Warsaw / Prague, April 15th, 2015 – Today marks the grand opening of AAA AUTO’s first dealership in Piaseczno near Warsaw. In this way, Central Europe’s largest used car dealer, which has built up 23 years of successful experience in the used car business, is launching the international expansion plan announced after last year’s change of majority shareholder. The grand opening was attended by AAA AUTO’s CEO, Karolína Topolová, and Wojciech Lukawski from Abris Capital Partners, who were joined by Piaseczno mayor Zdzisław Lis and several dozen guests from numerous business partners.
“I’m delighted to be back in Poland. We had always planned on returning to this market, and now all the conditions are right. Used car sales in Poland are strong, and I believe that the rise in new car sales throughout Europe will further accelerate this trend. Another important factor is the support of our majority shareholder, Abris Capital Partners, a British-Polish private equity fund, which contributes additional local knowledge and experience for our return to this market,”saidAAA AUTO CEO Karolína Topolová. AAA AUTO does not, of course, plan on stopping at a single dealership. “In 2015 we would like to open another dealership in Poland, in Katowice. From 2016 on we would like to open 3-5 branches in the largest Polish cities every year for three years, probably starting with Gdańsk. We will be investing approximately 2 million euros on each dealership, which includes construction and refurbishment costs as well as purchasing the vehicles to be offered,” added Topolová.
The AAA AUTO Group has been in business for 23 years. It operates a network of 35 car showrooms in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, specializing in cars which have had 1 or 2 owners and which have a verified service history and are being sold with a warranty of lawful origin. The cars are subjected to a thorough inspection process during buying, which results in 65-70% of them being refused due to technical or legal shortcomings. The main difference for the local market is that AAA AUTO purchases all of the cars itself and therefore does not act as a middle-man. “This provides our customers with certainty regarding the origin of the vehicle - they always know who is the real owner,”stressed Topolová.
Since starting up, AAA AUTO Group has served more than 1.6 million customers. Audited gross sales in 2013 were € 379 million. In 2014, the company sold 63,613 vehicles. Planned sales for 2015 are over 70,000 cars. In a 2013 study conducted by the Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency, AAA AUTO was ranked among the most highly regarded Czech brands to have emerged in the automotive sector since November 1989. AAA AUTO Group was acquired by the British-Polish private equity fund Abris in the final quarter of 2014. Under the new owner, the company is undergoing major expansion in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland.
“AAA AUTO is by far the largest, most up-to-date and most professional used car franchise, as well as being highly innovative. We acquired the company last year with the intention that it would re-enter the Polish market. Today, after just a few months, we are happy that AAA AUTO is opening its first location in Central Poland. The Management Team at AAA Auto has already proven itself in terms of international expansion. We want to continue this strategy and we believe that, with our support, it will become a dominant player across Central and Eastern Europe. We will, of course, continue to assist AAA AUTO with our knowledge of the automotive industry and, given the company’s underlying potential, we envisage steady and continuous growth in the region,” said Wojciech Lukawski, a partner in the Abris Capital Partners private equity fund.
The car dealership in Piaseczno will eventually offer up to 600 vehicles. At present, customers can choose from almost 300. The dealership is has a staff of 40, a number that will gradually increase to nearly 70. The branch is situated in a busy location between the Fiat showroom and the Lidl supermarket on the road from Piaseczno to Magdalenka. The purchasing department began operations back in mid-February, and the first vehicles were sold and driven off the lot in March. There have already been over 110 sales. Today, the dealership is launching its full range of services, including customer financial services from BNP Paribas, MBank and Banif, and insurance services from Compensa and Liberty with others to follow shortly. Twenty new operators have been hired at AAA AUTO’s central call center to handle Polish customers, who can call seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
“The used car market is probably the last large, but at the same time disorganized, fragmented and non-transparent market in Poland. AAA AUTO plans on changing this market by offering a new, high-quality approach to selling used cars, acting as the owner of all cars instead of the middle man. We are available to our customers seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the branch, offering a wide range of services from buying used cars to accepting trade-ins and offering installment payment plans and insurance. We guarantee the lawful origin of every vehicle and allow customers to exchange a vehicle they purchase for a different one within seven days. We also provide a 12-months’ warranty for mechanical and electrical faults,”said AAA AUTO’s executive director in Poland, Przemyslaw Vonau.
AAA AUTO vehicles are advertised through the largest automotive websites - Otomoto, Autotrader, Auto Giełda and Gratka. The company also advertises across key radio stations and newspapers. Thanks to these activities, the www.aaaauto.pl website now averages 4000 visitors a day, and is adding 10 % more every week – and this comes even before the company’s official launch of business. Promotional events are also planned at large shopping centers in Warsaw.
