Car Dealer Magazine Issue 132

TARIFF TURMOIL: WHO WILL BE NEXT TO WARN OF POST-BREXIT PRICE RISES?

N A F R E D SPI Issue 132 | March 2019 | CarDealerMag.co.uk | £5

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Editorial HEAD OF EDITORIAL Rebecca Chaplin

rebecca@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @believebecca

HEAD OF DESIGN Graeme Windell

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PRODUCTION EDITOR Dave Brown

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FEATURES EDITOR Jack Evans

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Welcome.

THIS month you might notice that your delivery from Car Dealer Magazine is a little heavier. That’s not just the added weight from the impending sense of doom as we enter those final days before Brexit – it’s actually the very helpful addition of our annual Suppliers Guide.

We’ve once again combed the industry for the relevant suppliers that can assist your business in 2019. This is ideal for keeping on your desk all year round, meaning you’ll have the right contacts at your fingertips. Now is the time to be thinking about how your business can adapt in the year ahead, the issues we might be facing and how you can ultimately increase your bottom line.

We’ve covered some of the challenges that are looming in our big story, just over the page from here. The questions around imports that we’ve known could cause issues for a long time aren’t being answered yet, and for that reason some car makers are warning their customers that prices might go up after March 29.

However, that’s also why in this issue we’ve been talking to a group of business leaders who are taking a fresh approach in 2019 – yes, it’s our annual Automotive Influencers feature (pages 42 to 55).

Their views on the year ahead should offer some inspiration and give you some ideas that your business may be able to take advantage of in the next 12 months.

It’s an interesting look at where the industry is going, and how adopting new technologies – be that in the cars you actually sell or within your business strategy – could turbocharge your dealership. We speak with representatives of car manufacturers, dealer groups, tech giant Google and even Williams Advanced Engineering.

This issue also brings you the latest news about CDX – with exciting details about what new features we’ll have on

the day and our first two workshops announced. Keep your eyes peeled on the CDX website, where we’ll be revealing details of all 12 best-practice workshops and our keynote speakers on the Live Stage.

While most of us here have been either waiting for snow or complaining about how cold the office is, others have been having an altogether more desert-y time. Yes, I doubt it will surprise you to hear that James took on the tough task of a transatlantic flight to Arizona just weeks ago to drive a couple of McLarens. Unfortunately, he can’t tell us about one of them yet because of an embargo, but the 600LT Spider you saw on the cover is reviewed on p38 and he spoke with McLaren’s chief financial officer as well about what impact Brexit could have on its business (p14).

You may also have spotted on the cover that we’ve been trying out the new Porsche 911 – but can this new model live up to the iconic name? Turn to page 40 to find out.

It seems to be all about auctions in this issue of the magazine, too. I took a trip north to see Aston Barclay’s new Wakefield supercentre with some seriously future-focused tech (and an on-site gym for customers!), which you can read about on p22.

Meanwhile, Adam has been learning about the art of auctioneering – and finding out if he’s got the skills to sell from the rostrum. Read his account of being thrown in at the deep end with some of Manheim’s finest on p58.

That’s all the space I’ve got to tell you about what we’ve been doing – in a nutshell, we have been flying, driving and karting about all over the place this month!

Enjoy the issue.

Rebecca Chaplin Head of Editorial CarDealerMag.co.uk | 03

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Join Car Dealer Club by visiting CarDealerClub.com Members get free legal advice worth £195 for a £49.99 subscription

Driven: Porsche 911 Tom Wiltshire travels to Spain to test the latest incarnation of an iconic sports car

Autonomous motoring: a step-by-step guide

ISSUE 132 I MARCH 2019

Dashboard.

The Big Story Nigel Mansell Museum shuts Lookers Electric Charge Around the UK Book free tickets for CDX! Rebecca Chaplin Big Mike Feedback Around the World Finance

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Features.

Automotive Influencers Hammer time for our Adam

Data File.

