JCT600 has closed its Volkswagen UK franchised car dealerships in Rotherham and Newark following a decision made prior to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak.
Dealer Auction has seen a 135% month-on-month increase in sales through its platform in the first week of June as dealers rush to obtain more stock to meet consumer demand.
The Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) has identified the car retail sector’s “green shoots of recovery” in newly-published Office of National Statistics (ONS) data, but says the marketplace remains “pretty fragile”.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has extended the availability of payment freezes and interest-free overdrafts for a further three months in a bid to help consumers mitigate against the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
The Pentagon Motor Group has severed its ties with the FCA Group with the closure of its dual-brand Alfa Romeo and Jeep dealership in Doncaster.
Scottish car retailers will have to wait a further 11 days before re-opening their showrooms after Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon outlined phase two of COVID-19 lockdown easing north of the border.
Pendragon has begun a consultation over redundancies as it plans to reformat its leadership and management structure.
New car sales across Europe were 52.3% down year-on-year in May as the easing of lockdown measures in certain regions delivered a slight improvement over April.
Credit card firms could face significant damages claims after the Supreme Court dismissed an appeal by Visa and Mastercard, ruling that fees the companies were charging retailers restrict competition.
Government’s decision to fit all pure electric vehicles (EV) with partially green number plates is set to pave the way for incentives which should boost adoption of zero emission transport.
Car dealers across Scotland insist that there was scope for a COVID-19 lockdown exemption for car showrooms as they await news of “phase two” of the Scottish Government’s retail re-opening plans.
A post-lockdown surge in used car sales activity has put retailers ahead of the same period in 2019, according to data gathered by Indicata.
Autotrader has revealed which used cars attracted the highest price increase during lockdown.
ASE chairman Mike Jones has urged car retailers to focus on their "cash position" after the sector's businesses lost an average of £63,000 during April’s COVID-19 lockdown.
A new COVID-19 aftersales whitepaper has questioned whether franchised car retailers are properly prepared for a June surge in servicing demand – and continued peaks and troughs to follow.
Russian car retail group boss Sergey Petrov is said to be eyeing a potential move into the UK franchised sector.
Cazana, the vehicle data company, has confirmed that used car pricing has not raced to the bottom during lockdown.
Frost & Sullivan’s recent analysis, Global Electric Vehicle Market Outlook, 2020, has found that the COVID-19 uncertainty will globally dent electric vehicle (EV) sales, but as the market recovers, it is expected to experience a healthy growth.
There has been an increase in the number of car owners searching for information on how to tackle issues with car brakes, batteries and tyres.
Devonshire Motors owner Nathan Tomlinson believes the car retail sector must move quickly to “normalise” socially-distanced car showrooms to avoid deterring anxious customers.
