FORD has put itself on the UK shopping list – literally – by signing up for in-store displays at Rockar’s latest joint-venture with the huge British retailer, Next.

It is the first time Ford has committed itself to a shopping centre presence in the UK.

Next, the clothing and home products retailer has 550 stores in the UK. It signed up with Rockar’s online/in-store car sales and service system in January and has now recruited Ford as the first partner for the initiative.

The program comprises car displays within the store and links directly to Rockar’s digital service that allows the online purchase and trade-in of vehicles. Test cars are available within the shopping centre grounds.

The Ford relationship is the first between Next and Rockar, although Rockar has shops for Hyundai and Jaguar Land Rover in two major centres close to London.

Spokesperson for Rockar, Fiona Hepworth, said the arrangement with Ford would not be exclusive, paving the way for other brands to use the Rockar direct marketing method via high-traffic shopping centres.

By aligning with Next, an upmarket retail chain known for its visible, high-street presence, Rockar and Ford aim to become front and centre for car buyers and even people who may not have considered a Ford or even considered a car purchase.

Behind the visible car display is an online car sales platform developed by Ford and Rockar.

The first showing for the Ford-Rockar partnership will be with a five-car digital store in the newly-refurbished Next outlet in Manchester’s Arndale shopping centre. This is expected to open in May.

It will offer only passenger cars and SUVs and will start with the 2018 Fiesta, EcoSport and Mustang models.

“The platform will empower Ford customers to specify, finance, part exchange (trade in) and order a new car for delivery to participating dealers, to Ford in Manchester Arndale, or to a home address anywhere in the country,” Rockar said in a statement.

The buying experience will mirror many Ford dealerships, with support from the brand’s personal contract purchase (PCP) scheme called Ford Options. Vehicles will carry the same warranties and roadside assistance terms.

Ms Hepworth said test drives will be available from the Arndale shopping centre and new cars could be handed over to customers from within the centre.

Rockar said it would be supporting Ford by recruiting and training a team of 15 product experts and support members.

“These people will not be paid commission but will be chosen based on personality and product knowledge to offer a friendly, pressure-free car buying experience for Ford customers,” Rockar’s statement said.

Rockar founder Simon Dixon said in an interview with Automotive Management Online in January that the Next partnership would generate more pedestrian traffic than the existing in-store car sites, which have an annual passing footfall of 89 million shoppers.

“Not only does our space within the Next store have a high visual impact from outside the store, with a full-length glass frontage, but everyone that enters the Arndale Centre through Next from the bus or train station will do so right through the middle of our retail space,” he told AM Online.

“While our area of the store will have the distinct look and branding of our new manufacturer partner there is no more to separate it from the rest of the Next store as there is dividing menswear from women’s wear.

“Looking at our own statistics for the stores we have at the moment in Bluewater and Westfield Stratford, we currently generate 180,000 to 250,000 visitors for our partner car manufacturers each year.

“But the Next store at the Arndale Centre is many multiples of that so we are positioning ourselves and our new car manufacturer partner in front of many, many more people.”

Mr Dixon said he saw the Next collaboration as an opportunity to realise a plan to have 12 stores at top shopping centres across the UK, but added: “Next has 500 stores across the UK, so the opportunity for us is huge.”

Ford of Britain chairman and managing director Andy Barratt said: “We have the most extensive dealership network, which has received significant investment including new FordStores, Transit Centres and Mobile Service Vans.

“These premises will remain to serve the many customers wanting to make a special trip to a traditional dealer.

“There is, however, also a growing appetite to browse for cars in other retail environments – particularly online – which are needs that we are meeting with these new 2018 ventures.”

Ford is the top-selling brand in the UK with 11.3 per cent of the market with sales during 2017 of 318,316 units. Its next rival is Volkswagen with 8.2 per cent market share.

Of concern to Ford in the UK is that its 2017 sales were down 9.7 per cent compared with 2016, while Volkswagen held its ground with a 0.7 per cent sales increase in the same period.

By Neil Dowling