RAC, VHD and Europ Assistance form new alliance in motor services
The RAC, VHD and Europ Assistance have strengthened their position as European-wide motoring services business partners, by signing a new agreement that will bring together unrivalled levels of technical expertise, experience and reach.
The RAC and Europ Assistance have worked together for many years already and the primary aims of the new agreement, along with its extension to VHD, is to create one single, enhanced, service to motoring businesses across Europe.
The collaboration builds on elements of the three businesses which complement each other, to improve the offering to European-headquartered motor manufacturers, leasing companies and fleets.
A pan-European offering in motor services
This significant new arrangement enables Europ Assistance, the RAC and VHD to compete for business on a Europe-wide basis under the umbrella of one organisation providing centralised functionality.
Pierre Brigadeau, group chief sales marketing officer at Europ Assistance explains: “Our clients are confronted daily with the complexity of delivering a seamless, top-quality experience to their customers, whether they are in the UK, France, the Netherlands, Germany, or in Russia. The aim of the new agreement is to provide them with one single trusted partner which can help them assist their drivers and dealers across Europe.”
RAC Business Services director David Wallace adds: “What this means for our customers in the UK and Republic of Ireland, is that they will benefit from the RAC’s expertise in delivering breakdown and innovative roadside services across 26 countries in Europe, all this enhanced by centralized account management.”
“This is a remarkable opportunity for VHD” comments Peter Varenkamp, CEO at VHD. “In recent years we focused on strengthening our operations and on our domestic offering; this alliance allows us now to tap into new business opportunities significantly enhancing the service to existing and new international customers headquartered in the Netherlands.”
A truly joined-up and consistent service offering
The alliance will further accelerate the development of services through the sharing and mutual adoption of best practices across the respective organisations. Customers will benefit from future-proofing of the service through continual investment within the two organisations.
David Wallace adds: “Having already worked together for a number of years, it’s clear where our organisations have particular strengths in common, and there is a shared desire to embrace technology such as telematics, digital solutions and CRM capabilities to enhance customer experience.“
A first step towards a broader alliance
With this agreement in place, the RAC, VHD and Europ Assistance will be in a stronger position to offer services to businesses that operate across Europe in 26 different countries1 covering approximately 92% of all vehicles sales in Europe.
“This is a great achievement”, concludes Pierre Brigadeau. “Yet we have a long journey ahead of us to build and to constantly enrich a strong, common value proposition for our clients. Our alliance may soon be extended, to include selected other partners who can further enrich our value proposition, adding not only new geographies, but also products and innovative solutions.”
1 The alliance will directly cover the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom, along with Bulgaria and Slovenia managed through local partners.
ENDS
