Mitsubishi Motors in the UK franchised car retailers Devonshire Motors and Humphries and Parks have attained National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) Electric Vehicle Approved (EVA) accreditation status.

Earlier this year Nissan announced that its entire UK car retail network had achieved the standard, which is designed to equip retailers with the know-how to deliver customer service best practice to a new breed of alternative fuel vehicle (AFV) customer.

Now the two Mitsubishi retailers have become the first of their brand’s network to achieve the standard, joining 100 operators from various brands across the UK to gain accreditation.

Devonshire Motors dealer principal, Nathan Tomlinson, said: “We were involved with the NFDA at the pilot stage and as such were one of the first dealerships in the UK to be accredited.

“With the combination of factors that are occurring now and over the next few years consumers are beginning to understand that the internal combustion engine vehicles they are used to will eventually disappear.”

Tomlinson added: “Although, as a business, we have been around EV and PHEV technology for many years, it is completely new to the consumer and they are on a journey now to understand not only the suitability but the longer term implications of ownership.

“To be able to promote our business as having achieved a nationally recognised standard in sales, servicing and support of electric vehicle technology gives our customers the confidence and expertise they need to make a decision- and to ensure that they will get the assistance they need during ownership.”

The NFDA’s EVA scheme was developed with and is endorsed by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) and the Energy Saving Trust (EST) and was rolled out in 2019 to establish a set of standards for electric vehicle retail and aftersales services.

Accreditation was awarded to Devonshire Motors and Humphries and Parks Mitsubishi following an independent audit process carried out by the Energy Saving Trust.

Marcus Joy, managing director at Humphries and Parks, said: “When I learned of the NFDA’s new scheme I was keen to participate so that our expertise, built up since the introduction of the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV in 2014, could now be recognised formally.

“The audit process was quite rigorous and made us think hard about how we delivered our service to our customers.

“We are over the moon that we are amongst the first 100 garages to be approved in the UK. A real feather in the cap for our colleagues here at Humphries and Parks Mitsubishi.”

In 2019 Mitsubishi Motors ranked fourth overall in the NFDA Electric Vehicle Dealer Attitude Survey and second for the training of dealership staff in both sales and aftersales.

Toyota topped the rankings, followed by Kia and Volvo, as Alliance partners Renault and Nissan finished with the survey’s worst rankings for their AFV approach in the eyes of their dealer partners.

Commenting on Devonshire Motors and Humphries and Parks’ attainment of EVA accreditation, NFDA director, Sue Robinson, said: “Congratulations to NFDA members Devonshire Motors and Humphries and Parks Mitsubishi for receiving their Electric Vehicle Approved accreditation. The role of dealers is crucial during the transition to electric vehicles and the EVA badge of approval will help dealers communicate to the consumer their expertise in the EV sector.”