Garage Du Clos has diversified its activities into mobility services
Garage du Clos is a name, two addresses and knowledge. It must be said that its owner, the many families, bathed in the mechanical universe for decades. At the Montlhéry circuit André and Marie-Noëlle Mony met thanks to driver and common friend Christian Ravel. From this love story was born a first established in 1969 in the village of Leuville-sur-Orge (91). “My father became a car preparer, he was quite famous in the industry, says his son Nicolas Mony, who took over the business in 2012. This was the era of the R8 and R12 Gordini”. After several years of countless hours, the couple pursued other projects. And it was thanks to one of the volunteers of the Jean-Pierre Beltoise karting club that his fortune was accelerated: “My father really wanted to represent a brand but he didn’t know which one,” she continued. The club manager had just bought the very first Honda Accord coupe and offered to test drive it for a day. In the evening, he returned his car to him, and the next day he called Honda to represent the brand. The Mony couple acquired the panel in April 1979 as agents of a concessionaire in Corbeil-Essonnes (91), and ended up on their own flight three years later by officially joining the Honda network.
Be an example
Business grew so much that the management duo moved the dealership to its current location. in 1989, at exit 43 of the N104 towards Linas-Montlhéry, before opening a second in 1999 in Villebon-sur-Yvette (91). Since its installation, Garage Du Clos has been the only Honda distributor in Essonne. A strength that allows it to sell 200 new cars and 220 used cars per year. “When people come to see us, it is for special reasons. Because we are not in a very busy transit area, it is the quality of the after-sales service and our image that benefits the operation of the company and doing word of mouth! “. The concessionaire also retained its premises the Top 5 in the customer satisfaction index category in the Ile-de-France region with each of its establishments. All groups combined, it tops this ranking in the last quarter of 2022. “It’s really important because it’s the quality of service that makes the difference. We’re talking more about online sales, less interest in electric vehicles going to the dealership because there’s less notion of this service exactly and if we don’t stand out at this level- there , we risk dying very quickly. This is basic work that is important to do in all human-level structures like ours. Many customers tell me: we have been using Honda for 30 years but if you change, we will always buy “Garage Du Clos”. It’s great though and we really hope to continue our journey with Honda as it’s such a great brand to represent. Even now we are really struggling with all the semiconductor problems.
Being an entrepreneur is not easy. This requires agility, especially in the current context for the automotive industry. Since the health crisis, obstacles have been added, such as the lack of semiconductors, difficulties in production and logistics. The businessman is finding it difficult to sell his cars because of the extended delivery time. “We were able to sell the Honda Civic, which is our real spearhead, within three months. We were then asked to stop the sale due to delivery times of up to 16 months” Nicolas Mony is sad. It also takes 6 months for a Honda Jazz and 12 months for a Honda HR-V. “We are still expecting a very difficult year. When you have a trade but nothing to sell… We sell time now. Nationwide, it seems to me, almost 3,500 vehicles will be delivered, sold in 2022. This year, four new vehicles will be launched, so between the current portfolio, the demonstration vehicles, we are on the verge of 4,000 vehicles. Except Honda told us we won’t register more than about 5,000 units in 2023. So very few cars are sold. The biggest one is in 2024”.
On the road to diversity
Alongside his wife Nelly, Nicolas Mony has no choice but to look for other growth levers. The first is the OV and the second will focus on Different kinds of its activities. A biker for three generations, the Mony family wanted to turn this passion into a profitable activity. Especially since this project will make sense collectively since almost all 19 employees drive two-wheelers. A definite advantage for both trade and after-sales, which will not require recruiting for the moment. The leader approached the Italian brand Motorbike Morini. At the same time, he also plans to market license-free vehicles, as well as small electric cars. “We will try to focus on a current theme: mobility. We are always very busy with cars, we are open 6 days a week, in terms of sales we are always in the top ten in France so casually, it is it takes time. So sometimes you have to be tough to do something. You don’t always expect difficulty when things are going well. But we prefer to take this situation in a positive way. This is a new challenge, very stimulating ”. That has an extent 1,400 m2 each, the two concessions have the capacity to accommodate these new projects. Moto Morini only needs 25m2 of showroom to display its motorcycles. So the Mony family is ready to open a new chapter in its history.
