May 2021 – With the launch of the new Piaggio Porter NP6 city truck in the European markets (January 2021), the network of Piaggio Commercial dealers was expanded, currently including over 350 sale points, associated with about 200 different operators, many of which with multiple locations and operating throughout Europe. The numbers include both sale points that are part of the Selling Agencies – present in Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Greece, and the Benelux – and those managed by Importers. These are present in Malta, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Iceland, Northern Macedonia, Poland, Slovenia and, in the Overseas area, Guadalupe and La Reunion.
Vincenzo Scardigno, 3-4 Wheeler EMEA and Emerging Markets Executive Vice President, with the new Piaggio Porter NP6.
Vincenzo Scardigno, Piaggio Group 3-4 Wheeler EMEA and Emerging Markets Executive Vice President, commented: “Simultaneously with the arrival of the Porter NP6, we proceeded with the reshaping of our domestic and foreign network, redesigning its identity, with the specific goal of considerably increasing the performance level in terms of service and professionalism.
The partners selected fully meet the financial, organisational and dimensional standards set by Piaggio Commercial and guarantee an improvement of territorial capillarity, thanks to their presence with multiple locations and the dense network of workshops associated with them.
Throughout Europe, more than 50 percent of the dealers are new and they are coming alongside those who traditionally follow the Piaggio brand. In Italy, that percentage has increased by 80% and the new dealerships come from the world of commercial and industrial vehicles. As for European Importers, new, high-level operators have been added in markets like Poland, Croatia and Slovenia.”
Vincenzo Scardigno, 3-4 Wheeler EMEA and Emerging Markets Executive Vice President, with the new Porter NP6 units produced at the Piaggio Commercial plant in Pontedera (Pisa, Italy), ready for the European dealers.
The new Piaggio Commercial partners include the companies interviewed here, with the same questions for all. Here are their responses.
THREE INTERVIEWS WITH: ESSONNE POIDS LOURDS-DAUMONT GROUP (FRANCE), COCENTRO S.A. (SPAIN) AND BENUSSI D.O.O. (CROATIA-SLOVENIA).
Presentation of your companies: how long have you been operating, in which sectors and markets?
ESSONNE POIDS LOURDS-DAUMONT GROUP: “The Daumont Group was founded in 1949. It is a car and truck group with headquarters in Île-de-France. Our truck operation is primarily located in Essonne with the Corbeil Essonne Poids Lourds branch and the Etampes Trucks branch. We are a leader in our market, with 50% of the market share every year. We sell about 250 trucks and 150 light commercial vehicles per year.”
Richard Collin, ‘Piaggio specialist salesperson’ of Essonne Poids Lourds (France), with the new Porter NP6. Essonne Poids Lourds photo.
COCENTRO S.A.: “Cocentro S.A. was founded on 4 June 1987 and its founding partners - Angel Garrido Sahuquillo and Emiliano López Donate – who already had experience in the car and industrial vehicle sector in the provinces of Cuenca and Albacete, decided to expand their market into the central area, specifically in the province of Madrid. To conduct their commercial operations, Cocentro S.A. purchased from Ciasa, a Pegaso brand dealer and distributor with plants located on Carretera de Valencia, Km. 12, in Madrid. Beginning from 1 July 1987, operations have been conducted in these structure that cover 32,400 m2, including offices which occupy 4,500 m2 where the aftersales, sales and administrative services are located. In 2018, Iveco assigned the entire southern area of Spain and, to provide aftersales coverage, Cocentro S.A. opened new plants in Fuenlabrada in the La Cantueña industrial zone with about 6,200 m2. Throughout this time, in order to improve its customer service, Cocentro, S.A. carried out renovations and upgrades to its structures, incorporating cutting-edge machinery in all of its departments. In order to achieve the goal, the company had set for itself, providing customer service that the competition is unable to offer was considered a fundamental factor, both in terms of diversity and quality.
Cocentro S.A. photo (Spain).
In fact, Cocentro S.A.’s goal is to meet all the needs of our industrial and passenger vehicle customers, providing complete services for their vehicles without them having to seek out the various services they may need. Cocentro is oriented toward providing ‘The service of the Future’ based on the pillars of Quality and Service. Using any and all necessary technical and human resources. Operations: sale of spare parts, repair and sale of industrial and passenger vehicles. Locations: Madrid and Fuenlabrada.
Cocentro S.A. photo (Spain).
Cocentro is an official Dealership: Official Iveco Dealership for the province of Madrid. Official dealership for the sale of Iveco buses in the provinces of Madrid, Toledo, Guadalajara, Segovia, Ávila, Cáceres, Saragozza, Badajoz, Huesca, Teruel, Soria and Logroño. Fiat Professional Service Dealership. FPT authorised workshop. Official Piaggio Dealership for the province of Madrid. Continental analogue tachographs, digital tachographs and limiters.
Cocentro S.A. photo (Spain).
Services: Sale of new vehicles. Sale of new buses. Sale of used vehicles. Sale of spare parts. Workshops: Mechanical; Electrified; Injection; Pre ITV (brake test, play detector and direction alignment); Power Bank for engines; Vehicle transformations: Sheet metal; Paint (with drying oven and mixing bench); Air conditioning; Tachographs and limiters. 24 hours of service. Diagnostics centre. Motor Expert Centre. Number of employees: 110. Turnover of approximately €65,000,000.
Cocentro S.A. photo (Spain).
