Dealer drop-in: ATE Truck and Trailer Sales
This week we visited the Wolverhampton headquarters of ATE Truck and Trailer Sales.
News - Commercial Motor
January 26, 2017
The chairman of the Iveco Dealer Association has said it is not a “challenge” but a “necessity” in today’s market for all Iveco dealerships to work together and support the manufacturer and its customers.
Ian Hopkins, chairman, Iveco Dealer Association and commercial director at North East Truck and Van, (pictured) said: “Working together - as one body - supporting our manufacturer franchise - is not a challenge for a professional commercial vehicle dealer network... in today’s world, it is a necessity.”
Hopkins went on to say that the Iveco dealer network needed a standard that 'if one succeeds, we all succeed', and that his business was only as good as his fellow Iveco dealerships throughout the UK.
“Problems happen in our industry. Trucks break down and always at the worst times, usually in the middle of nowhere, usually in the middle of the night - and always miles away from where I, as the operator’s local dealer, can do little immediate about it,” he said.
“That is when the ‘one body, one team’ approach really comes into play,” Hopkins added. “I need to have the confidence that my fellow dealers will assist in a positive and proactive manner [and I] need to know that the standard of work carried out will be every bit as good as I pride myself on delivering through my own business.”
Iveco MD Stuart Webster said that its dealer network had performed more strongly that its key account market in 2016, where it had not been active enough in some key sectors, and he expected most of its growth to come via the dealer network.
