Press release -
RAC, VHD and Europ Assistance form new alliance in motor services
The RAC, VHD and Europ Assistance have strengthened their position as European-wide motoring services business partners, by signing a new agreement that will bring together unrivalled levels of technical expertise, experience and reach.
The RAC and Europ Assistance have worked together for many years already and the primary aims of the new agreement, along with its extension to VHD, is to create one single, enhanced, service to motoring businesses across Europe.
The collaboration builds on elements of the three businesses which complement each other, to improve the offering to European-headquartered motor manufacturers, leasing companies and fleets.
A pan-European offering in motor services
This significant new arrangement enables Europ Assistance, the RAC and VHD to compete for business on a Europe-wide basis under the umbrella of one organisation providing centralised functionality.
Pierre Brigadeau, group chief sales marketing officer at Europ Assistance explains: “Our clients are confronted daily with the complexity of delivering a seamless, top-quality experience to their customers, whether they are in the UK, France, the Netherlands, Germany, or in Russia. The aim of the new agreement is to provide them with one single trusted partner which can help them assist their drivers and dealers across Europe.”
RAC Business Services director David Wallace adds: “What this means for our customers in the UK and Republic of Ireland, is that they will benefit from the RAC’s expertise in delivering breakdown and innovative roadside services across 26 countries in Europe, all this enhanced by centralized account management.”
“This is a remarkable opportunity for VHD” comments Peter Varenkamp, CEO at VHD. “In recent years we focused on strengthening our operations and on our domestic offering; this alliance allows us now to tap into new business opportunities significantly enhancing the service to existing and new international customers headquartered in the Netherlands.”
A truly joined-up and consistent service offering
The alliance will further accelerate the development of services through the sharing and mutual adoption of best practices across the respective organisations. Customers will benefit from future-proofing of the service through continual investment within the two organisations.
David Wallace adds: “Having already worked together for a number of years, it’s clear where our organisations have particular strengths in common, and there is a shared desire to embrace technology such as telematics, digital solutions and CRM capabilities to enhance customer experience.“
A first step towards a broader alliance
With this agreement in place, the RAC, VHD and Europ Assistance will be in a stronger position to offer services to businesses that operate across Europe in 26 different countries1 covering approximately 92% of all vehicles sales in Europe.
“This is a great achievement”, concludes Pierre Brigadeau. “Yet we have a long journey ahead of us to build and to constantly enrich a strong, common value proposition for our clients. Our alliance may soon be extended, to include selected other partners who can further enrich our value proposition, adding not only new geographies, but also products and innovative solutions.”
1 The alliance will directly cover the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom, along with Bulgaria and Slovenia managed through local partners.
ENDS
Topics
Categories
About RAC Business Services
RAC is one of the UK's most progressive motoring organisations, providing services for both private and business motorists.
RAC Patrols repair vehicles on average within 30 minutes at the roadside and carry more than 500 parts and tools, so we’re always well-equipped and ready to fix wherever possible
RAC Business offers a comprehensive range of services and products for UK businesses of all sizes and currently provides cover to around six million vehicles.
Products available include: fleet breakdown coverage, telematics, fuel cards, accident management, inspections, training, commercial and fleet insurance, fleet management (Business Club) and risk management services.
RAC also provides client-branded outsourced services and call centre support for customers of leading car manufacturers, insurance, fleet providers and logistics companies, as well as truck breakdown, truck warranty and insurance for vehicles from 3.5t to 44t.
RAC press releases, news alerts and a wealth of motoring research is available from www.rac.co.uk/press-centre/.
About Europ Assistance Group
Founded in 1963 as the inventor of the assistance concept, the Europ Assistance Group globally supports 300 million customers with solutions for day-to-day or emergency situations 24/7 across five lines of business: Automotive, Travel, Health, Home & Family and Conciergerie services.
Fully controlled by the Generali Group, Europ Assistance employs 8,543 resources across 44 companies in 33 countries. Leveraging its medical staff composed of 400 medical professionals, a world-wide network of 750,000 selected partners, and 35 assistance centres, in 2016 the Europ Assistance Group carried out 11.6 million assistance interventions and handled more than 71 million calls globally.
About VHD Alarmcentrale
Founded in 1963, VHD Alarmcentrale supports customers with assistance solutions for day-to-day or emergency situations 24/7 across the world. We serve clients in several industries like: automotive, financial services, health companies, (central) government, retail and housing companies.
VHD Alarmcentrale also provides client-branded outsourced services and call centre support for customers of leading car manufacturers, insurance (claim services), automotive retailers, as well as truck breakdown for vehicles from 3.5t to 50t.
VHD Alarmcentrale is the only fully independent alarmcentre in the Netherlands. With 180 skilled and motivated staff we provide the highest quality of assistance, awarded with a customer satisfaction above 9.0. Being ISAE3402 (type 2), ISO27001, ITO and WDTM certified, our clients have the guarantee their customers are in the best possible hands.
VHD Alarmcentrale press releases, news alerts are available from www.vhd.nl/nieuws.
