Motor Center Heinen
In 1963 two people started selling Peugeots in Dortmund-Dorstfeld with a box of tools, a second-hand typewriter and some office supplies. Three years later they moved onto the derelict grounds of the Zeche Dorstfeld colliery, which had just closed, and built a car business on top of a dead coal mine. That is the Ruhr's whole post-war story compressed into one address. Peugeot became Honda in 1980, then Suzuki, SEAT, Kia and Cupra followed, and the single site became nine across Dortmund, Essen, Bergkamen, Holzwickede, Werne and Kamen, with around 270 staff and a motto unchanged since the beginning: service from person to person. Still family-run, now by the Giuliani brothers. This is a portrait of an ordinary business that has outlasted the industry that surrounded it, assembled from the company's own record.
A chronological documentary of 115 moments spanning 1963–2026 on Loreline.
Curated by Olivier · last updated 2026-09-02
Eras
- Die Geschichte, The founding and the long arc. A Peugeot dealership started in 1963 with almost nothing, the 1966 move onto the closed Zeche Dorstfeld colliery site, the 1980 switch to Honda, and sixty years of a family business in the Ruhr. This is the thinnest part of the archive, and honestly so: no photographs of the early decades survive anywhere publicly reachable.
- Die Standorte, The nine branches and the buildings themselves. Dorstfeld, where it began and where it returns in 2026; Hoerde from 2001; Bergkamen; Essen-Altenessen from 2008; Holzwickede by the airport from 2012; the ten-thousand-square-metre used-car site at Werne from 2020; and Kamen from 2021. Showrooms, forecourts and the opening days.
- Die Marken, The franchises, in the order they arrived: Peugeot from 1963, Honda from 1980, Suzuki from 2011, SEAT from 2012, Kia from 2013 and Cupra from 2019. The cars themselves, from the Honda e and the Jazz to the Kia Ceed, the Swift Sport and the electric Cupra Born.
- Im Revier, The company in its region: local sponsorships and community events, the dragon-boat team, trade-press coverage, and a business rooted in the Ruhr through the decades in which the coal and steel around it disappeared.
- Die Menschen, Service von Mensch zu Mensch, the motto since 1963. The Giuliani brothers who run the firm, the roughly 270 people who work in it, the apprentices taken on each year, and the customers who keep coming back.
- Werkstatt und Service, The part of a dealership that keeps customers for sixty years rather than one sale: the workshop, the parts counter, the technicians, the tyre and inspection work, and the twenty-four-hour accident line.
- - 1963, der Anfang in Dortmund-Dorstfeld. The company's own founding image for 1963, when Matthias Heinen and Edeltraud Recke, nee Giuliani, began selling Peugeot cars in Dortmund-Dorstfeld with a box of tools, a second-hand typewriter and some office supplies.
- - Motor Center Heinen, Erfahrung die bewegt. The header image of the company's own history page, carrying the line that for over 60 years Motor Center Heinen has stood for quality, reliability and personal service.
- - 1966, Umzug auf das Gelaende der Zeche Dorstfeld. The 1966 move onto the derelict grounds of the closed Zeche Dorstfeld colliery, shaft 2/3, on Wittener Strasse. The pit's former lamp room and washhouse became the dealership's office and workshop.
- - Umzug in Dorstfeld ins Kortental. The company's image for its second Dorstfeld move, from Wittener Strasse to Kortental 77, where the used-car yard was laid out with coloured surfaces and lit for evening browsing.
- - Bergkamen, der dritte Standort. Bergkamen at Industriestrasse 110 became the third Heinen site in March 2003, with 7,000 square metres of ground and 500 square metres of covered showroom.
- - Essen-Altenessen, der vierte Betrieb. The fourth Heinen branch opened on 1 March 2008 at Karolingerstrasse 90 in Essen-Altenessen, a 5,200 square metre site with a 520 square metre showroom hall.
- - Motor Center Heinen um 2009. A company timeline image filed to 2009. The website's milestone text for this period covers the group's consolidation across its Dortmund, Bergkamen and Essen sites.
- - Suzuki kommt hinzu. From January 2011 Motor Center Heinen became a contracted Suzuki passenger-car dealer, widening the range beyond Honda with the Japanese small-car and all-wheel-drive specialist.
- - Heinen mit Suzuki. Suzuki at Motor Center Heinen. The company became a contracted Suzuki dealer in January 2011.
- - SEAT in Holzwickede. SEAT at Holzwickede. The brand entered the Heinen portfolio when the Holzwickede branch opened in March 2012.
- - Holzwickede und die Marke SEAT. The sixth branch opened on 3 and 4 March 2012 at Holzwickede by Dortmund airport, bringing Suzuki cars and the new SEAT franchise under the Heinen roof.
