New Dealer Accreditation Program Aims to Improve Fleet Deliveries Car News

The Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) has launched its first dealer accreditation system, which it hopes will set an industry-wide benchmark for the supply of company cars and vans. increasingly rich in technology.

Co-developed with input from Marshall Motor Group, which sells 21 brands from Audi to Volvo, the AFP Dealer Standard is a voluntary program designed to ensure a more consistent delivery experience for drivers that can be measured, assessed and form the basis of the fleet. service level agreements (SLA) of operators and leasing companies.

Accreditation covers 28 points divided into four categories, including pre-delivery communications and support, vehicle condition, personnel driving requirements and a thorough handover process. It aims to align the experience with that of retail customers, even if the order itself is placed through a leasing company.

AFP said it was particularly concerned that new technologies – such as safety assistance, electric vehicle charging and even phone pairing – were not sufficiently explained to car drivers. and company vans. This potentially creates a duty of care issue and can waste operators time resolving queries after vehicles are delivered.

Dealers who register will be identified with a logo, have access to the association’s full suite of webinars, conferences and training to help gain knowledge of the fleet industry, and will be listed in a directory provided to members. AFP will monitor the standards annually and have a process in place for drivers and fleet managers to escalate any issues they face.

In addition to Marshall Motor Group, which delivers 20,000 vehicles to fleet drivers each year, Inchcape and Sytner are the first automotive retailers to be accredited under the program – which also applies to all third-party delivery companies that they use. AFP added that several leasing companies have already expressed interest in adopting it as part of their SLAs.

AFP Director James Pestell said: “We recognize that there are many corporate dealers out there who are doing a fantastic job. Adhering to Dealer Standards gives them recognition that they are doing it and that they meet the standards we have set.

“But what we also want to do is call dealers who are tempted to shorten the delivery and handover process, and maybe they care more about the number of registrations in a given month than the driver of the end user’s fleet. We want drivers to have a positive and informative experience when delivering and handing over, and it’s critical that this happens during fleet deliveries.”