The Statistics Fully Loaded Aftermarket Car Dealer Club Auctions Taking Stock Market Insight

Forecourt.

McLaren 600LT Spider Porsche 911

38 40

Recruitment Long-termers James Baggott

42 58 64 66 70 72 74 75 76 79 87 90

Our Automotive Influencers give their thoughts on the year ahead

McLaren 600LT Spider tested in Arizona

Our events...

As voted for by dealers, Car Dealer Power is unique. Details of our 2018 winners are online at bit.ly/CDP-18. Watch this space for news of the 2019 event !

The Car Dealer Used Car Awards, sponsored by Black Horse, celebrate the used car industry. Go online to bit.ly/UCA18winners to find out who won what last year.

The UK’s biggest automotive trade expo features the Live Stage, breakout sessions, workshops and much more.

It’s at Farnborough International on June 12 this year – don’t miss it!

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 05

Dashboard.

CATERHAM

Iconic brand has two more outlets

THE BIG STORY

Brexit price hikes: Dave Brown and Rebecca Chaplin report on yet more bad news caused by the UK’s departure from the EU.

ICONIC British sports car maker Caterham has appointed two new retailers – with one as far north as Scotland.

Based in the heart of Scotland’s capital, Edinburgh, the new retailer will be operated by the Leven Motor Company, which also represents premium brands RollsRoyce and Aston Martin.

The second new site is based in a new showroom just a few minutes from British Grand Prix circuit Silverstone. Run by the existing Lotus Silverstone retailer, the addition of the Caterham franchise will build further on the business’s already long-standing reputation as one of Lotus’s top retailers in Europe.

Both are now open for business, with official launch events for customers planned for April. Their appointment brings the number of retailers in Caterham’s network to five.

G

erman car manufacturers Porsche and Volkswagen have started telling customers that they might have to pay extra for their new vehicles after Brexit.

And the warnings from the two companies, both members of the Volkswagen Group, have led to speculation about which manufacturers will be next.

Buyers placing orders with Porsche are being asked to sign a clause saying they would be prepared to cover the cost of a potential 10 per cent tariff that the British government might impose when the UK leaves the EU on March 29. The move has raised fears that the beleaguered motor industry – already struggling in the face of Brexit uncertainty and a massive decline in demand for diesel-powered cars – could suffer even more if prices are forced upwards.

Stuttgart-based Porsche confirmed the move, saying: ‘As one potential outcome of the Brexit negotiations, there is a possibility that a duty of

up to 10 per cent may be applied to cars imported into the UK by us after March 29. In light of this, we have chosen to inform customers whose cars are likely to arrive after Brexit occurs to warn them that they may be affected by this tariff – allowing them to be fully informed at the point of sale and, if they wish, to adjust their order accordingly.

‘This is a precautionary step in the interests of allowing our customers to plan ahead, should this situation arise. Customers who have placed deposits on or before January 17 this year will not be affected.’

A 10 per cent price increase would see a basic Porsche Macan SUV go from £46,344 to £50,978 and an entrylevel example of the iconic 911 sports car rise to £102,421 from £93,110.

One Porsche dealer, who asked to remain anonymous, confirmed that he had been telling his customers about the possible price increase and said: ‘It’s a precautionary measure.

It’s not ideal, but Porsche is getting in front of other manufacturers in

‘This is a precautionary step in the interests of allowing our customers to plan ahead.’

Statement from Porsche

the event of a worst-case scenario. It’s essentially future-proofing.’

And another dealer group boss, whose company represents a number of European car manufacturers, said: ‘We are still taking orders for cars which will be delivered in May, June and July and are not telling customers the prices could go up.

‘We have had no direction on this from the car manufacturers we work with and we expect them to suck up the increases in prices if they happen.

We certainly won’t and can’t expect our customers to either. My message would be to order and buy your car before the end of March – that is the only way you can guarantee that the price will not go up after Brexit.’

