Dealer giants may rival OEMs as brands

Dealer giants by countryEurope's independent dealerships still shows huge variations in size across European countries but some groups are expanding beyond their home markets. Austria's Porsche Holding GmbH was the first to expand over its borders when it bought PGA's dealer network in France.Dealer giants such as Reg Vardy in the UK, Kroymans in the Netherlands and Sousa Lima and Fernando Simao in Portugal have ambitious expansion plans.AustriaFamily-owned Porsche GmbH is Austria's biggest dealer group with 61 dealerships in the country. It also has a large presence in France (100 outlets) via links with the former PGA Group and in the Netherlands (25 outlets). The company also has a small number of dealerships in Germany, eastern Europe and the USA. Last year Porsche GmbH sold 268,464 new cars.BelgiumBelgium does not have a culture of large dealer groups. Alcopa with 41 outlets is the largest dealer network. Kroymans, based in the Netherlands, is expanding its network into Belgium. GermanyAutomobilgruppe Nord is the German giant with 102 outlets. Other large groups are AVAG Holding (63 outlets) and the Swiss-based Emil-Frey-Gruppe (62 outlets). Other large dealers include Munich-based Mahag (47 outlets), Auto Staiger and Georg von Opel (both 31 outlets).FrancePorsche Holding GmbH (100 outlets) became France's largest independent dealer after PGA founder Pierre Guenant sold his PGA dealer group to Porsche Holding. Group Bernard is France's other large independent dealer (16 outlets).SpainGrupo Quadis is Spain's dealer giant with 100 outlets concentrated around Barcelona. The other two dealer groups are Grupo Berge and Grupo Hispano Aleman, both based in Madrid.Czech RepublicThe Czech Republic's largest independent dealer Domansky has two outlets and sold 1,150 cars last year. IrelandThe Irish market has just two significant dealer groups, Windsor Motor Group (10 outlets) and Motor Services (5 outlets). ItalyCar world Italia, a group of 12 companies, is Italy's largest independent dealer network. It has 26 outlets and sold 20,500 new cars last year. NetherlandsThe large dealer network Kroymans Corporation has 62 outlets in the Netherlands and a handful of dealerships in Belgium and Germany. The company sold 17,262 new cars last year.Portugal In the 1990s Portugal dealerships consolidated inspired by the British car retail model. Grupo Santogal, concentrated in Lisbon where 35 per cent of Portuguese sales take place, became Portugal's largest dealer group with 52 outlets. Two other large dealer networks Sousa Lima and Fernando Simao are expanding into Spain.Poland Most of Poland's dealers are small, locally-owned businesses, but that may change as Poland prepares to join the EU. UK Summit Motors recently opened two franchises in Warsaw. UKThe UK has Europe's biggest concentration of independent dealer groups. Pendragon is the largest with 132 outlets. It also has dealerships in Germany (6) and the USA (7). Lookers (87 outlets) and Reg Vardy (81 outlets) are expanding UK dealer groups. Europe's big independent dealer groups could expand to become distinct brands that rival the car dealerships controlled by automakers.

Dealer giants may rival OEMs as brands

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