A positive outlook With Euro-6 on the way, Daf dealer
Page 38
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Adams Morey is looking to maximise the used truck market Words: Steve Banner What with the acquisition of Daf service dealer Basingstoke Commercials and 730 new truck sales under its belt, 2012 was a buoyant year for Redbridge, Southampton-based Daf dealership Adams Morey, according to MD Mike Fennell (pictured).
This year ought to see healthy new sales levels too as operators race to acquire Euro-5 trucks in advance of the arrival of Euro-6 next January. It remains difficult to see how things will pan out exactly, Fennell admits, because of the extra complexity imposed by derogation.
"What it means is that any Euro-5 truck built before 30 September can be registered up until 31 December 2014," he says. "If it is built from 1 October onwards, however, it will have to be registered by 31 December this year."
With customers anxious to obtain build slots prior to the September cut-off date — "Daf is already busy filling everything that is available in August and September" — it is hard to predict how much business will be done in the final quarter. "As a consequence I'm being cautious and predicting 560 new sales this year, because I cannot say what will happen during the last three months," he says.
He is rather more certain about what will happen in 2014. Customers who have already bought Euro-5s will not be going out and acquiring Euro-6s, and that is bound to have an impact on registrations "I think truck dealers will find it pretty tough," he remarks.
As a consequence, Adams Morey will be working hard to reduce costs wherever it can and at achieving overhead absorption through its aftersales activities: ensuring, in other words, that revenue from parts and sales covers the cost of running the business. Now trading as Adams Morey Basingstoke, Basingstoke Commercials will be making its contribution.
"We won't be sitting on our hands; we'll have to be proactive, try to work smarter and just get out there. We'll also be looking to increase our used sales," says Fennell. "We did well with used trucks in 2012— we sold 120— and I think we'll have another strong year this year.
"A lot of operators are having a hard time, so it's no surprise that some of them are thinking of buying used rather than new," he observes. • Adams Morey operates out of 10 locations across the South including Portsmouth, Bournemouth, Salisbury and in Newport on the Isle of Wight as well as in Southampton and Basingstoke.
An LDV dealer for many years before the manufacturer's demise — "at one stage we were selling 1,000 LDVs annually," MD Mike Fennell recalls — Adams Morey now represents Fiat Professional at selected locations, including its van centre at Millbrook in Southampton.
"We're making some progress with Fiat; it's beginning to come right for us and we're starting to get into one or two big fleets," he reports. "We aim to sell 350 Fiat vans this year — but margins in that sector of the market are tight."