Lynn Calder questions agency modell

In a recently done interview with Lynn Calder she questions the agency sales model, which is in place in some (not all) countries. This model was choosen by many manufacturers when there were more demand for cars, then it is now. More and more OEMS turn away from the agency model.

When asked what Calder would do differently with the next vehicle, the conversation quickly turns to the topic of distribution and the journey of the Grenadier to the customer. Depending on the market, Ineos currently sells its vehicles through dealers (as in Germany), direct sales via the agency model, or through a general importer.
Calder has doubts about the success of the agency model. "It was conceived at a time when high demand for vehicles made implementation much easier," says Calder.
These conditions are no longer valid. As a new manufacturer without much experience, it is evident that there are good reasons to leave sales to the dealers. Additionally, the administrative burden was underestimated, such as customer service with call centers or vehicle registration in various markets.
Calder’s conclusion is, "I am not convinced that the agency model aligns OEMs and dealers in a way that benefits the customers."

AWo

 

[Sean326]

This seems to be the thread for discussing Ineos company interaction, communication and outreach with customers, if there's a better thread let me know I'll move the comment. I had recently made a complimentary post somewhere above describing my positive experience with ineos customer service through their website. A timely and mostly responsive answer to my question with a couple emails back and forth, real dialog. Well despite that win Ineos has once again failed the easy task of customer relations/communication... As far as i'm concerned the lowest hanging of all PR fruit. So I learned on this forum from a post by another owner (not the company) that the long awaited USA software update was available at dealers. It's a 5 hour update that apparently corrects hundreds of common and discussed bugs and many internal, less discussed stuff and it includes upgrades to the ADAS system. I reached out to my dealer, they confirmed that it was true and i'm getting the upgrade this Tuesday. So how is it that I'm still getting outreach and updates from the dealer and manufacturer on my 16 year old Jeep, my 7 year old Ram and my '25 Lexus, MY 2 YEAR OLD DEWALT HAMMER DRILL! But nothing on my '24 Trialmaster? I have to hear about a 6 month long overdue update "on the street". Ineos doesn't seem to have the desire or maybe management capability to task some social media capable intern an hour a day to monitor and interact on this forum and maybe a dozen other FB/X forums. An hour a day maybe (with some AI help) is time enough for addressing the 5 most active conversations and maybe 1 new factory announcement a month about things like a USA software update they could absolutely raise the moral and comradery of this relatively small following. Probably sell a few more dealer installed options and increase brand loyalty enough to turn the low milage used returned Grens on my dealers lot into newer purchases etc...

 

[Tom109]

Um, you're getting the update on Tuesday.

 

[Sean326]

Um, you're getting the update on Tuesday.

Yes, and your point is???