New aftersales chief for Audi in Australia

AUDI Australia has promoted Jerome Figuiere as general manager of aftersales, replacing Lyndon Bain who recently left the company for personal reasons.

Mr Figuiere has worked for the German prestige brand since 2006, serving as aftersales organisation manager for seven years before taking on the role of business quality manager late in 2013.

This role made him responsible for ensuring the company’s internal and external customer service processes “reflect the high standards of the luxury car-maker, particularly in regards to aftersales”.

He was also responsible for managing and monitoring profitability within the dealer network and for the implementation of Audi’s ‘Dealer Standards’ program.

Audi says that in his new role Mr Figuiere will be responsible for the brand’s entire aftersales organisation, from technical services to customer service and warranty.

The company will be looking to improve its standing in the independent JD Power Australia Customer Service Index (CSI) Study, which measures new-vehicle buyer satisfaction with the aftersales service.

In last year’s inaugural luxury market survey, Audi was well behind Mercedes-Benz (and the industry average), but ahead of BMW.

“As part of the brand’s 2020 vision, the importance of maintaining high levels of customer delight through service excellence sits alongside sales growth, dealer profitability and staff satisfaction as the key indicators for success,” said Audi Australia managing director Andrew Doyle.

“I’m extremely pleased to welcome Jerome Figuiere into this role, as he has the skills, experience and history with the brand to realise this vision within our aftersales business unit.”Mr Figuiere previously worked for Peugeot Automobiles Australia as regional aftersales manager – a position he was in for almost six years.