Manufacturer Scheme of the Year, sponsored by Warranty Wise, Winner: Audi

Used cars play a vital role in keeping buyers engaged with a brand and a good manufacturer used car scheme is critical to its success, says Audi.

The winning manufacturer has a website that our judges described as ‘slick and easy to use’ and praised the firm for offering used car buyers ‘everything they’d need’ to have confidence in their used car purchase as part of its scheme.

Audi UK sales director Steve Catlin said: ‘It’s a huge accolade for us to be recognised as having a class-leading used car scheme.

‘We’re delighted and it gives us confidence we are doing the right thing in the marketplace and doing everything we can to turn Audi customers into Audi fans.

‘Most of all, we continue to offer unrivalled peace of mind and value and our retail partners continue to offer an amazing experience for Audi approved used vehicles.’

For this award, sponsored by WarrantyWise, our judges were looking for a variety of key features included as part of the official schemes.

They wanted to see a decent warranty, breakdown cover included, a comprehensive check of the used cars before sale and a website that was easy to navigate.

‘We have spent a lot of time making sure our used programme is really customer-focused and how the hand-off happens between customers viewing vehicles on our website to how they view the vehicles in the retail network,’ added Catlin.

‘We’re really pleased your research recognises that and shows it’s really a joined up experience between us and the dealer network.’ 

Catlin said used cars are ‘critically important’ to Audi as they represent a ‘big portion’ of network profitability and form an important part of the industry ecosystem, generating new car loyalty.

‘It will become even more important in the future,’ he added. 

‘If you look at the pressure the industry is facing regarding costs from an electrification point of view and an aftersales revenue perspective, then used cars will become an important part based on those pressures in the future.’

Catlin said that customer loyalty was ‘priority number one’ for Audi and used cars help ensure customers become fans that come back again and again.

He added: ‘We’re seeing more and more interest in used cars from consumers and can’t see that changing.’

Taking our highly commended slots in the Manufacturer Used Car Scheme of the Year were Volkswagen and Volvo.

To find out who else won awards in the Car Dealer Used Car Awards 2020 click here.