Covid-19 and beyond: How Drive Vauxhall has pushed through the pandemic

Earlier this week Katrina Lewis, Account Director at Auto Trader spoke with Rob Keenan, joint Managing Director of Drive Vauxhall about how the last six months have been for the franchise group and what lessons they have learnt that they have implemented through the 70’s plate change.

A roller coaster of a year

Katrina kicked things off by diving into how things have been for Drive Vauxhall over the last few months. Rob described it as a rollercoaster that many of us have been on in the last few months, going from a state of crisis to riding on a high.

Key to this were quick decisions that were taken in early April that helped them to sell a huge amount of cars through lockdown as well as keeping service centres busy throughout. The result is that they are now 35%-40% up on used car sales year on year since lockdown lifted and they expect to hit manufacturer targets with a strong outlook for Q4.

Success with stock

The conversation then moved over to the struggle with stock where Rob revealed that Drive Vauxhall hasn’t had an issue with stock in the last six months, making them something of an anomaly in the current market. Key to this has been diversifying their stock profile and increasing non-franchise stock - “selling further down the food chain than they usually would” as Rob says. Demand has been so strong that even vehicles that they anticipated being tough to sell were quick to move off forecourts.

Whilst an advocate of a data driven approach, he was quick to point out that sometimes you have to go with your gut when it comes to sourcing, particularly in times like these and with sales above the market average its an approach that has clearly worked for them. Use data wisely but don’t succumb to analysis paralysis was Rob’s top tip.

Rob went on to highlight that there has been a fair amount of complacency that has crept in as a result of the boom in demand and rise in used car prices. He argues that the retailers need to ensure they are tackling the basics since there is evidence that the boom seems to be flattening out, but with a drop in demand yet to be seen.

Blended retail on the rise

Katrina steered the conversation towards what Rob would have done differently in hindsight. He reflected on the lost sales in April as did most retailers, however he thinks there were some retailers who were quicker to react and were able to transition faster to online sales which is something he feels would have been beneficial to them through lockdown.

One of the biggest things that has happened within Drive Vauxhall, in terms of the impact it has had, has been their call centre which has seen a drastic transformation into a fully fledged sales centre which is generating a huge proportion of sales as a result of the change in the way buyers are engaging with retailers. Rob highlights that part of the reason they are seeing more leads is a renewed focus on digital channels for generating leads. He’s quick to point out that they have adopted a blended retail approach to the sales process but that they treat each buyer as an individual rather than taking them all through the same standardised buyer journey – something all retailers should be implementing.

The way ahead

Rob summarised with a hugely positive outlook for the months with many things to be upbeat about. He sees the demand remaining and doesn’t anticipate any drop off in used and new cars as manufacturers continue to invest in the UK market and buyers still looking to spend their savings on their next car.

He closed with a philosophical view for retailers - “if you think you can’t or you think you can, you’re probably right”.

Listen to the full webinar and interview at https://bit.ly/33cyi9S