The East Gippsland community will soon see a changing of the guard when the Stephenson family relinquishes ownership of the iconic and long-standing business, Bairnsdale Mazda and Hyundai, to the Dwyer Group.
After almost four decades at the helm of Bairnsdale Mazda and Hyundai, Ray Stephenson is understandably emotional when he talks about his decision to part with the business.
“I make the announcement with a very heavy heart, but I came to the realisation that you need more dollars in the bank and more petrol in the tank than I have to continue the growth of this business,” he said.
“The choice to sell was hard, but the decision on who to hand the keys over to was even harder. It was important to us that the successful buyer had to have the desire to take on all of our current staff and give them all the opportunities they deserve.”
Many options were explored on how the business could progress, before it was decided that a sale was the best possible option for

IMAGE: Ray Stephenson has had a long association with the motor industry, having started as an apprentice mechanic in 1969. After being a loyal and local dealer for more than four decades he has decided to hand over the keys to the dealership. K287-1124