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• Operators willing to take a Mercedes-Benz Actros on a threeyear contract-hire agreement can have the use of a diesel Mercedes A-Class A17o CDI car for two years.
Dealer Gerard Mann, with truck outlets in Birmingham, Coventry, and Wolverhampton, is sending 500 Actros and A-Class models to existing and prospective customers to alert them to the deal. This is costing /7,500 but Gerry Smith, general manager at Gerard Mann Commercials, believes it will be money well spent and makes more sense than slashing prices or offering unrealistic buy-back deals. "We haven't done any buy-backs for the past three years, even though we've at times had to walk away from business as a result," says Smith.
The contract-hire rates will not be inflated to pay for the cars, he stresses: "An Actros 1840 4x2 tractor will cost it99 a week."
The cars will be restricted to ii,000 miles a year and the user will have to pay for the servicing.
Gerard Mann also operates Mercedes-Benz car dealerships.
Smith admits that selling the Actros has been something of a challenge this year. "We've got a target of 55, and we should sell Go to 70, but it's tough going," he says. "There's nothing wrong with the product, but it is taking a while to get that fact over to operators. We've got to convince more of the big fleets that it's worth trying.
"People seem wary of the vehicle's technology," he adds. "But once they've understood it, it's really not a problem for them."
It's a different story at the lighter end of the range. "We may sell L000 Sprinters this year, and we can't get enough Vitos to satisfy the demand," he reports. "The Sprinter has been an unbelievable success story for us, and the majority of people we're selling to are small business rather than fleet users so we're not having to give big fleet discounts."
And how about the Atego? After a few teething troubles the 7.5-tonner is finding acceptance, and the larger rigids are doing especially well, according to Smith.
Used sales should get a boost soon because Gerard Mann is about to open a used-only site at Shrewsbury Car Village in Featherbed Lane, Shrewsbury. "There's a good used market there and not many people are tackling it," he says.
The Car Village is owned by lnchcape, which also owns Gerard Mann. As well as Mercedes it offers Volkswagen, Mazda, Fiat, and Audi car franchises.
Not surprisingly, second-hand vans are likely to account for the majority of sales. "We can't sell new ones from the site because Hills of Shrewsbury has the van franchise," Smith explains.