Already established in Montbazens, Scop ARL auto Fargal is expanding with a garage on avenue du Quercy, in Villefranche-de-Rouergue. A necessary development intended to perpetuate the company.
Clearly, the town of Villefranche-de-Rouergue, in Aveyron, can boast of attracting new businesses, while the bastide fights against economic difficulties. After the arrival of a national ready-to-wear brand, a new car garage was set up at 191, avenue du Quercy.
And the brand is already known to many Aveyron residents, having been established since 1964 in Montbazens. After the takeover of the family business in 1999 by Vincent Bros, the son of the founder, it evolved into a Cooperative and Participatory Company (Scop) ARL auto Fargal in 2023. “Many people believe that Scops are only reserved for companies that are doing poorly, and taken over by employees. In fact, it is not only used for that. I chose this system because, as I approached retirement, I wanted to pass on my company while becoming an employee. She is doing very well,” reassures Vincent Bros.
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As proof, the development in Villefranche-de-Rouergue, guided by its desire to perpetuate the activity. “I wanted to pass on my business to competent people. But to recruit high-performance people, you have to increase the volume and the turnover, because in a Scop, we share the results, people know why they work. With just Montbazens, we were in between, too big to stay there but too small to recruit”, explains the former manager.
An affordable price range
Since February 2026, Scop ARL auto Fargal Villefranchoise version has therefore taken the place of the AB Signature garage, which disappeared after judicial liquidation. Two new jobs were created, bringing the total number of employees to nine for the two sites.
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The brand sells used cars, hybrids but especially thermal cars. At a time when fuel prices are exploding, the bet seems crazy. “In fact, we embarked on the adventure before knowing that Trump was going to throw a tantrum. But we believe in it,” concedes the man, with a smile on his lips.
According to him, “the demand exists, we only sell used classic cars to drive, to go to work. Here, there are only dealers. We offer a little electric, but in Aveyron, people don’t want hybrids or electrics, that’s the way it is. They ask for gasoline and diesel vehicles.”
The business also relies on accessible prices. As thermal models are snapped up on the second-hand market, prices have climbed. Vincent Bros is therefore forced to turn “towards older vehicles to stay within the budget, from €5,000 to €15,000. A price range where there is a huge demand”.
An Alpine Formula 1 as an advertisement
For the moment, the only difficulty he sees concerns the supply of vehicles. According to him, we should have no illusions, “there will be less and less diesel on the market. Customers will therefore fall back on gasoline and hybrids.”
To mark the occasion and to be even more visible on the Montauban road, a busy route, a Formula 1 Alpine A522 will be installed in the store’s showroom during April. And this car will be available to visitors for several months. Just in appearance, because its price is very different from the models on sale in the Scop.
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