Click Dealer Leading the Charge in Online Retailing of Used Vehicles in the UK

ClickEngage
Since its launch in January 2018, Click Dealer’s revolutionary online vehicle retailing platform, ClickEngage, has taken the automotive industry by storm, processing a huge £47.6m worth of sales from enquiries generated through the platform.

ClickEngage™ can be utilised on any dealership’s website, franchise or independent, through the use of technology integration and the forward-thinking development of open APIs. The platform may be customised for consumers to complete their full vehicle buying journey online including data capture, part-ex, finance, add-on deal stacking and even reserving their vehicle. Alternatively, dealers can strip the product back to just include one or a few of those functions, whichever is felt to be the best fit for their customers or business setup.

Dealers can take a more customer-centric approach than ever because of the visibility given to them by ClickEngage™, enquiry information drops straight into their DMS and details a customer’s journey through the platform in terms of their part-ex, add-on and finance interactions. It gives the dealer full visibility and if used effectively, can make a really positive impact on processes and ultimately the bottom line.

Don’t Take Our Word For It

London Motor Company Owner, Spencer Kent, said:

“Since going live on ClickEngage™ I’ve been able to improve my sales process no-end, simply because of the level of transparency I now have for my online enquiries.

“It makes life easier if you already know what part-ex customers want to use in a deal or even their thoughts when it comes to finance and stacking add-ons, as it puts you at an immediate advantage when negotiating the best package.

“ClickEngage™ is ever evolving, since we signed-up there have been various updates and improvements, Click Dealer really have their finger on the pulse of what is happening in this industry, they’re master innovators and a joy to work with.”

 

One of our other dealers said he is also a huge advocate of ClickEngage™ and claims that it has saved him days in admin time per week as well as improving conversion for his dealership:

“My conversion numbers have really rocketed since implementing ClickEngage™ on my website, the enquiries come in at all hours and the system automatically replies with quality content, it’s terrific!

“We can see how users have interacted with finance options online, which ultimately means we can customise the perfect deal for them before they’ve even turned up at the showroom. It’s helped to join the journey up for the customers who want to complete in the showroom and provide great data for the sales team to get the deal over the line.

“Click Dealer has really hit the sweet spot with ClickEngage™, they’ve thought of everything and it’s now a tried and tested formula. Our customers can do as little or as much as they want online, so we can give them the best of both worlds, whatever makes them feel comfortable to make their decision to buy.”

The Numbers Look Good

Click Dealer’s, Head of Data, Lyane Bartlett said:

Lyane Bartlett

“We’re absolutely thrilled with the performance of ClickEngage. To process just under £50million in sales in under 18 months is a huge indicator that if the conditions are right, consumers are ready and willing to purchase their vehicles online.

“We’ve found that if a consumer has the option to place a reservation fee on a dealer’s website through Engage on the vehicle they like, they convert to a sale at as high as 71.1%.

“Some of our top performing dealers are converting to sales way above this average, which is really encouraging for the industry, particularly in a time of such economic instability and unpredictability in the UK.”

 For more information about ClickEngage, contact Click Dealer on 01782 478220 or via [email protected], alternatively, you can get in touch through our contact page.

 

Shortage of retail ready stock forces up prep costs

Body Work Prep
Used car dealers should be prepared to invest more in valeting staff or be ready to pay sub-contractors more money, as a shortage of quality stock forces traders to get more competitive to put retail ready vehicles in their showrooms.

A new report from the Vehicle Remarketing Association – which holds its AGM in Birmingham next month – says that this situation will only get worse throughout the rest of 2019 as fleets hold onto their current vehicles for longer and franchised dealers get more heavily engaged in used sales to compensate for a drop in new.

Sam Watkins, VRA chair, said the shortage of quality stock is already a significant issue and will only get worse.

She said:

“While there is a quite a lot of stock in the market, comparatively little of it is of the highest ‘retail ready’ quality and can be put on sale with minimum preparation. This is something that has become increasingly apparent over recent months. It is also likely to become more of a factor because it is being exacerbated by the fact that fleets – probably still the main source of good stock – are hanging on to cars for longer thanks to ongoing confusion over vehicle taxation and generally lower economic confidence.

“The outcome is that many used car retailers are increasingly having to buy vehicle stock that is of a lower quality than they would like and then spend time and money bringing it up to standard. This puts resources under pressure and creates quite a lot of additional work.”

