Fiat Chrysler says it has already lifted its parts game in Australia – a key issue in the recent Australian Competition and Consumer Commission investigation.
Timely parts delivery to customers was a key issue in the investigation, with many customer cases to be reviewed in the coming months, Autotalk reported last week .
FCA Australia president Pat Dougherty said there was full co-operation with the ACCC during the process, and acknowledged its shortcomings in both areas – although noted the problems were under previous management.
“The ACCC’s investigation highlighted shortcomings in how we’ve responded to customer concerns,” said Dougherty, “an area that we were already taking measures to address.
“The ACCC’s involvement has provided additional impetus and introduced greater urgency to our own efforts, and will lead to FCA Australia providing a far higher level of service to both its existing and future customers.”
Whether simply spin or sincerity, FCA Australia’s should be better served by the company across all of its brands.
Some improvements have now been implemented, a statement said, with changes including doubling the numbers of key parts and service management staff.
It has expanded its parts and technical resources for dealers and added a dedicated team to resolve problems.
FCA parts warehousing has expanded to 24-hour operation on weekdays, and has doubled its parts inventory and warehouse capacity so far, with more growth planned.
Parts not stocked within Australia will be more easily sourced with improvements to processes for obtaining parts from overseas, particularly for vehicles that cannot be used while parts are imported.
In line with the ACCC’s agreement struck with FCA Australia, a review will be conducted of specific customer complaints made between January 2013 and December last year. Those complaints will be dealt with by an independent person assisted by FCA Australia personnel.
Customers with cases covered by the review terms will be notified in the next 60 days, but are not obliged to take up the offer.
Join the conversation