Broad geographic spread

We operate in 26 markets, with 21 of these in the world’s fast growing economies of Asia Pacific and the Emerging Markets. While the mature nations of Western Europe are projected to continue recording steady growth in luxury and premium car sales from 2012 to 2015 and beyond, rapid and sustained growth is forecast from the premiumisation in the Asia Pacific region and other emerging nations. These markets are set to become the greatest drivers for Inchcape’s growth in the next decade, as countries like China and Russia further cement their place among the top global automotive markets.

• Interactive map

Well financed route to market

Inchcape plays a key role in the automotive value chain, providing a trusted and well-funded route to market for our brand partners. Through our retail route, we provide manufacturers with quality brand representation with scale facilities on a regional basis. Our competitive differentiation is the creation of a superior customer experience delivered through the proprietary processes of our Inchcape Advantage programme.

Our distribution route involves a wider range of critical functions carried out on behalf of our brand partners, including many activities that in other markets would be carried out by the manufacturer themselves. As the distributor, we operate as the manufacturer’s exclusive master-franchise partner in a particular territory. We carry out all of the marketing and sales activities, from selecting market-specific models, setting prices, ordering new cars and parts and their subsequent distribution, to appointing and managing the entire dealer network (of which we typically own 10-20% ourselves). We also undertake national marketing activities, including brand advertising, public relations and customer database management and the fulfilment of back-office functions. In city-state markets such as Hong Kong and Singapore, we operate both as the exclusive distributor and the exclusive retailer for our brand partners. Called vertically integrated retail (VIR), this enables us to capitalise on important margin opportunities.

Portfolio of world leading luxury and premium brands

Our unique portfolio of leading luxury and premium automotive brands includes Audi, BMW, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Rolls-Royce, Subaru, Toyota and Volkswagen. Luxury and premium brands continue to be the driving force of growth in automotive sales, outperforming other segments in the majority of markets with innovative developments in powertrains and environmental research.

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Growth and defensive value drivers

Our diversified revenue streams are balanced to deliver strong margins during times of economic growth and decline alike. Our ‘growth’ value drivers are sales of new and used vehicles, alongside the finance and insurance products that are associated with them. Inchcape’s ‘defensive’ value drivers are aftersales, servicing and parts, which in an average year deliver c.50% of our annual gross profit.

Empowered organisation is responsive to market changes and aligned on global processes

Our decentralised management structure enables local management teams to use their in-depth personal knowledge of individual markets within a globally aligned group structure. Our scale enables investments in world-class Group wide information systems, shared best practice and advanced business processes while our in-depth market knowledge and the ability to respond swiftly and decisively to fast-changing conditions gives us important advantages in our local markets. Therefore our organisational model provides the benefits of both global scale and local agility, enabling us to compete both in local markets and worldwide, through all stages of the economic cycle.