THE AUSTRALIAN VEHICLE DEALER’S NEWS SOURCE

THE AUSTRALIAN VEHICLE DEALER'S

NEWS SOURCE

FEBRUARY 2022

.COM.AU

DICELLO JOINS CARCLARITY AS GM ? DEALERSHIPS

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Australia FEBRUARY 2022

DEALERS FIRE FIRST SHOT IN MERCEDES-BENZ COURT BATTLE

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WILL ELECTRIC VEHICLES (EV) REIGNITE AUSTRALIAN

MANUFACTURING?

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EDITORIALTALK

MORE OF THE SAME?

ROBERT BARRY

EDITOR AUTOTALK

As I write this the New Zealand Government has announced that from February 27, it will allow its citizens and residents who are currently stuck in Australia to return home.

They must quarantine themselves at home for up to 10 days, instead of having to use a Managed Isolation Quarantine (MIQ) facility.

Gradually, the NZ Government will allow Kiwi citizens and residents to return from other parts of the world in March and April.

Then Australians can travel to NZ from July, though they'll need to be fully vaccinated and will still have to isolate for up to 10 days.

The same will go for all international travellers from October onwards.

A double-edged sword? For some it's a godsend, for others it's too little too late.

But though still restrictive to my thinking it's better than remaining a hermit kingdom at the bottom of the South Pacific, not dissimilar to the situation in Western Australia.

I admire the NZ Government's desire to try to prevent the nation's hospital system from becoming overloaded, while at the same time

vaccinating the eligible population older than 12. NZ has now reached more than 94% double vaccinated.

But at some point MIQ was going to become redundant. The day before I wrote this, there were 147 community cases of COVID-19 identified and 47 at the border.

I think most people have had enough of the pandemic and would like some normality to return to their lives.

Albeit most people are sensible and mindful that if they do have cold and flu symptoms, they get a test and they isolate at home until receiving the all-clear, it's just become the norm.

I'm looking forward to being able to travel to and from Australia and New Zealand, even with the restrictions in place.

I work from home so being isolated for up to 10 days isn't an issue, although I understand that's not the case for many other people.

Will 2022 bring more of the same? I hope not, the world is moving on and we need to do the same.

Enjoy your reading this month.

Kindest regards,

Robert Barry

EDITOR AUTOTALK

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Australia FEBRUARY 2022

DEALERTALK

DEALERS FIRE FIRST SHOT IN MERCEDES LEGAL BATTLE

Australian Mercedes-Benz dealers involved in a $650 million legal action against the brand have filed a detailed statement of claim in the Victorian Federal Court.

The dealers are challenging the decision by Mercedes-Benz head office in Stuttgart, Germany, to force through major changes to the way its cars are sold in Australia.

Australian Automotive Dealers Association (AADA) chief executive James Voortman says that for years Mercedes-Benz told the Australian dealers that it was committed to them in the long term.

But it had a secret plan to crash through with the introduction of the agency model, he says.

"When dealers questioned the local Mercedes-Benz CEO on the rationale for the switch to the new business model they were simply told we are doing it `because we can'," Voortman says.

The AADA says that more than eight times, Australian dealers were assured that no changes to the business model would proceed unless they agreed.

Dealers' strong opposition to the agency model was clear from the outset with more than 90% voting to oppose the change.

The AADA says the case is a major test case for Australia's Franchising Code.

It says one of the key requirements written into the Franchise Code is that franchisors should behave in good faith. Good faith requires a contracting party to act in good faith, not only in relation to the performance of the franchise contract, but also in the power conferred by the contract.

"Mercedes-Benz's head office confected public arguments to justify the introduction of the agency model, issuing press releases and giving interviews touting consumer benefits and trends," Voortman says.

"However, the naked truth has finally emerged demonstrating that the real agenda has been about appropriating the goodwill of the dealers for the

benefit of Mercedes-Benz without paying them any compensation."

The mechanism by which that's achieved is the substantial reduction in payments to dealers as a result of the switch to the agency model, thereby significantly reducing the costs to Mercedes-Benz while at the same time requiring the dealers to bear the financial risk, the AADA says.

On July 22, 2021, Daimler AG CFO Harald Wilhelm, said in public comments in a Mercedes-Benz strategy update call that the "switch to the direct sales model is the most important change in how we manage sales" because among other things, "it takes cost out".

But the AADA's Voortman says that in spite of "the existence of a plan to introduce agency and strip the dealers of their livelihood, dealers were repeatedly encouraged to continue to make significant investments in their businesses".

"In some cases, this amounted to multiple millions of dollars. "In spite of having to resort to legal

JAMES VOORTMAN

action to halt the imposition of a business model resoundingly rejected by Australian dealers, Mercedes-Benz head office has proceeded to ram through the introduction of the agency model in January this year.

"The implementation has been shambolic, and the very early indications demonstrate real reasons for concern about the impacts of the agency model.

