The participating dealers, who form part of MTS’s network of General Tire performance partners, were invited to take up the extreme driving challenge at two of the UK’s most challenging 4x4 proving centres, Parkwood Off-Road Centre in Bradford and the Harbour Hill Copse off-road site in Aldermaston near Reading, as a reward for their increased sales and customer loyalty.
Customers attending the two-day sessions at each location were given expert off-road driver training and educated on the new 4x4 patterns by testing the performance of the tyres in driving conditions that suited both their on and off-road capabilities.
The Grabber AT3 and Grabber X3 off-road 4x4 tyres were fitted to a range of vehicles, the latest Land Rover Discovery 5, Land Rover Discovery 4, Range Rover Sport and Toyota Hilux, to offer a varied driving experience that truly tested the performance of the tyres.
Each of the dealers was allocated to a team of three which included a skilled test driver employed to train the General Tire dealers how to navigate the off-road terrain and present the technological features of the tyres.
Following the demonstration runs, each dealer customer took to the driver’s seat to test their own aptitude behind the wheel and to demonstrate their abilities to work as a team within the vehicles.
Dan Woodhead, Manager at MCC Manchester Road Ltd, who attended the Bradford event said: “It was a well organised event and very educational in terms of learning at first-hand how the Grabber AT3 and Grabber X3 tyres perform in extreme off-road terrain.
“It’s really important to have that experience as you can only sell something that you believe in.
“Now when I am speaking to the customers about the tyres I tell them about the off-road event and they can see how genuinely enthused I am about the tyre’s performance. This helps to build trust with the customer as they appreciate that type of insight on the product.”
Huw Lewis, owner of Teiars Huw Lewis Tyres, said: “I was very impressed with the format of the event.
“There was plenty of hands on driving experience in testing conditions that gave us a good honest insight into the General Tire's potential.
“The attributes were delivered in a clear manner by a very experienced crew of 4x4 enthusiasts, who were able to show us the evidence of these attributes at different points around the course which really helped to evidence the tyre's capability.”
Alan Baldwin, wholesale director at Micheldever Tyres Services, said: “The 4x4 event was a great success and those dealers who took part had two very enjoyable days testing out the capabilities of the Grabber AT3 and Grabber X3 tyres at two of the most challenging off-road centres in the UK.
“The extreme driving challenge gave the dealers the chance to see how the tyres performed across all types of terrain including water, mud and rocks, while offering a fun but challenging test of their own driving abilities.
“Giving the dealers the opportunity to experience the product first hand enables them to fully understand the tyres capabilities, valuable knowledge that can be used to inform the sales process with their own customers.
“This type of event is indicative of MTS’s overall commitment to supporting our network of General Tire performance partners and rewarding them for customer loyalty.”
As part of the support programme offered to the network of General Tire performance partners, MTS also rolled out a programme of branded activities this summer at three of the UK’s major Game Fair events.
As part of the attendance at the GWCT Scottish Game Fair, The Game Fair and The Midland Game Fair, specialist 4x4 tyres from General Tire, BFGoodrich, Falken and Insa Turbo ranges were exhibited alongside sponsorship of key show activities to ensure further brand presence at the events.
Micheldever is General Tire’s distribution partner for its range of 4x4, car and van tyres.
Any dealer interested in becoming a General Tire Performance Partner should contact general.tire@micheldever.co.uk
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