Dealer service in the test car trade: that is too little!
First a pandemic, then a chip shortage: car dealers really didn’t have it easy in 2021. The mood is tense, the sufferer once again the customer? The big hand test by the consulting firm concertare provides the answers. How car dealerships are doing in 2021.
Bang, this statement sinks in: "the consultation was quick and not very individualized. Although the salesman did not address it directly, he conveyed that he did not have time. I felt like I was interfering. I would certainly not buy a car here." a test verdict – here at a mazda dealer – could hardly be more damning for a salesman. Bitter individual case or sad everyday life? The consulting firm concertare has scrutinized the german car trade in a comprehensive study with more than 1:000 nationwide tests for the year 2021. The result: disappointing – once again.
But the retail sector is not having an easy time of it either: first the lockdown with its accompanying store closures, then more difficult sales conditions due to strict hygiene regulations, and now the next bad news: chip shortage. The problem: if the assembly lines at the carmakers are at a standstill, there are not enough cars in the sales department. Not only the customer, who has to wait a long time for his vehicle, suffers, but also the trade, which has to record massive losses and is already having to completely reorganize itself in the course of e-mobility and digitalization. Because new online sales forms of the manufacturers increase the competition.
A year to forget? This is the conclusion drawn at least by jurgen karpinski, president of the central association of the german automotive trade – ZDK for short: "there is no doubt that the car year 2021 will be even worse than the crisis year 2020. Instead of the hoped-for take-off in the second half of the year, the race to catch up is now over again because of the chip shortage before it could really get started." in addition, the lack of new cars has led to continued strong demand on the used car market, especially for young used cars.
"We would much rather serve the high demand for new cars. Now sales are down, bonus targets are not achievable, and the full extent of the economic consequences will probably only be assessable in a few months’ time", karpinski sums up the gloomy dealer year 2021.
But in every crisis there is also an opportunity: never before have advice and sales behavior – actually core competencies of the retail trade – been as important as they are nowadays. Above all, the shift from combustion engines to electric drives is causing uncertainty among many interested parties. The answer: intensive, trusting support, expert knowledge and a distinctive range of services. Criteria with which the dealer could and should score points immediately – in principle.
Trade too unmotivated?
But the concertare test shows a different picture: car dealerships seem to be letting their opportunity go by unused. Although interested parties are generally received in a friendly manner at first, the customer meeting often ends in disappointment after a positive start. One tester described the situation at a hyundai dealership as follows: "the salesman was unmotivated and passive. He did not offer a demonstration of the model I wanted. I had to ask him for an offer." a similar picture emerges at a kia dealer: "i felt uncomfortable during the sales talk. The salesman seemed annoyed by my questions", reports a tester.
A conversation at "eye level" is the key to success, of which a customer at opel reports positively, enormously important. Finally, transparent information on the object facilitates a final purchase decision. Conversations at the desk, on the other hand, often leave the customer overwhelmed. Many brands end up in the "product demonstration" category in the test therefore in the deep red. The industry should urgently question itself and analyze the reasons for these customer perceptions. The result has nothing to do with the industry problems mentioned at the start, but rather with the attitude of the employees. A problem that could be solved quickly – if only you wanted to.
This means that a test drive often does not even take place. And even if the customer requests it, disappointment follows promptly. of course, test drives in corona times with strict hygiene and distance rules are difficult to implement and involve more work. nevertheless: when dealers don’t even show the willingness to organize a vehicle, it’s frustrating: "my desired model was not available at the dealership that day. The salesman also did not try to inform me about the vehicle anyway", a customer at jeep is disappointed.
And that’s not all: even in the "financial services" category the industry achieves only 55 percent and rightly receives the rating "unsatisfactory". At the same time, more than half of all vehicles are now no longer paid for in cash. Three-option financing, leasing or the traditional installment loan? Answers that dealers often fail to give their customers, and if they do, they are inadequate. "The seller probably assumed that I would pay cash. He did not bring up the subject of financing or leasing", a tester sums up his encounter with a toyota salesman. This is better.
