Simply Professional
“Customer is king” is the most known expression within sales. But what matters really? What are the keys to a supreme customer experience?
During my career I have always put strong focus on details – on details that are important to the customer. Test sample quality and delivery, swift response on requests, timely delivery of quotes.
But what does latest research in this area say? Read McKinsey’s report “The CEO guide to customer experience”:
Yesterday Scania presented their Q2 report. Sales during first half of 2016 reached a record level:
Scania’s sales reached an all-time high at SEK 50.1
billion and the company showed a strong operational
performance in the first half of 2016. Higher vehicle
volume in Europe and increased service revenue had a
positive impact on earnings while currency rate effects
and lower deliveries in Latin America impacted negatively.
The high investment level related to Scania’s investment
in a new truck generation also had an impact on earnings.
Scania’s market share in Europe continued on a high level
and amounted to 17.1 percent during the first half of 2016,
compared to 17.2 percent in 2015. The replacement need
and economic situation in Europe continues to have a
positive impact on demand for trucks. The weak
performance continued in Latin America, primarily related
to Brazil. In Eurasia, Russia now appears to have
bottomed out at a low level. However, the outlook for
Brazil and Russia is still uncertain.
Full report can be found here:
As part of their Q2 report, Scania officially announced the coming release of their new truck generation:
Scania to unveil a new truck generation
On 23 August, Scania will present its new truck generation, the largest ever launch in Scania’s 125-year history. Scania has developed a broad range of tailored products and service solutions, which help to reduce operating and maintenance costs and also boost vehicle uptime. The offer will be introduced in several phases, with a clear focus on different industries and customer segments, following a carefully planned schedule, where Scania’s current and highly regarded truck generation will be sold in parallel. The gradual introduction of the new generation will start with applications for trucks in the European longhaulage segment and will later be followed by additional truck variants.
ACEA June Commercial Vehicles statistics were released earlier this week. The European truck market continues to grow.
Brussels, 28 July 2016 – In June 2016, demand for new commercial vehicles in the EU increased (+13.3%) for the 18th consecutive month, totalling 223,519 units.
Total new commercial vehicles
In June 2016, demand for new commercial vehicles in the EU increased (+13.3%) for the 18th consecutive month, totalling 223,519 units. Growth was sustained in all major markets, with Italy (+29.9%), Spain (+14.5%), Germany (+11.3%), France (+11.1%) and the UK (+2.8%) posting growth.
In the first semester of 2016, the EU market expanded (+13.5%), totalling 1,170,263 commercial vehicles. During the same period, Italy (+30.8%), Spain (+14.0%), France (+12.7%), Germany (+10.4%) and the UK (+3.6%) all posted growth.
For the complete press release, please see:
Improved underlying profitability on lower volumes
“In the second quarter we were able to continue the improvement of our underlying profitability despite declining sales, thanks to positive cost development. Sales decreased by 7% to SEK 78.9 billion. Despite this, the underlying operating income increased to SEK 6.1 billion, corresponding to an operating margin of 7.8%,”
– Martin Lundstedt, President and CEO –
Full report, see:
ACEA Statistics Press Release:
Brussels, 15 July 2016 – In June 2016, the European passenger car market grew strongly for the 34th consecutive month. Registrations in June increased by 6.9% compared to June 2015, reaching 1,459,508 units.
In June 2016, the European passenger car market grew strongly for the 34th consecutive month. Registrations in June increased by 6.9% compared to June 2015, reaching 1,459,508 units. In volume terms, these results come close to June 2007, just before the automotive industry was hit by the economic crisis. Among the major markets, Italy (+11.9%), Spain (+11.2%), Germany (+8.3%) recorded positive performance, while the French market remained stable (+0.8%). Demand in the UK fell slightly in June. Registrations went down by -0.8%, mainly due to a drop in private sales.
Over the first half of 2016, new passenger car registrations increased by 9.4% in the EU, totalling 7,842,965 units. All major markets posted growth, contributing to the overall upturn of the European market. The Italian (+19.2%) and Spanish (+12.5%) car markets saw double-digit growth over the period, followed by France (+8.3%), Germany (+7.1%) and the UK (+3.2%).
