CarGarantie supports the car dealership

CarGarantie supports the car dealership

Automotive industry: CarGarantie celebrated its 20th anniversary in Austria last year. What specifically characterizes the Austrian market?
Axel Berger:The market in Austria is particularly important for CarGarantie, as it was one of the first countries to begin expansion in Europe. Right from the start, this was done with the intention of not supporting this market from a distance, but rather with local service units in order to be able to take country-specific peculiarities into account. These special features are mainly due to the fact that, due to its size, this market is better networked than other countries and one can speak of a large automotive “family”. This results in intensive contacts with importers and, above all, with dealers.

How is CarGarantie doing specifically in Austria?
As a partner of almost all importers in Austria as well as over 1,800 specialist retailers, we are pleased that, despite our long-standing market presence, new partners are constantly being added who rely on our broad service portfolio. Despite this strong presence, our focus is on the development and expansion of further customer loyalty products. It is important to us to respond individually to the needs of our partners. Our primary concern is to offer optimal service – fair and reliable.

What are your general assessments for 2017 and for Austria in particular?
CarGarantie draws a very positive balance across Europe - including in Austria. Overall, we have expanded our product portfolio with many importers and further optimized the warranty programs. In addition, there are also new collaborations in Austria, such as B. with Husqvarna, or existing partnerships such as Suzuki in the new car sector were expanded.

What plans are there for this year?
In recent years, CarGarantie has implemented numerous new products on the market that sustainably support retail. This year we are also offering new customer loyalty products that will either bind the end consumer more closely to their car dealership or even bring them back. We have currently expanded our customer contact program to include writing to customers on behalf of the dealer who do not yet have a warranty. Does the dealer have it e.g. For example, if you fail to offer a follow-up guarantee when selling your vehicle to ensure longer customer loyalty, you can use this support to get your customer back to the car dealership with an attractive guarantee offer.

They cooperate with many manufacturer organizations in numerous countries. How is continuous growth still possible?
CarGarantie operates internationally - there is still enough potential to convince manufacturers and dealers of us, especially in countries where CarGarantie has not been represented for that long. However, in recent years we have also expanded to China, Thailand and Singapore to open up new markets. But CarGarantie is not only constantly repositioning itself territorially, but also with new products and services.

You recently emphasized that there is still potential for many companies in secondary areas such as financing and guarantees. Why is the potential not being exploited?
That is in the nature of things. The car dealership primarily focuses on selling vehicles, so financing is still an option. However, many people do not initially focus on additional products that contribute to customer loyalty in the long term and generate additional income. There is still considerable potential here. The CarGarantie field service is happy to support you with on-site training that teaches the seller how to integrate the guarantee into the sales process.

Where do you see the future of your business or how could your product range be expanded?
We have continuously expanded our product range around the topic of customer loyalty for the car dealership. In addition to the customer loyalty programs mentioned, we have further developed our flat rate products in collaboration with banks as well as our service and maintenance products. In addition, the entire marketing department also plays a central role for us, providing individual support to the retailer in order to market the guarantee in his own label.

What differentiates you from or what do you do better than your competitors?
It is not our style to speak ill of competitors. Rather, we focus on quality services that sustainably support retail. Our focus is therefore on personal support and service. The focus is on the individual requirements of our partners, according to which we align our programs. We also aim to support retailers in the long term with stable premiums and numerous services that make their sales processes easier and market them positively. In addition, our entire claims process aims to be quick and uncomplicated: The customer is therefore satisfied and the dealer has the money in CarGarantie's account within a few days of receipt of the invoice.

“We are committed to supporting retailers in the long term with stable premiums and numerous services.”  Axel Berger, CEO of CarGarantie

How do you see the future of the car dealership?
There is a lot to be said, especially due to the new digital possibilities, that today's car dealership will not be tomorrow's. Due to the high space costs, people are more likely to switch to “store” models and implement the presentation on a large screen. We believe that stationary retail has a future, but also has to adapt more quickly than before. Last but not least, business will continue to be done between people in the future.

Given the declining volume of damage, how do you see the future of the workshop business?
Well, you can't really talk about declining damage volumes. In general, vehicle quality has improved - but vehicles today are much more complex, e.g. B. through sophisticated electrics and assistance systems. The consequence, of course, is that the more technology is installed, the more it can break. Our current evaluations even show that the average repair costs have increased from 502 euros last year to 514 euros. The future workshop business will therefore become more important than ever. This means that a company that is competent and service-oriented in the workshop sector will have a good chance of continuing to exist successfully on the market.