Point S Tyre & Autocare launches UK fleet tyre service

300-strong network displays extended fleet programme, online fleet management system at Commercial Vehicle Show 2023

Deep into its second decade of UK development, the Point S Tyre and Autocare independent tyre dealer ad car maintenance network is establishing its offer to the fleet market, using the 2023 edition of the Commercial Vehicle Show to present and demonstrate its programme for fleets, including a new online management system. Point S was also present at the show in 2022, using its stand at the Birmingham NEC hosted event to introduce the brand to UK fleets at the commercial market’s most prominent national platform. It also demonstrated its improved offer to truck fleets; Point S exhibited alongside truck tyre distribution partner, International Tyres, showcasing the Fortune truck tyre range and Point S’s own brand of van and car fitments, produced by a leading tyre manufacturer from Germany. Fortune is a brand of rapidly developing Asian tyre manufacturer Prinx Chengshan, produced in Thailand and thereby avoiding current tariffs placed on truck tyres produced in China, features a casing warranty designed to extend the useful life of every Fortune tyre. With these foundations laid, Point S’s UK network swelling to more than 300 members and Tony Valentine installed as the company’s UK fleet manager, the company is now poised to offer, in its own words, a “competitive and cost-effective solution.” Tyres & Accessories visited the company’s stand in Birmingham to discuss the move into the fleet market.

The CV Show 2023 remains smaller event than pre-Covid

Electric vehicles dominated The CV Show 2023, such as the Nikola Tre BEV tractor unit (Photo: Andrew Bogie/Tyres & Accessories)

April 18-20’s Commercial Vehicle Show remained a smaller show in 2023 compared to the pre-Covid pandemic years. While there were still plenty of companies present to exhibit new technology solutions, most notably new electric commercial vehicles and digital fleet management systems, tyre industry booths were limited to Point S (discounting Bridgestone’s Webfleet fleet management platform). Point S’s Tony Valentine saw this as an opportunity to promote the company’s exclusive commercial vehicle tyre range unopposed, adding that on day one good contacts had visited the stand.

Iveco, HVS, Renault Trucks, and Volta Trucks displayed new tractor units, while the Maxus brand from China’s SAIC, one of the world’s largest producers of EVs, joined Ford, Iveco and Nissan in displaying the latest all-electric vans. Meanwhile the busy presentation areas hosted talks by expert representatives about delivering net zero ambitions, with new and future vehicles that will help drive the industry’s transformation. Key speakers covered the zero emission transition, including Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive; Rod McKenzie, RHA executive director of communications; and Mike Cutts, director, light vehicle business, Iveco; along with sessions covering van crime, driver safety, telematics and more.

The emergence of Point S in the UK fleet tyre market follows a development programme implemented in other mature markets for the brand. Point S’s history stretches back more than 50 years, beginning in France in 1971. It now lays claim to global leadership, present in more than 50 countries with around 6,000 points of sale on five continents. The global network sells around 18 million tyres annually. This global presence in a wide range of different tyre markets comprises a variety of approaches, but the experience of Point S in Western Europe’s other major tyre markets provides something of a blueprint for its development in the UK. The company has built successful fleet businesses across Europe, including in France and Germany, offering online booking and reporting, a multi-brand offer, specially dedicated procedures, a level of service driven by independent businesses with collective buying power, and excellent geographical coverage. Having reached the 300 independent tyre dealer mark, Valentine is confident the brand can now offer a one-stop shop with the national coverage required for UK car, van, and truck fleets of all sizes.

Extending service to fleets

Tony Valentine joined Point S as business development manager in August 2021, having built a broad base of experience in sales and operational roles at Yokohama HPT, Goodyear, Dunlop, and ATS Euromaster. He took on responsibility for establishing and developing the network’s fleet service business in the UK in August 2022. Initially calling on fleet customers in the South of England, where he is based, Valentine was able to bring on board a mix of local, regional, and national fleets, demonstrating the Point S network’s flexibility of approach to meet the needs of a variety of different logistics operations. Now this effort is expanding around the country, with Point S able to offer service from an expanding number of points of sale: “We didn’t want to move into fleet before we had over 300 members – we are currently running at about 310 and we are continuing to add new members all the time, increasing our coverage,” Valentine tells T&A.

