Mitsubishi has dropped its outside training agency and brought the dealer sales and aftersales programmes in-house at its Cirencester, Gloucestershire, head office.

The move fits with its philosophy of not outsourcing or using consultants.

The Mitsubishi Academy employs former dealership staff to run the business courses, which incorporates classroom training and examinations. Dealers pay a smaller fee than on the outsourced programme and work towards a qualification.

All sales and aftersales managers are required to complete a two-year course working towards a management qualification. Sales executives and aftersales advisors/receptionists are required to attend relevant parts of the training programme.

Sales modules include: dealership marketing, financial management, recruitment, product knowledge and stock management.

Aftersales modules cover: workshop loading, communication and leadership, utilizing daily operating controls, phone handling techniques and customer handling skills.

Mitsubishi believes its retail network staff need to brush up on several topics, including sales training on Colt and Lancer, service receptionist training, control management and service marketing.

“We have a two-year plan to put the network through the training,” says Jim Tyrrell, Mitsubishi UK managing director. “We are working on building core skills with our dealership staff.”

Mitsubishi has also revealed to AM plans to rebrand its Red Zebra used car programme, conceding that the name creates confusion with consumers. The new scheme, Mitsubishi Used Car Programme, will be rolled out within a couple of weeks and is expected to be supported by a recognized organization like the AA or RAC.

Lance Bradley, Mitsubishi UK sales and marketing director, says: “Red Zebra had very high standards in place, but it was too expensive for what was required for our network. We need a programme where customers know the car is safe and reliable, but it needs to be more flexible and not as costly for dealers.”

The 114-point check system will now vary depending on the age of the car.