Faster stock churn compensates for lower margins

The situation is putting a further squeeze on profits as dealers opt for a faster stock churn to compensate for lower margins. Around a third of used car dealers report themselves to be in this situation compared to a year ago but this is putting yet more emphasis on the need for rapid prep work.

Cars fitted with labour-intensive features such as diamond cut alloys or the ever-increasing number of driver assistance technologies may take more man hours and incur heavier preparation costs.

Sam added:

“Generally, our members have been reporting higher stock turnover as a reaction to decreasing unit profitability. This makes the issue of having to prepare vehicles for sale more thoroughly much more of a pressing issue.”

“Also, exacerbating the problem is the fact that an increasing number of cars are being fitted with items that are not easy to repair quickly, such as diamond-cut alloy wheels or a variety of ADAS systems.”

“It does very much underline the key role that vehicle preparation services play when it comes to supporting used car retailer strategies – and this situation is likely to become even more acute over coming months.”

For information about how Click Dealer can help independent dealerships to increase efficiency and profitability, get in touch today via 01782 478220, [email protected] or through our contact page.

The Motor Ombudsman not trusted by users

The Motor Ombudsman
The Motor Ombudsman has more than doubled the number of staff in its Customer Service section after getting a rating of just 1/10 on the Trustpilot user review website following scores of complaints about the scheme.

TMO, which acts as a go-between in a dispute between a dealer or garage and a customer, says it is `disappointed’ by the negative reviews. Some people accused it of taking months to deal with an issue and others cannot even be repeated on legal grounds.

Around 7,500 businesses are accredited to one or more of the Codes of Practice it regulates, covering car sales, vehicle warranties, servicing and repair.

Bill Fennell, Chief Ombudsman and Managing Director of The Motor Ombudsman, said:

“Since 10 May 2017, when the first Trustpilot review of The Motor Ombudsman was published, we have been aware of the ongoing feedback left by consumers and it is always disappointing for any organisation to hear when individuals are not satisfied with the service that has been provided.”

Defending the scheme and the staff, he added:

“For the full 2018 calendar year and January to April 2019 period combined, the volume of Trustpilot reviews represented only 2.2% of the cases that we worked on and just 0.14% of the total contacts made to The Motor Ombudsman during this time.

Increased headcount

“Despite these reviews accounting for a very small proportion of our contacts and cases, any feedback that we receive helps us to continually drive the standard of our service even higher.

“In response to the concerns raised, we have made significant changes to our organisational structure during the past 12 months and increased our headcount by 122%, all of which was focused within the Customer Service department in order to achieve an improved experience for customers and businesses.

“It is inevitable however that due to some cases being more complex than others and taking a longer amount of time to resolve, there will be consumers who will express their dissatisfaction whilst we are actively working on their dispute, or publicly lodge a complaint about our service if they did not receive the desired outcome at the end of the process. For either eventuality, we will always seek to contact them to directly address any queries that they may have.”

For information about how Click Dealer can help independent dealerships to increase efficiency and profitability, get in touch today via 01782 478220, [email protected] or through our contact page.

Research Claims Car-buyers Want To Spend More Time With Salespeople

Car Sales
So it turns out that the commonly held belief that consumers can’t stand car salesmen, is a load of rubbish. Research has shown that your typical car buyer wants to spend more time with their salespeople, and it demonstrates that prolonged absences by those salespeople during the purchase process lead to poorer satisfaction with the overall car-buying experience.

A study, sponsored by Roadster, examined the in-store car buying experience from both the dealer and consumer side of the equation. Among the key findings was the fact that car salespeople leave their customer every 20 minutes during a typical car-buying transaction.

Roadster’s Chief Marketing Officer Michelle Denogean said.

“When they do leave satisfaction drops significantly – up to 30%,”

“And an important thing is what customers are doing when they are left alone. They’re texting back and forth to their spouses, looking at third-party sites, and maybe talking themselves out of the deal.”

You’ve Got A Friend In Me

Contrary to the notion that car salespeople can sometimes alienate their customers, the study found that salespeople often develop a genuine level of trust with their customers. With some customers reporting they added their salesperson on social media platforms such as Facebook.

Absences are often prompted by the conventional car sales process. Typically, salespeople must leave their customers to get answers to questions they are unauthorised to answer on their own – things like the value of the customer’s trade-in or the finance/lease terms. Whatever the reasons, the absences, often unexplained, create confusion and distrust around the entire car-buying process. In fact, over 25% of consumers surveyed stated they had no idea what the salesperson was doing in the time they were away.

