MEDIA INFORMATION FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
13 November 2014
HONDA LEADS ON SERVICING RETENTION
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Honda once again tops customer retention chart for servicing
Premium German brands and Toyota complete the top five
Mercedes-Benz retains the most servicing for cars under four years old
Kia and MINI demonstrate benefits of long warranties and service plans
The latest findings from the 2014 Castrol Professional Car Servicing & Repair Trend
Tracker report, released today by Castrol Professional, show that Honda’s franchised
dealer and service network once again leads the way for retaining customers for routine
servicing in the UK*. Honda has held the top spot for servicing retention since 2006.
38.0 per cent of all Honda owners surveyed for the latest Castrol Professionalsponsored report took their car back to a Honda franchised dealer for its most recent
routine service. This result is marginally lower than last year’s, when the Japanese
brand recorded 40.3 per cent servicing retention for cars of all ages.
Dealer networks for the three premium German brands also scored highly. MercedesBenz managed an impressive 4.5 per cent point year-on-year increase to 37.8 per cent,
rising from fourth to second place, and overtaking Audi (35.3 per cent) and BMW (32.3
per cent). Toyota completes the top five, retaining 29.0 per cent of customers for
routine servicing. The average for owners of cars of all makes is 24.8 per cent.
At the bottom of the table are dealer networks for Renault (16.0 per cent), Peugeot
(19.4 per cent) and Ford (19.7 per cent).
For cars less than four years old, Honda still captures a high proportion of servicing
work (67.7 per cent), although it’s Mercedes-Benz that takes the lead, capturing 71.4
per cent. The average in the franchised sector for service retention of cars within this
age range is 56.5 per cent.
Trend Tracker analyst Chris Oakham comments: “The type of customer plays a role in
overall servicing retention. Among others, Mercedes-Benz, Honda and Toyota tend to
attract a relatively mature and conservative customer base, which may be more likely to
return to a franchised dealership for routine servicing than younger, more costconscious owners of other brands.”
Nigel Head, Head of Marketing, Castrol UK & Ireland, comments: “This latest research
highlights the broad spectrum of customer retention levels across manufacturer
networks, and, more importantly, which marques have been able to drive year-on-year
improvements. Many dealers already have the tools at their disposal to further improve
customer retention, with customer offers and aftersales programmes tailored for
budgets of all shapes and sizes, and cars of all ages. However, the key lies in
consistent and targeted communication and customer engagement to shift deeplyentrenched consumer perceptions that franchised dealers are more expensive and
therefore offer less value than other alternatives such as independents and fast-fits.”
Head adds: “Franchised workshops need to articulate, and repeatedly explain, the
added value that they can offer over other outlets to shift consumer perception. In
reality this is not a quick fix, and relies upon consistent execution across all of the
consumer touchpoints – both before, during and after the maintenance/service work
being undertaken. Ultimately, motorists are more likely to return to a dealership in the
future if they’ve been treated well, feel that they’re getting the best possible value for
money, and are left in no doubt as to what they’re paying for.”
Brands enjoy success with extended warranties and service plans
The latest findings from the report also highlight a number of other franchised dealer
networks successfully retaining high levels of servicing custom, though they are
excluded from the final Trend Tracker rankings due to low sample sizes in relation to
higher-volume manufacturers**. Kia, whose sample size has grown rapidly in recent
years, retained 41.6 per cent of all servicing custom, up from 35.3 per cent recorded in
last year’s report. This result is believed to be aided by its industry-leading seven-year
warranty.
MINI’s ‘tlc’ service plan continues to help the brand capture a strong 38.6 per cent of
servicing work, while Suzuki successfully captures the highest proportion of routine
servicing work among cars over 10 years old (15.6 per cent, versus an all-marques
average of 4.7 per cent).
Oakham explains: “While new car buyers are no longer legally tied to a franchised
dealership for the sake of the manufacturer’s warranty, Kia demonstrates clearly that a
longer warranty motivates owners to return to the dealership. Comprehensive service
plans on new cars, such as MINI’s ‘tlc’ package, and extended warranties are
increasingly popular with new car buyers with the trends suggesting they can enhance
servicing retention for dealers.”
Oakham adds: “Many of the factors behind servicing retention are beyond the control of
dealers, though the operational excellence of a franchised workshop can have a hugely
positive influence on motorists. There is no single answer to the question of improving
retention, but dealers are able to offer extended warranties and competitive service
plans in order to drive aftersales footfall.”
There are a number of complex factors behind the variation between brands in
retention of routine servicing custom, though one key reason is the reliability of the cars
in question. Reliable cars tend to lead to less inconvenience and fewer unwelcome
shocks when routine workshop visits are carried out.
