Paint manufacturers are beginning to take steps to catch up with the explosion in online trading.
HPI has teamed up with Orange, the mobile phone operator, to launch M-Check, which gives customers access to vehicle information via their phone handset.
Paint companies are offering body repairers backhanders as high as £500,000 in order to secure business, according to industry insiders.
Paint companies are split over whether refinish prices in the UK will have to rise by 7% or more as a result of recent oil price rises.
Vauxhall chairman and managing director Nick Reilly believes Virgin Cars' recent announcement that it is to start selling used cars through its internet site is due to the company's poor sales of new cars.<p>
Autobytel UK is terminating the contracts of all dealers in its network as a prelude to big changes. Exclusive territories are expected to be scrapped because of pressure from carmakers.
Renault UK has pledged dealers will make an average £1,000 profit on each nearly-new car as its To Go programme moves online to reach retail buyers direct.
A project team is believed to be making the final refinements to an online car sales programme to be launched soon by Tesco. An executive of an existing motor retailing online company said: “Tesco is close to an announcement”.
Online sales are already accounting for more than 2% of the UK car market, claims OneSwoop boss Hugh Morris: “We have seen the proportion rise and expect it to reach at least 4-5% by the end of next year.”
Manufacturers have been criticised for confusing X-plate customers with “a mixed bag of reductions, cashbacks and spec changes”. The Consumers' Association welcomed new Government rules which it said should lead to price cuts within a few months.
Small family-owned dealerships are better placed than large groups to react to market changes, said Ian Owen, managing director at Moss Pit Garage, Stafford. “We are playing the same game as larger groups, just not on the same scale,” said Mr Owen, whose business holds the Renault franchise.
Profits at Quicks Group have recovered now that major restructuring costs and other exceptional charges have been eliminated. In the first six months the company made £2.9m, up 64% from £1.8m year-on-year year. Turnover was down from £317.8m to £305.9m.
Rover franchising manager James Daulton has left under a voluntary redundancy scheme and will not be directly replaced. Regional directors Simon Gow (north) and Terry Hunt (south) assume day-to-day responsibility.
HR Owen has tightened its grip on the luxury car market in London by buying the Jack Barclay Rolls-Royce and Bentley franchise from Dutton Forshaw. The purchase price was not disclosed.
Pendragon has increased its investment in continental Europe by buying two more Jaguar dealerships in Germany. The company paid £2.42m last week for two Auto Konig sites in Munich taking its total number of Jaguar dealerships in Germany to five. The other operations are in Frankfurt and Wiesbaden.
Around 100 UK dealers - including several Lancaster Group outlets - are selling NavTrak telematics systems. The retail price of £450 (inc VAT) includes a gross margin of more than £150 to cover the cost of fitting that takes no more than two hours.
More than 140 franchised dealers are involved in the new internet service car-now.com targeted at small to medium businesses operating a fleet of up to 100 vehicles. It aims to cut the traditional buying process from two or three days to a matter of minutes.
The latest round of price cuts has opened up a clear gap between the carmakers who have taken a permanent stand on lower prices and those who are still making short term, tactical offers. The genuine price cutters, mainly at the prestige end of the market, have left themselves little or no margin for funding finance rates.
The news that Chartered Trust has been bought by Lloyds UDT marks the beginning of an exciting new period in our development. It means Chartered Trust, and our motor dealer customers, can look forward to the future with confidence as part of the Lloyds TSB Group, one of the UK's largest consumer finance providers.
Motor retailers believe only real price cuts from volume carmakers will finally release pent-up demand and make September a sales success. Dealers say a clear statement from Ford or Vauxhall is needed to convince customers prices have finally fallen.
Even the pressure of the September sales rush has failed to blunt the enthusiasm of dealer business managers lining up for a final chance to go to Las Vegas. An all-expenses paid trip to next year's NADA convention is top prize in the Award for Financial Excellence 2000.
Since the start of the year, City analysts have been expecting a steady rise in interest rates. Now there is a general feeling the pressure is off and rates may have peaked.
Honda's advertising campaign for the new Civic range will harness the internet-driven “viral” e-mail strategy used to promote its HR-V sports utility vehicle.
The US Justice Department is considering a criminal investigation into the recall of 6.5m Firestone tyres, many of them fitted to Ford Explorers. High speed blow-outs have been linked to 134 deaths in the US and Venezuela.
Trevor Finn has told Pendragon's shareholders to expect “significant consolidation of car dealership networks” leading to a market dominated by as few as three or four companies. The chief executive promised Pendragon would “build on its position and be the leading consolidator in the market”.
Trevor Finn has told Pendragon's shareholders to expect “significant consolidation of car dealership networks” leading to a market dominated by as few as three or four companies.
Vauxhall is set to introduce an extended service intervals programme across much of its car range by the end of the year, despite industry-wide opposition from franchised dealers.
Ford of Europe, which last month pledged rapid improvements at its London Dagenham plant following allegations of racism, has appointed a diversity director. Surinder Sharma was recruited from Littlewoods, the UK retailing and leisure business. He was equal opportunities head at BBC Television from 1990-95.
Jaguar has called on the Consumers' Association to produce evidence to support a damning survey finding on the “pricey” XJ saloon. A Which? press release, with the heading 'New Jaguars leave a quarter of owners stranded,' was challenged by the manufacturer.
Arriva has put its motor finance businesses up for sale as it continues its pull out of the automotive leasing and finance markets. The company said it was “in discussions” with other finance houses to sell Broadwood Finance and Arriva Finance Lease, which have loan books worth around £50m.
