RAC awarded five-year roadside assistance contract with Groupe PSA

The RAC has signed a new five-year contract to provide roadside assistance services to Groupe PSA, the second largest car manufacturer in Europe.

The deal, which was won following a competitive tender process, will see the RAC’s patrols supporting drivers of more than half a million Peugeot, Citroën, Vauxhall and DS cars and vans, and covers both consumer and fleet customers driving in the UK and continental Europe.

Groupe PSA selected the RAC on the basis of its quality and comprehensive service at the roadside, its constant focus on customer satisfaction, and its data and digital capabilities that are set to improve the service delivered by each manufacturers’ development and dealership teams.

Drivers of Peugeot, Citroën, Vauxhall and DS vehicles will also benefit from significant investments the RAC is making, starting with its revolutionary ‘All-Wheels-Up’ recovery capability being rolled out across its fleet of breakdown patrol vans. This market-leading technology allows RAC patrols to recover the vast majority of vehicles that cannot be fixed at the roadside, including for the first time SUVs, vans, automatics, 4x4s and even electric vehicles – all of which can be done from a single van, removing the need to always send for a flatbed trucks. It will be followed by further service enhancements that will be announced by the RAC later in 2019.

As part of the contract, the RAC will also be providing its extensive technical knowledge of Groupe PSA vehicles – both past and present – directly to various teams within Groupe PSA companies, including to dealerships and product development teams, to help in diagnosing and fixing faults more quickly than ever – delivering a better service to drivers.

RAC business roadside managing director Phil Ryan said:

“With a shared ethos around putting drivers at the heart of everything we do, Groupe PSA and the RAC are well aligned and we are thrilled to be working together.

“We believe it is our focus on doing what is best by our customers, which includes rolling out new breakdown technology that can help our roadside patrols and the teams in our operational centres who support them, that sets us apart from the competition.”

Groupe PSA Parts and Service Director Richard Dyson said:

“In the RAC we have found a company that has a track record in delivering an excellent quality service, and a commitment to provide a series of new roadside innovations that have the potential to transform the experience drivers of Groupe PSA vehicles receive, both at the roadside and in our dealerships.

“We were impressed by the RAC’s obsession with delivering a top quality and personal service to its customers, and believe its digital and fault data analysis capabilities promise to make the lives of drivers of our vehicles easier.

“With the shift to electric and more connected vehicles, the automotive and mobility sectors are changing rapidly and we are confident the RAC is the right roadside assistance partner to support us.”

The contract between Groupe PSA and the RAC commenced on 1 March 2019 and runs for five years. The RAC already provides roadside assistance to customers of Network Q, Vauxhall’s approved user car scheme, under the Network Q Assist label.