Hilton Garage is separating vehicle handovers from its sales operation by opening a dedicated collection centre as it targets 24,000 used car sales a year from one location.
The independent used car supermarket has converted a former Aldi opposite its main site in Hilton, Derbyshire, following a six-month refit.
The new operation is intended to give every customer a more distinctive handover experience while creating the capacity needed to increase sales volumes. Hilton Garage’s target equates to an average of 2,000 vehicle sales a month within the next two years.
Collections separated from sales
The collection centre will allow customer handovers to take place away from the main sales operation, where Hilton Garage displays more than 1,000 used vehicles.
Director George Manning said the business wanted customers buying vehicles at every price point to receive the type of handover experience normally associated with supercars.
He wrote on LinkedIn: “We want to bring the super car experience to our fantastic customers regardless of value. They are parting with hard earned money in difficult times and so they should feel that special feeling just like you do when you get the first keys to your new house.
“Separating collections from our sales business will allow us to work towards our target of 24,000 cars a year sold from one location in the next 2 years.”
The move makes the handover a distinct stage of Hilton Garage’s customer journey rather than the final part of a sales appointment.
Separating the two operations should also allow sales teams to concentrate on enquiries and transactions while collection employees manage vehicle presentation, documentation and the final customer experience.
AI used to cut refit costs
Manning said the conversion was completed without outside support and used artificial intelligence to reduce costs compared with similar projects.
He said: “What makes it even more special is this whole project was undertaken in six months with no outside help. It was done leveraging artificial intelligence at significantly less cost than comparative projects, it’s something I’m very proud of doing by myself.”
Manning did not specify which stages of the design, planning or delivery process used AI or disclose the total investment in the collection centre.
The project nevertheless provides an example of how a high-volume used car operation can rethink physical space around customer flow rather than simply adding more sales capacity.
Hilton Garage said the new centre would open shortly, although an exact opening date has not been announced.
Ensure you always receive AM insights. Make us a preferred source of news on Google