- - Partnerschaft mit dem Klinikum Dortmund. Heinen's link with Klinikum Dortmund began in 2013 at the opening of its Kia operations, when takings from food and drink sales were donated to the hospital's children's MRI project, a scanner that projects fantasy worlds and cuts noise to spare children the stress of the scan.
- - Kia kommt hinzu. Heinen became a Kia dealer on 7 September 2013, attracted by the manufacturer's seven-year warranty.
- - Heinen mit Kia. Kia at Motor Center Heinen, a franchise held since 7 September 2013.
- - Mighty Ducks bei Heinen. A Mighty Ducks visit to Heinen, the earliest surviving video on the company's channel.
- - Heinen-Team beim Drachenboot-Festival 2015 Dortmund. The Heinen staff team rowing at the 2015 Dortmund dragon boat festival, a company outing rather than a sales film.
- - Das Heinen-Logo. The Motor Center Heinen wordmark. The company's asset filenames date this logo design to 2015.
- - Elterninitiative krebskranker Kinder Essen. Since January 2016 Heinen has given the takings of its Heinen-Fruehstueck and a collection tin in the Essen branch to the Essen parents' initiative for children with cancer, which runs a 50-bed house beside the university hospital.
- - Der neue Kia Rio beim Motor Center Heinen. The Kia Rio at Motor Center Heinen, four years after the company took on the Kia franchise.
- - Sponsoring des Holzwickeder SC. Heinen sponsors Holzwickeder SC, formed in March 2015 from a merger of two clubs and the largest club in the Unna area, playing at the Montanhydraulik-Stadion near Heinen's Holzwickede branch.
- - Swift Sport bei Heinen. The Suzuki Swift Sport, from the Suzuki franchise Heinen took on in January 2011.
- - Neu im Motor Center Heinen, Kia Ceed 2018. The 2018 Kia Ceed newly arrived at Motor Center Heinen.
- - CUPRA in Holzwickede und Bergkamen. From 2019 both SEAT sites, Holzwickede and Bergkamen, also became CUPRA partners. Holzwickede gained CUPRA Specialist status and a purpose-built extension for the performance brand.
- - Werne, ueber 10.000 Quadratmeter. The Werne site opened under the Heinen flag in November 2020, a used-car and EU-import location of over 10,000 square metres with no workshop of its own.
- - Honda e im Motor Center Heinen. The Honda e, Honda's first mass-market electric car, filmed at Motor Center Heinen.
- - Der neue Kia Sorento im Motor Center Heinen. The Kia Sorento presented at Motor Center Heinen.
- - Kamen, der siebte Standort. Kamen opened in 2021 as the seventh Heinen location, a pure sales site for young, annual and used cars, again without workshop services.
- - Filiale Kamen. The Kamen branch, the seventh Heinen location, a pure sales site for used and EU-import vehicles.
- - Honda HR-V eHEV 2021. The Honda HR-V e:HEV hybrid, shown by Heinen in early 2021.
- - Honda HR-V Praesentation bei Heinen. A Honda HR-V presentation filmed at Motor Center Heinen.
- - Der neue vollelektrische CUPRA Born. Heinen's longer film on the fully electric Cupra Born.
- - Partnerschaft mit dem VfL Menden Platte Heide. With the takeover of its eighth branch in Menden, Heinen entered its first Sauerland club partnership, backing VfL Menden Platte Heide and its annual international Hoennecup youth tournament.
- - Heinen expandiert ins Sauerland. Trade paper autohaus.de reports Heinen taking over the SEAT and Cupra dealership Autohaus Huchtemeier in Menden with effect from 1 July 2022. All jobs were kept and the group reached roughly 230 staff across eight sites.
- - Motor Center Heinen in Holzwickede. A three and a half minute tour of the Holzwickede branch, where Heinen holds Cupra Specialist status.
- - Motor Center Heinen Bergkamen Teaser. A fifteen second teaser for the Bergkamen branch on Industriestrasse, opened March 2003.
- - Motor Center Heinen Dorstfeld Teaser. A fifteen second teaser for the Dorstfeld site at Kortental 77, the company's original home district.
- - Motor Center Heinen Essen Teaser. A fifteen second teaser for the Essen-Altenessen branch on Karolingerstrasse.
- - Motor Center Heinen Hoerde Teaser. A fifteen second teaser for the Dortmund-Hoerde branch at Hoerder Phoenixseeallee.
- - Motor Center Heinen Kamen Teaser. A fifteen second teaser for the Kamen branch, the seventh Heinen location, opened 2021.
- - Motor Center Heinen Werne Teaser. A fifteen second teaser for the Werne used-car site.
- - HONDA HR-V 2022. The 2022 Honda HR-V shown by Motor Center Heinen, Honda being its franchise since 1980.
- - CUPRA Born bei Heinen. A short Cupra Born film from Heinen, the electric hatchback of its Cupra franchise.