Tech Solutions

Technology can help provide salespeople with the answers they need to maintain contact to assure that valuable level of trust they establish with their customers. Roadster began with the idea of helping consumers purchase cars online, but in doing so the company discovered that its technology solutions could also give dealer personnel the information and guidelines they need to sell more effectively and efficiently.

Roadster CEO Andy Moss said:

“One of the benefits of the technology is giving the dealer the ability to empower their salespeople”

“There are four or five people touching each deal, and the salesperson has limited authority. A lot of what we’re doing is focusing on a trend towards one-person selling.”

The trend doesn’t simply have consumer benefits; it also has significant benefits to the dealer.

“If it takes six hours to buy a car, then it takes six hours to sell a car, and that is incredibly expensive when margins are compressed and you have four or five people touching a deal,” Moss told us. “We see a huge level of interest to change the way cars are sold.”

Groundhog Day

One big change technology can bring is the elimination of redundancies and wasted time involved in basic information-gathering. The study noted almost a quarter of consumers said they were asked to provide personal information they had already completed online. Of these, 41% said they were asked to re-submit basic contact information; 43% were asked to re-fill out their credit applications; 33% were asked to re-state their desired payment terms, and 25% were asked to re-state their vehicle of choice.

“When the customer has done a lot of work from home and then they have to start over like ‘Groundhog Day’ when they get to the dealership, it is just incredibly frustrating,” Moss said. “Our efforts are around making that transition seamless.”

It seems that as automotive retailing adds more technology and transparency to the car-buying/selling process, the desires of customer and dealer are revealed to be very similar. Both want to take the friction out of the process and speed it up. To the customer, a faster, more transparent process is at the head of the list of desired results.

For information about how Click Dealer can help independent dealerships to increase efficiency and profitability, get in touch today via 01782 478220, [email protected] or through our contact page.

Meet the Clickers – Paul De-Ath

Meet the Clickers returns once again for Episode 74 and this week, we’re joined by Click Dealer stalwart and all-round DMS wizard, Paul De-Ath. Paul took his place in the hot seat to discuss everything from his trusty Morris Marina to his love for egg and chips. Here’s what he had to say…

Hi Paul, great to catch up with you! Could you please start off by telling us a bit about how you started out here at Click and what your day to day job role includes?

Hi Ben, I first met Gerry about 16 years ago when I was working for a second-hand car dealership selling 250 to 300 cars a month. He came out to us when we were looking for finance software. Eventually, after a number of years, we went to Click from another DMS provider which we were using at the time. Gerry came out and trained four of us around one desk. At that time there was only Gerry and occasionally Pippa. It took me years to find out that Click is based in Stoke, as we only had a mobile number!

I was a heavy user of Click with exporting to Sage and remember the accountant coming out and setting Sage up, as I think we were one of the first to do that. I made Gerry’s life fun by making loads of requests for changes to the system and you can still see a lot that was specifically for us. After about 12 years at the dealership I left, and one day Gerry rang and asked me to come for an interview. I got the job. Nowadays, I get the hard questions for any accounts-related problems dealing with ClickDMS, Sage and Xero. I want to pass as much knowledge as I can to everybody here, which will make my life easier. When I have time, I try to look at how Click can be improved by tightening up on procedures and updating systems.

Amazing. What’s your guilty pleasure?

My wife says it’s 80’s music, but it’s a pleasure and I don’t feel guilty at all about it.

There’s nothing wrong with a bit of 80’s music! What do you do to unwind after a hard day’s work?

I like just sitting outside in my garden, where I have built a waterfall with over a tonne of rocks and four drops and then created a river that completely cuts off the back garden.

What’s your favourite place to visit on holiday?

I’ll have to say Tenby. We used to go there when I was a child and where we stay, you can just walk to the beach past the golf course and then into Tenby itself. I have only ever been abroad to France once and I drove it down there, I have never been on a plane!

Sounds like a lovely place. What was your first car?

Morris Marina 1.8 but don’t hold it against me. It was all I could afford at the time. It really struggled to get up hills.

It could be worse, I guess, and it’s probably still safer than Phoebie’s driving! What’s the most pointless thing in the world?

I don’t know. I always look for positive things not negative, so I have never thought about it.

A great mindset to have. There are two types of people in the world, what are they?

People who ask questions like this and people who don’t.

If you had intro music every time that you walked into the office, what would it be?

Superman theme tune. I went with my Dad when it came out. The tag line was “You’ll believe a man can fly” and when I came out of the cinema I did.

