Peugeot’s actions to quell unrest in its retail network last month are being seen as a step in the right direction, but more support is needed, say dealers.

Retailers welcomed the changes to incentives and standards, which followed a threatened mass resignation by the dealer council (AM February 22 p4).

However, AM has been told by franchisees that the situation "still isn't rosy". One dealer source said that the improvements were “fairly average”.

He continued: "If you were looking for a franchise, you certainly wouldn’t invest in Peugeot at the moment.

"Peugeot hasn’t given us any indication that anything else is going to change for the better," he said.

However, while Andrew Didlick, Peugeot public relations director, was unwilling to disclose further progress to AM, he said "dealers were involved with the process".

"Dealers are always going to want more but we are working closely with them and the dealer forums to make changes," he added.

Peugeot was fourth bottom in the latest National Franchised Dealers Association survey, with a score of 4.4, having dropped from 4.7 six months previously.

At the time of the resignation threat, one council member told AM that the majority of dealers weren’t breaking even and a quarter had made losses of £200,000 last year.

Peugeot UK has completed further changes to its management team. Andy Sutton has been appointed director of quality and service, while his old post of marketing director has been filled by Christian Stein from Peugeot Belgium.