Renault is in the middle of the self-proclaimed “Renaulution”. Apparently, it’s not just about the strategy for new models, but also about a new way of dealing with the brand’s dealers. Apparently, the group unilaterally changed the contracts with them – now, according to a media report, the trading partners are fighting back.
As Automobilwoche reports, the focus of the dispute is the remuneration for sales of the new Renault Austral: “This is not just about the margin, but also about the principle. If the manufacturer makes an agreement, he cannot simply make it different unilaterally,” quotes the industry journal Hans-Werner Hauth, President of the Association of German Renault and Dacia Partners. After the margin has been halved, the dealers will receive a basic fee of six percent plus one percent quality discount. “As a result, the margin is reduced by at least seven percent, especially in cash transactions and financing – calculated without a success package and structure discount,” writes the Renault partner association in an internal letter that is available to the newspaper. The consequences for the dealers: At a list price of 29,900 euros, at which price the Austral is to be introduced in Germany, 2093 euros less remain in the end. If you sell a well-equipped Austral with a recommended retail price of 44,400 euros, you are missing 3108 euros. That hits the partners hard, because Renault has increased its original sales plans significantly. Actually, the French wanted to sell 3,500 units in Germany in the current year, but now, according to information from dealer circles, it should be around 7,000 pieces.
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