Revhead Ramblings: 2019 is a Huge Year For Cars

The new year is upon us and every car fanatic is waiting with baited breath for the cars we’ve been so cruelly teased with over the past year; or in some cases decades!

Electrification is obviously due to be a big element this year, however that’s not to say we’ll be without our beloved fossil fuel burners! Only time will tell just how far manufacturers are willing to push consumers in order to achieve their emission targets.

The Supra Returns

It’s been 17 years since we last saw a Supra leave the production line, but now after seven years of production alongside BMW we’re finally able to experience our Fast and Furious dreams!

The all-new Supra is due to be officially released at the North American International Motor Show in Detroit in January; however, the final design will be of little surprise after Toyota’s German division leaked yet more photos.

It’s expected to go on sale in the first half of 2019, priced at roughly £50,000; I suppose they’ve got to find the money for seven years of R&D from somewhere… Speaking at the Geneva show, Supra Chief Engineer Tetsuya Tada said “a front-mounted six-cylinder turbocharged engine powering the rear wheels was the configuration favoured by owners and aficionados of previous versions of the Supra.” The engine is expected to produce approximately 300bhp and 470nm of torque, enough for a 0-62mph time around the five second mark.

Hybrid Assistance in Ingolstadt

Audi’s marketing department have their work cut out this year with new cars coming in all shapes and sizes. The A8, A7 and A6 are all due to receive the S treatment; though the turbocharged V6s are expected in the two smaller cars. Thankfully this leaves plenty of room for the slightly mad RS models to make their mark!

The RS6 and RS7 are also due for a touch up. For the first time ever, both cars are expected to go the way of Mercedes and be offered in two states of tune. The faster of the tunes is expected to take advantage of a hybrid-boost system to take power past 700bhp! The new A3, and S3 respectively, are due to make an appearance too.

 The Concept Honda

The Honda Urban EV was one of last year’s most loved concepts, combining a squat hatchback stance and retro detailing with a thoroughly modern electric powertrain. We’re now due to see it in 2019, let’s just hope it’s as exciting to drive as Honda have promised… It’s sure to be a hit however, as people become more environmentally conscious, the need for an affordable EV is only going to increase!

Fast Fords

Reviewers raved when they drove the new Focus ST-Line, it’s smaller, lighter and lower than the current car, so we’re quietly confident the full fat ST will be a serious contender on the market. Horsepower is predicted to sit around 270bhp, this puts it firmly in contention with the Renault Sport Megane and Hyundai i30 N. The Golf GTI may be just out of reach however, with the Golf R expected to push beyond 350bhp to fend off the Merc-AMG A35, the GTI can extend its limits too.

Obviously, this is just a slither of everything on offer over the next 12 months, we’re sure to see some wacky idea from Musk and a few more start-ups entice us with concepts only to disappear the next week. One company we’ve all heard of but never seen a car from is Italdesign; they’re due to have an exciting year…

How Empowering Your Team Can Improve Customer Experience in Your Dealership

While for many people, buying a new car is an exciting prospect, others find the process daunting. Vehicle dealers can help to change this by empowering staff and improving the overall customer experience.

There are certain pain points along the consumer journey which are widely disliked, such as administration and negotiation of price and trade-in value. Dealers can sometimes be afraid to relinquish responsibility for smoothing out these areas and pass authority to their sales team.

Investing a bit of time and resources to ensure that your salespeople are given comprehensive training will have a long-term pay-off. Creating a well-rounded salesforce who can deal with finance queries, part-exchange valuations and payment will mean that you can rely on others to take care of your business without you needing to be present all of the time and result in higher conversion rates.

People Like Dealing with People

Businesses which put rigid processes for dealing with digital leads, phone calls and walk-ins can often forget that there is a human at the other end. Customers can become overwhelmed and frustrated by a heavily process-driven experience, preferring to be welcomed by a friendly, human tone.

Particularly with digital leads, when salespeople are facing a computer, it is easy to follow a script, but all customers should be dealt with as if they are sitting across from you. You wouldn’t leave a prospect customer standing around waiting for an hour or more if they were actually in your dealership and this shouldn’t be the case online.

Managing Enquiries Out of Hours

Another reason why giving your entire salesforce the training and authority to be able to handle every stage of an enquiry and access management systems is that you can have someone skilled on-call after hours who is able to convert a sale.

A large portion of digital enquiries are now being made outside of dealerships’ traditional opening hours, so an extended service is becoming increasingly necessary. This simply requires turning on phone notifications and offering responses as they come through and if your whole team is empowered, the work load can be shared.

Empower Your Staff

Imparting knowledge and authority is not about handing over responsibility, it is about sharing it. When every member of your team can deal with each stage of the consumer journey, customers will not have to be passed from pillar to post, fewer mistakes tend to be made, and rates of conversion are higher.

Your customers will have a better experience – which, in turn, leads to better retention, your staff will have the opportunity to progress, and your dealership will be more profitable, everyone wins!

For more information about how Click Dealer can help your dealership’s profitability and lead management, get in touch today by emailing [email protected], 01782 478 220 or via our contact page.