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Now that the 2030 deadline for the sales ban on internal combustion engine vehicles is confirmed, Arnold Clark has got ahead of the game and opened up a centre dedicated to the showcase of AFVs, and the education of both visitors and staff
In early January, Arnold Clark opened an Innovation Centre in Glasgow featuring electric and hybrid cars with the aim of educating customers about the benefits of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs), while highlighting the different types of AFVs currently available. For Arnold Clark employees, it is an opportunity to learn about advancing technology with training available on-site.
But this is not just a dealership with some knowledgeable staff. There are no sales at a site that represents over £5m of investment from the company, and is specifically an innovation, information, and educational centre.
Motor Trader caught up with Debbie Hubner and Hazel Shields, co-managers of the Innovation Centre, along with Audrey Little who is a research and development executive at Arnold Clark, to find out what the plans are for the new venture.
“The Innovation Centre is here for a few different reasons,” began Hubner. “First is as an education centre for both our staff and customers, looking at all things alternatively fuelled vehicles. For customers we can showcase what our dealers can offer and show them the journey that we are all going to be on between now and 2030.
“The centre features lots of interactive kiosks and different things for people to interact with, when we can open, and it is safe to do so. With the cars themselves, we can provide information on charging and charging points, and showcase potential savings, talk customers through grants, loans and things that are available from manufacturers, such as incentives.
“The centre itself is a neat, multifunctional space that we can use for lots of different things. For now, under the current restrictions, we are creating some content for internal learning, which will hopefully allow us to bank information that we can use within our own network and with associated partners.”
Both speaking from the visitor-less centre because of current COVID-19 regulations, Shields added: “For Arnold Clark to open something like this, that is non-profitable and has not really been done before, I think is huge. Already our feedback from the few customers that we have had when restrictions were not so strict has been amazing. Everybody just wants to know what we are and what we are doing and to know more about it.”
An ex-dealership, the new centre layout has been designed to allow for multiple uses for both visitors and Arnold Clark staff. Shields said: “We have one main space, which is our discovery hall. It is an open space. We have what we have called a visitor journey, soon to be the ‘The EV Way’. As visitors walk around, there is something to interact with every five to 10 steps, whether it be content on screens or and interactive element.
“When you go through into the back there is a space where we can hold events with manufacturers, for launches or Arnold Clark events, and for training.
Hubner added: “The idea is to be almost non-dealership like, to make the site as welcoming as possible for people. We can be as to hands off or hands on as they want us to be. We do not have salespeople here. Instead, we have product geniuses, which is not a new concept for Arnold Clark. But it is unusual for us to have a building like this, with an investment of this level, and not have salespeople. The site has geniuses who were hand selected from all around the company. We all have a passion for AFVs.”
Although there are no sales at the site, if visitors want to test drive a vehicle there are over 60 vehicles representing the stock across Arnold Clark. Hubner said that the site can represent other brands as well, it does not just need to those the company has relationships with.
She added: “We have charging points here that customers can use, so we can take them through the whole process and show them how easy it is. We want to show that it is just as simple as buying, fuelling, and maintaining any other vehicle. If they then want to go through the process of buying a car, we can point them in the right direction.
“We’ve been working really closely with our branches and our franchises and manufacturers. If you come and visit us and we go through the AFV journey and you decide to make a purchase, we can give a point of contact at one of our dealerships. We can follow that customer’s journey all the way through. If a visitor wants a vehicle from another site, we can bring it here and showcase it to them. The experience is going to be tailored towards the visitor and what they want or are looking for.”
Living with AFVs
There are many reasons customers may be sceptical of AFVs, be it an unfamiliar driving experience or range anxiety. As Shields told Motor Trader, everyone has questions. She said: “For myself, I’ve been fortunate since I joined the Innovation Centre to be given an electric vehicle as a company car. I think everyone thought I would know what I was doing straight away, but I was just a customer and had to overcome every hurdle that any other customer would, like a range anxiety, where charge points are and getting a charge point at home. I had all these questions too.
