Ford Motor Company has reached a significant milestone with its Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center business, thanks to the opening of its 700th store.
Ford’s Quick Lane vehicle maintenance business remains one of the fastest-growing service brands in the industry. According to Ford, Quick Lane operators sold a record 1.4 million tires in 2013 — up 12 per cent versus an industry average of 1.1 per cent. In addition, Quick Lane posted record sales of nearly $800 million for 2013. Due to the brand’s success in the U.S., Ford is now offering Quick Lane globally, opening more than 100 additional stores outside the U.S. where the business is also growing rapidly.
Quick Lane offers routine vehicle maintenance such as oil and filter changes, light repair services including brake repair, and tire replacements on all vehicle makes and models.
“With our new Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center, our customers don’t have to sacrifice speed over quality — we can provide both,” said Chaz Gilmore, General Manager and partner of Ford’s 700th Quick Lane store located at Grapevine Ford Lincoln in Grapevine, Texas.
“We have a separate service facility with a dedicated staff that can provide timely and convenient services for all vehicle maintenance and light repairs, while providing the peace of mind of factory-trained technicians and quality parts,” said Gilmore.
“Quick Lane works for everyone — the customer, the dealer and the community,” said Frederiek Toney, Vice-President, Ford Motor Company and President, Ford Customer Service. “For the customer, it’s easy in, easy out, and fast, high-quality service all-around. For the dealer, it provides a steady stream of new customers from all makes, a significant portion of who sometimes transition to Ford vehicle ownership. For the community, it’s another source of jobs, and represents early career experience for young technicians who develop essential trade skills before moving on to bigger jobs in the dealership repair shop.”
In the U.S. Quick Lane sells tires from 11 leading brands including Goodyear, Michelin and Continental, and offers the guaranteed best price on all tires sold.
Due to Quick Lane’s success for Ford and its dealers, Ford is investing in the brand and looking to grow the business further.
In 2013, Ford launched its first national advertising campaign for the business, featuring “Ready to Serve” Quick Lane advisors and technicians. Ford also launched a series of all-new digital ads that show the lighter side of vehicle maintenance, humorously featuring a Quick Lane technician who seeks to improve the world by providing friendly maintenance advice to others including a police officer and a teacher.
In the U.S., Ford says that Quick Lane operators continue to experience an increase in routine maintenance services from vehicles other than Ford and Lincoln products. Services to competitive vehicles in 2013 made up around 25 per cent of the Quick Lane business, as consumers continued to migrate to Quick Lane shops for fast and convenient services — all performed by factory-trained technicians.
