The American dealer management system (DMS) Arkona will be brought to the UK by MCL Group, it has been announced.

MCL, which is headquartered in Kent, will provide sales, marketing, training and back-up support for the system.

Arkona will provide product support and has signed up Experian for the integrated vehicle data and status checks.

Alan Rudd, CEO and chairman of Arkona, says: “Both MCL and Arkona are committed to reducing dealers’ costs of managing their business while increasing their profitability.”

MCL’s own dealer group, Waters Group, will not be using Arkona as it is currently under contract to a different supplier.

However, a spokesman for MCL says that they will be working with as many manufacturers and dealers as possible in the UK when the product is launched later this month.

AM revealed in the February 23 issue that Arkona was planning on acquiring a 2-3% share of the UK DMS market, with growth of around 30% per year. It also claims that its system, which is agreed on a month-by-month basis, is 40-50% cheaper than its rivals.