An online vehicle remarketing and recycling business has revealed plans to create around 50 jobs by opening a brand-new operations centre in Dunfermline.

The 25-acre site is located at the city’s Pitreavie Business Park, and the Copart anticipates that the facility will be operational by winter 2025.

It is said that the site will have capacity for the storage of 30,000 vehicles per year. Job opportunities will include drivers, yard operatives, and customer service advisers.

The news comes as another large firm, Thompsons UK, which makes tipper trucks, also announced that they are moving into a large site on the edge of the city, bringing up to 100 jobs.

Copart sells used cars in online auctions, and currently employs 1,100 people across 18 locations. 

CEO of Copart UK and Ireland Jane Pocock said: “As a market leader with a passion to keep growing and improving, we’re excited to increase our operational capabilities for customers and buyers in Scotland, whilst continuously driving down road miles and carbon emissions by being closer to our customers.

“The storage capacity at our new Dunfermline site will support the ever-increasing demand for EV handling and will enable us to offer our fast and efficient emergency response services to extreme weather events which can typically affect our customers in Scotland.”

The decision to open in Dunfermline is related to the city’s “excellent transport links” and closeness to Edinburgh.

An official statement added that the site will allow the company to provide rapid vehicle collection, handling, and storage with minimal environmental impact.

Established in 2007, Copart handles more than 500,000 vehicles a year for a variety of customers including rental car companies, banks, and motor traders.

The new site could allow the company, which also has sites in East Kilbride and Whitburn, to handle over 100,000 cars per year across Scotland.