Scania sales soar
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Switching from an independent dealer group to running four outlets owned by a manufacturer sounds like a difficult transition. But Fergus Leitch is coping with the change well.
Formerly managing director of the Appleyard Group's commercial vehicle division, Leitch has iust become director, retail subsidiaries, north, for Scania. That means he's responsible for Reliable Vehicles and Union Trucks, formerly owned by Appleyard, but bought by Scania when the company was sold to the Jardine Group.
In addition Leitch chairs the boards of
Northway Scania and Scanlink, which are also Scania subsidiaries.
His familiarity with Reliable and Union has helped make the switch easier. So has his familiarity with Scania itself—he's worked within the dealer network for more than 30 years.
"And Scania doesn't treat its own dealerships simply as metal-moving wholesalers," he says. "They're viewed as businesses in their own right, there to make a profit." Scania had an excellent year in 1997, and Leitch reports that the order book for new trucks is looking equally healthy this year. "The used market has held up well, too," he adds.
Two to three-year-old trucks looked after under Scania's 2+2 repair and maintenance contracts are in strong demand, he says, and 3-Series residuals don't seem to be suffering at all.
Nor are the many lowpowered day-cab tractors that Scania has supplied to big fleet operators proving difficult to dispose of when they come home to roost. As Leitch explains: "Some medium-sized fleets are happy to buy them and use them for local distribution work."