland. 1991 Supported by Subaru (UK), Colin McRae wins British Rally Championship for Subaru. 1992 Andrew Edmiston begins work at IM Group, working for Subaru and Isuzu. Colin McRae wins British Rally Championship for Subaru for a consecutive year. 1993 International Motors (Sverige) AB is formed to distribute Subaru in Sweden. IM Group agreed sale of controlling 50.1% stake in Hyundai franchise, agreeing to sign over remaining share in four years’ time. Richard Burns wins British Rally Championship as a member of the Subaru rally team. 1994 International Motors appointed to distribute SsangYong vehicles in UK and the Republic of Ireland; SsangYong Motor Distributors Ltd established to operate franchise which in 1998 was aquired by Daewoo following its takeover of SsangYong Motor company. IM Group establishes operations in China to build relations with independent auto manufacturers. Subaru wins 3rd British Rally Championship, followed by a 4th in 1995, continuing a successful partnership with Colin McRae. 1995 IM Suomi Oy established to relaunch Subaru into the Finnish market. Isuzu Trooper awarded JD Power Customer Satisfaction Award for 4x4s. Junction Six, IM Properties’ 32-acre industrial park at Witton, is ofﬁcially opened. Colin McRae’s Subaru wins the World Championship Manufacturers’ title in 1995, and again in 1996 and 1997. 1996 IM Group’s 20th Anniversary Year. New £3m vehicle storage, preparation and distribution centre is established in Quedgeley, Gloucestershire. Neville Matthews appointed Managing Director of V.I.I Limited in Ireland. 1997 Andrew Edmiston appointed MD of IM (Sverige) AB in Sweden. Subaru wins JD Power First PLace Gold Award for Customer Satisfaction. IM Suomi Oy signs franchising contract with Latvian partner, meaning now three Baltic republics (including Lithuania and Estonia) are marketing Subaru in partnership with the Finnish company. IM Truck (PVT) established to import and assemble trucks in Zimbabwe for sale in the S.A.D.C. region. IM Properties completes purchase of Yorkshire Holdings Plc. IM Group proﬁts reach £25.2m for the year (nearly doubling that achieved in 1996). 1999 Subaru wins First Place Gold JD Power Award, and repeats again in 2000. Richard Burns wins second place in the World Rally Championship driving a Subaru Impreza WRC, repeating the feat in the following year. 2000 IM Group purchase Daihatsu (UK) Ltd, to become responsible for import and distribution of Daihatsu cars in the UK, and is headed up by Andrew Edmiston as Managing Director. V.I.I. Limited changes company name to IM Automotive Limited, t/a Subaru Ireland. They are presented with the Sales Award for Outstanding Growth by Fuji Heavy Industries. 2001 IM Group invests £25m in a new ﬁnance house called ‘The Funding Corporation’. Meanwhile, IM Properties PLC clinches a £56m deal to acquire a major shopping centre in Hemel Hempstead. Richard Burns wins the World Rally Championship. 2002 Isuzu (UK) Limited wins a deal to import the TF pick-up throughout the UK - later replaced by the highly successful Rodeo. Subaru Japan celebrates 30 years of selling 4WD passenger cars. IM registers Trade Assist in China. Andrew Nesbitt, sponsored by Subaru Ireland, wins Irish International Rally Championship. 2003 Following intense interest at the previous autumns' Birmingham Motor Show, Daihatsu Japan agrees to re-engineer the Copen sports car for sale throughout Europe. IM China forms strategic partnership with Naza Corporation of Malaysia to develop opportunities in the ASEAN region. Torbjörn Lillrud is appointed new Managing Director for IM Nordic. Petter Solberg wins World Rally Championship for Subaru in an Impreza. 2004 IM China begins operations with LDV to develop China and ASEAN markets. Re-launch of the Subaru brand in the Nordic countries, with strong marketing support. FHI awards IM Nordic with “New Sales Record Award 2004” and “European Accessory Award 2004”. 2005 IM China opens VCA ofﬁce in Beijing to offer type approval services to the Chinese auto industry. New Daihaitsu Sirion is launched in the UK. 2006 IM Group’s 30th Anniversary Year. IM Nordic wins “New Sales Record Award” and “European Accessory Award” from FHI for second year running. Bob Edmiston begins relinquishing day-to-day running of the group to Andrew Edmiston, now Managing Director of IM Group. IM Group forms strategic partnership with Kamor Group of Israel to develop Israeli and Eastern European Markets for Chinese products. New Daihatsu Terios launch in the UK. 2007 IM Group head ofﬁce is relocated from Ryder Street to purpose built ofﬁces in Coleshill, retaining Ryder Street premises for its parts and service division. FHI awards IM Nordic with “New Sales Record Award” and “European Accessory Award” for 3rd consecutive year. New Subaru Impreza range launches in the UK. Beijing IM Trade Corporation Limited registered, enabling IM Group to operate as an Import and Export Company in the People’s Republic of China. Subaru takes 1st place in Nordic AutoIndex customer satisfaction survey. 2008 New Impreza STI and world’s ﬁrst diesel boxer engine for passenger vehicles are launched. Sales of Daihatsu Sirion reach nearly 1,000 units during March. The commencement of IMPACT, a programme for change to ensure IM Group remains a leader in its ﬁeld and can continue to deliver its promise of world class service to its business partners. 2009 Launch of 5th generation Subaru Legacy and Outback across all eight markets where IM Group sells Subaru. The car receives a tremendous reception by press, dealers and customers in equal measure as it moves slightly more upmarket in terms or quality, performance and size. During 2009, the Group begins development of an extremely sophisticated database, allowing us to manipulate large volumes of data in a manner that will improve the way we communicate and deliver value to our customer base. IM Nordic signs distribution agreement that will see IM launching Great Wall Motor Company’s products in the Baltic States. 2010 Cosworth Impreza CS400 launches. Results released in Sweden's AutoIndex 2010 customer survey reveal that Sweden's most satisfied car owners drive a Subaru. Isuzu UK closes the year with registrations 104% up on 2009. IM Nordic achieves record sales and profit for the year. 2011 IM Group is heavily impacted by the Japanese Tsunami. Supply of vehicles becomes severely restricted. Nevertheless, IM Group manages to have a successful year and ensures that all customer requirements are met. UK plans to expand CRM and database activities by bringing customer hub and fulfilment in-house are made. IM Properties acquires the prestigious No.1 building in Spinningfields, Manchester. The Funding Corporation continues its successful recovery following 2008's financial crisis. 2012 Subaru launches the new BRZ 2+2 to worldwide acclaim. Quickly becoming a ground-breaking product, many awards follow for the new Subaru and its Toyota equivalent. XV is launched in all IM's Subaru markets and quickly becomes the year's best-seller within the Subaru stable. Isuzu UK launches the all-new D-Max and quickly smashes all sales targets. For the first time ever in the UK market a Chinese brand is launched with IM Group presiding over the introduction of the Great Wall Steed. The new model receives a warm welcome from journalists, dealers and in particular customers alike. 2013 IM Nordic breaks all sales records again and launches the key new diesel Outback CVT. Isuzu in the UK has its own record-breaking year selling 4,000 pick-ups for the first time. Strengthening of the Pound and weakening of the Japanese Yen (again) plus concerted efforts to streamline the UK Subaru business perfectly places Subaru UK for future growth.