Ten Largest Motor Dealer Groups are now ‘SAF Approved’

The Finance and Leasing Association (FLA) is pleased to announce that the ten largest motor dealer groups are now ‘SAF Approved’. Specialist Automotive Finance (SAF) was introduced by the FLA in 2007 to raise the professional standards of individual staff involved in selling motor finance in dealerships.

Approved Status was introduced two years later to recognise the commitment of dealerships where all employees involved in the sale of finance have passed the SAF competence test and have agreed to be retested once a year to keep their technical knowledge up to date. The SAF network now has over 2,500 showrooms across the UK, meaning that more customers than ever are benefitting from better information.

Financing Your Car, the FLA’s impartial guide to car finance, includes a search engine to help people find their nearest SAF Approved showroom using their postcode, preferred dealer or brand.

Paul Harrison, Head of Motor Finance at the FLA, said: “The SAF scheme is designed and supported by the motor finance industry.

“It invests in the training of dealership staff to ensure high standards of expertise when selling motor finance. We have today reached an important milestone, as the top ten UK dealerships have all now achieved Approved Status.

“With motor finance now supporting 75% of private new car sales, SAF knowledge is essential for any showroom team.”

Note to editors:

1. The SAF search engine can be found on the FLA’s Financing Your Car website www.financingyourcar.org.uk/dealers/#searchForm

2. Sytner Group was awarded SAF Approved status at the end of May, and their participation now means that the ten largest dealer groups are in the programme.

3. Automotive Management’s (AM) list of the UK’s largest motor dealer groups can be found at  http://www.am-online.com/AM100/

4. FLA members in the consumer finance sector include banks, credit card providers, store card providers, second-charge mortgage lenders, motor finance providers, personal loan and short-term credit lenders, and instalment credit providers.

5. In 2013, FLA members provided £88.3 billion of new finance to UK businesses and households. £65.9 billion of this was in the form of consumer credit representing almost a third of all unsecured lending in the UK including £27.5 billion of funding to help consumers and businesses buy vehicles.