DaimlerChrysler UK Retail has added more London Mercedes-Benz retail territories to its expanding business portfolio. The new acquisitions follow purchases in Solihull, Chelsea and Epsom and are part of the company’s new retail network strategy.
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The new areas cover the City of London, Mayfair, Park Royal and Hampstead and will include six sites across the capital.
Geoff Brady, Managing Director DaimlerChrysler UK Retail Ltd said: “These latest sites mark a change in the pace of our ongoing strategy. The rate of acquisition has increased, and we can now implement our improved levels of customer service across a far wider area of the capital than before.
“Over the next 12 months we will expand the number of retail outlets in London, Birmingham and Manchester, and will continue to alter the way in which our teams work to best reflect the desires of our customers.”
Already some sites offer longer opening hours. This means customers can drop their car off for a service before work and collect it again afterwards, rather than having to wait until the next day because the outlet has closed. Waiting times for services have been cut, with “next day servicing” available in several locations.
The Retail Showcase at Bluewater also includes a “service while you shop” provision. Customers leave their car at Mercedes-Benz Dartford, and are then chauffeured to Bluewater for half a day’s shopping. Once the work is completed, the customers are collected from the malls, and return to Dartford and their vehicle.
Mercedes-Benz announced plans last year to restructure its UK network in advance of the anticipated axing of the EC block exemption laws which it expected to loosen its control over its dealers.
The company gave its 155 dealers a year’s notice and announced plans for a new network based on a series of large company-owned dealers (now called Market Areas) located in large metropolitan areas and supported by service centres in smaller towns.
