Isuzu expands with plans for 60 dealers
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• Isuzu Truck plans to strengthen its UK dealer network.
Managing director Nikki King wants to recruit in more sales and service agents by the end of this year, taking the total to 6o. "We want to beef up our representation in Wales, the West Country, and the East Midlands, particularly in the Nottingham/Leicester area," she explains.
Each Isuzu agent is allocated an agreed territory. In return he must appoint a dedicated salesman; run a demonstrator; invest L7,000 in parts; and put technicians through an Isuzu training scheme.
Ideal candidates for Isuzu agencies are independent used truck dealers with their own service and repair workshops.
However, dealers who already hold a heavy truck franchise with a rival manufacturer would not necessarily be ruled out. "Seven ERE and two Foden dealers hold Isuzu agencies, as does a Seddon Atkinson dealership," says King.
Isuzu outlets are not franchised dealers, and the manufacturer does not wholesale trucks to them. Instead they sell vehicles at fixed retail prices, and Isuzu pays them commission.
"This arrangement will not be affected by any changes to Block Exemption," says King (see panel opposite).
"We don't target agents on volume sales, but on achieving certain levels of customer care," she adds. "We're more interested in taking care of operators rather than getting hung up on whether the agent paints the walls of his premises a particular colour or has a particular colour and style of chair for customers to sit on."
Agents are being offered five-year agreements—this is unusually long for the truck industry—unless they happen to hold ERF franchises. They're on tz months, says King. "ERF has just added a 7.5-tanner to its range, and we want to see how things work out before we lengthen their agreements," she explains.
The NQR 7.5-tonner is a mainstay of Isuzu's UK range. ERF assembles Isuzus, and King expects this arrangement to continue.
Isuzu is due to launch a iz-tonner next year, with an I 8-tonner on the cards for 2oo5.