GARRIDO GROUP. Cocentro is part of the Garrido Group, which is a company dedicated to the automotive industry (industrial and passenger vehicles), each a leader in the segment where they operate. The founding owners of this Group, Emiliano López and Angel Garrido, skilfully instil in each of their companies the innovative spirit, their mentality of providing customers with quality and service, and they transmit their personal motivation to employees and managers. The companies that comprise the group are: Cocentro S.A. Talleres Garrido de Motilla S.A., Autosur de Levante S.A., and Tecnocarrocera S.L. All of the companies are certified with the ISO 9001:2015 quality standard and the ISO 14001:2015 environmental standard.”
Cocentro S.A. photo (Spain).
BENUSSI D.O.O.: “Benussi d.o.o. is an authorised importer and repairer for renowned truck manufacturer IVECO. It was founded in 1992 in Pula, where it began selling spare parts. In 1996 it opened the doors to its first branch in Pola and became an IVECO truck agent. Constantly monitoring the market and investing in the quality of its personnel, it gradually increased its market share in the Rijeka and Varaždin territories. In 2010 it took over the branch in the capital city of Zagreb and Slavonski Brod, and immediately thereafter in Zara and Spalato, thereby becoming the only IVECO truck importer in Croatia with 7 branches. In 2013, Benussi d.o.o. took over the Slovenian market with great enthusiasm and 2 branches in Ljubljana and Maribor. In 2021, we became Piaggio importers for the Croatian and Slovenian market. Today - with a total of 9 branches and more than 150 employees - Benussi d.o.o. is the result of hard work, commitment and progress. Following new products and constantly training our employees, we are in step with the trends and quality of the world.”
Headquarters of importer Benussi d.o.o. Fažana, Croatia (photo sent by Fabio Benussi).
Why the choice to become a Piaggio Commercial dealer partner?
ESSONNE POIDS LOURDS-DAUMONT GROUP: “Historically, we are a Renault and Renault Trucks distributor. Piaggio is the perfect complement to the range that we wanted to distribute (sell). Piaggio is a brand known all over the world with vast experience in its sector. We wanted to distribute a brand that shares our values. Beginning with customer satisfaction, above all, providing them with quality vehicles and excellent aftersales services. Values for our customers and for us: ‘because a truck should never disappoint you and a truck is a profit centre’ (our slogan).”
COCENTRO S.A.: “In Piaggio Commercial, Cocentro saw a market niche complementary to our products that we were selling and with great growth potential, taking into consideration the evolution of the markets toward more urban and ecological products. It is a product that Cocentro’s ‘big clients’ use, primarily urban waste collection and maintenance companies. With their dimensions and low emissions, they are very functional for carrying out urban missions in the centre of Madrid.”
BENUSSI D.O.O.: “The choice is rather simple. If IVECO has all the large vehicles, we were missing precisely the smallest and most compact vehicles like the ones Piaggio manufactures, especially to be used in our territories and in the small towns with narrow streets that characterise our coast, from Istria to Dubrovnik.”
What features of the new Porter NP6 do you like the most?
ESSONNE POIDS LOURDS-DAUMONT GROUP: “The features of Piaggio vehicles are in step with the times. For the Paris region, compact and ecological vehicles are needed. Piaggio is currently one of the few Crit'air 1 certified vehicles for the Paris area. The new Porter NP6 also offers many possible equipment packages (load bed, platform, crane, etc.).”
Cocentro S.A. photo (Spain).
COCENTRO S.A.: “The most popular features of the Porter NP6 are: • Versatility of the product. • Cargo capacity. • Vast possibilities of personalisation. • Ecological engines. • Compact vehicle with reduced dimensions. • Competitive operating cost.”
BENUSSI D.O.O.: “All the features of the new Porter NP6 are popular and in a new commercial product, for me the best characteristics are the cargo capacity and the design.”
What were some of the first comments you received from your customers, partners, staff about the new Porter NP6?
ESSONNE POIDS LOURDS-DAUMONT GROUP: “They think that the new Piaggio vehicle has entered a new era. They say that it looks more modern and sturdier with qualities in line with European standards. The Porter NP6 is a modern vehicle, far beyond the previous vehicles that also build the brand’s reputation.”
COCENTRO S.A.: “The feedback was extremely positive and with outstanding expectations for the future.”
BENUSSI D.O.O.: “The initial comments are extremely good. For example, many customers are pleased with the comfort provided by the cab and the design is also popular.”
Which categories of customers do you primarily target with the new Porter in your reference markets?
ESSONNE POIDS LOURDS-DAUMONT GROUP: “Our target clients are municipalities and artisans who need a compact vehicle (landscapers, stonemasons, etc.). We market it to customers who need an ecological and compact vehicle.”
Piaggio Commercial photo.
COCENTRO S.A.: “Service companies, urban maintenance companies, waste collection companies, municipalities and last-mile distribution/delivery companies.”
Cocentro S.A. photo (Spain).
BENUSSI D.O.O.: Our market depends largely on the summer season. We particularly dedicate a lot of time and effort to the following sectors: municipal services, small transport and logistics, agriculture, nautical marinas... especially in the towns near the sea and on all our islands.”
FINAL COMMENTS. ESSONNE POIDS LOURDS-DAUMONT GROUP: “Last, but not least, I would say that the new Piaggio has arrived just in time. It has arrived at a time when we must drive in a clean way in our cities, a period when there is little space in our cities, a time when our customers want to maintain a virtuous image with a high-performance work instrument. The NP6 is the symbol.” BENUSSI D.O.O.: “As a new dealer, we hope to sell many Piaggio vehicles and it is extremely important to me that our customers are satisfied.”
Piaggio Commercial website:
commercial.piaggio.com/en_EN
