With Garage Feyaerts joining ADV Automotive, the dealer group is reinforcing its position as the largest Ford dealer group in Belgium. It now has 14 dealerships across the country. Meanwhile, the group is also looking to enlarge its model portfolio with other (mostly Chinese) brands.
Garage Feyaerts, a family-run business, has been active in car distribution for over 80 years and has built up a strong position as a Ford dealer in East Brabant, with dealerships in Aarschot and Haacht.
Staying local, join forces
“We chose to integrate into the ADV Automotive group because it will be a partner we feel close to: geographically, historically, and in the way they treat customers and personnel. We keep our local and family character, but can benefit from the strength and possibilities a larger, stronger organization can realize,” comments Tom Feyaerts.
Ben De Groof, CEO of ADV Automotive, replies: “When we presented ADV Automotive to our new partner, we insisted that this isn’t a classic case of scaling up. That’s a standing promise. In fact, we encountered the same spirit in Aarschot and Haacht: a dealership has to be tied to its region. Our first concern will thus be to stay locally tuned, and to keep what is working well, not to change for the sake of change.”
Larger brand portfolio
ADV Automotive is expanding its brand portfolio with the new Chinese brands that are doing well lately in the Belgian market. Omoda, Jaecoo, and Chery will be offered at different dealerships in the group that already has Mazda and Zeekr in its offerings.
Customers for Omoda and Jaecoo can thus also go to the Haacht dealership of Feyaerts and not only for Ford products. Apparently, this won’t be the end of the brand expansion, as talks with another (undisclosed) manufacturer are in their final phase.
With this brand offer enlargement, ADV Automotive wants to react to a market that is changing quickly and “where electric and hybrid cars, new brands, and changing mobility needs are playing an ever bigger role.”
The next step to take
Garage Feyaerts insists that this integration into a larger group is the next step in a family history: rely on and expand the sound Ford structure, enlarge the offer to attract new customers, and be prepared for the mobility of the future.
At the same time, Garage Feyaerts gets access to other services ADV Automotive can offer: a specialized tire service (Banden Ben), a second-hand car offer through ADV Used Cars and, of course, a joint and therefore significantly enlarged parts department providing direct assistance to 14 dealerships.
ADV Automotive can thus be of interest to individual buyers, independent businesses, SMEs, larger companies, leasing providers, and public services. It combines selling vehicles with their maintenance and eventual repair, as well as proposing fleet solutions.
From the beginning, ADV Automotive wanted to combine local presence with shared expertise and a growing offer in mobility solutions, also as an answer to the bigger foreign dealer groups like Van Mossel or Hedin that have invaded the Belux market in recent years.