“The enviable reliability record earned by many Japanese brands – and, increasingly, a
longer-than-average manufacturer warranty – are great motivators for owners to return
to the franchised workshop for routine servicing,” adds Oakham. “Premium brands are
also able to command greater customer retention, in part due to the greater financial
outlay required to purchase a vehicle in the first place: manufacturer-recommended
servicing is seen by many owners and fleets as a way to protect a sizable investment.”
Franchised dealer for make percentage servicing retention (whole year 2013)
Brand
Audi
BMW
Citroën
Servicing retention %
(all ages)
35.3
32.3
21.8
Brand
Mitsubishi **
Nissan
Peugeot
Servicing retention %
(all ages)
20.7
26.1
19.4
Fiat
Ford
Honda
Hyundai **
Kia **
Land Rover **
Mazda **
Mercedes-Benz
MINI **
Average (all
brands)
23.2
19.7
38.0
33.3
41.6
25.3
33.6
37.8
38.6
Renault
Rover / MG **
SEAT **
Skoda **
Suzuki **
Toyota
Vauxhall
Volkswagen
Volvo **
All ages
<4 years
24.8
56.5
16.0
2.3
31.3
35.4
26.2
29.0
22.1
27.9
31.0
4 – 6 years 7 – 9 years
29.1
11.2
10+ years
4.7
** Survey samples relatively small, reflecting car parc size – see ‘Notes for editors’
below
-EndsNotes for editors
* As it has done since 1994, the consumer survey conducted to compile the Castrol Professional Car
Servicing & and Repair Trend Tracker report 2014 asks 1,000 motorists every month, “Where did you
last have your car serviced?” The report then breaks down servicing habits by marque or country of
origin of the car owned; by the age of the car; and the type of service provider or source used for the last
service. The data in this release refer to the principal marques listed in the Trend Tracker report.
The measure here is servicing retention as it refers to the retention of customers by various providers for
routine servicing only. The measure is in units of routine servicing rather than value and it is based on the
‘last service’ and takes no account of the number of services during any period. However, importantly, all
makes of cars are assessed on the same basis at the same time.
** Although every effort is made to ensure the consumer survey sample is representative of the UK car
parc, the results for marques with smaller car parcs are often volatile year-on-year, and thus less
accurate than the much larger samples of volume car manufacturers. This is because smaller samples,
while representative in terms of numbers, cannot always be balanced in terms of characteristics such as
models or ages of cars.
The Castrol Professional Car Servicing & Repair Trend Tracker 2014 was published in June 2014. For
further comment, please phone Trend Tracker director and lead aftermarket analyst Chris Oakham on
0870 421 4350 or email coakham@trendtracker.co.uk.
About Castrol
Castrol (www.castrol.com) is part of BP, one of the world’s largest energy companies. Through strategic
partnerships with many of the world’s leading car manufacturers, Castrol is able to maintain its position
as one of the market and technical leaders for automotive lubricants for trade and retail customers.
Castrol has a specially tailored offer for franchised workshops combining three professional lubricant
brands with a range of business support programmes for improved business performance, training, reengineering processes, workshop equipment planning, delivering tele-business solutions, and creating
and managing effective sales and marketing programmes.
Named Castrol Professional, the offer has been specifically designed to help maximise workshop profit
margins across three key sources of value: lubricant sales, increased parts and labour sales, and
customer satisfaction. It is supported through one of the largest field management teams in the sector.
The Castrol Professional product range comprises a line-up of lubricants exclusive to franchised
workshops:
 Castrol EDGE Professional: a range of premium fully synthetic lubricants, each uniquely coengineered† with – and exclusively and globally recommended by – BMW, Jaguar, Land Rover,
Volkswagen, Seat, Skoda, Volvo, MINI and Audi, which contains Castrol’s proprietary Fluid Strength
Technology™ to exceed the specific requirements of their modern engines.
 Castrol Magnatec Professional: the premium semi-synthetic lubricant which features unique
‘intelligent molecules’ that provide extra protection where it’s needed most in the engine, and globally
recommended by Ford.
 Castrol GTX Professional: superior engine protection.
For further information about Castrol Professional visit www.castrolprofessional.co.uk.
†Castrol’s
‘co-engineering’ partners are: Audi, BMW, Ford, Honda, Jaguar, Land Rover, MINI, SEAT,
Skoda, Suzuki, Volkswagen and Volvo.
For further media information please contact:
Tom Richards
Mike Stainton
+44(0)1622 766515
+44(0)1622 776 687
tom.richards@pfpr.com
mike.stainton@pfpr.com