William Jacks has announced losses of £513,000 on its Chiswick, west London, retail outlet designed to represent Rover, MG and new Mini. Its profit was halved.
September registrations after 20 days' trading were down 9.1% to 230,249 units on the corresponding period last year.
The first evidence of a strong fightback by franchised dealers in the face of internet-related competition comes in a survey by Cap Gemini Ernst & Young (CGEY).
Volkswagen has given the Passat, launched in 1996, a mid-term makeover to compete with the new Ford Mondeo and Renault Laguna.
Parallel imports in the refinish sector are becoming as big a problem to paint manufacturers as they are to carmakers. Many paint companies remain tight-lipped about just how much these imports affect their business, but one or two company insiders are beginning to raise the alarm that the problem is growing – and dramatically.
Daewoo has enhanced its used car operation with extended warranties and an improved vehicle exchange policy to offer customers a new car buying experience.
Franchised and used car dealers posted significant growth in sales of older models last year, tightening their stranglehold over the private sector.
Auto Trader Interactive is overhauling its core database to handle growing demand from dealers and third party sources wanting to place used cars on the website.
Glass's Information Services has extended its Trader Desk vehicle marketing service for dealers by providing a link to Autopig.com, the online buying/selling service.
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.
