Someone just went from under the radar to behind the radar, as ŠKODA NZ gears up to supply the New Zealand Police.
ŠKODA New Zealand is on a roll.
Well actually, it’s the start of a roll out, since ŠKODA has secured the business of what is arguably the most famous fleet in New Zealand, that of the NZ Police.
ŠKODA did secure the Corporate Cabs fleet in 2018 and – with the experience gained from that, plus the factory kudos for winning the Police contract – launched itself into new heights of recognition.
“We’re looking at the Police contract as the start of a raft of new opportunities,” says general manager for ŠKODA NZ Rodney Gillard. “We went into the tender process with a slightly different attitude, which I think went a long way to the Police taking the brand seriously.
“We know the Superb is a great car and it’s especially good as a front-line Police vehicle as being part of 23,000 units in service in Europe will testify. Plus, the ŠKODA brand has been endorsed by motoring experts as well as a host of end users, so we were confident it would do well – there are many areas involved with this Police tender process that we had to get right.”
For Rodney and his team, that meant drawing a picture of ŠKODA’s genealogy in this country and what that meant for the New Zealand Police.
ŠKODA NZ is part of the New Zealand owned European Motor Distributors group, which has excellent automotive industry credentials locally, as well as a very good reputation working with its international parent suppliers.
The group which nurtures EMD internationally, includes Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, SEAT, Bentley and Lamborghini on the car side of things, is collectively called the Volkswagen Automotive Group of companies and it is arguably one of the largest and most successful automotive groups globally speaking.
Fair to say then, with the international and local automotive business acumen and expertise, ŠKODA New Zealand is a good company to partner up with.
With the success of securing of the Police contract, ŠKODA New Zealand’s stock – in the eye of its proud parents – has gone right through the roof and all the ŠKODA jokes of yesterday? Yeah, who’s laughing now?
Actually, ŠKODA New Zealand isn’t. That was our comment. ŠKODA NZ is gearing itself up to be a strong fleet player par excellence for the 21st century.
It’s fair to say, Rodney and his team are looking at a very challenging – but opportunity-rich – few months leading up to the April 1st Police handovers and beyond.
“We need to do what’s best for all our current and new customers and at the same time, we can’t drop the ball as far as our newfound corporate business is concerned.”
 “We have to move quickly, effectively and carefully to make sure we are getting everything right – to make sure we are able to run once we’ve learned how to walk.”
“We’ve always had a great relationship with the factory,” explains Rodney. “They really helped us during the Covid months when we were working through the tender proposal, and our reltationship as a result of this win, just keeps getting better.”
The Police stated the contract included more than 2000 vehicles, which internationally speaking, is not a vast order.
However, it is the fact that approximately 400 vehicles per year are going to represent a national emergency service provider which has brought ŠKODA NZ to everyone’s attention, particularly at Group international level.
“I think everyone – at all levels of our greater group – understands and respects the value of the New Zealand Police endorsement, and it’s an endorsement we don’t take lightly.”
So what measures is ŠKODA NZ putting into place as a result of getting into its fleet supplying sprinter starting blocks?
The ŠKODA Superbs for the Police are standard stock units which go through a tried-and-true fitout from a number of experienced fleet suppliers here. That means greater relationship building between fleet fitout suppliers and ŠKODA NZ which will have positive benefits for other fleets choosing ŠKODA.
“We are also looking to expand our dealership network,” says Rodney, “in keeping with the requirements of having a national servicing footprint as required by the Police and many other corporate fleets.
“Following on from this is an expansion of personnel, with a core focus on facilitating more fleet business which will also see us strengthening our level of factory support to ensure greater access to not just vehicle supply, but parts as well.
“We are already well on track with this last, but as business grows, we will be constantly reviewing how to improve on what we do to better serve our existing customers and those new to the brand.”