The UK aftermarket is a competitive environment, comprised of tens of thousands of repairers, roughly half of whom are independent garages. With an estimated car parc of 32.5 million passenger cars, garage visits that will be made in the UK this year create a valuable marketplace. Local, regional and national agents need to understand how to fine-tune their workshops and services to build client loyalty.
The NFDA Consumer Attitude Survey Spring 2018 is the fifth issue of the survey which is commissioned by the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) and executed by Public Knowledge, an independent market research agency, to explore current consumer perceptions of franchised dealers and their competitors as well as understand consumer aftersales behaviour.
The latest NFDA Dealer Attitude Survey has revealed that the relationship between car manufacturers and franchised dealers has deteriorated. The NFDA surveyed 29 franchised networks and received 1,893 responses from dealers, equating to a 47 per cent response rate, the highest since the inception of the survey in 1989.
Over two thirds of respondents (71 per cent) described franchised dealers as professional, in the latest National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) Consumer Attitude Survey, while 67 per cent viewed them as knowledgeable. Positively, 63 per cent of surveyed consumers also considered franchised dealers reputable and the same percentage described franchised dealerships as a place with good customer service.
The NFDA Winter 2016 Dealer Attitude Survey has been published, showing that dealer networks’ satisfaction with their associated manufacturer has reached its lowest average level for several years. “The relationship between car dealers and car manufacturers recorded an average score of 6.1 – 0.1 points lower than the summer 2015 survey. This is the lowest score recorded in the past 8 surveys, suggesting that a number of dealer networks are slightly less satisfied with their relationship with their manufacturer,” said Sue Robinson, director of the National Franchised Dealers Association.
The NMDA Autumn 2015 Dealer Attitude Survey, published 2 November 2015, shows that the all dealer average when asked about the overall value of the franchise remained stable at 6.6 since the last survey in spring 2015. Harley Davidson, KTM and Kawasaki were recorded as the top 3 franchises, while the BMW, Honda and Piaggio Group were least valued.
Trend Tracker, formed in 2003 to provide accurate and informed automotive industry research, calculates the retail service, maintenance and repair market’s worth has risen by almost £1 billion since the 2008 recession. This is inevitably resulting in greater interest in the segment, which is increasing the desire of vehicle manufacturers (VMs) to compete for this business. AMOnline has recently reported on the efforts of some car manufacturers to take a bigger slice of that market, giving a synopsis of what measures various VMs are taking.
Car owners prefer the independent sector to franchised dealers for servicing and MoTs according to new research from GForces. The results of the study, which sought the opinion of 2,000 car owners on a variety of aftersales topics, found over half of the respondents (50.3 per cent) used independent garages, compared with 34.1 per cent who use main dealers.
Three and a half years after Hyundai began selling tyres through its dealerships in the US, seven-digit sales have been achieved. Hyundai Motor America has announced that more than a million tyres have been sold through the re-launched Hyundai Authorized Tire Center Program that began on 1 April 2011. And the company says its tyre sales are increasing at an above industry-average rate.
HiQ has hired property agent CPBigwood to identify new sites as it seeks to increase its number of branches. HiQ retail director Farrell Dolan told Tyrepress: “Our growth plans for our network are ambitious, but we are in the process of developing a new retail model that will make it easier for prospective franchisees to join the HiQ network.”
The Hankook Masters Programme was launched in the UK at the end of 2012 and enjoys ongoing growth. To facilitate the scheme’s continued expansion, Hankook Tyre UK has appointed Nick Maltby its franchise development manager. Maltby brings over 30 years of tyre trade experience, gained through senior positions at large independent retailers, into his new role. He joins existing franchise manager Ben Francis in the development of the Hankook Masters Programme.
The latest light commercial vehicle figures released show 2013 total registrations to 327,291 units, up 14.7 per cent. Vans rose 13.1 per cent over the year registering 271,073 units, boosted by 32.5 per cent growth in December. Truck registrations totalled 56,218 units in the year, up 23 per cent with the move to Euro 6 fuelling growth as predicted.
Car registration figures for 2013 appear to show that consumer confidence is increasing, with 2,264,737 cars registered in 2013, up 10.8 per cent on 2012. This exceeds the SMMT’s 2.25 million forecast for the year and is the highest annual registration total since 2007. December was the 22nd consecutive monthly rise.
SMMT figures reveal that new car registrations rose seven per cent in November to 159,581 units, the month’s best performance since 2004. 2,111,819 cars have been registered for the year-to-date, up 9.9 per cent and already ahead of the 2012 full-year figure of 2,044,609. This means that the car market is on target to hit the SMMT forecast of 2.25 million registrations for 2013.
During the first nine months of 2013, Finnish tyre maker Nokian Tyres added 124 outlets to its Vianor dealer network. As of 30 September 2013 the Vianor network operates 1,161 centres in 26 countries. Vianor outlets in Finnland, Sweden, Norway, the US, Switzerland and Russia belong to the company while the remaining 978 are bound to Vianor/Nokian through franchise agreements.
NFDA