Pictured above: Nigel Baxter, MD of RH Commercial
Vehicles
After a record year in 2010 RH Commercial Vehicles (RHCV)
Nottingham's independently-owned Renault Trucks dealer is looking
for another three sites in the Midlands, one to be opened this
year.
In May RHCV expanded into Leicester with the opening of a new
8,000 square foot site in Cossington in addition to its Nottingham
base on Lenton Lane.
Formed in 1977, RHCV has been a Renault Trucks dealer since 1986
and specialise in parts and servicing for heavy and light
commercial vehicles, as well as sales and rental It has seen
an uplift across all areas of the business.
Renault was one of only two manufacturers who saw market share
growth in 2010, achieving their best position since 2001 with
almost 7.5%, but achieving almost 12% in the tractor unit
sector.
Nigel Baxter, Managing Director of RH Commercial Vehicles added
"This remains a challenging market but we anticipate growth across
all areas of the business this year. We've budgeted for sales
of 400 vehicles in 2011 (an increase of 30% from last year) and
would hope that despite some inevitable 'belt tightening' because
of the VAT increase and concerns over public sector budget cuts
this is achievable. We already have vehicle stocks in place
with some attractive pricing and warranty packages which means we
can hold prices for the first part of the year.
"As some operators experience the challenge of financing new
vehicles or just don't want this commitment the demand for RHCV
contract hire and truck rental is increasing. We added almost
50 pieces to our truck rental fleet in 2010 which will be added to
further this year."
He added "It is our intention to open a further site this year
as we look to increase our presence in the area whilst I cannot
give a specific location it will be a similar size to Leicester.
In our sector you need to take the business to the operator,
logistical and cost issues mean that we have to locate ourselves
less than 30 mins drive from our customers and that's the strategy
we shall follow to develop the business."
RHCV believe some of its success is due to the conversion of
some key Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire operators to Renault
from other vehicle marques. This has been helped by a 'trucks
on the road' marketing campaign.
RHCV is part of the RH Group, established almost 40 years ago,
that operates the UK's largest European road freight network and
has positioned itself as one of the market leaders for
International freight in the UK.