Weather forecasters are predicting that the coming winter could be among the worst seen since the war, with regular sub-zero temperatures and treacherous conditions. David Goodyear, commercial director at epyx, said: “If the predictions are accurate, then we are facing a very difficult winter and it makes sense for fleets to seriously consider specialist tyres.
“While a set of winter tyres on a mainstream car can cost £300, this is actually a small price to pay for keeping an employee of the road and productive during what may be a very long winter.
“Winter tyres allow a normal car to cover difficult, wintry conditions much more easily and safely than standard tyres and, we believe, represent a responsible and worthwhile investment.”
David was speaking as epyx continued the rollout of its TyreServe programme, designed to help franchise dealers compete with fast-fit centres for fleet business. He said: “We are certainly encouraging franchise dealers to actively promote winter tyres to their fleet customers during the next few months through TyreServe.
“Our view is that awareness of winter tyres has been growing in the fleet industry for some years. With widespread knowledge of the likely severity of the winter, this could be an opportunity to provide additional safety to fleets and generate additional profits.”
David added that the proposition was strengthened if the franchise dealer had facilities to store standard tyres during the winter. He said: “It is always a bit of a drag for the customer to take their standard tyres home and store them in the garage or shed. If the dealer is able to store and refit them in the spring, it does add an extra dimension to their winter tyre offering.”
TyreServe can be easily adopted through epyx’s existing 1link Service Network service and maintenance e-commerce platform, already in use by the vast majority of UK franchise dealers, alongside fleets totalling more than three million cars and vans. By working to an agreed national price list using either their own stock or tyres provided by epyx through distributors, franchise dealers can start to retail tyres directly to fleets.
