Baylis lifts the bonnet on Kia
Summary
Never a business to idle in neutral, automotive specialist Baylis Group continues to accelerate for growth with news that it has become Gloucestershire’s official aftersales partner for Kia.
Details
With a team of almost 400 staff operating across a network of 10 sites throughout Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Merthyr Tydfil, Baylis has grown significantly since being founded in Gloucester as a Vauxhall retailer in 1992. Today, the business represents a portfolio of leading automotive brands including Vauxhall , Peugeot , MG , Suzuki and Leapmotor .
Sharing the Vernon Court location of the company’s Staverton Suzuki dealership, on the edge of Cheltenham, signage and livery for Kia has now been put into place and business is already brisk, with the company taking on official status for work with all new and existing owners of electric, hybrid, petrol and diesel models across Kia’s broad range.
Kia owners visiting the site can book servicing, MOTs and repairs in the knowledge that all work uses original Kia products and is carried out by manufacturer-trained technicians. Andy Robbins, Joint Mananging Director , told Punchline-Gloucester.com that the opportunity to build a relationship with Kia was a case of perfect timing.
“Given the Staverton site’s size and facilities, we know it would be best used to seek an opportunity to deploy our skills and abilities with an additional brand – and Kia, given its strong momentum and incredible popularity among UK drivers, represented a natural choice.” He added: “We consequently approached Kia last autumn to establish this aftersales operation, picking out Staverton as a great place on its map, from where the brand would be best able to serve the Cheltenham side of the county.
They immediately saw the geographical sense of the idea and wanted it, so we applied and before long secured the agreement to be officially a Kia aftersales representative. Early data research from incoming Kia owners dropping in for service and repairs has underlined the logic behind Baylis’s move.
“Customers are predominantly from this side of the county; the west of Gloucestershire is already well served by the established Kia dealership in Gloucester, but the customers coming to us are clearly doing so – from such places as Cirencester, the Cotswolds and Tewkesbury – because Staverton is simply more convenient in terms of where they live.” And for these owners having their first interaction with Baylis, he said the experience was indistinguishable from their direct contact with Kia.
“In aftersales terms, our technicians are now fully trained with Kia; we have access to all of Kia’s diagnostic equipment and its latest technology.
Report source: Punchline Gloucester