Dealerships can face large battery replacement bills across their showroom vehicles, however this can all be avoided with some PROACTIVE battery management! Showrooms present a unique challenge when it comes to battery maintenance, vehicles are constantly in use by customers testing out the vehicles features. Just opening a door can energise the vehicle and help to drain the battery. Without support from the alternator, the 12V battery is under immense pressure to keep all systems running smoothly which in the end can lead to the battery failing, leaving the vehicle inoperable and leave customers thinking the vehicle is unreliable. And it’s not just petrol and diesel cars. Hybrid and pure EV cars all rely on a 12V battery for electrical power when the motor is not running. 

Rotronics has recently been working with a large main dealer who was experiencing issues with 12V batteries in their showroom vehicles. They were finding that battery replacements in showrooms were not only costly in themselves, but held the potential to cost the business in customer satisfaction. Dealerships want to ensure every part of the experience is perfect, from attractive showrooms to vehicles being placed in the perfect position. This effort can all go to waste if customers have the possibility to leave the showroom disappointed that, due to battery issues a demonstration of key features such as infotainment was not possible or worse, interrupted.  

Following a discussion with the dealer, we visited the site and with the showroom team, tested every vehicle battery. The testing revealed that 90% of the vehicles had  deeply discharged batteries which required immediate attention and, in some cases, required replacement.  

We identified two discreet and cost-effective battery management solutions for monitoring and  maintaining showroom vehicle batteries.  

Solution 1  

The first solution uses powerful DEFA 32A Showroom chargers. Designed specifically for showroom applications these chargers are powerful, silent and discreet. The detachable cables can be connected to the battery and then routed through the engine bay and connected to the charger underneath. The charger will silently maintain the battery without making a sound thanks to its fan-less design.   

Each vehicle can be quickly and easily outfitted with a charger and when the vehicle needs to leave the showroom, simply disconnect the cables and away it goes.  

Solution 2  

Having a charger for every vehicle in the showroom is an ideal solution, but isn't always possible due to practicality  (mains outlet availability) and cost. For the vehicles that couldn’t be fitted with its own charger, we connected CTEK Comfort Indicator’s direct to the 12v battery and provided the showroom with CTEK MXS 10 10A chargers.  

CTEK Comfort Indicators are a simple solution for quick battery checks and charging as they can be attached to the vehicles 12V battery. Fitted with traffic light indicators which can be positioned discreetly externally – usually in the bonnet or boot area, showroom staff can easily see when batteries require charging and then simply plug in a compatible CTEK charger, in this case an MXS 10.  

As part of the programme, Rotronics are using their ROBIS cloud based analysis system to manage a weekly monitoring process with the aim to use data to accurately  track progress and also identify any specific ‘problem’ vehicles that need attention. 

Ken Clark, Rotronics Managing director said ‘by implementing a showroom testing and charging programme, recording and reacting to the results, we expect to see a reduction in battery replacement costs and an improved customer experience in the showroom with the added benefit of taking away a major headache for showroom staff’