Located on the Cushendall Road, just outside Ballymena, Wilsons of Rathkenny has a broad range of vehicle franchises covering cars, agriculture, groundcare and commercial vehicles (vans), plus a state of the art manufacturer approved accident repair centre all on one exceptional 16-acre site. With over 50 years experience, a vast range of new and used stock and a professional Sales and Aftersales team, Wilsons of Rathkenny are dedicated to providing excellent service to our customers.
Where it all began… Mid-Antrim’s largest multi franchise vehicle dealer group has certainly seen a few changes over the last 50 years.
Originally a successful livestock dealer, the late John Wilson founded Wilsons of Rathkenny Ltd in 1964. Three years later he bought the Rathkenny Dairy which was located on the current site since 1901. He successfully ran and owned the dairy until selling it (but retaining the premises in 1980) after being approached by an amalgamation of other dairies to purchase Rathkenny Dairy. During this time Wilsons ventured into farm vehicles and opened a Zetor Tractor dealership on the premises where they sold and serviced the brand to the local farming community.
From there the company branched into car sales with the first Wilsons of Rathkenny car franchise opening in 1985 as a Lada dealership. His sons joined the business with John starting in 1979 and Darren joining in 1988. After many years of successful trading WRK Finance Company launched in 1996 and soon after Wilsons of Rathkenny grew to become a major motor dealer group with a Nissan dealership opening in 1998, followed by SEAT in 2002, Vauxhall in 2003 and most recently Kia in 2009 along with other major agricultural brands to service the significant agri side of the business which is where it all began. Below is a timeline summarizing the major milestones of the company over the years.
John Wilson 1933 - 2002 Rathkenny Dairy Produce
Wilsons of Rathkenny Site c.1980
