Dealerships risk a halt to their car loans provision in 2025 if they've not put staff through the Specialist Automotive Finance accreditation programme, warns Lisa Watson, sales director at Close Brothers Motor Finance.
Gail Harrison, managing director of Sewells, offers crucial coaching tips for automotive managers with a reminder that their solution is not necessarily the best one and harnessing the brainpower of employees pays dividends.
Steve Young, ICDP managing director and an AM Awards judge, ponders on the task for OEMs and franchised networks to ensure they adapt to change in the aftersales model if they want to avoid leaving an open goal for an increasingly professional and capable set of independent aftermarket players.
Paul Bentley, former operations director at Lookers and now a non-executive advisor at customer loyalty experts MLP, explores the topic of giving customers a reason to stay in touch.
Andy Goss of Vertu Motors and a former car sales boss of Jaguar Land Rover, Porsche and Toyota, warns the new Labour Government that the ZEV Mandate is a blunt instrument that unintentionally may speed the exit of some franchised dealer groups.
AM's regular columnist Professor Jim Saker, president of the Institute of the Motor Industry, notes that external factors are increasingly forcing a change of thinking in a traditionally insular motor industry.
Simon King of Autotech Recruit discusses the challenges the industry is facing when recruiting, how these issues can be overcome through applying new methods and technology to attract talent
Recent developments in government policy are raising concerns that could stall the momentum of the transition to electric vehicles, writes Fraser Brown of automotive consultancy MotorVise.
James Hosking, AA Cars, argues that in tackling fears head-on, dealerships have the potential to not only increase sales but also build lasting relationships with customers.
The dynamic landscape of the automotive industry means that business leaders must manage the risks of change fatigue in their workforce and ramp up their communication, according to Sewells managing director Gail Harrison.
Vendigital’s Sheena Patel argues that the industry needs to come together to outline and define higher levels of standardisation
There has been much discussion recently about the evolving strategies that dealerships must adopt to remain competitive in the automotive market – a space that is continuously evolving and changing at speed, says PHM Group’s Tom Carr.
The automotive industry has seen its fair share of challenges over recent years – from Covid impacting dealership visits, to supply chain issues and the knock-on effects of the global computer chip shortage. These constraints have both tested and fortified the industry, says Keyloop’s Graham Stokes.
The leadership of England's football squad in the recent Euros inspires AM's regular columnist Professor Jim Saker, emeritus professor of Loughborough University's business school and president of the Institute of the Motor Industry.
Glyn Hopkin's employee ownership trust sale marks a shift in how groups are looking at succession planning, argues Alison Ashley, RSM UK head of motor retail.
Automotive retail is a competitive industry, but it can benefit from collaboration to tackle some of the structural issues such as consumer trust and workplace inclusivity, argues Aimee Gethin, chief operating officer at Zuto.
In this latest part of our series of leadership advice from Sewells, headed by chairman Dr Will Holden, this time its managing director Gail Harrison shares advice to reduce complexity when leading teams, and break down massive tasks into focused, achievable wins.
Mike Todd, chief executive of Volkswagen Financial Services UK, says the automotive sector needs to ensure the Consumer Duty standard remains a driving force for continual improvement as it looks to meet the changing demands of customers.
Natasha Foley discusses how Consumer Duty served as a catalyst to reflect on BMW Group Financial Services' operational approach and helped it create a more holistic business.
Steve Salvin, chief executive of Milton Keynes-based tech firm Aiimi, discusses how motor retail companies can ready their data for an influx of Data Subject Access Requests (DSAR) from consumers hoping for a payout from historic car loans.
Cap HPI chief Chris Wright discusses the dangers of using unethical data
Some in automotive simply do it, others do it really well, laying great foundations, noted AM's regular contributor Professor Jim Saker, president of the IMI, while enjoying some downtime.
James Lever of TekCor4 explains how unlocking the full potential of customer data can help dealers to retain more customers and boost their profitability.
Dr Will Holden urges automotive managers to deliver the 4 Rs of motivation and see their teams' sales rise
James Hosking, managing director of AA Cars, discusses how best to deal with the increase in complaints about used cars.
