A new report by autoVHC has suggested that the average franchised dealership is only making sales on 54% of the ‘Red work’ they identify in vehicle health checks. This equates to £480 million in lost sales in 2016, or £99,200 for each average dealer.
‘Red work’ is defined as faults identified in vehicle health checks that that if not addressed pose a serious safety risk. The findings by autoVHC, are based on a sample of 500 UK dealers in 2016. The survey also brought to light the fact that the average dealership completed just 70% of available health checks available during the same 12 month period.
autoVHC Business Unit Director Chris Saunders said: “Missing out on such a significant amount of aftersales work poses a number of concerns for dealerships.“Failing to sell work that is urgently required typically means customers are choosing to have it completed outside of the franchised sector. Given the continued growth in competition from rapid fit operators, this is a trend that needs to be addressed with particular attention being paid to improving sales processes and the way in which work of this nature is presented to customers. This might include the use of imagery or video to draw attention to the work or investing in sales training courses for aftersales staff.
“As Red work refers to issues that, if not rectified, can render a vehicle un-roadworthy, there is also a serious concern over the duty of care being exercised by dealerships. Allowing 46% of customers to drive away with major work required could pose a potential threat if an incident was to occur and action was to be taken at a later date.
Chris concluded: “Both of these issues are further compounded by a vehicle completion rate of just 70%, with dealerships missing out on further revenue and the chance to demonstrate that clear care and attention has been paid during the service process.”
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