“But now that I have been driving an AFV and gotten familiar with it, it’s just a car at the end of the day. It is like anything new in your life, you are nervous at first but then you get used to it and learn about it. And, with AFVs, you realise that the infrastructure is there. There is of course a lot more to do, but the fact there are more electric chargers than petrol stations in the UK is a good start.”
Hubner added that as well as range anxiety, customers are concerned about the upfront cost of AFVs. She said: “We can help put people’s minds at ease. We have the tools to make cost comparisons based on real life driving and how it compares to an internal combustion engine vehicle and what the visitors’ savings may be.
“But the bottom line is not everybody that visits us will be the perfect candidate for an EV. We can take them through the journey and see based on what they have told us whether a full electric is for them, or perhaps a hybrid is more appropriate. We have a whole suite of options, and it’s just about helping visitors find the answers for themselves.”
Training from afar
To talk about the training of colleagues, Louise Joyce, group sales training manager at Arnold Clark joined the conversation, outlining how the Group is approaching training during lockdown.
She said: “We are doing all we can to communicate with all our branches, and with the size of the business that’s a challenge. We have had cross department meetings, for example we recently had one with the sales department with at least 388 sign-ups for training. When it comes to base knowledge of AFVs, most do not know much, but there are variances within that. A colleague that works at a site with a direct link to a manufacturer will know more because they likely will have had some direct training from said manufacturer. But, when you look at motor stores, they are not linked to a specific manufacturer, and are now starting to see AFV trade-ins. And when that happens, the idea is they pick up the phone to us and ask for help and support in dealing with these used vehicles.
“This whole journey started with Audrey. She saw a member of the public at a charging station, and they were desperately trying to undo the charging cable because nobody had explained how to use the station properly to them. So, we want to train our staff so that they can make sure our visitors are not afraid to ask the questions that need to be asked when buying an AFV.”
Bridging the gap
Arnold Clark has set up the Innovation Centre to begin bridging the gap in its visitors’ minds between their familiar ICE vehicle, and the new world of AFVs, as well as the traditional and modern car buying experience. Hubner said that setting up this type of facility is “absolutely the right thing to do”.
She said: “I think that buying habits will change, particularly post lockdown. Who knows what retail is going to look like? People have got used to click and collect and the digital journey, so how is the visitor experience going to work? I think a big open space such as this is going to be appealing. Perhaps somewhere that is a little less hands-on and feels a little less pressured may be a more appropriate journey for car buyers of the future.
“But it is more than just about cars. It is about our own footprint and how we are seen in the industry and beyond. So, I think this type of centre will make sense within the car buying experience and for transport in general. Also, just in terms of how people want to choose their energy supplier and conduct their business in general. I think we will see more and more people going down this type of route.”
The Innovation Centre is a forward thinking move by the Group, as Joyce highlighted. She said: “To take £5m and invest it in a non-sales site to the level it has, and allow me to put forward a proposal that we don’t have any salespeople in at all, but for it still to be very much an Arnold Clark site with its own identity, has been the right move. It is right to give back to the local community. It is right to give back to the public in general to prepare them for what’s coming.”
Joyce also pointed out the number of women who are part of this venture for Arnold Clark. She said: “One of the biggest questions in the motor industry over the last few years has been how do we get more females involved in the motor industry? How do we get more females in positions where they are leading and driving the business forward? And what we have got here is Audrey, Hazel, Debbie and myself in such positions? And we have Anna, who is one of the product geniuses at the site also. So, in terms of what the business is done there, I think it is noteworthy.”
Little, who has been with the project from concept, rounded out the conversation. She said: “We need to look at AFVs. We have the target of 2030 that we need to help our business transition to, and AFVs are a massive part of it. But to have the investment and have all these vehicles in one place now, I think that is the bit that makes the difference. Currently, if you wanted to go and see an EV, you would need to go from franchise to franchise to compare.
“Every dealer has to start planning towards net zero, and a carbon footprint of zero for a motor dealer of our size is a massive challenge. We really want to engage with other businesses and have events to help with the transition. The energy that we are using is 100% green energy. We also sponsor PhD research at Strathclyde University in carbon reduction. We are going over and above.”