- - Motor Center Heinen in Dortmund-Hoerde. A tour of the Dortmund-Hoerde branch, which opened on 15 March 2001 and closed at the end of 2025.
- - Motor Center Heinen in Werne. A tour of the Werne site, the 10,000 square metre used-car location Heinen opened in November 2020.
- - Kia EV6, praesentiert vom Motor Center Heinen. The Kia EV6 electric car presented by Motor Center Heinen.
- - Menden, Heinen im Sauerland. Heinen opened in Menden in July 2022 with Kia sales and service plus Cupra and SEAT servicing, on a 12,500 square metre site in the Sauerland.
- - Kia Smart Cruise Control. A short Kia driver-assistance explainer published on Heinen's channel for its Kia customers.
- - Hagen am Konrad-Adenauer-Ring. After taking over the Menden business, Heinen acquired a second Autohaus Huchtemeier operation in 2022, continuing the Hagen site on Konrad-Adenauer-Ring as a Kia location with added Suzuki and used cars.
- - Kia Frontkollisionswarner. A Kia forward collision warning explainer from Heinen's Kia customer series.
- - Das Kia-Autohaus in Hagen kommt zu Heinen. The Huchtemeier Kia dealership in Hagen, acquired by Heinen with effect from 31 December 2022. It was the second Huchtemeier site taken over in a single year.
- - Kia Smart Cruise Control, zweite Fassung. A second Kia Smart Cruise Control explainer in Heinen's Kia assistance series.
- - Hagen am Konrad-Adenauer-Ring vor dem Umbau. The Hagen site on Konrad-Adenauer-Ring, photographed before its rebuild to current Kia corporate identity. Heinen grew from seven to ten dealerships during 2022 alone.
- - Der neue Kia Niro TV Spot. The Kia Niro television spot, carried on Heinen's channel as the dealership took on the model.
- - Kia Remote Smart Park Assist. 's Kia customers.
- - Kia Totwinkelassistent mit Lenk- und Bremseingriff. Kia blind spot collision avoidance assist, from Heinen's Kia explainer series.
- - Kia Autobahnassistent. Kia Highway Driving Assist, Heinen's most-watched Kia explainer.
- - Kia Auspark-Kollisionsvermeidungsassistent. Kia parking collision avoidance assist, from Heinen's Kia explainer series.
- - Suzuki kommt nach Essen. From late 2021 Heinen became an official Suzuki sales and service dealer in Essen, bringing Suzuki to a fourth Heinen location.
- - Suzuki in Essen. Suzuki at the Essen branch. Heinen became an official Suzuki sales and service dealer in Essen from late 2021, making it the fourth Heinen site to carry the brand.
- - Enjoy Fahrzeugfolierung hat unseren Cupra Formentor VZ5 foliert. A Cupra Formentor VZ5 belonging to Motor Center Heinen, wrapped by Enjoy Fahrzeugfolierung.
- - Motor Center Heinen, der Kia Stinger GT. Heinen's own film of the Kia Stinger GT performance saloon.
- - Der neue Honda Jazz, ab sofort bei Heinen. The Honda Jazz arriving in Heinen's showrooms, announced by the dealership itself.
- - Giacuzzo hat unseren Kia Stinger umgebaut. A Kia Stinger customised by tuning house Giacuzzo for Motor Center Heinen, filmed at the dealership.
- - Cupra Leon Sportstourer im Schatten des alten Stahlwerks. A Cupra Leon Sportstourer photographed by Heinen against a disused Dortmund steelworks, echoing the company's own industrial-site origins.
- - Terminbuchung bei Heinen. Heinen's service appointment booking graphic.
- - Andreas Giuliani
- - Ralf Giuliani. 2012 as a combination of Spanish temperament and German engineering.
- - Wintercheck bei Heinen. Heinen's winter vehicle check, one of the workshop's recurring seasonal services.
- - Ralf Giuliani, zweites Portraet. A second published portrait of Ralf Giuliani from the company's staff directory.
- - Christin Giuliani. 's staff directory.
- - Christin Giuliani, zweites Portraet. A second published portrait of Christin Giuliani.
- - Karsten Flessenkaemper
- - Filiale Dortmund-Dorstfeld. The Dortmund-Dorstfeld branch as shown on its own location page, the company's principal Honda site and its home district since 1963.
- - Filiale Holzwickede von aussen. The exterior of the Holzwickede branch beside Dortmund airport, opened March 2012 and holder of CUPRA Specialist status.
- - Filiale Bergkamen. The Bergkamen branch on Industriestrasse 110, the third Heinen site, opened March 2003.
- - Filiale Essen-Altenessen. The Essen branch at Karolingerstrasse 90 in Altenessen, opened 1 March 2008 as the fourth Heinen site.
