Daewoo piece masked reality

Daewoo Cars would like to object to the use of a picture of its showroom in conjunction with a caption referring to dealers and servicing profits in Alan Mitchell’s article “Why car trade is stalling over new pricing policy” (MW February 17).

The caption read: “Rough deal: The Great Car Rip-off has also displeased dealers, who now rely on servicing to boost margins.

Daewoo doesn’t have dealers who take a cut – customers deal direct. And we provide free servicing for three years.

No one who has anything to do with marketing can have failed to notice that Daewoo is the one company that, since its launch in 1995, has continually challenged the conventional “wisdom” of the car-buying process. You are correct: the old way of selling cars is dead.

We pioneered a fixed price for every consumer, with no hidden extras. We don’t use dealers. We employ our own staff and they aren’t paid commission, but are salaried. Our customer advisers are rewarded when customers tell us they’ve received great service. And, on average, no more than three per cent of the list price is advertising cost.

I realise your picture desk probably sifted through the Marketing Week picture library and chose a great picture of what is a clean, bright, modern car retailing facility. But it doesn’t fit with your story, or the Daewoo approach.

Furthermore, the body of the text says: “The cost of selling a car now typically accounts for a third of its final price.” Well, I’d buy a car in Mitchell’s showroom if that’s the case. Last year’s adspend per unit (UK industry average) was &£301. Does he do part exchange?

Alison Moran

Public relations manager

Daewoo

Rickmansworth

Herts