First UK garage signs up with Euro Repar Car Service
Published: 11 October, 2017
Nicholson’s Stalham Engineering, based in Norfolk , has become the first British business to become a Euro Repar Car Service Centre.
Nathan Culley from Nicholson’s said: “We’re a well-established family business with a great local reputation. People know us, and they trust us. Now, they also know we have the backing of a great European network, with all the advantages and opportunities that brings us. It can only help us to grow, and provide an even better local service.”
A family business established in 1938, the business offers a range of automotive, agricultural and garden machinery services including new and used sales, servicing and repairs, as well as full garage forecourt facilities.
Euro Repar Car Service, supported operationally by PSA Groupe, announced its arrival in the UK in April, and aims to add around 600 UK independent garages to its network by 2020.
It currently works with more than 2,500 facilities across France, Spain, Italy, Germany and The Netherlands. The minimum requirement is two manned ramps, and a separate reception.
Colin Start, head of marketing for parts and service for the PSA Groupe said: “We believe that success relies on our partner garages retaining the personality, reputation and trust they have in the local area. Combining that with the wealth of experience and support we can offer will help them take the next step.”
- The Garage Inspector: Business training incorporated into college course
In a first for automotive training, Lincoln College is to begin incorporating The Garage Inspector business courses from Andy Savva into its automotive training programme, in order to help bring through the next generation of garage owners.
- Shifting demands, shifting gears
Garages that thought they would be veering away from MOTs in favour of essential repairs during the Coronavirus lockdown are still doing MOT tests at roughly the same rate, it has been suggested.
While DVSA figures showed a 78% drop in MOT performed between 30 March and 24 April, marketing agency Digital Incubator says the independent garages it works with that remained open during the lockdown have not seen such a steep drop.
“We have a lot of garage clients that have switched from MOT campaigns to clutch and gearbox work,” explained Jamie Stoulger, Sales Director and Operations Manager at Digital Incubator. “However, our clients are still generating a steady flow of MOT enquires.”
Campaigns
The marketing agency works with garages across the UK, and currently has over 1,200 motor trade campaigns ongoing. 80% of customers are in the independent sphere.
Jamie continued: “Regardless of the MOT not being relevant, people are still getting their cars picked up. A lot of our clients run a collect and delivery service. We are running that via the ad campaigns and on the website.”
There has been an impact, Jamie confirmed, but a mild one at best, and work overall continues: “MOTs have slowed down slightly, that just what it is, but regardless of us being in the middle of this pandemic, if someone still has to go into work and their car breaks down, they still need to get it repaired. They are not going to just leave it on the side of the road and deal with it six months later. You need it done. As a result, our clients are still generating leads.”
Performance
We asked Jamie he thought this has taken many of their garage clients by surprise. “I wouldn’t say so,” he replied. “There are a lot of franchised dealerships and service centres that have just closed their doors without even thinking about it. They just went ‘we can get funding, let’s just put everyone on furlough’. The garage businesses that decided to pummel through this, they are still performing. There might be a small dip in some cases, but across the board, our averages have not really dropped. I don’t want to make a bold statement and say it isn’t affecting anyone – it is – but they are on average not far behind where they usually are. It has hit them, but we are not talking about 50%. The drops in business are probably around 10% to 15%.”
Situation
On what has been in many cases blanket closure by across much of the franchised network, Jamie observed: “I worry about the outlets that are closing their doors without making the slightest attempt at generating business. It’s still out there. People forget that. Across the board, if you think about it logically, there might only be 50% of the business available, but if 80% of the outlets are closing down, the garages staying open will benefit. I think a lot of businesses are going to come back to a very big decline in their own customer base. Their customers have had chance to test another garage out. If they had a better service, I know where they will go the second time around.
“I think some businesses have taken things a little too far. There are things you can put in place, like contactless pick-up and delivery. Dealerships could have put in place what the independents have done to keep their workers safe and the customers safe. If you can, do everything contactless. A lot of companies are going to go bust because of this. The best bet is to do things safely, ensure it is all contactless, but keep the doors open. The business is out there, they just need to be a bit more open about how to get it.”
- The Motor Ombudsman plugs in new EV Garage Finder feature
The Motor Ombudsman has launched a new search facility on its Garage Finder to allow drivers to easily find and identify accredited businesses that service and repair electric vehicles.
- Scrappage definitely NOT happening: IAAF receives confirmation
The prospect of a vehicle scrappage scheme, which was mooted during the late spring as a potential way to boost the UK automotive sector, has been decisively quashed.
- Study shows small business confidence bounce-back
With the end of the MOT extension in sight, and the easing of lockdown meaning more custom coming through the door, you would expect business confidence to rise in the aftermarket. Now, new figures have shown that the proportion of all UK small businesses predicting growth has almost doubled in just three months – from 14% to 27%.
