The UK motor industry has spent more than £1.4bn financing demonstrator cars over the past 12 months. Many of these will have been short-term preregistered cars, on the books to boost manufacturer market share or achieve dealer sales targets.
Forthright Finance is to undertake a month-long trial in centralised finance and insurance selling for a major dealer group in order to try to boost finance penetration. During the month the dealer group will pass on details of any customer who did not take finance or insurance at the point of sale to a Forthright Finance telemarketing team.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, reflecting rising confidence in the industry, has raised its forecast for full-year registrations by 25,000 units to 2.225m. That was despite July registrations being down 6.4% to 156,588, though the year-to-date market is still slightly up, at 1,373,033. The SMMT maintained the new car market was healthy.
Toyota has sparked a fresh round of pressure on the Government to join the euro by forcing its UK suppliers to stop pricing in sterling. Shoichiro Toyoda, honorary chairman and former chief executive of Toyota, called earlier this year for a clear UK commitment to the single currency.
Next month's two-day Automotive Management Autumn Digital Dealer IT Fair 2000 will be “an absolute must”, said Mark Johnson, marketing executive at financial systems specialist Apak Systems, one of the exhibitors. The IT Fair, AM's second this year, will be staged in association with Cyber Car at the National Motorcycle Museum, Birmingham, on September 13-14. ##ITFair--none##
Valeting and preparation firm Autoclenz has launched a smart repair service. AC Smart can be supplied to dealers as a standalone service or a value-added supplement to Autoclenz's valeting service. The scheme has been launched in the Midlands and will be rolled out nationwide by 2001.
Trade and Industry Secretary Stephen Byers' new car pricing order is intended to create more competitive trading rather than specifically force price cuts, according to a DTI spokesman. The spokesman dismissed media reports that said Mr Byers' was demanding carmakers cut prices by 10%, leading to average savings of £1,100.
Dixon Motors outperformed its profit expectations in the first half of the year, while rivals Perry Group and Lex Service - which sold its dealerships in March - struggled in the face of the retail buyers' strike. Chief executive Paul Dixon said: “We have started the current financial year ahead of our forecasts and we have yet to benefit from Jamjar.com or our distribution facility."
Inchcape is expected to buy more UK dealerships now it has its low borrowings and £42.1 coming from the sale of its 49% stake back to Toyota GB. The group announced pre-tax first-half profits of £30m (down from £40.9m) and its UK retailing division's operating profit rose 40% to £5.6m.
Rover will be a “lean, mean and agile” carmaker under new chairman John Towers, operating “in a different way to the one which has existed over the past four years”. Mr Towers, revealing his strategy, believes the keys to success will be to cut costs, centralise production and administration, develop the MG brand to a wider audience alongside Rover and create a flexible, medium-sized business where decisions can be made rapidly.
John Towers warned the BMW board that Alchemy, favourites to buy Rover Cars in the early stages, would “up the stakes at the last minute”. Mr Towers said he studied previous Alchemy takeover deals and could not find a case where the venture capitalist did not walk away from the table during the final days of negotiations “in the hope the seller would come back with a better offer”.
HR Owen chief executive Nick Lancaster has forecast that manufacturers will own most retail car sites and lease them to talented entrepreneurs. He said a number of dealer groups were under “enormous pressure” from manufacturers to consolidate. “We are in for a period of sweeping changes,” said Mr Lancaster, whose group is in the top 20 of the AM100 group of leading UK motor retailers.
Motoreasy, the one-stop-shop motoring services operation, has collapsed and the directors were this week forced to call a meeting with their creditors. Sales and marketing director John Highfield said the meeting was taking place on Thursday of this week, but was unable “at present” to comment on what went wrong.
The 50 dealerships selected to sell Vauxhall's new VX220 will be given specialist training to understand the roadster's specific servicing and aftersales requirements. Robert Gutsche, VX220 brand manager, said: “The VX220 is a specialist car and to ensure the best customer care we have established a network of dealers for it."
The decision by Sainsbury's to increase its interest in car sales is the latest evidence of future dynamic change in the retail motor industry. Trends will be debated at 'Motor retailing 2005', Automotive Management's autumn conference, to be held at the London Olympia Conference Centre on September 26.
The Retail Motor Industry Federation has joined Director General of Fair Trading John Bridgeman in calling for a taskforce to raise servicing and repair quality. NFDA president Sue Brownson accepted the OFT report's findings and urged it to help clean up the servicing sector. “We wish to play a role on the taskforce, together with franchised dealers and the Consumers' Association,” she said.
Sainsbury's this week became the first supermarket giant to advance into nationwide car sales amid claims its Bank Drive finance scheme would allow customers to "order a new car at the same time as they do their grocery shopping".
John Bridgeman is bowing out as Director General of Fair Trading with another blast at the motor industry, this time for “unacceptable quality” in car servicing and repairs. He claimed car owners were being ripped off to the tune of £170m a year. After a five-year term Mr Bridgeman will be replaced next month by Bank of England chief economist Prof John Vickers, 42. It is the third time in four years consumer concerns have prompted the Office of Fair Trading to investigate the motor industry.
Honda is to switch 3dr Civic production from Japan to its Swindon plant, according to reports in the Japanese press. The carmaker, which currently makes 4dr and estate Civic models at Swindon, is due to launch the new Civic next month.
Rover Cars plans to be building up to nine models across the Rover and MG brands at its Longbridge factory by the end of next year. The multi-brand strategy will give the company an intensive, low cost production facility. Guy Pigounakis, Rover commercial director, revealed the company has at least three new MG cars “at the design concept stage” and hopes to have the first new model in showrooms by late spring of next year. A fourth MG model is still under consideration.
Fleet drivers' expectations of lower benefit-in-kind tax bills could be dashed because of the way manufacturers approach price cuts. HSBC Vehicle Finance managing director Tim Holmes warned that although special offers were pushing down prices for private buyers, list prices could go relatively unaffected.
Up-front fleet discounts could be reduced with companies receiving other benefits to make up the cash difference as manufacturers seek to keep in check dealer buying terms following publication of the Supply of New Cars Order 2000.
Society of Motor Manufacturers Traders' chief executive Christopher Macgowan welcomed this week's prices statement by Stephen Byers, saying it would end months of uncertainty.
Alan Pulham, National Franchiseds Dealer Assocation director is forecasting a multi-faceted motor retail sector within five years, based on dealer networks.
Juan Jose Diaz-Ruiz, credited with much of Toyota's recent success in Europe, has joined Fiat Auto as marketing and sales executive vice president.
A Peugeot fleet task-force will call potential customers direct, rather than taking business through dealers in a strategy to double sales to small and medium-size fleets by 2003.
Pendragon is to lose its monopoly of M25 Fiat dealerships with Nissan specialist Glyn Hopkin first to move on the vacant dealership territories.
Horners, the Greater Manchester multi-franchised group, this week supported the 'Dump the Pump' campaign to force down filling station prices.
Continuing concerns over falling residual values and the rising costs of motoring have lead to 'downsizing' - a trend that has benefited the supermini sector in recent times.
International Motors is launching approved used car schemes for its Subaru and Isuzu operations designed to maintain high levels of customer service and boost dealer profits.
