A new LCV uptime and fleet management product from Stellantis has been tipped to have the added benefit of boosting customer retention for the company’s dealer network.
The manufacturer, owner of brands including Citroen, Fiat, Peugeot and Vauxhall, has unveiled Pro One Next, a fleet uptime operating system with dedicated fleet management solutions and real-time data monitoring.
The launch of Pro One Next, which has been trialled in the UK, is a major focus of the Stellantis stand at this week’s IAA Transportation show in Hanover, Germany, at which Nuno Marques, VP for marketing and go-to-market at Stellantis Pro One, told Automotive Management about the product’s expected benefit in terms of customer retention.
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Marques said: “We want the customer’s business running in the correct way, and we want to reduce the running cost of the van to the customer. But we want also to increase the retention of the customer in our aftersales network, because we know at the end of the day that this is a cycle, and if the customer is happy with us, and we keep them in our aftersales network, it’s much more probable that they are going to renew their van with us.
“It’s a key asset for us in terms of loyalty and in terms of retention.”
Marques explained that Pro One Next was able to anticipate vehicle problems before they led to breakdowns, and proactively book fleet vehicles into the Stellantis service network for repairs accordingly.
He said: “We are able to say to van operators: we have identified this, we already booked in the aftersales appointment and the spare part is already waiting for you, so instead of waiting two days for the spare part, you can go on this specific day, and you are just going to stop the van for two hours.”
Stellantis sees benefits from large service network
Marques said that the size of the Stellantis service network, more than 10,000-strong in Europe, was one of three assets the company needed to make Pro One Next work, along with connected vehicles and what the company calls its uptime command centre.
He said that the size of the Stellantis service network also fed into what the company sees as a full ecosystem offering to LCV customers, including the extensive CustomFit conversion programme, data connectivity, financial services and insurance – something he said would be important when asked how Stellantis would deal with the approaching challenge of Chinese LCV competition.
He said: “Today, I would say it’s almost 50/50. You are 50% on product, 50% on the ecosystem. And this is the strength and I think the added value that we have at Stellantis. Not only the brains that we have, but also this ecosystem to protect the customer.
“We are able to say to the customer, we give you what you need at the moment that you buy the van – a one stop shop, you have everything.
“If you have any issue, we’re there with Pro One Next, and we are there with all the financing, charging, insurance solutions.”
Multi-energy product approach based on customer demand
Stellantis has announced plans for 11 new LCV launches by 2030, and says that these will all come with a mix of full EV, hybrid and ICE powertrain options. Marques explained that Stellantis had adapted from a more EV-focused strategy based on customer feedback, and related an example of customer reluctance to electrify.
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He said: “In March this year, we launched a commercial action to put BEV price at the same price as diesel. What happened was quite interesting, because in Europe overall we went from 7% EV mix to 15%, with the van at the same price. Which means that you have 85% of customers saying even if it’s the same price, they don’t want the EV, they prefer to have the diesel.”