Peugeot still aiming for 10K

Peugeot still has plans to sell 10,000 cars per year Down Under. But it's not saying when.

New Peugeot Automobile Australia boss, Bill Gillespie, confirmed the French marque still had plans to push through the magic one per cent mark [of total vehicle sales] at a briefing session in Melbourne last Friday. He said the target total was a "renewed goal".

In the first few years of the noughties, Peugeot was gung ho about breeching the five-figure mark in Australia. In recent years, however, Peugeot sales peaked in 2007 when the maker sold 8807 vehicles. Since then the brand has been in decline -- last year it sold just 5220 cars. Its target for 2012 is 6500 units.

"We have renewed it [the 10K goal] because we’ve got a product plan now that I think could support that... We’ve got a dealer network that wants to do it...  We have a shared intent... Sime Darby, our parent company, wants to do it.

"It’s a critical mass thing, you know, if you can get to one per cent, it does, it does -- it gets you there," Mr Gillespie enthused.

Mr Gillespie is a long time industry sales chief with successful stints at both Toyota and Kia in his CV. He believes Peugeot is now well positioned to build to the 10K mark – though he won't be drawn on a target date.

"We don’t tell people the timeline because it’s going to be... an outcome of a whole lot of things going into place. So I think [with] the right product, the right marketing funds, [and if] all the rest of the market stays okay, if we do our things well... that’ll [10,000 sales] be the outcome," Mr Gillespie explained.

Mr Gillespie says the company is currently reviewing its brand strategy and also its dealer network. Peugeot is represented by 38 dealers across Australia; four more will be added by the end of 2013. Three of those will be in Sydney.

He says Peugeot's sales slump in recent years is largely a case of being "outmuscled". The obvious culprit is Volkswagen.

"I don’t think it’s [Peugeot's local strategy] gone wrong, but we’ve certainly been, outmuscled by some of the bigger players, one particular one... We’ve got to fight harder for what we’re getting in Australia.

"We’re adding three new dealer sites in Sydney starting from October... One of the PMAs [the dealer's operating region] is the second biggest PMA in Australia -- it’s as big as Canberra -- and we have not been represented there at all. In my view, on its own, that [dealership] should pick up 400-500 sales a year. 

"So, when you take that one site and the other two sites, in the Sutherland Shire and inner west, those areas should really help us. Frankly, in my view, there are 600 or 700 sales [per year] just in those areas."

Mr Gillespie also believes Peugeot's new fixed price servicing arrangements will assist the brand in its growth. To date it has been offered on only selected models, however, Mr Gillespie says the marque will roll it out to all of its passenger car range before the end of 2012.

"We will start a new marketing program in October on the Assured Service Plan and start telling Australians that you can buy Euro and absolutely know exactly what you’re going to pay on that car for three years," he explained.

"We mystery shop other European manufacturers on servicing and... I can tell you that the 308 servicing is $990 for three years and its counterpart, or its competition, is $2600.

"When we start marketing in October we are going to be fairly upfront about what we’re doing. We won't start saying, you know, things against the other brand, but we’re certainly going to talk about our costs... Certainly over our normal costs it’s more than a 50 per cent saving," he stated.

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