The new managing director of Vauxhall wants to return the brand to its historic position as one of the UK’s best-selling car manufacturers, following a slump since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Steve Catlin, who took the helm of the brand in June, told Autocar: “My intention is to put Vauxhall back on the podium. That’s not an immediate aspiration that we’re going to deliver next year, but over the next few years, I want to get Vauxhall back onto the podium.”
Catlin faces a significant task: according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, the three best-selling brands in the UK up to the end of September were Volkswagen, BMW and Kia.
Third-placed Kia has sold 93,000 cars this year, compared with Vauxhall’s 66,000 – so there is much work to be done for Vauxhall to return to its previous position. Indeed, it is currently being outsold by its sibling brand, Peugeot.
“We’re a unique brand in that we are only here for the UK, and we need to deliver that additional performance,” said Catlin.
Asked how the brand plans to achieve such growth, Catlin highlighted a focus on retail buyers and dealers, rather than the historical concentration on fleets.
He said: “The UK market is a complex market. There's fleet channels and retail channels, and there's sub-channels within that. I think there's been a tendency historically for Vauxhall to be concentrated on a few of those channels and not all of them, sometimes to the detriment of the retail market.
“It's my intention to not only deliver the growth, but to do that in the retail marketplace, really activating the amazing team of retailers that we've got – 200 partners out there – to energise and engage them to help us deliver that ambition.”
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I suspect that people have realised that they shouldn't have to spend money on a product that feels cynical and intended solely for fleet use.