Alex and Jamie still believe that Crewe Alex will one day be promoted from League 2, so flying isn’t all that unreasonable really! What’s your favourite meal?

Not a hard one this. It’s egg and chips, chips on their own, egg on toast or egg sandwiches. You have now covered my entire diet for the last 30 years.

Finally, as always, what’s the best thing about working here at Click?

Wherever I have worked previously, there was no appreciation for the work you put in. In 12 years at my previous company, I got one sample coat as an example. At Click, everybody appreciates what you can bring to the business and says so. This attitude for the business comes from the top and works downward so that it permeates the whole company. Seeing things change and grow at Click over the years has been good, even if it is hard to remember all the names now that it has grown so much!

Great answer, Paul. I think that everybody here at Click appreciates the different skills that we all bring to the table, it’s part of what makes the Clicker family second to none.

If you enjoyed this week’s Meet the Clickers, 

Until next time.

Premium Car Brands Are Seeing Growth of Over 60% as Car Buyers Want Premium Service

Premium Customer Service
An elevation in retailer and insurers’ customer service standards to match the surge in premium market share could see increased satisfaction and loyalty.

Expectations from customers regarding their treatment are growing, AX says with more motorists than ever choosing premium brands, the bar for quality customer care has been set quite high. Insurers are also finding that they need to provide like-for-like replacements in the event of an accident.

Lexus is one of these premium brands that you could say changed the way other dealers approached customer care. They centre their practices on omotenashi, the Japanese spirit of hospitality that anticipates and fulfils people’s needs. The influence of omotenashi can be seen in every aspect of their business, with the treatment akin to being welcomed into someone else’s home.

 

Lexus has topped the Auto Express Driver Power best dealer table every year since the survey was launched in 2002. In addition to being ranked first overall, Lexus dealers were voted best for Helpfulness and Attitude, Standard of Workmanship and Technical Knowledge.

New car registration data found by AX, highlights that premium brands have increased in market share by more than 57% in the last decade. Customers are finding value in the service they receive as well as the car itself, which is causing this flux in the market towards premium brands.

For Customer Benefit and Dealer Profit

The likes of the BMW 1 Series, Audi A3 and Mercedes-Benz A-Class are all regular best sellers. AX argues that the accessibility of these lower premium vehicles could be one of the main reasons for the big increase in the premium market.

Mercedes-Benz overtook BMW in 2018, with 172,238 new car registrations since 2009, representing a 138% increase in growth. Premium car brands also offer much larger financial bonuses for hitting targets than other brands, so it is in some dealer’s interest to pre-register a bulk of their stock in order to hit their target for the quarter. On the face of it, the dealers are selling pre-registered cars for a loss. After all, they buy them new, then sell them for less. If, for example, a dealer pre-registers five cars in a quarter and those cars enable him to hit a target, the bonus that dealer will get from the manufacturer will eclipse the difference between what they pay for the car and what they sell it for.

Everybody Wins

PCP is also a big factor in the number of customers venturing into the premium market. A brand-new top spec Toyota AYGO on PCP could cost you £250 per month. For only £100 a month more you could get a premium vehicle like an Audi Q2, with not a great deal of difference in the amount you put down in the deposit. This is because the value is in the resale after the dealer gets the vehicle back.

If you put down £6,000 for an Audi and pay £350 a month for 42 months, that’s another £14,700. The dealer then takes the car back off you for nothing. The customer is happy because they have only paid £20,700 for a car which is worth £10,000 more than that, and the dealer is happy because they can sell it as a used vehicle for £18,000, maybe more depending on its condition.

More Than a Courtesy

Looking at what this means for insurance companies, with the provision of courtesy cars, for example, Steve Molloy director of commercial sales at AX, said:

“Since 2009, we’ve seen prestige car brands taking more and more market share and, as with any other product, if people are paying more for something they are really proud of, they don’t want to downgrade to a less premium product while their pride and joy is being repaired following an accident.”

For information about how Click Dealer can help independent dealerships to increase efficiency and profitability, get in touch today via 01782 478220, [email protected] or through our contact page.

Sight unseen’ sales growing for trustworthy websites

Dealers whose websites lead buyers through the sales process from start to finish as if they were visiting the showroom are increasingly likely to get orders from buyers even though they won’t have physically seen or driven the vehicle.

A new report from AA Cars which surveyed nearly 20,000 in-market people, revealed a fundamental shift in consumer attitudes and a growing willingness to trust dealers who present their vehicles in a way that builds confidence and answers all the likely questions about the history, condition and spec.

