Ford has signed a three-year contract with software provider Global Beach to launch a standardised Dealer Web Service (DWS) across Europe. Consumers will be able to access information about Ford and its products via the dealer website rather than clicking through to its corporate home page.

Although not mandatory, Ford expects most of its retailers to pay the nominal fee to subscribe to DWS, according to a spokesman. “It's a one-stop shop for the customer that is looking for anything to do with Ford through the dealer's website,” he says. “It's a service to help dealers sell more cars.”

Ford is confident DWS will increase showroom footfall, helping to raise retailers' profile. Each website will conform to a rough template to give consistency of design and information.