Car retail businesses drove record pay rises in 2022 with bonuses and incentives to management soaring by 70% to deliver average remuneration of £407,000, the latest BDO Salary Survey has revealed.
Car retail businesses have been told to focus on gross profit and cutting expenditure as a period of ‘stagflation’ is ushered in by sustained inflation and rising unemployment.
Holidays in the sun are being prioritised above car purchases ahead of a tough winter which is expected to see the UK slide into recession amid ongoing inflation, Cap HPI's Derren Martin has suggested.
UK inflation reached a 40-year high of 9.1% as the pricing pressures forcing car buyers to think twice about their next purchase continued to intensify.
Auto Trader has urged car retailers not to “jump to rash conclusions about the health of the market” after car price rises eased in May with the prospect of tough times ahead for car buying consumers.
One-in-five new and used car buyers are putting off their next purchase as they feel the pinch of the cost of living crisis, eBay Motors Group research suggests.
Auto Trader has struck-up a new partnership with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which will see the used car marketplaces data become an official economic barometer for the authority.
The car retail sector is facing a “perfect storm” of economic and political headwinds as UK inflation hits 7% - threatening to dent consumer confidence.
Perrys Motor Group managing director Darren Ardron told the AM News Show Podcast that it felt like the car retail sector was getting “back to reality” in 2022 – but highlighted reasons for optimism.
The Bank of England’s decision to raise interest rates to 0.75% have been criticised for placing “more pressure on household finances” - and will hit the car retail sector's overhaeds too.
Cox Automotive has said that “volatility” is set to define the car retail sector in 2022 as stuttering car supplies combine with rising inflation and changes to OEM and consumer relationships.
The Bank of England has raised interest rates for the first time in three years in a bid to tackle UK inflation.
The Bank of England has announced a rise in interest rates from 0.5% to 0.75% following a unanimous decision by its Monetary Policy Committee.
Car dealers have started rethinking their lending panels as economic pressures start to spark a reduction in the number of customers meeting “prime lender criteria”.
Inflation rose to a six-year high of 3.1% in November as retailers struggled against a squeeze on shoppers finances in the run-up to Christmas.
Automotive finance companies may be hit harder than car dealers by rising inflation & interest rates and falling consumer confidence
Threats to car finance firms and demand for new and used cars have been highlighted once again after the Governor of the bank of England warned that inflation might peak at over 3% next month.
The Consumer Prices Index – which measures changes in prices – fell by 0.1% in the year to October 2015, according to the Office for National Statistics.
