Located on Derwenthaugh Road in Swalwell - just a stone's throw away from the intu MetroCentre, we provide the full range of Toyota vehicles, including city cars, Hybrid vehicles, fleet cars, commercial vans and SUVs. But we're not just about selling new, nearly new & approved used Toyota cars, we're about the complete customer experience. At Stoneacre that means we also offer first-class motability, MOT's services, affordable car rentals and a plethora of comprehensive after-sales options.
Michael is our Transaction Manager at Hodgson Toyota MetroCentre. He has been in the motor trade since leaving ... school and worked with a few different manufacturers before joining Hodgson Motor Group. Michael joined our family in 2005 as a Sales Executive, selling both New and Approved Used vehicles, as well as commercials. 5 years ago, he was promoted to Transaction manager.
Micheal looks after the dealerships supply of vehicles, managing the specifications of products and assessing the local market when it comes to buying in stock. When Mr Lovegreen is away from the business, it's Mark that takes the captains arm band and steps up. He's very precise and process driven, staying on top of the team, legislation and making sure the dealership is adhering to the highest levels of Hodgson & Toyota customer service in order to maintain customer loyalty. He's often the voice of knowledge and always happy to help anyone out!
Outside of work Micheal is a keen runner, running for Blaydon Harriers in middle distance races. He's also mad on motor bikes too, so you can't meet a more perfectly placed 'Petrol Head'!
Mark is our Business Managers at Toyota MetroCentre. Mark served seven years in the RAF before starting in the ... motor industry. Today he's worked his way through the automotive ranks to one of the key positions within a Toyota Franchise.
The last six of his twenty year career in car sales has been working for Hodgson and he says he can't imagine being anywhere else. 'I enjoy the motor trade and its diversity. I guess, I like the comradery that naturally comes with being part of a close working team, which is how I grew up. No day is the same at Hodgson and what's different here is that we get to meet new people everyday and hopefully build long lasting relationships with them.'
Like Micheal Friberg, Mark maintains the standards of the performance of the sales team through effective coaching and performance management and liaises with the other departments in the dealership to maintain the accuracy of the customer database whilst helping to develop the business.
When he is not working with the team, he's on the Golf Course as he's a huge golf fan. He confesses more and more of his time is spent playing and/or watching the sport and that he has a very understanding wife!
If I say so myself, I'm quite possibly the cheeriest of the staff! I've been Service Manager at Toyo ...ta Gateshead for over a year and my previous role was managing After Sales at Mazda Gateshead for a couple of years - this means I'm fully ingrained into the Hodgson culture, which has added to my 25 years' worth of previous experience. I love to travel, having done my fair share of globe-trotting, but am quite content with following the football when on home soil.
Brian joined us from Motor Point and has been in the industry from 2019. He's fitted in perfectly with th ...e team here at Gateshead and is going through all his Toyota training. We wish him the best of luck!
Susan Colby
Centre Host
I can help you with your queries about:
- Customer Service
Susan has been with us for a good few years now and has recently joined the centre host team after previously ...working on reception. She's a natural with customers and a firm favourite already with the rest of the team too!
Richard is one of our experienced Sales Executives at Hodgson Toyota MetroCentre. He came to Hodgson Motor Gro ...up with a bag of experience but actually fell in love with the industry only when he joined Hodgson in 2013. His experience in various dealerships has helped him to be the salesperson he is today.
Andrew Dobson is our 'diamond in the rough' at Toyota MetroCentre. A one time (+2 Scratch) professio ...nal golfer Andy joined the team in Feb 2010 as a showroom host after major injury cut short his sports career.
Golf's loss was Hodgson's win. His positive attitude and natural want to progress meant Andy was taking everything in whilst spending time with customers in the showroom. So in July 2011 Andy was promoted to Sales Executive and put through the Toyota Academy and he's been successfully climbing the ladder since. He's now been at Hodgson for six years proving time and again that he had what it takes to make it in a tough industry.
When he's not a work he still likes to show people up on the golf course what he can. He's even been know to organise Golf days and has played with a few customers on occasion too!
Karla has joined us from British airways call centre. We are very pleased with the start Karla has made, and f ...or someone who has not been in a role with face to face customer contacts he has shown composure and very promising customer service skills.
Jon Grant is a brilliant Sales Executive at Hodgson Toyota MetroCentre and extremely popular with customers fo ...r his no nonsense approach and helping new and existing customers find their perfect car for their specific needs.
His modern approach has also gained him many customers who are short of time and can't always pop into see him. Jon happily connects with his customers via email, texts, Facebook, Instagram or however they prefer to be contacted. This has set Jon apart for maintaining good relationships with existing private and business customers who are always happy to come back to Jon and see him.
Ask him, what's so special about Hodgson Motor Group? 'It's the team. Everyone is incredibly dedicated, always pushing forward to give the best customer experience to our region,' says Jon.
When he is not at work, Jon is an extremely keen footballer and enjoys spending precious time with his young family.
David is the newest addition to the UK’s No.1 Toyota Dealership's sales team. He joined Hodgson Toyota ...MetroCentre with a wealth of experience gained from over 20 years in the automotive industry! David worked for premium corporate brands with a few different car manufacturers, he decided it was time for change. Hodgson Motor Group attracted his attention due to the national and local reputation the company has, and in particular within the Toyota Network. From the very first day he joined the Hodgson Toyota Metrocentre team, he fitted in perfectly and knew he’d made the right decision. His attention to detail and natural friendly attitude has already exceeded customer expectations and our own.
