Franchised car dealers and authorised repairers are being encouraged to expand their aftersales service to include multi-brand repair and maintenance.

Used car sales increased by 4.4% during Q3 of 2020, according to data released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), and PSA Group's all-brands parts division, Eurorepar, believes that the growth provides an opportunity for dealers to add a multi-brand aftermarket arm to their business.

By running an aftermarket repair and maintenance programme with their existing offering, dealers and authorised repairers can attract new customers and maximise workshop capacity throughout the year, it said.

The company said, having a separate all-makes offering could also help increase customer loyalty, by presenting a value-for-money option when a customer’s warranty or service plan expires.

Nick Taylor, head of network and business development at Eurorepar Car Service, said: “As we’ve seen over the last few years, the way customers finance, run and service their cars is changing.

"Retailers and repairers need to remain in tune with these trends and ensure their offering continues to meet drivers’ needs.”

Earlier this year, TrustFord continued to broaden its all makes aftersales and parts operations with the opening of a 20,000 square foot service and PartsPlus aftersales centre in Alperton, North-West London. The site opening followed significant growth of the AM100 group's multi-brand aftersales offering since announcing its plans at its 2018 annual conference.

The group now operates 15 TrustFord PartsPlus distribution Centres across England, Northern Ireland and Scotland and are the largest wholesale Ford parts distributors in the UK.

In a recent interview with AM, Trustford president and chief executive, Stuart Foulds, said that TrustFord's parts operations were "flying".

Eurorepar Car Service is an OEM-derived brand owned by car marker, PSA Group and operated by Stellantis Group.

The all-makes network focuses on providing garages with the same technical support, marketing collateral, customer incentives and accessibility to parts as a franchised dealer.