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These conditions are no longer valid.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]

Whilst I understand your comment about selling more Grenadiers, they were never going to be a rival to almost all of those vehicles mentioned.
They were sold as low tech, and that is what they are.
If people want all of those features maybe it's not the vehicle for them.

I think it must be a US market idiosyncrasy that prospective owners want a Grenadier with the lot.


We too have multi hour (days in reality) driving, and the Grenadier beats my 200 series hands down.

In my jeep I can turn on my offroad lights with a single switch, in the Gren its a specific sequence and combination of 3 button pushes with a specific timing and sequence.
So to drive my gren in blissful silence before I go I have to scroll through pages of menus and deactivate various digital chirps and beeps.
There is actually buttons whose only job is to activate other buttons.
The Gren is anything but low tech and it seems to have mastered the art of intrusive tech... My '25 lexus RX 450 is extremely high tech but its tech is completely sublime... invisible it's nearly self driving but the only driver interface communication is subtle tactile input through the wheel where as the gren has no where near that capability yet more sound effects than all the star wars movies combined. Look i get off road capability, my day job is construction and property management, Its the odd week that i'm not getting vehicles and equipment into places that no machine has ever been. My weekend home is on one of the highest occupied peaks in the poconos and has a near vertical dirt road that is a 1/2 mile long and we can get snow from October through April. There are whole months of the year where we need a very capable off road vehicle to go to the grocery store. Look if we all don't want to own the answer to a jeopardy question "what was the vehicle produced from '22 to '27' by a british billionaire". If sir Jim can't sell enough of these then we all just bought edsels, deloreans or studebakers... try getting parts, support and crucial software updates after there is no infrastructure. And remember the computer that controls your low tech vehicle is not fully accessible by anyone but Ineos, yes it is a BMW engine but BMW dealers do not have the software to fully access ineos versions of the BMW controller that controls everything your low tech vehicle does.

 

[MrMike]

In my jeep I can turn on my offroad lights with a single switch, in the Gren its a specific sequence and combination of 3 button pushes with a specific timing and sequence.
So to drive my gren in blissful silence before I go I have to scroll through pages of menus and deactivate various digital chirps and beeps.
There is actually buttons whose only job is to activate other buttons.
The Gren is anything but low tech and it seems to have mastered the art of intrusive tech... My '25 lexus RX 450 is extremely high tech but its tech is completely sublime... invisible it's nearly self driving but the only driver interface communication is subtle tactile input through the wheel where as the gren has no where near that capability yet more sound effects than all the star wars movies combined. Look i get off road capability, my day job is construction and property management, Its the odd week that i'm not getting vehicles and equipment into places that no machine has ever been. My weekend home is on one of the highest occupied peaks in the poconos and has a near vertical dirt road that is a 1/2 mile long and we can get snow from October through April. There are whole months of the year where we need a very capable off road vehicle to go to the grocery store. Look if we all don't want to own the answer to a jeopardy question "what was the vehicle produced from '22 to '27' by a british billionaire". If sir Jim can't sell enough of these then we all just bought edsels, deloreans or studebakers... try getting parts, support and crucial software updates after there is no infrastructure. And remember the computer that controls your low tech vehicle is not fully accessible by anyone but Ineos, yes it is a BMW engine but BMW dealers do not have the software to fully access ineos versions of the BMW controller that controls everything your low tech vehicle does.

Fortunately we Australians have the low tech version with no ADAS and spotlights/lightbars available to be switched via high beam.
I don’t mean to denigrate those in the US but it seems you have been supplied relatively cheap vehicles with all the accessories available (unlike the Toyo 79 )
We don't get the "burger with the lot"

We all get the idea that we may end up with the Leyland P76 of the 2020s but that's the risk I suppose

 

[Zimm]

While many of us dreamed of a "low tech" car, there just isnt one made anymore. toss the car in reverse when the door close hasnt registered, and you get a rude jolt as the car goes into park. theres a billion system interactions in this car like that. 1/2 of what has ailed this rig, is the beta version coding it got released with.

people are confusing "low tech" with "lack of features and amenities".

 

[Sean326]

Fortunately we Australians have the low tech version with no ADAS and spotlights/lightbars available to be switched via high beam.
I don’t mean to denigrate those in the US but it seems you have been supplied relatively cheap vehicles with all the accessories available (unlike the Toyo 79 )
We don't get the "burger with the lot"

We all get the idea that we may end up with the Leyland P76 of the 2020s but that's the risk I suppose

Thanks Mr Mike,
I honestly didn't realize there was that big a difference in the design of the car variance per country... other than the fact you drive on the wrong side of the road .
I respect Australians but the success or failure of the brand is going to be based on USA sales.
USA is the second largest vehicle market in the world after China, 30M/year china vs 15M/year USA, Australia is 1.2m/year. But the real driver is the breakdown of vehicles is that 80% of annual vehicle sales in USA are trucks and SUV's where in China that class is just 51% of sales. All the european countries combined are about 1/3 of the vehicle market of the USA and the ratio of SUV's and trucks is flipped to 80% cars and 20% trucks/suv's.
According to my dealer i'm the poster boy for their demographic, over 50, affluent own multiple vehicles and have a knowledge and nostalgia for a vehicle that was only sold in this county for a few years in '90's and was never that popular.
Put into the mix that my Trialmaster did not have all the options boxes checked and came out at $90,000.00, many of the vehicles on my dealers lot had more boxes checked and were over $100,000.00. One that was for sale but was a also a one off demonstrator of future options like portal axels etc... was over $200,000.00.
So the future of Ineos Grenadiers are really the higher end USA SUV buyers. In the price range of $75,0000.00 to $150,000.00 you have Jeep wrangler, multiple BMW's, Lexus's, mercedes including base G-wagon, ford broncos to navigators... and the list goes on the summation is that all these options are viable for buyers. they don't have the quirks we few current owners are willing to tolerate. Sorry for the dissertation, I Love this stuff but in summery If Ineos wants to be in the car business as anything more than a hobby for a billionaire they are going to have to step up their game. They're competing with some very high quality vehicles with very high functioning support that most buyers consider typical. Orders of magnitude beyond what Ineos offers now.