1953 – Motor Distributors, Shelbourne Rd., Ballsbridge, Dublin

Motor Distributors’ started assembling Volkswagen Beetles in Ireland in 1950 in a former tram depot at 162 Shelbourne Road in Ballsbridge. The cars arrived in Dublin packed in crates as ‘completely knocked down’ (CKD) form ready to be assembled. The first Volkswagen ever built outside Germany was assembled here with the car now on display at the Volkswagen Museum in Wolfsburg. The garage was completely rebuilt by the office of Michael Scott in the early 1950s, constructed a new showroom and offices to the street. Throughout the fifties demand rose steadily and the business quickly outgrew the Shelbourne Road facility. In 1955 assembly was transferred to a new factory on the Naas Road.