The situation is also bleak in terms of follow-up, with the brands achieving an average result of only 24 percent. If you don’t sign a sales contract, you won’t be contacted again. New offers thus remain hidden from potential customers, future sales opportunities are lost. Cultivating customer contacts does not seem to be the top priority for dealers – and not the second either.
E-mobility finally present?
While the retail sector is showing weaknesses in its traditional core competencies, there are small rays of hope for the first time, at least in the area of e-mobility. The "E seems at least no longer for "exotic, but in the meantime actually for "electro to stand: "the salesman knew exactly what he was talking about. He encouraged me in my desire for a hybrid vehicle and said that this was exactly what I needed", an audi tester is satisfied.
A colleague at mercedes can confirm this: "I was clearly informed about all aspects of e-mobility. The salesman explained the charging options to me in detail." nevertheless: still no retailer receives the "satisfactory" award in 2021, as the evaluation shows:
Jurgen karpinski tries to explain the result: "e-cars are much scarcer than combustion cars, delivery times are nine months on average. Dealers have hardly any stock left and in some cases have to fall back on their demonstration cars." the supply of used e-cars is also falling. The situation is aggravated by the fact that the extension of the environmental bonus to the end of 2025, announced by the federal government almost a year ago, has still not been implemented.
What he means by this: the publication of an amended subsidy guideline by the responsible federal office for economic affairs and export control is still pending. "This means that retailers lack planning certainty and customers are unsettled", argues karpinski. Sounds plausible, but that is no excuse for the poor performance.
Enough complaining, because the evaluation also shows that some dealers are doing their job really well. testers report "authentic customer discussions in a "relaxed" atmosphere atmosphere. It’s these kinds of encounters that people want when they’re making an important buying decision. But such positive notes are and unfortunately remain the exception. The pandemic seems to have done nothing to change this situation.
Significant room for improvement
Although almost all brands have managed to make up for last year’s corona-related deficits in consultation, there are still clear gaps in the process. rabab charara, managing director at concertare, knows this too. She sums up the results of her study as follows: "the entire sales process is insufficiently customer-oriented. A positive signal, however, is the equalization of the level of advice between combustibles and alternative drives at most brands. Sales advice on alternative drives no longer represents a special status and presents itself in a more mature depth of content and more stable processes compared to previous years."
One thing is clear: many individual aspects play a major role in the consultation process. There is no such thing as the ideal salesman, but in the end he can make the difference between a purchase and a non-purchase – and that’s what counts in this industry.
Survey
E-mobility – forward, but slowly
Electric cars are in demand like never before, and finally the trade seems to understand that as well. Nevertheless, there is still a lot of room for improvement in the way car dealerships handle electromobility, as the concertare test clearly shows.
Thanks to enormous subsidies, the demand for electric vehicles has increased enormously this year. Registration numbers shot through the roof in 2021. 30,560 new electric vehicles (BEVs) received a license plate for the first time in october, accounting for 17.1 percent of the total. the increase compared to the same month last year amounts to 32.0 percent. The figures suggest that car dealers are now strongly focused on electric vehicles – but this is wishful thinking: many dealers still seem to be reluctant to embrace the topic of e-mobility. "The salesman was not convinced by the electric drive", says a tester after visiting a fiat dealership. "He informed me superficially about it, but he said that he himself does not see the future in it." not an isolated case.
In addition to ignorance, the testers also encounter an unmotivated and listless staff. A no-go, because the topic of "advice" is particularly important when it comes to questions about charging options and ranges an important role for unsure customers. Curious: mazda knows how to win in the "e-mobility" category convincing with cumulative expertise, falls to last place in the overall e-assessment (see picture gallery below) due to a lack of financial services, insufficient test drive options and a poor needs analysis, among other things. But there are bright spots. A mercedes tester reports: "i was given clear information on all aspects of electromobility. The salesman explained the charging options to me in detail. He transparently mentioned advantages and disadvantages, and i felt i was fully informed." all in all, however, not enough: the bottom line is that, as in the previous year, the overall rating for all brands is disappointing: "not satisfactory.