TrustFord chairman and CEO Stuart Foulds said the lessons learnt during the first lockdown had helped them make a success of 2020.
From click-and-collect to ensuring all used cars are prepped and ready to be sold so customers can drive away within the hour, the dealer group has focused on making its second-hand stock work hard.
Taking the title of Used Car Dealership Group of the Year – an award sponsored by Motorway – Foulds said his team would be over the moon after a tough few months.
Speaking to awards host Mike Brewer, in a video interview you can watch above, Foulds said: ‘I’m absolutely delighted.
‘It’s a great testament to all the colleagues back in the business for all their hard work.
‘We spend a lot of time on attention to detail and make sure all of the cars that are on display are prepped and ready to go.
‘A few years ago we introduced TrustFord Now, and that is the ability for a customer to come into any of our dealerships and buy a car or a van and take it away within an hour – and that really is a testimony to the cars and vehicles we have on display.’
Used Car Award judges were impressed with that attention to detail and noted the huge network of dealerships across the country and choice of used models for buyers.
Foulds says this choice and network has also been brought to the forefront to please used car customers.
He said: ‘We introduced “Bring It To Me”, which is where someone can look online and if the car is at another dealership we undertake to get the car to the customer’s nearest dealership within 24 hours, so they can see it and take it away as soon as it arrives.
‘It’s been a huge success for us. During the pandemic we already had a lot of these things in place, so it was easy to mobilise the guys and make sure everyone was aligned with that ethos.’
Foulds said his team would be ‘delighted’ when they hear the news that they have won, adding that the award was a ‘real testimony’ to all the hard work they have put in.
He added: ‘Over the past nine months it has been really difficult trading conditions out there, but I guess the only good thing from this is we learnt a lot of things during the first lockdown and that has put us in a really good position to cope with this one.’
Looking ahead to the rest of 2021, Foulds said he was ‘optimistic’ and pleased that it was still ‘business as usual’ for the parts, aftersales and commercial vehicle arm
TrustFord deals with a large part of Ford’s commercial vehicle fleet sales, and as home shopping has boomed, so too has the need for vans.
Foulds said: ‘I’m really optimistic for this year – we are well set up to cope with this.
‘The fundamental difference for us is we make sure 100 per cent of the cars on our forecourts are ready to go so we can uphold our TrustFord Now proposition.’
Marshall Motor Group and Hendy Group took the Highly Commended spots.
- W: TrustFord.co.uk
- T: 0343 308 5349
Find out who else has been recognised in the Car Dealer Used Car Awards 2020 here.