* Data for Malta not available
For full press release, see:
Brussels, 7 July 2016 – Europe’s leading trade associations for the telecommunications and the automotive sectors announced today that they intend to launch a large-scale, pre-deployment project to test connected and automated driving at the EU level.
The foundations of the project were outlined today at a meeting in Brussels, which was hosted by Günther H. Oettinger – European Commissioner for the Digital Economy and Society. The main objective is to strengthen Europe’s leadership in connected and automated driving, by accelerating the EU-wide deployment of related key technologies.
Testing use cases to shape the future of driving
The industry-led project will focus on use cases and test functionalities in three main areas: automated driving, road safety and traffic efficiency, and the digitalisation of transports and logistics. Functions that are being considered include high density platooning, cooperative collision avoidance, remote control parking, local-hazard warnings and traffic flow optimisation. High definition maps will be updated with a fast connection to the internet on phone or other mobile devices.
Connectivity at the core
The works, which are expected to start in 2017, will include two main phases. A first phase, to run until 2019, will feature tests on available communication technologies, such as LTE – Long-Term Evolution – (4G) technology. A second phase, to run until 2021, will be based on both 4G and 5G technologies, bearing in mind that different functionalities have different network requirements.
The project will also look at a series of crucial requirements to ensure that connected and automated driving results in a safer, more efficient and ultimately richer user experience. For this reason, aspects such as safety, cyber-security and protection of personal data, quality of service and network latency, will be prioritised and addressed during the different use cases and functionalities’ testing.
EU-wide ambition
The European dimension is one of the goals of this project and will be run through a consortium of European companies from both the telecoms and the automotive sector. Use cases will be operated across several EU countries and will set the scene for future standardisation activities. This consortium, which will be set up later this year, will define the exact scope of the project and start talks with EU and national authorities regarding possible co-financing.
More specifically, trials will focus on addressing cross-border challenges such as the lack of harmonised spectrum, seamless network handover of vehicles at borders and open road infrastructure data. The trials will build on existing national projects and use their infrastructure where possible.
Volvo Cars’ success story continues:
- Sales of 256,563 cars in first half of 2016, growth in all major sales regions
- Strong demand for new XC90 main growth driver
- June sales up 10.6 per cent, 13th consecutive month of growth
Volvo Cars reported a solid double-digit sales increase for the first six months of the year, posting growth of 10.5 per cent to 256,563 cars compared to the same period in 2015. Sales of the new Volvo XC90 were the main growth driver globally.
Volvo reported growth in all major sales regions in the first half of 2016. In Europe, sales rose by 10.3 percent to 138,851 cars as a result of strong performances in key markets such as Sweden, Germany, the UK and France. The XC60 was the best-sold Volvo model in the region, while the new XC90 also saw strong demand.
Volvo’s resurgence in the United States also continued apace, as the company delivered close to 25 per cent more cars over the six-month period. As total sales for the period rose to 36,654 cars, demand for the new XC90 was the key growth driver and the SUV was the best-selling Volvo model in the US.
China was Volvo’s largest single market in the first half with 40,688 cars sold, an increase of 6.3 per cent year-on-year, driven by growing demand for the new XC90 as well as the locally produced XC60 and S60L sedan.
For more information, see:
In spite of the fuss about electrical drivelines is Mercedes-Benz investing heavily in new combustion engine technology:
With its completely newly developed family of diesel engines, Mercedes-Benz is the first manufacturer to put diesel vehicles on the market that already fulfill the stricter emission limits planned for the EU as of September 2017. This has been achieved through an integrated technology approach, which includes new stepped combustion chambers and further developed exhaust-gas recirculation. The new engine design also allows all components for exhaust-gas recirculation to be positioned directly on the engine, instead of under the car floor as hitherto. This significantly enhances the system’s overall effectiveness – largely independently of ambient temperatures and driving style.
