Stillwell Motor Group notches up 70 years

Two decades after the death of founder Bib Stillwell, the dealer group that bears his name is celebrating its 70th year in business.

Stillwell, a young racing driver at the time, opened his first dealership – selling MGs – in 1949. Four years later he took on the Holden brand, sold through his facility in the Melbourne suburb of Kew. From the late 1960s Stillwell switched from Holden to Ford, forming a strong bond with the blue oval from that time.

In subsequent years, Stillwell's business took on prestige brands and currently sells BMW, Jaguar Land Rover and Volvo, with Volkswagen providing additional sales volume for the eight dealerships. Currently, the group employs more than 400 staff across its dealerships and other businesses.

Stillwell maintained his interest in motor racing, balancing his passion with his profession during the 1960s. Over the decade he won the title of Gold Star Champion over consecutive years from 1962 to 1965, as well as winning the Formula 2 Championship in 1965 and Sports Car Championship in 1961 and 1962.

The dealership group remains a family-operated business, with Stillwell's daughter Marianne occupying the chair of the Stillwell Motor Group Operating Board and acting in the capacity of executive director for both the Operating Board and the Stillwell Family Board. Chris Stillwell, one of the patriarch's sons, is Director and Chairman of the Family Board.

“If you’re going to have a sustainable business over a long period of time, you do that by building long standing relationships, and that’s with our manufacturers and partners,” Marianne Stillwell has stated in a press release.

Group CEO Colin Gamble noted in the same press release that by being a family-run business, the dealer group is focused on people by its very nature.

“We’re a very people centric business, which comes back to the strength of the family: the family of Stillwell but also the family of the group of Stillwell,” Gamble said.