"Humility and a
long-term approach
create possibilities"
To remain successful in a fast-changing world, we need to adapt, renew and challenge ourselves by constantly developing and identifying new opportunities.
A stable result during a year of uncertainty
We reported our second best result ever in 2022, despite the high level of macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty around the world. The year has been characterised by the ongoing global shortage of components, rising inflation, high interest rates and increased energy prices. The stable result, taking into account divested operations, was attributable to the continued strong performance of the Service Business and a good demand for cars. Similarly to last year, we begin 2023 with a record high order backlog, 26,325 cars in total.
Our circular business model
To contribute to fulfilling the UN’s global Sustainable Develop-ment Goals 2030, and satisfy demand for sustainable products and services, we are developing new services in areas such as reuse and renovation of spare parts. In recent years we have therefore acquired car dismantling operations and we are working to increase the proportion of reused parts in our workshops. During the year, we acquired the majority stake in Bil1Din AS in Norway, making us the first player in the coun-try to take clear responsibility for the sustainability of the car throughout its life cycle, including reuse of used parts. Through our circular business model we offer the customer help with everything from buying a new or used car, insurance, acces-sories, servicing, damage repair and car rental, to dismantling and reuse of used spare parts. We have during the year launched sustainability targets. Satisfied customers and proud employees have been a target for us for many years and we are convinced that these are im-portant components of Bilia’s sustainable growth strategy. For 2022, Bilia’s volume-weighted customer satisfaction was 3.0 percentage points higher than the average for the respective brand in its country. The percentage of committed employees was 15 percentage points higher compared to benchmark, which meant that we met our targets. We have now added three new targets relating to reused spare parts, the proportion of women in our sales operation, and that we want to contribute to a lower climate impact for our customers.
Times are changing – and so are we
We are seeing increased demand for turnkey solutions for car users. Time is scarce for many people, and our full-service con-cept enables us to offer our customers a full range of services and save valuable time. We are continuing to develop our new area of operation, Mobility Care, which is part of our focus on expanding shared services for all car brands. Mobility Care currently encompasses tyres, dismantling, reuse of used spare parts, car glass, used cars and damage centres. We see a growing market need for tyres and rim repairs in future as tyres on electric cars wear more quickly and the aluminium rims are larger and more expensive than before.
Together we are the Bilia family
Acquiring operations that complement and enhance our existing Service and Car Business, allows us to pursue an ongoing sustainable business strategy and growth in future. During the year, the Bilia family has been extended by a further eight high-quality car brands. The acquisition of Söderbergs Personbilar i Norrköping AB means that as of 2023 we can offer sales and servicing for Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, Seat and Cupra cars, and for Volkswagen transport vehicles. The acquisition of AS Insignia enables us to offer sales and servicing for Jaguar and Land Rover in Oslo. In addition, we signed an agreement with XPENG regarding sales of new cars and service operations in Sweden from 2023. We also strengthened our BMW offering through the acqui-sition of M Bilar Group AB, a BMW and MINI dealer in Sweden. In addition we have expanded our service network for trucks in northern Sweden with the acquisition of Holmgrens Truck-Motor AB in Gällivare, and Hellgrens Lastvagnsservice AB and Skellefteå Billackering AB in Skellefteå. These acquisitions enable us to develop our truck operations for Mercedes-Benz and further bolster our Service Business.
Focus on the customer and their needs
While we are working actively to meet the challenges in the wider world, we are strengthening our business and customer experience so that we can continue in the future to deliver sustainable attractive and innovative turnkey solutions for the mobile human and be the best service company in the busi-ness. Despite tough challenges, I am proud and impressed by how everyone at Bilia is continuing to work together to drive Bilia forward while showing consideration for our customers, colleagues and the world we live in.
Gothenburg, March 2023
Per Avander
CEO and Managing Director