SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The president of DRIV technology and Fidelis PPM responded last week to General Motors' decision to reduce the number of service visits under its two-year, 24,000-mile free prepaid maintenance program from four to two.

“This is an excellent opportunity for dealers to cement the value of their own dealership maintenance programs with their customers,” said Ryan Williams. “The DRIV TM platform allows our dealers unlimited flexibility to make changes on the fly and control their own destiny as the OEM comes in and out of the PPM market.”

Fidelis PPM’s model for prepaid maintenance is built around building dealer loyalty vs. manufacturer loyalty. “While GM feels that the data from their maintenance program hasn’t netted the returns they were hoping for, Fidelis PPM has a proven track record of increasing customer retention for Dealers from a dismal industry average of 11% to an impressive 67% or more,” Williams said.

According to GM spokesperson, the decision to reduce service visits and coverage of its limited powertrain warranty was based on consumer research that showed free maintenance and warranty coverage weren’t major purchase considerations. The spokesperson added that internal company data showed a significant drop off in consumer usage of the maintenance program after the first visit.

Williams said Fidelis PPM has developed partnerships and integrations for their product that make it easy to sell in the finance department, service drive or preloaded on every vehicle ─ new or used. The company is also approved by Ford Credit for their e-contracting platform, he noted. The executive also highlighted the company's turnkey wrap program for GM, Toyota, Mazda and any other manufacturer that provides a maintenance plan.

“This turnkey solution allows dealers to turn a potential negative from GM’s announcement into a huge win for their dealership,” Williams noted.