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Suzuki is planning to gear up its dealer network to better handle fleet sales. The Japanese firm, which has traditionally been a retail-only brand, has begun scaling up its presence in the corporate arena and intends to train existing sales staff to be able to handle both fleet and retail sales.
National corporate sales manager, Andrew Wale, told BusinessCar that he didn't intend to overhaul the current dealer programme and would not be introducing traditional business specialist centres into the network.
Instead, he plans to train up willing members of the existing dealer network and get staff to a level where they're comfortable tackling both retail and fleet sales.
"We've got a large dealer network and we want to encourage all dealers to do business sales. We're not going to have a specific business dealer programme.
"We'll identify 10 pilot dealers who want to do it and get them to share it - it's a case of getting dealers who want to do it rather than making some of them feel like they have to."
He continued: "A number of manufacturers have divorced retail and business. We've got to recognise that if we've got a small Suzuki dealer then they're not necessarily going to want to spend £30,000 a year on a fleet specialist salesman.
"What you want is someone who is equally as comfortable talking to local businesses as they are with retail. Instead of suddenly expecting a business specialist, we're looking into business training.
"We want to be getting Lex [which underpins Suzuki's contract hire operation] to work with them to give them confidence."
Wale cited Motability as one of the core markets for the firm, saying it could help to bolster RVs in the long run: "Motability customers are quite loyal to the brand and the cars are often supplied locally. When they come back, you generally get a low-mileage, low-use car, which is a good opportunity for dealers to do ongoing business and supports strong RVs."
The firm is pinning its hopes on the new S-cross to establish itself in the UK fleet market, based on its low emissions and the fact that there are various elements, including a trim level, tailored to business customers.
Wale surmised: "We'll be developing the Suzuki contract hire package further to provide more of a platform for us.
"If we get a competitive RV and lease value from Lex, we've extended the service interval [on the S-cross] to 12,500 miles, then there's no reason it won't be a success."
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