toolbar powered by Conduit
Search
CPD banner

 

Tax & fuel calculator

 

 
 

Fiat boss sees change coming to UK market

publication date: Jul 3, 2009
 | 
author/source: Robin Roberts
Download Print Send a summary of this page to someone via email.
Previous | Next
 

Fiat UK boss Andrew Humberstone wants to radically alter the way we buy cars.

He is well on course to turning the tide for Fiat in Britain helped by a swell of new models but he wants to develop a new business channel to get them onto the roads.

Unusually he does not believe it will be something Fiat or its dealers will dictate but something which will organically develop from its savvy shoppers.

"I would like to see a closer relationship with the virtual and physical and I believe it will come from the customers themselves who do so much over the internet," he said, adding, " I haven't been into a bank for four years but I do all my banking over the phone or internet with a personal manager or e-banking.

"I can do this 24/7 from where-ever I am and I think this level of access is what car buyers will want in future. Using the internet they will be able to pick and specify their car, insure and finance it, have it booked in for a service and they could even have it delivered to their door so they never actually go into a dealership.

"It will also create opportunities for the clever dealers to interact with their customers by advising them when a service is due or the car is likely to need replacing."
He added, "I think the retail model we know today will have to change to accommodate that and it will be a very interesting challenge for us all. I think I have a fairly clear idea of what I think will happen in future but it really depends on how far we are prepared to go and if the market is up for these challenges."

The recession is likely to slow this rate of progress but Mr Humberstone believes that eventually there will be a change in buying and a move towards this virtual and physical way of car ownership.

He also believes that dealers and manufacturers will have to invest much more in technology to keep up with their customers, but they could make savings in traditional business costs by moving towards a more virtual presence and service to their customers.		Fiat UK boss sees changes required

There would not be the need for expensive High Street showrooms and service centres which could be relocated to suburbs or estates and in the case of big groups it is likely such a facility could be shrared among a number of marques as the customer would rarely if ever visit.

Such out of town multi-marque facilities would be able to concentrate on servicing and repairs and even offer 24hr service, taking a vehicle in at night for routine work which would be completed by breakfast and returned to the customer ready for another day.

Advances in vehicle electronics are now making it possible for a car or van to send an alert to a garage to say something is wrong or advise a service is due and this would then be picked up by the dealership which would contract the customer.

It is not the end of the road for the dealer but a new highway of opportunity is opening up.

"I think there will always be a role for dealer but it will change. Service is the key because at the end of the day every vehicle needs a service at some point, although the intervals are getting longer."

He added, "Cars have never been so advanced but the way we buy them hasn't really changed for 100 years although the number of dealers has been declining since the 1970s. Change is long overdue and if we want to be ahead of the game in a sophisticated world maybe we should be driving it."

          


Download the Wheels Within Wales toolbar for your quickest way to keep in touch with everything that's happening on Welsh roads and in showrooms or use our RSS feed for the headlines you will not want to miss


toolbar powered by Conduit

 

Warranty direct gif file
 
Flying
Cardiff to Paris?

Have a car waiting
when you land

Welsh travel services

PARK FOR LESS
AT
CARDIFF AND
OTHER AIRPORTS