since 1976
since 1976
By Lee Pang Seng
SELLING a passenger vehicle today is more than just taking customer orders, delivering the vehicle and servicing it thereafter based on service and warranty terms. There is now a need to impress the customer with greater attention in follow-up service and offers to achieve a positive impression and boost brand loyalty.
EON Berhard, or Edaran Otomobil Nasional Berhad, is certainly evolving in that respect to meet the needs and demands of the changing customer profile and their perspective. The company celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, having started at the same time that Proton was introduced to the market and you could say, it has certainly come a long way.
It enjoyed its good run of merely taking car orders and delivering them during the heydays when Proton was selling in strong numbers and topped the car sales market for many years. Times have since changed in a more competitive environment and the need to re-engage with car buyers became the order of the day, especially with younger and more connected customers.
And being part of the DRB-Hicom Group, EON could tap onto the automotive links available and be a sales dealer not only for Proton and smart but Audi, Volkswagen, Mitsubishi and Honda as well. It also expanded to commercial vehicles with Isuzu and Daihatsu coming into the picture. Another area of business is rental and leasing with Avis, while newer ventures are auto solutions for the after-sales sector and vehicle loan financing.
Akhbar Danial, who took over as Chief Executive Officer in EON Bhd about two years ago, explained the need to be more pro-active with the customers beyond the point of sale during a briefing at the EON & Sahabat Media Getaway 2024. With a younger pool of customers these days, he also placed priority on engaging with them in a more connected way through relevant apps and digitalising after-sales operations.
To do that, he set in place ways to be more efficient in handling customers and their vehicles and car servicing was obviously one of them. He did that by going to the ground and soon, a performance chart that was updated daily by the respective departments was put up. It was accessible to all employees as they could see how their input was being realised in improving on the efficiency of delivery and performance.
Needless to say, improvements were achieved and in the vehicle service department, there was a 25% uptick in technician productivity, 30% improved technician efficiency and less than 1% complaint in waiting time. This covered a very important aspect of customer engagement that led to a positive brand impression and loyalty.
Equally important improvements in other areas were recorded such as the 90% net promoter score, 6% revenue growth, more than twice the growth of customer promoters, 6% increased spending and RM2 million revenue from WFM live bookings. What underlined these achievements were that it was done by improving staff morale and the working environment in EON.
This came about when Akhbar Danial put in place staff engagement and empowerment that includes staff benefits improvement, job briefing series and flexible work arrangement. Added to that a digital workplace with a new employee portal, e-On boarding, digital forms/request/claims and video simulation for new staff that enable an employee to enjoy a more engaging work environment.
On the customer front, Akhbar said continuous improvements were driven at digital and physical touchpoints to enrich the customer’s experience. In that respect, efforts were concentrated on improving operational productivity, effectiveness and efficiency to ensure that the customers get the best from EON.
Giving customers an easier way of securing a car loan when they purchase a vehicle from any of 10 EON outlets was one of them. Introduced in March this year, EON Capital seeks to address any inconveniences in getting a loan. It offers competitive interest rates in its value for money offering along with good margins of financing and access to exclusive products.
The second area is the application process that is said to be quick, easy and seamless. Upon booking the vehicle, be it a Proton, smart, Audi, Volkswagen, Honda or Mitsubishi, the customer could access EON Capital’s online platform to apply for a loan. If all the documents submitted are complete and proper, the loan could be pre-approved within a day.
And the best thing is that the customer need not worry about his financial information being exposed as EON Capital promises to protect the financial information provided. The company is still evolving and looking to rebrand itself over the coming months with exclusive offerings to be announced in due course.
Another area of customer engagement is in after-sales and EON Autospa, also launched in March, is a one-stop centre that specialises in a wide range of comprehensive car care solutions ranging from basic cleaning to advanced detailing and protection. With Supagard of the UK as a strategic partner to manage the operation, EON Autospa is said to ensure that all services and products meet the same high standard as that in the UK.
The attractive part is that it is said to be positioned at the same level as other established premium operators but offers more affordable prices. This specialised service is not only targeted at Proton and smart owners but also customers for the other brands under its roof – Audi, Volkswagen, Honda and Mitsubishi.
EON media drive
To celebrate this 40th milestone, the EON & Sahabat Media Getaway 2024 event gave the media an opportunity to drive a variety of the cars that EON Bhd has under its roof. We were assigned to the Audi e-tron GT on the first day and the Volkswagen Arteon the following day. The first day’s drive was to the Kuala Gandah elephant conservatory where Akhbar Danial handed over a RM5000 cheque as donation to Mohamad Syazwan Fais Mohamad Rozi, the conservatory’s Deputy Chief.
Having enjoyed driving the Audi e-tron GT at the Sepang circuit late last year, we were looking forward to driving it on the winding Bentong stretch. We could feel the absolute forward thrust each time we hit the accelerator pedal, revelling in the 476PS (350kW) and 630Nm of torque generated by the two electric motors, to overtake slower vehicles.
The strong moving acceleration made it seem as if everyone was standing still; that was how quick the Audi e-tron GT was in picking up speed on the move. Being an all-wheel drive, we noted the familiar understeer that came in as we took to the corners at speed, having to choose our entry line carefully into the corner and easing off when the understeer was more than expected. Nevertheless, we enjoyed driving the Audi e-tron GT but being a car with low ground clearance, we had to drive slowly over tall speedbumps as we hit the under floor once.
By comparison, the Volkswagen Arteon with its turbocharged 2.0-litre engine, delivering 280PS and 350Nm from a low 1700rpm, and eight-speed transmission was notably slower in passing acceleration. With half the torque output of the Audi e-tron GT and lower peak power, the VW Arteon wasn’t too bad a drive on its own.
It was a pity that we didn’t have the opportunity to explore its dynamic qualities as it was a convoy drive and the route from Gohtong Jaya to Janda Baik was very heavy with slow traffic. We believe the VW Arteon won’t disappoint when pushed, given its stable footing on sweeping curves along the drive back to KL.