Showing how far the market has evolved, the report says that more than one in ten used car purchases are now done online and sight unseen so the first time the customer sees and drives it is when they take delivery.

Used stock needs multiple and detailed images, preferably in video effect to give the experience of a physical walk-round, there needs to be a full and detailed history and spec, the website needs to explain that pre-sale inspections are available and build confidence by underlining the consumer’s rights if a problem does occur after the sale.

For buyers who have never bought sight unseen before but would consider it so long as deal-maker or breaker concerns were met, more than half (52%) say they would be much more likely to buy if the vehicle was given a thorough pre-sale inspection from a trusted brand.

Growing willingness to trust dealers

Other factors that would see consumers more likely to buy blind include dealers being upfront and providing clear information about their right to cancel (48%) and a significantly discounted price (44%).

James Fairclough, CEO of AA Cars, said:

“A decade ago the idea of buying a car without seeing it in person was highly unusual. These days, consumers are much more comfortable with buying valuable products they haven’t seen first due to the sheer volume of listing information and all-angles pictorial evidence that is provided by respected portals online, making a prospective buyer feel like they have practically kicked the tyres themselves.

“All of this has helped to contribute to an environment where drivers feel more comfortable spending on a vehicle they haven’t seen, but essentially feel they know intimately, despite not encountering it in the flesh.”

For information about how Click Dealer can help independent dealerships to increase efficiency and profitability, get in touch today via 01782 478220, [email protected] or through our contact page.

Results From The British Touring Car Championship At Thruxton

Racing
This weekend proved to be a difficult affair for Trade Price Cars. Mark Blundell was forced to retire in two of the three races and Jake Hill couldn’t build on a solid first race and 10th place finish.

Andrew Jordan claimed 1st place in both the 1st and 2nd race, with BMW and the Honda Civic Type R cars having a dominant and very successful day at Thruxton. Jake Hill started the grid in P14 as he worked his way up four places to a respectable 10th place finish. Mark Blundell who finished last in qualifying also moved up three places, as he continues to get to grips with the BTCC. Sam Tordoff and Dan Cammish completed the podium.

Jake Hill commented after the race:

“Really tough race, so much pressure from Josh (Cook), but really pleased with P10 and a great job by AmD Tuning and Trade Price Cars Racing to give me a car to fight with”

Race 2

Mark was forced to retire with radiator problems after 11 laps, while Jake was able to secure a 12th placed finish and remain 9th in the overall BTCC standings.

 

Elsewhere Dan Cammish set a new Thruxton BTCC lap record with an average above 110mph, helping him secure a successive 3rd place finish. Incredibly Josh Cook beat it in Race 3 by 0.001. Yes, you read that right! Colin Turkington’s 2nd place finish marked an astounding 400th time he has climbed the podium steps in the BTCC.

Race 3

Mark Blundell’s Audi was still causing some concern as he was forced to retire again after 12 laps. Jake Hill, who was unlucky to start from P11 following a reverse grid draw, also had a difficult race. Hill charged into the ‘Complex’ on Ingram’s tail, with Morgan pushing him into the braking zone. A spin by Collard meant Hill had to call on his lightning reactions to miss the stationary Vauxhall, being forced across the grass in the process, and being bundled down to 15th place, but hugely fortunate to avoid a collision. Frustratingly, Jake had to settle for an 18th place finish.

It’s the first time Trade Price Cars have dropped out of the top 10 in the BTCC championship, but with points still very tight, the next race is a chance to put things right.

 

Mark Blundell had this to say regarding this season in the BTCC:

“I have a huge amount of respect for everything this Championship represents and myself and the whole team are determined to get us moving in the right direction like we know we can.”

Next BTCC Event; Croft 15th/16th June

For information about how Click Dealer can help independent dealerships to increase efficiency and profitability, get in touch today via 01782 478220, [email protected] or through our contact page.

Auctions see sector value uplifts in April

Car Auction
Dealers need to present well prepared and accurately described stock which has full documentation and a realistic reserve to sell at auction as a new report reveals some market hot spots.

A leading auction house said that there was strong demand in some sectors last month with fleet and lease, dealer part-ex and nearly new vehicles bucking the seasonal trend and recording value uplifts but the market generally remained sluggish.

