Aftersales services are an important part of the automotive business, especially since customers will be requiring the services for many years after they have purchased the vehicle. The quality of aftersales service is crucial as it can influence the owner whether to stick with the brand or switch to another one when it is time to get the next car.
Where service centres of authorised dealers used to be mere workshops, today they are comparable to the showrooms that display new cars. This upgrading began (in Malaysia) in the 1990s as a general move towards greater customer care. The service centre was made a more welcoming place, with a waiting lounge and amenities like drinks and TV. Today, wifi is provided and many service centres even offer light meals like nasi lemak or sandwiches and cakes.
Cycle & Carriage, one of the oldest Malaysian car companies (it was established in 1899), has long experience in the area of aftersales, having handled Mercedes-Benz since 1951 and Mitsubishi Motors between 1977 and the mid-1980s. It also handled, through various subsidiaries, brands such as Kia and Mazda.
The company was also Peugeot distributor between 2002 and 2007 and last year became associated with the French brand again as a dealer of Stellantis Malaysia, which manages the brand. Of course, almost 20 years have passed since Cycle & Carriage handled Peugeot so it’s essentially starting a new business again.
Providing aftersales support
Besides setting up showrooms in strategic locations, Cycle & Carriage has also established a service centre for Peugeot as part of its requirement as a dealer to provide the full range of services to customers. To have an operating service centre quickly, the company has apportioned a section of its existing aftersales centre for Mercedes-Benz in the Batu Caves area outside Kuala Lumpur.
“With our focus on service excellence and customer care, we aim to deliver unparalleled service experiences for all owners of the Stellantis brands, starting with Peugeot. This reinforces our commitment to providing comprehensive support across the entire ownership journey,” said Adrian Short, CEO of Cycle & Carriage.
Service centre for Stellantis brands
On the large site, 8,500 sq.ft. of space has been allocated for a dedicated Peugeot service centre which includes a Body & Paint facility. We understand that besides Peugeot, this service centre will also be used for other Stellantis brands such as Leapmotor, which Cycle & Carriage is also handling.
At this time, there was 5 bays for vehicles to be inspected and for carrying out maintenance and service. The Stellantis-trained technicians have diagnostic equipment and special tools required to service Peugeot vehicles. Having special tools is one of the differences between service centres of authorised dealers and independent workshops. Some of the tools are specifically for Peugeot vehicles and Cycle & Carriage must invest in them.
Direct technical support
The other thing about an authorised service centre is that it has access to technical support from the manufacturer. This is important in cases where there may be unusual technical problems and the best people to provide advice and guidance would be the ones who designed the car.
The service and maintenance processes follow those specified by Peugeot and it goes without saying that only genuine original parts must be used.
Body & Paint facility
The Body & Paint (B&P) section is not a common feature in every service centre and like other companies, Cycle & Carriage will probably have one or two in strategic locations around the country. The Batu Caves service centre has a B&P facility which required the installation of a new paint booth/oven room for ensuring that the painting is done to as close as possible to the factory finish.
Installed last November, the booth provides a controlled dust-free environment for painting parts or the entire vehicle. Airflow is regulated to maintain a higher pressure inside so that outside air and dust cannot flow in. Heating lamps around the room can maintain the temperature between 15°C to 24°C. The temperature is adjusted and maintained by a computer which takes into account the type of material – plastic or metal – so it is not too high to cause damage instead.
It is not possible to achieve a 100% identical finish to what a brand new car from the factory. In the factory, the car bodies are painted by robots and then baked thoroughly, processes which cannot be replicated or are too expensive for a service centre. But using similar processes on a smaller scale can give a high quality finish which most owners would not be able to tell the difference from an original finish (unless they are experts at automotive finishes).
Besides the use of the heated paint booth, the B&P facility also has a special paint mixing room. This is where the paint colour is precisely matched to the actual vehicle. This is necessary because the colour on a car that is a few years old is not exactly the same as a brand new one. Exposure to sunshine and other environmental conditions will cause it to change or even fade slightly. You may not notice it as it is very gradual but if you repaint the car with just a standard paint, you will see a difference.
Cycle & Carriage follows the requirements of Peugeot so the paint is supplied by PPG, one of the leading manufacturers of automotive paint which the automaker uses.
Professional accident repair
Equally important or perhaps even more important that the finish is repairing the bodywork after it has been damaged by an accident. In severe accidents, the body structure may be bent so it has to be straightened precisely using specialised equipment which Cycle & Carriage has installed. If the work is not done precisely, the vehicle will be dangerous to drive as it may not track properly due to the distorted chassis.
Here again, being an authorised dealer, Cycle & Carriage can obtain detailed technical and engineering information from Peugeot. This provides data on all the structural dimensions and using laser and computer-aided equipment, the structure can be restored to its original specification.
High standards
All this equipment and expertise ensures that vehicles are repaired to the highest standards. While the cost may be different from independent workshops, it would be worthwhile considering that safety is important (and the insurance company would probably pay for the repair costs in many cases).
The same applies to painting (or refinishing as it is known); costs may differ at authorised service centres because much high quality standards are applied with better materials. You could get the job done for 50% less but the quality might be poorer and might not be lasting. Cycle & Carriage, with its long experience handling the Mercedes-Benz brand, is already familiar with the need to provide top quality to customers.
“This new facility, in collaboration with our trusted partner Cycle & Carriage, is a testament to our shared ambition to set new benchmarks in aftersales excellence and our joint dedication to delivering a seamless ownership experience — building trust that goes the distance,” said Isaac Yeo, Managing Director of Stellantis ASEAN.
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