Bartons unveils plans for 16-brand automall at Wynnum, largest in Queensland

A 16-brand masterplan at Wynnum

Bartons Motor Group has announced construction of a 16-brand automall at its Wynnum site, which GoAutoNews Premium reports as the largest development of its kind in Queensland. The Brisbane-based, family-run dealership has operated the location for 81 years, and the group says the project is designed to capitalise on shifting consumer and industry trends. ¹

The Wynnum site currently represents 12 brands. Construction is slated for completion in 2027, with a second phase scheduled for completion in March of next year, followed by additional retail space and multi-level parking in further stages during 2028. GoAutoNews Premium also reports the possibility of RV and caravan sales at the expanded site. ¹

The brand line-up and Lepas on the way

Bartons' current portfolio spans legacy and newer marques, including Hyundai, MG, IM, Mitsubishi, Renault, Nissan, Subaru, Forthing, Xpeng, GWM, LDV, Chery, GAC and Farizon. The Chery-owned Lepas brand has been announced as another incoming addition to the line-up, according to GoAutoNews Premium. ¹

Lepas's arrival follows the Chinese brand's stated plan for approximately 30 dealerships from its Australian launch, plus an additional 10 shortly afterwards, with ambitions to grow to between 50 and 60 depending on volume, GoAutoNews Premium reports. ¹

Bartons' own corporate site lists 16 brands across the group — Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, GWM, LDV, Chery, MG, Peugeot, Foton, Renault, Farizon, Geely, GAC, Xpeng and Forthing — and notes more than 300 staff across two locations at Wynnum and Capalaba. The GoAutoNews Premium report describes the Wynnum site alone as currently dealing with 12 brands and puts group employment at 260 plus 100 in Jayco, so the figures reflect different bases and should not be treated as contradictory. ³¹

Why the group is consolidating brands in one place

Managing director Mark Beitz told GoAutoNews Premium that the automall is equipped to deal with industry consolidation and increasingly brand-agnostic consumers. "People want choice and there is nowhere else in Queensland that offers so many brands at the one location," he said. "The industry is consolidating right now so we are looking at this differently by ensuring a wide coverage of multiple brands." ¹

Beitz said the group's decision to house more brands under one roof was informed by Carsales data, and that the masterplan began more than two years ago. "Fortunately we did start then, given the seismic shift in buying patterns and behaviours," he told GoAutoNews Premium. "Intending buyers are considering more brands than ever before, so our model in building this is the right one." He described the resulting mix of Japanese, Korean, European and Chinese brands as giving customers real choice. ¹

Electrification context and current stock

GoAutoNews Premium frames the project against rising electrified-vehicle demand, particularly following the 2026 fuel crisis. It cites Australian Automobile Index data showing more than double the number of battery electric vehicles and nearly six times the number of plug-in hybrids sold in the second quarter of 2026 alone than in all of 2022, with yearly hybrid sales rising from 81,786 to 199,133 deliveries between the end of 2022 and the end of 2025. ¹

Beitz told GoAutoNews Premium the group now has more than 69 EV, hybrid and plug-in hybrid options available in addition to its core products. Bartons' own resource page lists electrified models across the range, including the MG4 EV, Haval and Tank PHEV variants, Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV and Eclipse Cross PHEV, Hyundai IONIQ 5, Nissan Ariya, Subaru Solterra, LDV eDeliver vans, Chery E5, GAC's AION UT and EMZOOM, Geely EX5, XPeng G6 and the Farizon SV electric van. ¹⁴

The group has already moved into electric commercial conversions: in a July 2026 4BC interview, Beitz discussed the Farizon EV campervan, which Bartons believes is Australia's first complete EV campervan, built in Queensland from imported Farizon electric vans at its Jayco facility in Tingalpa. ²

Employment and group background

Bartons currently employs about 260 staff, with a further 100 through its Jayco operations, and Beitz told GoAutoNews Premium the numbers are poised to grow. "With 260-plus people at Bartons and another 100 in our Jayco business, I see no reason we can't keep growing our team even while others cut back," he said. ¹

The group's history at Wynnum is long: GoAutoNews Premium notes the location became a franchised Holden dealer in 1961, while Bartons' own site describes the business as family-owned since 1945, having grown from a single workshop into one of Queensland's largest independent dealer groups. In the 4BC interview, Beitz recounted joining in 2001 when it was a Holden dealership that also sold some Mitsubishis, evolving over time into Mitsubishi, Hyundai, Subaru and Nissan — and later the newer Chinese marques. ¹³²