JLR has informed its dealer partners that they will no longer be transitioned to the agency model later this year but instead continue with a revamped version of their current wholesale arrangement.
The change to an agency model would have had JLR taking full control of the car-buying process, be it online or in the showroom, and giving dealers – or rather agents – a fixed fee for each sale.
Mercedes-Benz was a pioneer of the agency model in the UK, and has since been followed into direct sales by Cupra, Polestar, Tesla and Volvo, to name a few.
Direct sales allow car makers to more closely control retail costs, develop closer relationships with their buyers and ultimately retain more of the revenue generated by selling cars.
