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DEALER NEWS ROUND-UP
Page 53
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RETHINK WORKS WONDERS
A total rethink of the way it operates has worked wonders at independent dealership Euro Wise Truck, says boss Peter Hassan. He's cut the number of trucks held in stock from 45 to around 20, and he and his colleagues are literally going out and knocking on hauliers' doors to generate business.
"As a consequence we're all working flat out," he smiles. "We're so busy, it's unbelievable; and we're getting the sales.
"The fact that we're turning over stock much faster means that if somebody drives past our yard one week, he'll see a different line-up of trucks from the line-up that he saw when he drove past the week before." A rapid turnover also means that Euro Wise is less exposed to heavy stock depreciation at its Aylesham, Kent, yard.
Hassan is still offering mixers on converted ex-supermarket Scania day cab tractive units. They have to be on steel suspension, however, and suitable used units are increasingly hard to come by.
SA SETS UP ALL-MAKES OUTLET
Avonmouth ERF dealership SA Trucks has set up an all-makes parts outlet in Exeter under the Starteam banner. Starteam is a franchise developed by ERF, and SA hopes to have a network of outlets that will cover the West Country and South Wales.
ECODRIVE TAKES ON IF
Transmission specialist Ecodrive has taken a ZF franchise, based at Walkden in Greater Manchester. It will cover Lancashire, Cheshire, Merseyside, Cumbria, and North Wales.
MANN SEEKS SHREWSBURY SITE Mercedes-Benz dealership Gerard Mann is to open its own site in Shrewsbury, and is looking for premises. "We need around an acre of land with a building that will accommodate four workshop bays plus offices," says general manager Gerry Smith.
The firm already has outlets in Wolverhampton, Birmingham, and Coventry, and is enjoying a mini-boom. "Service and parts are doing very well, and we're on target to retail over 1,000 Sprinters this year," he says. "It will be the first time that a dealership has achieved this.
"We'll achieve our retail target of 400 Ategos this year, and we should do 75 Actros tractors. Our tractor sales are picking up nicely, and we're starting to break into one or two fleets that we've never broken into before.
"We should certainly benefit when Axor comes along next year."
LDV SPEAKS OUT ON BLOCK EXEMPTION LDV chief executive, Allan Amey, has called for the retention of block exemption for commercial vehicle dealerships. The block exemption rules allow manufactur
ers to restrict the supply of brand-new, unregistered vehicles solely to dealers who hold their fran chise, and are currently under review by the European Commission. it's a misconception that a break-up of the present franchise system will lead to great benefits," says Amey. "A proliferation of unregulated sellers and repairers could spell disaster for safety."
It's likely that he'll get his wish. Industry insiders are predicting only minimal changes when the new rules are introduced, probably on 1 October 2002. Manufacturers will doubtless welcome such a development, but they may have to stop trying to prevent dealers in one EU country from selling trucks to independent importers in another EU country if they so wish.
Sean Clarke, managing director of dealership M1 Commercials and an independent importer himself, has repeatedly complained about this practice, pointing out that it breaches EL) competition regulations if an importer can produce a customer order for a vehicle.