Dealers have been warned to adopt e-commerce in order to benefit from the “massive advantages” of internet-based parts buying.
The London Repairers Alliance, set up last year to combat spiralling overheads and low labour rates within the M25 area, is mounting a £250,000 marketing campaign in conjunction with credit hire/repair firm Helphire.
Dealer aftermarket operations need to find better ways to attract women customers, after a survey by Duckhams Oils revealed nearly half (46%) of all women rely on a male friend to make servicing arrangements for their car.
A new Suzuki B-sector car to compete against Fiesta, Corsa and Polo will be unveiled at the Paris motor show in October.
Audi UK has bought back for near list price 30 of the 2,400 TTs sold because owners were worried over reports of fatal accidents in Germany.
Influence from Ford management is bringing a sharper approach to sales and marketing, said Jan Brentebraten, Mazda Motor Europe president.
GM subsidiary Vauxhall revealed a simplified sales and marketing structure on the eve of the announcement of the Fiat deal.
The expectation that new car prices are set to fall continued to keep customers away from showrooms last month, and dealers say demand for the new registration plate in March is weak.
The mass of manufacturer special finance deals available for the March plate change reveals just how tough (and expensive) the battle for sales is going to be.
Information is power: this business school catchphrase was never more relevant than in today's highly competitive motor retail finance market.
Rising base rates means direct lenders have to be careful in setting too tight a margin and then find they are writing business at a loss.
Avis Europe's internet retail site could stifle the number of quality used car sales opportunities for dealers. The site will dispose of Avis's 4,000 ex-rental cars and be swelled by offering vehicles from manufacturers and other leasing companies.
Greenhous Remarketing Services, which remarkets six-month-old ex-rental Vauxhalls, has repositioned the business to offer a wider range of marques and vehicle ages.
Rover has been forced to launch an alternative to its residual value guarantee scheme for the 75 after some leasing firms complained that the programme was too difficult to integrate with the original system.
The Director General of Fair Trading John Bridgeman has urged the motor industry and consumers to embrace a new initiative to beat “cowboys, conmen and fraudsters”.
Vauxhall hopes to enhance brand awareness of its Network Q used car operation, fuelling an increase in sales, after joining a new internet auction initiative.
The growing trend for dealers to adopt their own non-insured warranty schemes could prove disastrous if a group collapses without making sufficient provisions to honour the warranty.
Lex Service has started to exploit the resources and strong brand image of its newly-acquired RAC division after announcing plans for the RAC to inspect each vehicle passing through its eight Autosales used car superstores.
Dealers can now offer used car buyers instant assurance that their vehicles have received the 'all-clear' with the HPI stamp of approval.
The continuing wait for a ruling from Trade and Industry Secretary Stephen Byers on the Competition Commission inquiry findings remains the most destabilising factor in the market.
One of the questions I am most frequently asked is which are the best performers in the various vehicle sectors, from our perspective. When this question comes from non-automotive professionals, it tends to mean which cars retain their value best.
Ford of Europe, reinvigorated by new chairman Nick Scheele, has started the fight to claw back 200,000 missing European sales.
London analysts are sceptical about this week's £1.5bn cross-shareholding alliance between General Motors and Fiat Auto, believing the two will be forced into a full merger, or that the Italian group could pull out of the car market.
Jaguar and Volvo dealers are seeking assurances that Ford's Premier Automotive Group is not about to buy a stake in Pendragon.
AutoLocate, one of the UK's longest-established motor industry internet marketing services, has been acquired by Emap Digital from Didcot-based RCP Consultants, which acquired the company last April.
GM and Fiat were forced into this week's get together by competitive pressures, with each realising its vulnerabilities.
DaimlerChrysler has signed a fleet contract for 5,000 Mercedes-Benz A-class which, say many of its dealers privately, is too expensive to take off in the UK.
The sale of all Lex Retail's franchised dealerships and four bodyshops marks the end of an important chapter in the history of UK motor retailing. Five years ago, Lex headed the AM100 with 104 new car outlets and a £1bn turnover.
Morgan plans to raise annual production by 100 to 650 following a £2m investment in Aero 8, its first all-new model since 1936, of which up to 250 a year will be built.
