Three years after Mercedes-Benz and Volvo became two of the first major brands to switch to agency sales for franchise holders, Car Dealer examined the most recent filed accounts of companies across their dealer networks, along with newer additions Mini and Honda.
Early accounts were dominated by wariness about commission levels, volumes and whether manufacturers were taking too much control away from dealers, then came the enormous accounting changes as the first businesses stopped recognising the full price of agency cars as turnover.
But their accounts some of them revealed improved agency margins, steadier profitability and the benefits of taking stock and funding risk away from the dealer.
