Sandown Motors managing director Gavin McAllister has been appointed head of Mercedes-Benz franchise board.
The exchange comes simply over 3 months after the German top class emblem rolled out its new direct-to-consumer company style automobile retail distribution technique – in a transfer that some shops really feel has already detrimentally impacted gross sales – McAllister will suppose the put up with instant impact.
Mercedes-Benz UK leader government and managing director Gary Savage stated: “Sandown Crew is a robust performer in our community and Gavin may be very neatly revered via participants of the franchise board, the broader Mercedes-Benz community and the workforce at Milton Keynes.
“I’m having a look ahead to running even nearer with Gavin and the franchise board given the alternatives and demanding situations we are facing available in the market these days: the collaboration with our brokers and companions stays as essential as ever.”
Sandown is Mercedes-Benz’s present Store of the Yr award winner and operates 9 automobile franchises with the logo.
In 2021 it added to its Mercedes portfolio with the addition of Sytner’s former website online in Newbury and the Mercedes-Benz Retail Crew industry in Epsom.
McAllister replaces former Drayton Motors director and Lookers Mercedes-Benz franchise director David Williams, who has been a member of the franchise board for over two decades, after he made up our minds to retire.
Mercedes stated that David had performed a key position within the introduction of the Mercedes-Benz marketplace spaces in the beginning of the brand new millennium and extra lately has led the franchise board throughout the emblem’s transition to an company style.
Paying tribute to Williams’ tenure, Savage stated he had all the time “robustly challenged and supported our industry tasks”, contributing to gross sales expansion that peaked in 2017 at 180,970 automobiles.
He added: “Extra lately, the franchise board, led via David, performed an integral position as we formulated our plans to transport from a distribution contract to an company contract.
“I’m in undoubtedly that with out David’s perception, steering and effort we shouldn’t have effectively rolled out company inside of our deliberate timescales.”
In a different information perception file into the roll-out of company style agreements throughout the United Kingdom automobile retail sector AM reported that the primary month of Mercedes’ new retail style had noticed companions file order take down via 40%, sparking issues that the OEMs’ transition to a extra luxury-oriented long run – promising higher margins – would possibly no longer come quickly sufficient to mitigate the affect of falling gross sales.
In a transfer that gave the impression to fly within the face of the mounted worth ethos of company style retail, customers additionally “kicked up a stink” when Mercedes-Benz UK discounted its A-Elegance hatchback via £3,000 on a unmarried weekend in January to spice up volumes, AM was once advised.