- - Filiale Hagen. The Hagen branch on Konrad-Adenauer-Ring, taken over from Autohaus Huchtemeier in 2022 and continued as a Kia site.
- - Filiale Menden im Sauerland. The Menden branch, Heinen's first site in the Sauerland, opened July 2022 on 12,500 square metres.
- - Filiale Werne. The Werne used-car site of over 10,000 square metres, opened under the Heinen flag in November 2020.
- - Filiale Dortmund-Hoerde. The Dortmund-Hoerde branch at Hoerder Phoenixseeallee 138, opened 15 March 2001 and closed on 1 January 2026 when the operation moved to Dorstfeld.
- - Dorstfeld, Ansicht des Gelaendes. A further view of the Dorstfeld site, the district where the company has traded since 1963.
- - Heinen in Dorstfeld. The Dorstfeld premises photographed for the company's own site.
- - Heinen in Dorstfeld, weitere Ansicht. Another view of the Dorstfeld premises at Kortental 77.
- - Heinen in Bergkamen. The Bergkamen site, which carries SEAT and CUPRA alongside used cars.
- - Kia PV5 Passenger bei Motor Center Heinen. Kia PV5 Passenger, the brand's electric van, presented by Motor Center Heinen.
- - Suzuki in Holzwickede. Suzuki vehicles at Holzwickede. The Suzuki display moved next door into the former Ford Kleine building in 2022.
- - Bergkamen, Ausstellungsflaeche. The Bergkamen display area. The site has 7,000 square metres of ground with 500 square metres under cover.
- - Heinen in Essen. The Essen branch, whose showroom hall alone measures 520 square metres.
- - Heinen in Hagen. The Hagen site, acquired with the second Autohaus Huchtemeier business in 2022.
- - Heinen in Menden. The Menden site, which handles Kia sales and service plus Cupra and SEAT servicing.
- - Heinen in Werne. The Werne site. It sells only used and EU-import vehicles, with servicing handled by nearby Bergkamen.
- - Heinen in Holzwickede. The Holzwickede location, which since 2022 occupies two adjacent sites including the former Ford Kleine dealership.
- - Holzwickede, Filiale. A further view of the Holzwickede branch at Zur alten Kolonie.
- - Die Heinen Unfallhotline. Heinen's accident hotline, the service it offers customers after a crash, announced on the company site in January 2026.
- - Unfallhotline, Motiv. A second image from the accident hotline announcement.
- - Unfallhotline, weiteres Motiv. A third image from the accident hotline service page.
- - Werkstatttermin online buchen. Heinen's online workshop booking, the entry point to its service departments across the group.
- - Terminbanner der Werkstatt. The workshop appointment banner used across the Heinen site.
- - News bei Heinen. The graphic Heinen uses to head its own news channel.
- - Reifenwechsel 2026 bei Heinen. The 2026 tyre-change campaign, a seasonal workshop service across the Heinen branches.
- - Fruehstueck bei Honda. A Honda customer breakfast at Heinen, the kind of showroom event the firm runs under its motto of service from person to person.
- - Reifenwechsel, zweites Motiv. A second image from the 2026 tyre-change campaign.
- - Heinen Reifen-Sale. The Heinen tyre sale announced for 2026, run through the group's parts and workshop departments.
- - Heinen Winterkomplettradaktion. Heinen's winter complete-wheel campaign, a workshop and parts offer.
- - Der grosse Fuhrparktausch bei Heinen. Heinen's fleet-exchange campaign, releasing its own demonstrator cars to customers.
- - Fuhrparktausch, zweites Motiv. A second image from the Heinen demonstrator fleet exchange.
- - Fuhrparktausch mit SEAT und CUPRA. The SEAT and Cupra side of the Heinen demonstrator fleet exchange.
- - Die Kia Wochen bei Heinen. The Kia Wochen, a Heinen sales campaign for the Kia franchise it has held since 2013.
- - Kia Wochen, Ansicht. A view from the Heinen Kia Wochen campaign.
- - Kia Wochen, Kopfmotiv. The header image of the Heinen Kia Wochen campaign.
- - Honda Prelude bei Heinen. The returning Honda Prelude presented by Heinen, whose Honda franchise dates to 1980.
- - Umzug nach Dortmund-Dorstfeld. The company's announcement image for the move of the Hoerde operation to Martener Hellweg 25 in Dortmund-Dorstfeld, effective 1 January 2026.
- - E-Mobilitaetsfoerderung bei Heinen. Heinen's presentation of the German electric-car purchase subsidy to its customers.
- - Umzug nach Dortmund-Dorstfeld, zweites Motiv. A second image from the same announcement, the new Dorstfeld site standing opposite the existing one at Kortental 77.
- - Eroeffnung in Dortmund-Dorstfeld. The opening image for the new Dortmund-Dorstfeld location at Martener Hellweg 25.
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