Peugeot is to cut its specialist dealer network from 82 to 70 outlets to focus on delivering quality.
Fleet director Martin Gurney said the brand would major on developing a profitable fleet business through “chosen partners” within the retailer network, whose remit is to expand business with SMEs and fleets of up to 50 vehicles.
He added: “We missed a trick over the last few years in this area and this is about both quality and quantity. We are jointly investing with the network in a centralised database to coordinate sales and marketing. This is a major collaborative programme and not about stealing business from them.”
The business partner headcount would be reduced to 70 operations “in due course” explained Gurney, who oversees business sales department head Nick Crossley and three business development managers.
Gurney justified retaining the low-volume 508, which recently underwent a model refresh, by saying the D-sector saloon and estate car fulfilled a role within solus deals and involved treading water until the “more premium and upmarket” successor arrives in 2017.
Previously, daily rental was central to pushing the 508 up to 6000 overall units, but with 2000 sales anticipated annually there “we will not push it or expose it to daily rental”.