Friday, 10 February 2012
Renault Retail Group is looking at introducing dual franchising at more of its bigger dealerships.
Renault Retail boss Stuart Walker told Motor Trader in the first instance he would like to dual franchise more with Nissan but he had not ruled out twinning with other brands outside the Renault Group stable.
Currently there are four Retail Retail sites that sell both the Renault and Nissan brands.
“We started talking to Nissan some four years ago about the idea of dual franchising and that dialogue is still going on. We have a plan and we are determined to drive that plan through.
“I would personally like to see some of our sites dual franchise that are not at the moment and the first port of call is with Nissan,” he said.
But Walker pointed that Renault dealers, including Renault Retail, have a lot on their plate with the launch of electric vehicles and the arrival of Dacia.
“We have to remember we have to have showrooms for Renault, EV and Dacia. We have new product coming and we have got to give a return to shareholders. There is a balance between ‘would I’ and ‘could I’,” he said.
“In big sites dual franchising is possible, in smaller sites it is not,” he added.
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Interesting decision here. But I think Renault can pull this off.
Interesting decision indeed. Renault UK and Nissan UK have shared the same Head Office for 10 years and hardly ever talk to each other, even when they are selling the same re-badged vehicles. Renault and Nissan also have differing strategies on electric vehicles.
Dual franchising is only impractical in the UK where manufacturers insist on ridiculously expensive seperate dealerships, or defined brand identities within shared dealerships, these strategies don’t seem to be enforced elsewhere, even in mainland europe as anyone who has been on holiday to France/Spain will be aware.