Greg Levine is a well-known character in the South African automotive world. Before taking charge of Audi’s operations in the United Kingdom, Levine was head of Audi in South Africa and played a key role in establishing the German brand as a real player in the local premium segment.
He has enjoyed great success, both in South Africa and in the UK, and has great experience of retail business and brand-building, which is something that McLaren would want to make the most of – earlier this year, Levine moved across to McLaren and now heads the company’s sales and marketing activities. His responsibilities include bringing the McLaren MP4-12C to market, strengthening the brand and overseeing the establishing of a dealer and support network.
We chatted with Levine about his new life in England, his role at McLaren and the challenges that he faces, and the future of the brand.
CAR: How is England treating you?
Greg: I am enjoying it. It’s very interesting, but it’s great to come home and spend some time here. My experiences at Audi have been amazing and we achieved great results. And now, I’m taking on this new exciting challenge. Let me tell you, launching a new car, not to mention to establish a car company, is very demanding. But, it is also very exciting.
My experience at Audi in South Africa was valuable. The local motor trade is very complex and a very well-run industry. It gave me an excellent grounding and, obviously, working for a company within the Volkswagen group was an excellent opportunity to learn and develop.
What I have realised is that many markets are behind South Africa in terms of retail practises but there are other markets, specifically the US and UK, that are much more sophisticated than South Africa and are definitely ahead in the disciplines. We could learn a lot from these markets.
Going overseas has been a wonderful experience. With Audi, it was also very fruitful and it remains a very attractive franchise. They achieved record sales numbers and this year, in the UK, it looks as if Audi will overtake BMW in the premium segment. So, it is really pushing to be the number-one premium brand in the UK. I truly enjoyed being part of that story during my time there.
And now, I’ve stepped across to McLaren, where I’ve been for the last nine months. It is a company with the most amazing motorsport heritage and this is evident in everything that we do in the company. The challenge for us is to transfer this heritage and passion to our road cars. That said, the development of the MP4-12C is very logical; it is as if it was expected of us to develop a road car business.
It is certainly not an easy or simple task. We needed to establish a business in 19 countries – so we’ve got many dealership rollouts and we’ve got to develop everything from scratch. Every component in the car is new and McLaren-designed. Our diagnostics tools are new. Our special tools are new. Our training manuals and materials are new. There is nothing that is not new. And that in itself is hugely daunting.
So, from a professional and personal perspective, and just like in a season of Formula 1 racing, you have to accept that not everything will run to plan. That you are going to stumble. But, you keep your focus and what I love here is that the company is completely focused on succeeding.
There have been reports of quality issues with the car.
In the end, it comes down to how you deal with problems. We want to be a company that is always transparent about this. We’ve had a couple of issues, which were not safety related. In fact they were all software related bugs that we are swiftly addressing.
Would you say that these issues have damaged the brand image?
I think that the reality of the auto industry is that everyone has small launch issues like these ones. It all comes down to how you deal with them. And yes, if you don’t handle it properly, it will damage your brand. The challenge with McLaren is that because the brand is so synonymous with attention to detail, perfection is expected of us. And we intend to deliver this to our customers.
How many cars have you sold globally?
To date, we’ve taken nearly 2 000 orders, which means that we are sold out in many markets until the end of 2012. The challenge is to keep these customers and continue to grow our new order-take.
How do you establish a niche British brand globally?
I do not have a big marketing budget, so we have to be very targeted with our activities. But practically 400-million people watch our cars race every weekend in the Formula 1 championship. That helps. The brand has a great cache.
How do you establish a new sportscar brand?
With the MP4-12C, we are talking to customers who own more than one car. They also own more than one supercar. These customers look for something different from their cars and we need to ensure they appreciate and understand what the 12C offers them.
Our advantage is how customer centric we are as a business. My boss is obsessed with our customers, to the point where he drives me crazy, but, in the end, that is what is needed. That is how you build a brand from scratch.
And, I feel, that is where some other premium and exotic brands can fail. If you take South Africa as an example, I think you’ll be surprised at how poorly many high-end customers are treated. Obviously, marketing a niche product is different. Niche is interesting because I have the opportunity to know my customers. It is very exclusive and I like that. It is a different way of doing business and requires a different way of talking and engaging with your customers.
How do you establish an effective back-up process globally?
My biggest job is to establish the infrastructure required to sell, deliver and service our cars. I also need to ensure that our business processes are robust to enable us to be a sustainable business in the years ahead.
We’re in the great position of being able to choose our dealer network from scratch. This has allowed us to be very specific regarding their experience and the level of service that they can supply our customers. We are also very demanding of our dealers: every dealership is required to carry a full set of every spare part. This is a real difficult sell to the dealers, because of the high costs involved, but it is the right thing to do. We also offer a 24-hour back-up service along with very advanced diagnostics equipment, including online communication for remote diagnostics, which will be available shortly.
In a year from now, I’ll be able to tell you if all the hard work has payed off.
How has introducing a car like the Audi R8 differed from launching the MP4-12C?
The two are very different. The one is much easier. I mean, I have launched the R8 in South Africa. The infrastructure is there. All the call centres work. Everything on the product, manufacturing and distribution works and has been tested.
And, the dealer network has other business. If you stop the supply of the R8 for two weeks, it makes little difference to the dealerships because they will continue to sell A1s, A3s and the rest of the range. If I stop delivery of the MP4-12C, our dealers have nothing to sell. They have no servicing or used vehicles to keep the business active.
With McLaren, we are launching a car company. And let me tell you that you cannot believe how tough it is when you’re starting from scratch. But this is what makes it a challenge … this is what makes it fun. It’s not often one gets to launch a sportscar brand!
What’s in the pipeline at McLaren?
Rest assured that we are not a one-car company. We are a car company and not a car. We intent to offer a much fuller range of vehicles in the near future and, in five years, McLaren will be a very different company from today.
On a tough day I usually go to our styling and design studio and I look at the new things that we are doing and it energises me. Anything is possible and we are busy with some really special things.
How do you establish a brand that acknowledges its heritage (specifically the F1), but does not ride on its coattails?
One thing that you can never buy is heritage. It takes time and effort. And, luckily, McLaren has a great racing and road car heritage.
My dream, my vision is that if you go to a playground in 10 or 15 years and ask a youngster what his dream car is, that he would say McLaren. Then we would have made it. And that is a journey and one that requires the launch of many new products and the telling of a story. The story of who we are. It is winning the hearts and minds of customers. And that is my job.