The latest BCA Pulse report shows that fleet and lease values averaged £11,406, up £269 (2.4%) compared to a year ago. The average age was up at 39 months but average mileage fell to 39,000. Against April 2018 dealer part-ex values were up £150, a 3% uplift, at £5,150 despite average age and mileage falling and demand remains strong for nearly-new vehicles with values at £22,557, up by £3,387 or 17%.

To put that into context, the Pulse data shows that for the market as a whole and covering all cars, average transaction values stood at £9,248 against £9,584 in April 2018 although this year’s cars had slightly higher mileage, at 49,299 versus 47,637.

Realignment not unexpected

Stuart Pearson, BCA UK Remarketing, said:

“As predicted last month, the seasonal run of public holidays over the Easter period and into May has put pressure on the market at a time when supply is typically plentiful. As ever, our advice is for vendors to be disciplined around the remarketing process with enhanced preparation, accurate descriptions, comprehensive documentation and, most importantly, realistic reserve setting ensuring that buyers remain actively engaged.”

He added: “Buyers have been particularly cautious as we’ve seen values shifting on an almost weekly basis since the start of April. Based on the sustained increase in values over many months, some realignment is therefore not unexpected and isn’t unusual for this time of year.

Last week the SMMT reported that Q1 used sector sales were down just -0.6% at 2 million with powertrain and segment popularity remaining much as before.

Hybrid, plug-in hybrid and pure electric cars continued to grow, up 31%, with 32,272 models changing hands but AFVs took just 1.6% of the market. Unsurprisingly, superminis retained the lion’s share of sales with 676,395 leaving the forecourts and SUVs saw growth of 6%.

Year-on-year table: All cars

All cars Avg Age Avg Mileage Avg Value
Apr 2018 54.58 47,637 £9,584
Apr 2019 58.31 49,299 £9,248

Year-on-year table: Fleet & Lease

Fleet/ Lease Avg Age (months) Avg Mileage Avg Value Sales vs MRP
Apr 2018 38.58 39,340 £11,137 44.1%
Apr 2019 39.82 38,916 £11,406 43.1%

Year-on-year table: Dealer Part-Exchange

Part-Exchange  Avg Age (months) Avg Mileage Avg Value
Apr 2018 88.26  69,098 £5,000
Apr 2019 87.14 66,811 £5,150

 

For information about how Click Dealer can help independent dealerships to increase efficiency and profitability, get in touch today via 01782 478220, [email protected] or through our contact page.

Government’s New EV Approval Scheme Open to Independent Dealers

Electric Vehicle Approved
Independent car dealers and auctioneers can apply to be audited and recognised as an Electric Vehicle Approved retailer if they meet the standards of a government-backed nationwide scheme unveiled this week which aims to boost buyers’ confidence in EVs and the garages selling and servicing them.

The standard for electric vehicle dealer accreditation has been developed by the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) and the Energy Saving Trust (EST) and dealers will have to demonstrate that they have fast charger facilities, the sales staff are trained to sell them and the technicians are qualified for EV work.

There is a minimal administration fee of £100 but for the rest of this year, any associated costs will be picked up by the government’s Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV).

Car dealers meeting the standards will be able to use the EVA logo in their advertising and promote themselves as being specialist dealers for this fast-growing sector.

Costs Picked Up By Government During 2019

In Q1 demand for second-hand AFV hybrid, plug-in hybrid and pure electric cars grew by 31% year on year and although the volume and overall market share are relatively small, with 32,272 models changing hands for 1.6% of the quarter’s total sales, it is by far the biggest growth area.

Launching the scheme at this week’s London Motor Show, Sue Robinson, director of the NFDA, said: “It is extremely positive to join forces with the Government’s Office for Low Emission Vehicles and the Energy Saving Trust to develop EVA, an initiative which we expect to play a key role in the market transition to electric vehicles.

“EVA will certify the efforts franchised retailers are making in the EV sector to meet the fast-growing consumer demand and will enable them to clearly communicate to their customers their expertise in the sector.”

A spokesman for the Retail Motor Industry Federation confirmed that independent dealers, as well as franchised ones, can apply to join the scheme.

He said:

“It is open to all car dealers, independents or franchised and auction houses too. All they need do is apply, the Energy Saving Trust will phone them and ask basic questions about things like the availability of a fast charger and the qualifications of their technicians and if that is all OK they can proceed to do a more detailed audit. There is a small admin fee but for the rest of 2019 any other cost is being picked up by OLEV.”

For information about how Click Dealer can help independent dealerships to increase efficiency and profitability, get in touch today via 01782 478220, [email protected] or through our contact page.