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This year, the autocenters of the AURES Holdings Group have already sold 20 000 vehicles; growth is driven by innovation

AAA AUTO branches are already in 44 locations, selling over 213 cars every day

Prague, 5th April 2018 – This year’s season is a record-breaker for AAA AUTO autocenters operated by AURES Holdings in terms of the number of used vehicles sold. During the first quarter and the beginning of April, customers drove away more than 20,000 vehicles and in March, for the first time ever, the group exceeded the figure of 7,000 cars sold in a single calendar month.

“For the first quarter we sold over 19,200 vehicles. Year-on-year growth was just under nine percent during the same period last year. Average monthly sales this year exceeded 6,400 vehicles, while for the first time in March we sold over 7,190 cars. This growth is the result of our efforts to offer customers a more positive purchasing and sales experience through the innovations we have focused on during the last few years. The gradual expansion of our branch network, which is always based on thorough analysis of local socio-demographic indicators and on a detailed evaluation of trial operations, also has a significant impact,” explained Karolína Topolová, CEO of AURES Holdings, the operator of the AAA AUTO International Autocenters network. Since the beginning of the year the company has opened AAA AUTO Autocenters in Lodz and Poznan in Poland, as well as in Györ in Hungary. “So far, these three branches serve as purchasing centers; we will later decide to bring them into full operation, including sales,” added Karolína Topolová. This has put the number of autocenters at 44.

The innovations that the group incorporated into its separate AuresLab innovation laboratory at the beginning of the year can be found in all the group’s brands and their main aim is to improve the convenience of the customer and increase the quality and price competitiveness of the vehicles offered. These innovations also include specialised software solutions that enable detailed monitoring of the used car market throughout the territory in which the company operates. “Our customer service and vehicle purchases and sales have long been based not only on the individual performances of many individuals in dozens of sales venues – we now manage searching for, buying and selling cars, not to mention customer relations, using sophisticated systems that eliminate the human factor and are able to instantly respond to an immediate situation in a particular deal,” explained Topolová. The expression of the gradual expansion of the group’s scope of business was the name change of March 1, 2018. “We are not just used car dealers under the AAA AUTO brand. We therefore decided to reflect this fact even in our name. AURES, as an abbreviation for Automotive Retail Systems, better reflects our focus on providing comprehensive mobility solutions,” she added. However, cars will continue to be marketed under the AAA AUTO, Mototechna and 1. autoDiskont brands.

The innovation laboratory of AURES Holdings, as AuresLab, started work in January, focusing on both existing and upcoming innovation projects. The task of AuresLab is to put successful projects into operation after rigorous testing. Last month, for example, the new brand of Mototechna Classic investment vehicles was launched on the market. “We are seeing a great deal of interest from customers with the introduction of the Mototechna Classic concept. We would ideally like to offer some fifty vehicles, which could be worth up to 40 million crowns. The new acquisition, the 1949 Jaguar XK120 worth approximately 8 million crowns that we have just acquired, will also contribute to this,” said AuresLab Executive Director, Stanislav Gálik. As part of its innovation, the company has also set up a new department, Corporate Car Sales. “We have put together a team fully dedicated to looking after our corporate clients. It is a model similar to banking services, where it is normal to differentiate between retail and corporate customers. The AuresApps brand is again focusing on the development of specialised software solutions for the valuation, purchase, sale or management of vehicle inventories under the names Algorithmic Pricing, New Leads or Inventory Allocation,” he added.

In the first quarter, the bestselling used vehicle in the AAA AUTO network in the Czech Republic was traditionally the Škoda Octavia, followed by the Škoda Fabia and VW Passat. Interest in Nissan, Dacia and Kia brands grew the highest.

The Economic Committee of the Parliamentary Chamber of Deputies is now discussing another amendment to Act No 56/2001 Coll., which introduces a ban on rolling back odometers, with a fine of half a million crowns. Aures Holdings sees this change as an appropriate preventive measure. “This is the first time the state has clearly stipulated that odometers may not be tampered with. The previous case-law of the Supreme Court, which considered the rolling back of mileage as a criminal offense, was in our opinion insufficient. Of course, the new modification will not mean the complete eradication of this scourge, but will greatly help in terms of prevention.  It will no longer be possible to claim that it is a specific case how they set the odometer, as we now tend to hear from firms that offer this sort of tampering with complete impunity,” said AURES Holdings Chief Operations Officer, Petr Vaněček.

However, the current version of the amendment of the act still lacks the rudiments for a system of recording odometer readings from manufacturers, service centers, insurance companies and other entities, which would make the market more transparent. “Until the history of each vehicle is mapped out from the moment of factory exit until its ecological disposal, it will not be possible to completely eliminate tampering with odometers,” added Vaněček. He believes that in the future it will also be necessary to link up European databases to prevent odometer tampering before cars are imported into the individual countries.

Last week, information appeared about the Ministry of Transport’s plans to extend emission charges from the current EURO 0, 1 and 2 vehicles to include EURO 3 vehicles and also to impose heavier fees on imports from abroad. “If these measures will help to restrict imports of inferior quality used vehicles from abroad, we strongly support these efforts. Emission fees were introduced a long time ago for this reason, and in the past ten years the law became obsolete and ceased to fulfil its purpose. We must be aware that, even due to the total deregulation of imports, the number of cars with an age of more than ten years is constantly increasing in the domestic fleet, which carries safety, ecological and health risks, ” stressed Vaněček.

Based on its positive marketing results, the company decided to continue its collaboration with Czech football, which was originally announced for two years in September 2016. “Our company has extended its collaboration with the highest football competition, the HET league. Fans will be able to see the AAA AUTO and Mototechna brands at first-league stadiums throughout the Czech Republic at least during the 2018/2019 season,” said Karolína Topolová. “As an innovative firm, we also appreciate innovation in football, particularly the introduction of video referees and the change to the system of play, which will result in more matches,” she added.

“We consider our eighteen months of collaboration with AAA AUTO and Mototechna to have been highly beneficial, not only in terms of ensuring the necessary mobility of the individual first-league teams. Thanks to the fan zones we have let fans enjoy new experiences, have established some important business relations and we can also bring joy even to children in hospitals and children’s homes. We have high regard for the partners who appreciate the positive changes we are making in football, especially when they are traditional Czech brands,” said head of the League Football Association Dušan Svoboda describing the partnership.