When David is not at work, he likes to go for a spin on his motorbike or go for a walk with his faithful dog. Did we mention he likes holidays abroad too? Who doesn’t David! Be sure to ask him for some tips if you can't decide where to go for your next holiday, he’s well-travelled!
Suzanne Cranna, or as we like to call her, Suzie is one of our lovely & energetic Service Advisors at Hodg ...son Toyota MetroCentre. She joined Hodson family in 2007 and swears she will never leave! Once trained as a nursery nurse who worked as private nanny for 8 years, mostly in Paris (Incroyable!), Suzie moved to the North East 25 years ago for a job and got into motor trade by accident! Suzies was having a career break when she decided to go back to college and needed a part-time job to keep her going. And that’s how Suzie’s motor trade career started…
Today, she still enjoys her job and says that the best part about it is meeting new customers. The job, as you can image, gets really hard at times with a lot of beautiful Toyotas’ coming in for a service, but it is very exciting and rewarding at the end of the day.
Born and bred in a county, she loves nothing more than being outside, enjoying that unexpected ray of sunshine or a blow of fresh breeze to clear her mind.
Shaun is Toyota through and through. Joining at the age of 18 he's worked his way up the ranks to Parts S ...upervisor after completing the 3 years Toyota Academy training. He's now training to be the in the Servicing team and has hopes to be the Service Manager in the next few years.
Keith has been working at Toyota Metrocentre for six and a half years as part of the sales team, so he’s no ...stranger to Toyota’s vast range of vehicles and Hodgson’s high standards of customer service.
He’s also been in the automotive industry since 1984 so comes with a vast amount of sales experience, especially in repeat custom and how to assess changing customer needs.
As a dedicated LCV specialist Keith also has the necessary skills in after sales, conversions and legislation to help guide business customers through the entire journey of buying single or multiple vehicles. Continually being tested and sent on courses by Toyota, Keith, like all our executives, can give the highest quality information on new products with first-class, specialist customer service.
Jonathan has just joined the dealership and is new to the industry. Keen to learn and ready to take on the Toy ...ota brand, we wish him all the success in the world with his new career.
Jill spent 25 years as a Casino croupier and after a few years in different retail customer service roles has ...found her way to us. An infectious laugh, excellent customers service skills and a big smile make Jill a valued member of our team here at the dealership.
With the summer weather on its way in, there's no better time to feel the open road in the All New Aygo X.
Now available for a test drive in all of our Toyota dealerships throughout the North East, experience the drive in the latest Toyota compact cross-over.
Available in both manual and automatic, find out for yourself what all the hype is about.
Well here is a couple of key dates for your diary...
The Aygo X will be in Metrocentre Gateshead during the half term week (19th February - 28th February) ... So if you need to get the kids out of the house for an hour why not pop down for a preview?
The next stop is Stoneacre Toyota Darlington, where the All-New Aygo X will be stopping for two days on the 8th and 9th March. Be sure to contact the team at Darlington to let them know you're coming along.
Due to the unprecedented demand for Toyota products, we are hiring for Sales Consultants at our Gateshead branch. Ideally located next to the A1 and the Metrocentre the dealership see’s high footfall. With the Toyota brand going from strength to strength we are looking for enthusiastic, motivated personel who have a great work ethic and can work in a successful team in a fast paced business.
If you are even just a little bit curious about Hybrid or starting to consider making the change, then why not try and win £50 by simply test driving one?
We all love a challenge, so if you complete our Hybrid Test Drive Challenge test route using more electric power than other drivers, then the £50 Intu vouchers are yours. Easy.
How does it work?
Our clever telematics boxes* are fitted to all our Hybrid demonstrators so at the end of your journey we can print out the exact information recorded while you were driving.
Toyota to support the Rickshaw Challenge for BBC Children in Need.
Toyota is delighted to be able to support BBC Children in Need this year by providing a range of support vehicles for the charity’s annual Rickshaw Challenge.
The Rickshaw Challenge is one of the highlights of the BBC Children in Need fundraising extravaganza, which challenges young people to recreate The One Show host Matt Baker’s epic solo rickshaw ride from Edinburgh to London in 2011.
Strap-in, the All New GR Yaris is currently making its hotly-anticipated UK debut, touring selected TGR Centres around the UK and it's coming to Stoneacre Toyota very soon!
Date for the diary is...12th & 13th October at our Gateshead, Metrocentre showroom.
The All New GR Yaris is no normal hot hatch. Incorporating knowledge and technology born from World Rally Championship (WRC), to deliver a true sports car feeling every day.
At Toyota we are serious about business, your business, which is why we created PROACE CITY. Designed around you, it is agile to drive and will support all your business needs. The new PROACE CITY, everything you expect from Toyota, in a van.
Moves like a lightweight punches like a heavyweight.
Condensed and agile, the All New Yaris applies intelligent packaging to maximise interior space and with a lowered centre of gravity and a wider more muscular stance, it’s ready for anything.
“The electrified Yaris emits just 86g/km on the tougher WLTP test regime, giving it fuel economy of around 105mpg” 4/5 AutoExpress.
Don't just read about it or watch it on screen - Come down and experience a test drive at Stoneacre Toyota today.