"Some dealers have reported a more than 50% decline in sales for the month with repeated failures of key operating systems, lack of technical support, and a complete lack of communication to the customer base regarding the new model.

"We accept that Mercedes-Benz is perfectly entitled to change its business model," Voortman says.

"However we don't accept the appropriation of hundreds of millions of dollars in value built up by the local industry over many years without the payment of compensation."

FEBRUARY 2022 Australia

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DEALERTALK

RICHARD DICELLO

CARCLARITY APPOINTS DICELLO DEALERSHIPS GENERAL MANAGER

Australian car loan platform CarClarity is expanding its leadership team by appointing Richard Dicello as dealerships general manager.

The CarClarity car loan platform was founded in 2020 by its current chief executive Zaheer Jappie.

The idea for CarClarity came to Jappie through a combination of his own experiences in car financing and observations during his 13 years in the financial sector.

He noticed a clear disconnect between customer experience and transparency in car financing.

Before joining CarClarity, Dicello was the dealer sales director for Gumtree and Autotrader. He also spent more than nine years working for the BMW Group finance operation.

In those roles, Dicello says he was instrumental in growing and transforming online car buying and financing options for millions of Australians.

His new appointment comes after CarClarity saw revenue increase by 800% in 2021 and the expansion of the CarClarity team to more than 33 employees.

"I couldn't be more excited to join the CarClarity team. I have followed their journey closely and admired their purpose-driven focus and outstanding growth," Dicello says.

"This is a great opportunity to combine my passion for automotive and digital innovation, supporting dealers to provide a seamless online finance and car buying experience."

Jappie says 2022 is gearing up to be a "fantastic year" with heavy expansion of CarClarity and it partners.

"Richard's appointment will help us provide CarClarity services across thousands of dealerships in Australia," he says.

"This gives dealerships additional options to secure finance for their customers and more competitive rates."

Jappie says the CarClarity platform was the first of its kind to launch in Australia in March 2020, connecting car buyers with more than 30 different finance lenders.

He says from loan comparison, application, approval, and car buying services, CarClarity makes car financing and ownership easier, clearer and more transparent, saving customers time and money.

Through an online process, CarClarity offers more than 30 different car finance lenders and more than 1000 loan products.

It then matches customers with lenders based on price and loan terms for an individual's needs.

Once the best borrowing option is chosen, borrowers are guided through an "intuitive online application process" to secure their financing, Jappie says.

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Australia FEBRUARY 2022

DEALERTALK

NAIDOO APPOINTED TOYOTA CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER

AutoTalk Magazine and .au are published by Auto Media Group Limited. 8/152 Quay Street,P.O. Box 10 50 10, Auckland City, NZ 1030.

EDITOR ? AUTOTALK AUSTRALIA

Robert Barry

+64 21 530 902 robert@automediagroup.co.nz

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Geoff Dobson

+64 21 881 823 geoff@automediagroup.co.nz

MANAGING EDITOR

Richard Edwards

+64 21 556 655 richard@automediagroup.co.nz

BUSINESS MANAGER

Dale Stevenson

+64 21 446 214 dale@automediagroup.co.nz

GROUP GENERAL MANAGER

Deborah Baxter

+64 27 530 5016 deborah@automediagroup.co.nz

PUBLISHER / CHAIR

Vern Whitehead

+64 21 831 153 vern@automediagroup.co.nz

Toyota Australia has appointed former Lexus Australia executive Vin Naidoo as its new chief marketing officer.

Naidoo has worked with Toyota for more than 20 years and takes up the new role after two years as general manager of sales and marketing operations with Toyota Motor AsiaPacific, based in Singapore.

He says it's a pivotal time to return to Toyota Australia, which has just completed its 25th year as the country's best-selling vehicle brand.

"My focus, and that of my team, will be to articulate Toyota's vision as a mobility company, connecting everyone with the freedom to move and be moved.

"This will require even deeper collaboration across all parts of our business as we navigate the once-in-a-century transformations occurring simultaneously in connectivity, autonomy, sharing, and electrification," Naidoo says.

"We'll communicate the unique benefits to customers of Toyota's industry-leading vehicles and services. We'll also build on our success by accelerating innovation in the spirit of continuous improvement, which is a cornerstone of our company culture."

Naidoo joined Toyota Australia in

VIN NAIDOO

2002 after graduating from Melbourne University in mechanical engineering. He subsequently completed an MBA at the Macquarie Graduate School of Management, Sydney.

He's held a variety of positions in Toyota's after-sales, product planning, national fleet, national sales, and NSW regional operations.

Between 2013 and his move to Singapore, Naidoo was part of the Lexus Australia leadership team, including three years as head of marketing.

Naidoo replaces John Pappas, who has been promoted to chief executive of Lexus Australia.

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FEBRUARY 2022 Australia

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