Schofields was founded in 1924 by Ernest James 'E.J.' Schofield
(pictured), the son of Newmarket's then railway stationmaster Mr.
R.J.W. Schofield. Today Schofields Holden is Auckland's most
recognised motoring retailer.
Back in the 1920s it was GM's Chevrolet that was setting the
motoring standard worldwide and Schofields quickly became
recognised throughout New Zealand as the centre for Chevies.
Under the guidance of E.J. Schofield and members of the Nehoff
family (who had purchased a one third shareholding), Schofields
continued to grow and grow, establishing many branches. There was
an outlet in Morrinsville and used vehicle operations at the
Newmarket headquarters as well as Penrose and New Lynn. There were
also full scale branches at Henderson and Onehunga.
E.J. passed over the day-to-day running of Schofields to W.A.
(Dick) Nehoff during the Second World War, but remained as active
as ever. After E.J's sudden death in 1958, the public company of
Schofield Holdings Limited was born under the chairmanship of Mr
D.H. Steen, one of New Zealand's best known company directors.
With its good reputation and great asset backing, Schofields
remained much sought after by others in the industry. The Schofield
and Nehoff family trusts sold their interest in the business to
Colin Giltrap and the Giltrap Group in 1982. The dealership has
continued to prosper, and has remained a market leader, in the two
decades it has been part of the Giltrap Group.
The dealership advertising slogan "It's still Schofields after
all of these years" is very appropriate. While many things have
changed since 1924, the E.J. Schofield approach to business remains
very much alive in Newmarket today.
It is also fitting that Schofields remains NZ's top selling
outlet for Holden motor vehicles and has been a regular winner of
the Holden Grand Masters Award. Schofields is also New Zealand's
top selling HSV and Nissan dealer.