M any franchised dealers face closure thanks to changing methods of
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selling commercial vehicles, according to a report by CAP Nationwide Motor Research It says several factors point to a total restructuring of the industry's existing sales network over the next five to ten years. These include: • Significant reductions in the new vehicle market since 1989 reducing the viability of existing franchised sales centres.
• Direct sales by manufacturers to customers accounting for between 40-500/c of total sales, undermining the need for sales to go through dealerships.
* Growing numbers of operators using contract hire, contract maintenance and leasing and redirecting capital away from outright purchase of vehicles, These packages, once the domain of independent companies, are now being offered directly by manufacturers themselves.
By keeping everything under one roof, CAP says manufacturers can claim much greater control over the working of a contract. All repair and maintenance will be undertaken by their own service dealers specifically trained in the product.
Meanwhile, independent workshops will find it increasingly difficult to be adequately equipped "with the advent of new fangled diagnostic equipment costing up to £6,000".
CAP suggests that a 'hub and spoke' system may develop where there are far fewer main dealerships covering much greater areas. These dealerships would be backed by an increasing number of service centres catering for all repair and maintenance business. "This should ensure a much leaner but individually stronger sales network and greater geographical coverage for repair, maintenance and breakdown recovery, thus reducing a common cause of product rejection, i.e., an absence of a local service dealer."