The market launch of the completely newly developed four-cylinder diesel engine OM 654 is in the new E-Class. The E 220 d now consumes as little as 3.9 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (combined according to the NEDC currently prescribed for all manufacturers), although the engine is more powerful than its predecessor (143 kW/195 hp compared with 125 kW/170 hp). This corresponds with CO2 emissions of 102 grams per kilometer.
The new four-cylinder engine is the first member of a modular engine family that will be applied throughout the entire portfolios of Mercedes-Benz Cars and also at Mercedes-Benz Vans. Several levels of power output are planned, as well as longitudinal and transverse installation in vehicles with front-, rear- and all-wheel drive. In this way, Mercedes-Benz will equip its entire range of diesel cars in Europe with this latest engine generation including SCR technology (selective catalytic reduction) by 2019 at the latest.
Read more: http://www.daimler.com/innovation/specials/engineoffensive.html
Brussels, 23 Juni 2016 – In May 2016, demand for new commercial vehicles in the EU increased for the 17th consecutive month. Total commercial vehicle registrations grew by 16.4%, totalling 187,134 units.
Total new commercial vehicles
In May 2016, demand for new commercial vehicles in the EU increased for the 17th consecutive month. Total commercial vehicle registrations grew by 16.4%, totalling 187,134 units. Growth was sustained across all segments of the commercial vehicle market. Looking at the largest markets, Italy recorded the highest upturn (+35.9%) followed closely by France (+27.2%) and Spain (+17.3%).
In the first five months of the year, the EU market expanded by 13.5%, totalling almost 1 million commercial vehicles (946,128). During that period, Italy (+30.6%), Spain (+13.9%), France (+13.1%), Germany (+10.2%) and the UK (+3.8%) all posted growth.
New light commercial vehicles (LCV) up to 3.5 tonnes
In May 2016, registrations of new light commercial vehicles totalled 155,397 units, or 17.7% more than in May last year. This marked the 33rd consecutive month of growth in the segment, which accounts for the majority of sales in the commercial vehicle market. Italy (+35.0%), France (+27.8%), Spain (+19.3%) and Germany (+15.3%) significantly contributed to the upturn, while the UK (+1.9%) posted more modest results.
From January to May 2016, 781,373 new vans were registered in the EU, 13.0% more than in the same period in 2015. All major markets saw their demand for vans increase over this period.
New heavy commercial vehicles (HCV) over 16 tonnes
May 2016 results again show a double-digit increase (+11.7%) in the heavy truck segment, totalling 23,052 new registrations. This positive outcome was largely sustained by the notable growth recorded in Italy (+48.2%) and France (+21.6%), while the Spanish (+0.5%) and German (-0.1%) markets remained stable.
Five months into the year, the EU market grew by 18.4%, reaching 121,810 units. All major markets saw their demand for heavy trucks increase, this was especially the case in Italy (+32.2%), Spain (+19.2%) and France (+18.1%).
New medium and heavy commercial vehicles (MHCV) over 3.5 tonnes
In May 2016, results for trucks were similar to the heavy truck segment, with Italy (+45.3%) and France (+20.7%) posting double-digit gains, while the UK (+6.2%), Spain (+2.8%) and Germany (-0.3%) showed more modest outcomes. Overall, 28,662 new trucks were registered in the EU, 11.2% more than in May 2015.
From January to May 2016, 149,342 new trucks were registered in the EU, 17.6% more than in the same period last year. All major markets posted significant growth, with Italy (+30.6%) and Spain (+22.1%) performing best.
New medium and heavy buses & coaches (MHBC) over 3.5 tonnes
In May 2016, new buses and coaches registrations increased (+2.6%) compared to May 2015, totalling 3,075 units. Growth was sustained by the French (+37.4%), Italian (+21.9%), Spanish (+14.0%) and German (+11.5%) markets, while the UK (-2.1%) performed less well than in May 2015.
Five months into 2016, the EU bus and coach market grew by 3.3%, reaching 15,413 units. Demand declined in the UK (-7.0%) and Italy (-8.1%), while new registrations increased in Germany (+12.8%), France (+11.4%) and Spain (+5.7%).
For more information: http://www.acea.be/press-releases/article/commercial-vehicle-registrations-13.5-over-five-months-16.4-in-may