The timing of Point S’s move into the UK fleet tyre market is based on several factors, Valentine continues. First among these is the company’s own-brand Point S tyre range. Tested by TÜV SÜD in 2021, the latest Point S Summer tyre offers wet grip between premium and tier two performance levels alongside leading rolling resistance. Valentine tells T&A that fleets’ acceptance of Point S branded tyres has been high. The advantages of distributing a tyre product over which Point S has complete control include the range’s exclusivity and differentiation from other garage networks’ tyre offer, the opportunity to create customer loyalty, and price-competitiveness, both for the end-user and the network member, since the brand’s distribution model reduces the links in the chain. “We sell thousands [of Point S tyres] through our membership,” Valentine adds. “There has been no obstacle for fleets in fitting the tyre.” Fitting Point S tyres is not obligatory of course – the network also fits other brands.

Having its own brand helps Point S to be fully “in charge of our own destiny,” Valentine says, which is reflected in the rest of the business. “We have our own network, which has got the coverage,” Valentine continues, making the point that the independent businesses which have chosen to join the network are “all entrepreneurs, who care about their business.” He argues this lends itself to a higher level of service. “Already we’ve had two or three fleets with which we’ve had success give us more locations,” Valentine says, based on the level of service and care they have received visiting businesses in the Point S network. In the truck market, Point S is targeting a similar arrangement with its UK exclusivity on the Fortune brand.

Tony Valentine took charge of Point S fleet business development in August 2022 (Photo: Point S)

Valentine’s third point of differentiation for the Point S network is its online job authorisation system, which the company was demonstrating on its CV Show stand. Built in conjunction with experienced systems developers for the tyre industry, the intuitive user interface offers a streamlined job management experience that is relatively easy to grasp. In addition to building general awareness of the system, Point S has been demonstrating its new online job management to current and potential network members. In the weeks following The CV Show, the system was due to be sent out for field trials with a fleet customer and a member ahead of the rollout to the national network and their fleet customers. Valentine says the system has been built with network members’ requirements in mind, ensuring it is user-friendly and helps them to deliver services.

Offering a proprietary system allows Point S to keep everything in-house, Valentine continues. “We’re totally in control and taking nothing out of that system,” he adds. Taken together, the network, online job authorisation, and tyre range allows Point S to offer a one-stop shop that maximises efficiency and controls costs for fleets.

Harnessing European recognition

As mentioned previously, Point S’s UK fleet business development can draw upon the international operation’s extensive experiences in France and Germany, where more than 600 network members are already dealing with some of the largest European fleets. Valentine tells T&A that he wants to harness both his own experience of previously working with larger fleets and the company’s European operations to attract such firms in the UK too.

He says two European fleets have put the UK network on their tender this year. While this does not guarantee jobs, Valentine is encouraged that these fleets’ experience with the independent businesses in the Point S network in continental Europe has helped to persuade them to adopt Point S fleet service in the UK. Valentine also says the UK operation has used feedback from fleets it has approached to sign up new network members where the interaction identified a location where there was an opportunity to extend Point S coverage.

(Photo: Andrew Bogie/Tyres & Accessories)

Synergy of fleet business

For Point S, the development of its fleet business offers synergistic benefits for the rest of the network’s operations as well as being a growth opportunity in itself. Acquiring fleet business supports network growth by identifying additional locations where there is demand for service. Valentine adds that fleets’ demand for Point S tyres also supports the extended distribution of the brand, as members with fleet contracts need to ensure stock levels are maintained.

As well as promoting the benefits of its fleet programme, Point S displayed the Point S Summer and Point S 4 Seasons car and van tyres on its stand, while also explaining its multi-brand offer. Truck operators could also see the latest Fortune truck tyres on the stand.

Over the last 18 months, the Point S network has focused on building a fleet programme that gives fleet managers a credible and cost-effective alternative to traditional models. The network’s fully trained technicians take a consultative approach that ensures fleets get the most out of every vehicle, helping to maximise efficiency and reduce downtime.

Point S members are able to capitalise on extensive marketing support, with new initiatives helping to boost the network’s profile and drive footfall. During October and November 2022 Point S ran a national television advertising campaign on Channel 4, which offered 15 million viewers a free, no obligation tyre check at their local Point S Tyre & Autocare centre. Members also benefitted from a redesign of the point-s.co.uk website that makes it easier for visitors to reach members’ own websites.