Mazda Shortens Wait for UK's Fleet Customers

Company cars are big business in Britain, especially if you can provide the right mix of luxury, economy and low taxation. That’s why, Mazda is looking to secure significant new corporate business as fleet managers and company car drivers benefit from across the range model availability in preference to waiting for up to five months or even longer for a new vehicle from a rival marque.

Waiting lists are usually in the region of 0-14 weeks with some model order times stretching to five months and even longer meaning that delivery of a new car ordered today may not be until next year.

For companies, this can prove to be costly, especially from a human resources point of view, while for drivers such delays are frustrating.

The options facing businesses are typically to defleet on schedule and then hire a vehicle for the interim period or extend the replacement cycles which, for outright purchase fleets means a lower second hand value on the current vehicle or, paying to extend the contract.

However, Mazda wants to shorten this waiting period to the maximum and is highlighting the following reasons why it can meet fleet customer orders without significant delays:

• A flexible UK dealer allocation process due to the establishment of a ‘fleet vehicle sold order pot’ programme, which key dealers use to meet corporate demand within 10-14 days of orders being placed. Mazda and their dealers forecast the model mix they expect to be most popular with fleets based on market knowledge and order specification history. The vehicles are then manufactured and held centrally on the dockside at Zeebrugge in Belgium. When fleet orders are taken, dealers ‘pull’ cars from the ‘pot’ and deliver to customers within two weeks.
• The recent addition to the Mazda range of the fleet-specific Mazda6 ‘Business Line’ model for which order books are now open with the first delivers due to coincide with the September registration plate change.