7:15 am, March 20, 2023
Toyota and Lexus have confirmed they ‘currently have no plans’ to change their franchise agreements with dealers and move to agency sales.
Pressed on the matter, a spokesperson for Toyota and Lexus stressed that agency sales – where the manufacturer would take on the sale of cars directly to consumers itself – was ‘not in the plan at all’.
In an exclusive interview with Car Dealer, Jason Stanley, general manager of product marketing at Toyota and Lexus, confirmed the success of the brands’ current agreements meant there was no reason to change.
Stanley, pictured, said: ‘A network that is engaged and they’re enjoying being part of the Toyota family helps them to deliver great customer experience.
‘Working in partnership with [dealers] is really key. Operating with them in an open, trusted way is really important.
‘Our philosophy is whether you work with us on the manufacturing side, as a supplier to the factory to build components, or whether you work with us in terms of dealing with customers through the network, then that long term partnership philosophy is absolutely fundamental to delivering a customer first brand in the market.’
Various manufacturers have said they will be making the move to agency sales. Stellantis and VW Group are heading down that path, but have both delayed the introduction.
Jaguar is drastically cutting its network as part of its change to agency, while Mercedes made the move at the start of the year. The German manufacturer’s market share has dropped drastically since.
The Toyota spokesperson, who constantly interrupted our interview with Stanley, added: ‘Agency can work for certain brands, but it doesn’t need to work for us. That’s why we’re not planning for it.’
Stanley said he thought dealers were the reason Toyota and Lexus perform so well in customer satisfaction surveys – both on the customer and dealer side. Toyota finished in the top 10 (eighth) in last year’s Car Dealer Power survey.
He added: ‘Dealers are absolutely critical to delivering a great customer experience. It’s something we pride ourselves on and we talk about a spirit of partnership with our network.
‘Recently we had our quarterly sales and marketing meeting where we actively participate with a wide range of partners – a mixture of national PLCs, regional groups and owner operators – and we continue to listen very carefully to that network body.
‘We work hand in hand with the dealers to deliver a great customer experience.’
Stanley added that he wanted his partners to continue to be as passionate about the brands as the head office team is.
‘That is infectious with the customer base – if you believe in the product, if you’re passionate about the product, that enthusiasm will transfer to customers and the whole experience works,’ he added.
