September 2020 Agency Webinar

Our ‘clean slate’ future retail concept assumes the use of agency agreements rather than traditional franchise contracts.  Whilst this transition presents challenges for both manufacturers and dealers in existing networks, it has not stopped a number of manufacturers making this change for all or some of their business in certain markets, or announcing their intention to do so.  This includes Mercedes-Benz in Sweden and South Africa, with roll-out to other markets announced, BMW in South Africa, Toyota in New Zealand and various brands on specific products or customer segments such as BEVs and fleet.  In this extended webinar dedicated to the topic, we shared insights into the positive and negative aspects of agency, how some of the new agreements are operating, the views of dealers who have taken on the new agency agreement, and the prospects for adoption in other markets and by other brands in the coming years. 

We were joined by a BMW dealer from South Africa for a live discussion on his experiences of operating under agency since January this year.