Are we a market that is worth putting more effort into? What can they offer that others don’t, and do their cars have drop down vanity mirrors in the back? So, first to step up to the challenge — those nice people from Audi…
Over the next few issues, Andy Dubberley will be talking to the major car manufacturers to find out just how they view the executive chauffeuring industry. In a darkened room, somewhere in that mysterious town called Milton Keynes, where the highways planner is obviously a comedian, a coup has been planned.
As the sunlight glints off the ‘Chauffeur Car of the Year’ award that takes pride of place in the trophy cabinet, a small group of sales and marketing types huddle in an office to plan world domination. Things are about to change and this chauffeur programme lark might just turn our industry on its head. Stand by your beds, Audi has arrived…
I met Liz McConnell, head of specialist sales at Audi UK for a Q&A session.
First of all Liz, it’s fair to say that a dedicated chauffeur programme from one of the major manufacturers is something that’s been long awaited and is very welcome in our industry, who had the inspiration and why?
The A8 is an important flagship vehicle for Audi UK and we are constantly looking for new and innovative ways to support our customers in different sectors with different models.
Our press and PR department had also received many requests for chauffeur vehicles for high level London based media and VIP events, and the move to a sales based programme was the next logical step.
Finally, the launch of the 3.0 TDI LWB SE model gave us the perfect car to launch into the chauffeur market. We’ve been able to give feedback to our colleagues in Audi AG about what the chauffeur market would like to see on this model, and we’re continuing this feedback process for future derivatives, which illustrates our long term commitment to the chauffeur market.
So it seems that the programme is much more than just a sales ploy, but what is it going to offer the chauffeur industry in reality?
We have spoken to a number of chauffeur companies who have told us that no matter how much they love the car, there are certain ‘must haves’ for them..
Firstly, if they are off the road for any reason, they can’t work and therefore can’t earn. We have therefore put in place PCO licensed vehicles both at Audi customer services and within the dedicated chauffeur centres in our network, so that if a car is off the road, the driver can be mobile again within 24 hours until their car can be returned.
Secondly, they have told us that they are frustrated when they go into a retail centre and are confronted with people who don’t seem to understand the chauffeur business. We have therefore signed specific Audi Centres up to a set of minimum service standards, where named points of contact are specified for chauffeur enquiries, (both sales and service), and we are confident that these contacts will readily understand the needs of our chauffeur customers.
We have also asked these centres to ensure a minimum stock of the parts which we know suffer heavy wear and tear on chauffeur cars, such as brake pads and discs, to minimise the time that any car is off the road. In a nutshell, we believe that our actions will lead to priority booking, less wasted time, and a priority service for all our chauffeur customers.
You’ve already mentioned some feedback Audi has received from various chauffeur companies you have been working with, but what have they been telling you about what they want from the A8 and Audi generally?
The companies that we were working with all obviously loved the car, as all have either bought or indicated that they wish to buy the A8 LWB this year. All of the minimum service standards we have detailed above are as a direct result of feedback from chauffeurs, particularly the PCO licensed replacement vehicles.
One of the main problems in our line of work is badge snobbery, and for some chauffeurs it’s a huge consideration. You obviously have a great product in the A8 LWB, but do you see the badge issue causing you any problems?
Customer feedback indicates this is not an issue and there is clear evidence to support this claim. If we look at total sales of Audi, Mercedes and BMW in Europe for the January-July period last year, Audi sold the most cars, and that’s without representation in segments such as coupe and X5 equivalent that BMW currently have. We are therefore considered a prestige brand in line with BMW and Mercedes.
Mercedes have done a fantastic job in terms of selling into the chauffeur market over the years, and until now we didn’t have exactly the right product to offer as an alternative. But now that the 3.0 TDI LWB is launched, we have exactly the right contender. Customers who have driven or been a passenger in this vehicle have not seen the badge as an issue, in fact many see it as an asset as it differentiates them from their competitors.
I’ve had quite a lot to say in the last couple of issues of The Chauffeur Magazine about what many of us see as arrogance on the part of dealerships and their lack of understanding of our profession, you seem to have researched our industry and are working hard to get us on side, but will you really be different?
We have already touched on this and can only repeat that we have listened to what chauffeur companies have had to say about both Audi and our competitors’ retail networks. As a direct result, we have reflected the concerns of the chauffeur industry in the Service Level Agreement we have signed our Audi Centres up to.
In fact, the Service Level Agreement was initially put together to help one of our Audi Centres manage the needs of one of our customers with whom we piloted our programme. We recognise that to a chauffeur their car is a working tool, without which they can’t make a living, and that if we can get that part of our offer right then we will gain the trust of the chauffeur industry.
You’ve put a lot of work and resources into the programme so it has to be a success economically, how do you aim to grab us chauffeurs by the scruff of the neck a nd persuade us that we should be driving A8’s?
We have put together what we believe to be a very competitive contract hire offer on the A8, which we hope will get the attention we believe it rightly deserves. We’ve also included service and maintenance, and used an annual mileage which is realistic for the needs of most chauffeurs.
There are cheaper monthly rates in the market but if you read the small print you’ll see that they are typically for around 15,000 miles per annum, which is impractical for most chauffeurs. Our offer allows for a much more realistic 30,000 miles per annum. More importantly, it isn’t simply about the money, chauffeur companies have all told us the same thing – it’s about the service level that supports the car.
Who forgot the drop-down vanity mirrors in the back?
Vorsprung durch Technik is the backbone of what we do. On reflection, it seems that sometimes vanity gets the better of us all, but we do feedback genuine product queries such as this to our product planning department for future consideration. Rear drop-down vanity mirrors are available only in combination with a sunroof, which is not a high demand option in the UK market. However, the drop-down mirror/sunroof option is available as an option on LWB models for £1080.
There is no doubt that chauffeurs based around London and the South East will have dealerships who are accommodating the Chauffeur Programme within easy reach, but will the rest of us in all the other parts of the UK be able to benefit from the same level of service and take full advantage of the Programme?
The chauffeur programme was piloted around London and the South East due to the concentration of prestige chauffeurs in that part of the world, and the necessity to understand the particular needs of this area with regard to PCO licensing. However all Audi Centres in the UK are able to offer preferential terms to prestige chauffeurs who meet the criteria of our programme. The service level agreement in the London area is currently unique to that region, but it is our intention to roll this out nationwide in 2006.
So as the sun sets on the roundabouts of Milton Keynes and the Audi UK team saunter off to the pub for a game of dominoes and a packet of pork scratchings, I can’t help but think that they might just have cracked this selling cars to chauffeurs thing!
