CAR dealer J Edgar & Son has just extended and refurbished its Nissan showroom at Rowrah.

The facility was officially opened by Maryport athlete Simon Lawson, the former motocross rider who became a wheelchair racer after an accident in 2001 left him paralysed.

Nissan is rolling out a new corporate image for its showrooms across the country, which have to be in place by next year.

The 80 sq m extension increases the working capacity to 450 sq m to accommodate the entire sales and service teams, allowing space to be freed up for more cars.

General manager Jason Edgar said:” The new Nissan style has been tried out in cities and is now being rolled out to all of its showrooms.

“We started the work in January and are one of the first to get it completed.

“It’s created a much more relaxed and flexible atmosphere.

"Customers can now be seated around coffee tables rather than at desks or counters and our staff work from mobile devices so they’re not tied to a desk all the time.

“Customers have been very positive about it the changes. They really like them.”

J Edgar & Sons has 26 staff at Rowrah and keeps approximately 70 cars on the site including electric Nissan Leaf demonstration vehicles as well as used models for sale.

Mr Edgar says as the number of charging stations for electric cars grows so the interest in electric vehicles increases.

He is the fourth generation of the Edgar family to work there.

The business was established as an engineering workshop, in 1919, by his great-grandfather who was a wheelwright for horse drawn vehicles.