John Hughes’s car business was marking 50 years in 2019, according to a PerthNow profile published on 17 February that year. Hughes, then 83, was still working at the Victoria Park site where the business began, while later reports described a family company preparing for succession. Those are snapshots from different years—not a current account of Hughes’s age, working life or the business’s size.
How did John Hughes start his car business?
A 2025 episode listing from Euroz Hartleys’ Finding the Front dates Hughes’s start in business to 1969, when he was in his early 30s. PerthNow’s 2019 anniversary profile described the beginnings as a vacant service-station site in Victoria Park. The 50-year milestone was the profile’s anniversary framing; it should not be read as an independently verified incorporation date.
The business developed through later changes. A 2013 profile in The West Australian says Hughes established Paramotors, took over the Skipper Bailey Motor Company in Victoria Park in 1980, and changed the business name to John Hughes in 2005. These milestones describe a history spanning several stages, rather than one uninterrupted company name.
Who is Margarita Hughes?
PerthNow reported in 2019 that John Hughes met Margarita when she was a 23-year-old air hostess. The article described them as having been married for 38 years at that time; that is a dated account, not a current duration. Its portrait of their relationship included Hughes’s joke about going home: “I go home at night and I surrender at the front door,” he said. Margarita’s closing remark was, “Behind very successful man is a woman,” as quoted in the same report.
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Was John Hughes still working in 2019?
Yes. PerthNow reported on 17 February 2019 that Hughes was 83, still working at the Victoria Park location where the business had begun, and working six days a week. The article said he had no intention of retiring, quoting him: “For as long as I’m alive, I have no intention whatsoever of retiring,” he said. “I don’t know what I’d do. I’d be bored.” These statements describe what he said and did in 2019; they do not establish his present work or retirement status.
The same 2019 story reported 500 staff and 15 sales outlets. Those figures belong to that period and should not be treated as current company statistics.
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What did later reporting say about the family business?
A Business News report dated 30 August 2024, reproduced by Generation Private, said the family holding company was strengthening governance and planning succession. It named Joanna Millard as the intended next managing director. That report documents plans at the time; it does not establish that a later leadership transition took place.
Business News also reported $900 million in annual automotive sales in 2024. This is a period-specific sales figure, not a current revenue claim. It is not directly comparable with the $650 million turnover that The West Australian reported in 2013 alongside nearly 21,000 cars sold in the prior year: the figures come from different years and use different measures.
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What the dated milestones show
| Year | Reported milestone | Source and context |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Hughes started his own business, according to the episode synopsis. | Euroz Hartleys, Finding the Front listing, 4 June 2025 |
| 1980 | Hughes took over the Skipper Bailey Motor Company in Victoria Park. | The West Australian, 2013 profile |
| 2005 | The business changed its name to John Hughes. | The West Australian, 2013 profile |
| 2019 | PerthNow marked 50 years since the business began and reported Hughes’s age, work schedule, staffing and outlets at that time. | PerthNow, 17 February 2019 |
| 2024 | The family holding company was reported to be strengthening governance and planning succession; annual automotive sales were reported as $900 million. | Business News report reproduced by Generation Private, 30 August 2024 |
| 2025 | A podcast listing described an episode about Hughes’s background, business, first site, Margarita and family. | Euroz Hartleys, Finding the Front listing, 4 June 2025 |
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