Tråd: LA motor show: køb det gerne Beckham

For at tage højde for de kendte i Los Angeles, bilforhandlere har til at vedtage en anden virksomhed planEver været i en bilforhandler og David Beckham har kørt forbi i sin Rolls-Royce og vinkede ud af vinduet? Heller ikke mig, indtil denne eftermiddag. En usædvanlig begivenhed, måske, men så Hornburg Jaguar Land Rover-forhandler på Sunset Boulevard er ikke din sædvanlige bil-forhandler.
Hornburg er JLR forhandler, hvor de rige og berømte gå til at købe deres biler. Forsanger i Scissor Sisters var lige før mig denne eftermiddag for at købe en Jaguar XKR blot to dage efter at have bestået sin prøve. Beckham er en regelmæssig (en XKR og en Range Rover Selvbiografi Trykladning er hans nuværende JLR stude), som er Denzel Washington, Gordon Ramsey og Simon Cowell. For et par år siden, Brad Pitt afhentet Range Rover Sport Kompressor dagen efter dukkede op til Oscars i en Toyota Prius.
Martin Dodsworth er general manager af Hornburg forhandler. Han flyttede hertil fra en JLR forhandler i Nottingham syv år siden, og forud for Los Angeles motor show, han beskrev for mig en bil at købe proces, der er en verden væk fra det system, vi kender i Storbritannien.
Købere her ønsker øjeblikkelig tilfredsstillelse, Dodsworth forklaret, så hvis bilen ikke kan leveres til deres hus med 5 pm senere dag så de vil gå og købe fra et andet sted, der kan.
Hornburg, som var konverteret fra en pub til en Jaguar-forhandler i 1948, vil typisk bestand omkring 110 nye biler og op til 50 brugte modeller. Og hvis en af disse modeller ikke er en købere smag, vil de gå andre steder.
Det er sjældent, at en køber at placere en ordre på en bespoke-bygget model; Hvis de skal placere et depositum for en ny bil, når dens klar til at blive leveret de vil typisk have glemt og gået og købte noget andet.
Så mange som ni ud af 10 salg sker ved leasing grund af de store skattemæssige fordele. Og så chaufførerne aldrig har nogen intention om at eje bilen kategorisk, de er typisk dårligt passet og har brug for masser af spyt og polsk, når der handles i den nyeste model i år.
Service er også en temmelig fremmede koncept til velhavende købere; den første service har at blive tilbudt gratis eller folk ville simpelthen ikke gider. Theres ikke sådan noget som en fuld service historie her, sagde Dodsworth.
Business er stærk på Hornburg på Land Rover side af erhvervslivet i særdeleshed, med omkring 25 Land Rovers sælges hver uge. Omkring 60 procent af salget er Range Rover Sport, med yderligere 20 pct. er Range Rover, resten er delt mellem Evoque og LR4 (Discovery). Konkurrencen er hård, men ikke kun fra konkurrerende producenter, der tilbyder billigere leasing tilbud, men fra andre JLR forhandlere også. Der er fem i en 15-mile radius, så at have en stærk bestand er afgørende.
Der er et par modeller Dodsworth mener vil øge butiksbesøgende endnu mere. En syv-håndet version af Range Rover Sport vil dræbe markedet, han regner, mens en mindre Jaguar at rivaliserende BMW 3-serien ville give mærket en billigere indgang til brand og en billigere leasing sats. Og mere volumen til Jaguar ville øge mærkekendskab og forbedre salget af de andre modeller som følge heraf Dodsworth mener.
Med model udvidelser overhængende for både Jaguar og Land Rover uden for deres core line-ups, og lanceringen af nye Range Rover, Range Rover Sport og Jaguar F-type modeller grund inden for det næste år, tider ser forude godt ud for Hornburg, JLR og britiske plc på Sunset Boulevard. Theyll bare håber David Beckham ikke følge op på sin plan om at flytte til en ny fodboldklub, men forbliver i LA for at bytte sin Range Rover og XKR for en ny Range Rover og en F-type.

To cater for the celebrities of Los Angeles, car dealers have to adopt a different business planEver been in a car dealership and David Beckham has driven past in his Rolls-Royce and waved out of the window? Me neither, until this afternoon. An unusual event, perhaps, but then the Hornburg Jaguar Land Rover dealer on Sunset Boulevard is not your usual car dealer.
Hornburg is the JLR dealer where the rich and famous go to buy their cars. The lead singer of the Scissor Sisters was in just before me this afternoon to buy a Jaguar XKR just two days after passing his test. Beckham is a regular (an XKR and a Range Rover Autobiography Supercharged are his current JLR steers), as are Denzel Washington, Gordon Ramsey and Simon Cowell. A few years ago, Brad Pitt picked up Range Rover Sport Supercharged the day after turning up to the Oscars in a Toyota Prius.
Martin Dodsworth is the general manager of the Hornburg dealership. He moved here from a JLR dealership in Nottingham seven years ago and, ahead of the Los Angeles motor show, he described to me a car buying process that is a world away from the system we know in Britain.
Buyers here want instant gratification, Dodsworth explained, so if the car cant be delivered to their house by 5pm later that day then they will go and buy from somewhere else that can.
Hornburg, which was converted from a pub to a Jaguar dealer in 1948, will typically stock around 110 new cars and up to 50 used models. And if one of those models is not to a buyers tastes, they will go elsewhere.
It is rare for a buyer to place an order for a bespoke-built model; if they do place a deposit for a new car, by the time its ready to be delivered they will typically have forgotten and gone and bought something else.
As many as nine out of every 10 sales is done by leasing due to the huge tax advantages. And as the drivers never have any intention of owning the car outright, they are typically poorly cared for and in need of plenty of spit and polish when traded in for the latest model year.
Servicing is also a fairly alien concept to wealthy buyers; the first service has to be offered free or people would simply not bother. Theres no such thing as a full service history here, said Dodsworth.
Business is strong at Hornburg on the Land Rover side of the business in particular, with around 25 Land Rovers sold every week. Around 60 per cent of its sales are Range Rover Sports, with another 20 per cent being the Range Rover and the rest split between the Evoque and LR4 (Discovery). Competition is fierce, though, not only from rival makers offering cheaper leasing deals but from other JLR dealers too. There are five in a 15-mile radius, so having a strong stock is essential.
There are a few models Dodsworth believes will increase footfall even more. A seven-seat version of the Range Rover Sport will kill the market, he reckons, while a smaller Jaguar to rival the BMW 3-series would give the brand a cheaper entry point into the brand and a cheaper leasing rate. And more volume for Jaguar would increase brand awareness and improve sales of the other models as a result, Dodsworth believes.
With model expansions imminent for both Jaguar and Land Rover outside their core line-ups, and the launch of new Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Jaguar F-type models due within the next year, times ahead look good for Hornburg, JLR and UK plc on Sunset Boulevard. Theyll just be hoping David Beckham doesn't follow through on his plan to move to a new football club, but stays in LA to swap his Range Rover and XKR for a new Range Rover and an F-type.