MCLAREN

Ninth dealer to open in south

Devastating blow as Honda announces the

MCLAREN Automotive, the British creator of luxury sports cars and supercars, is poised to further expand its UK network of retailers with the appointment of McLaren New Forest.

The ninth retailer in the brand’s home market will cater for customers in the south of England region, including Hampshire, Sussex and Kent.

600LT Spider driven, p38

HONDA is planning to close its plant in Swindon with the loss of more than 3,000 jobs. Local Tory MP Justin Tomlinson confirmed the news, insisting that the decision was ‘based on global trends and not Brexit as all European market production will consolidate in Japan in 2021’.

The Japanese company declined to comment on the announcement, which came less than six months after bosses at the car giant pledged its commitment to the UK. The company employs about 3,500 people at its plant in Wiltshire,

06 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

building around 160,000 Honda Civics a year, more than 90 per cent of which are exported to Europe and the US. In January, Honda announced plans for a six-day shutdown to prepare for any Brexit-related disruption. A company statement said: ‘Honda has been assessing how best to prepare for any disruption caused by logistics and border issues following the UK leaving the EU on March 29.

‘To ensure Honda is well placed to adjust to all possible outcomes, we are planning six non-production days in

April. This is to facilitate production recovery activity following any delays at borders on parts.

‘These contingency provisions have been put in place to best mitigate the risk of disruption to production operations at the Swindon factory.’

Then, in February it said it would be laying off temporary staff, with the Unite union estimating the total could run into the hundreds.

Speaking in September, Ian Howells, the senior vice-president of Honda Europe, said the company remained ‘right behind’ its production

What were the best-selling cars in January?

Top 10 from the SMMT, p12

So who will be next?

After Porsche came VW with a similar import duty warning

Porsche Macan Price now

£46,344

with 10 per cent increase

£50,978

The move was greeted with dismay

by UK motoring organisations.

AA president Edmund King said: ‘The SMMT has already suggested that EU tariffs on cars alone could add at least an annual £2.7 billion to imports and £1.8 billion to exports.

Import tariffs alone could push up the list price of cars imported to the UK from the continent by an average of £1,500 if brands and their retail

networks were unable to absorb these additional costs.

‘It is understandable that Porsche and other manufacturers are considering whether they may be forced to increase prices if there is no deal and tariffs are introduced.’

Rebecca Chaplin, editor of Car Dealer, said: ‘Porsche’s price warning is more bad news for our industry. It will only make buyers want to delay their purchase until after Brexit when they know exactly how much their new car will cost.’

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, however, would not be drawn on the topic, saying it didn’t comment on the actions of individual manufacturers.

VOLKSWAGEN was the second manufacturer to say customers will have to foot the bill if a new import duty is introduced on their vehicles post-Brexit.

A VW spokesperson confirmed that its customers and retailers had been made aware that the prices of its cars may change if they arrive in the UK after a no-deal departure from the EU. The spokesperson said: ‘Should a no-deal Brexit occur, goods imported from the EU may be subject to import duty.

In this case, the price of vehicles and parts imported into the UK . . . may increase.

‘We strive to keep all customers as informed as possible during the buying process. This includes being

clear on any potential changes outside of our control that may affect the price of the car they’re interested in purchasing.

‘Customers will be given the opportunity, free of charge, to cancel their order should prices increase as a result of import duty changes.’

A VW dealer said: ‘Volkswagen has advised us to tell customers to buy now if they want to ensure that the price will stay the same. After Brexit, we just don’t know what will happen.’ The company said that customers who have placed orders on or before January 31, 2019 will not be affected.

As we report on the left, for Porsche the policy could affect customers who ordered as long ago as January 18.

closure of its Swindon factory with loss of 3,500 jobs facility in Swindon and was not considering moving the plant out of the UK after Brexit.

He said: ‘The only place we produce the vehicle we produce at Swindon is in Swindon itself. So from that point of view it’s a very big decision to take a different approach.

‘Certainly we are right behind our Swindon approach, and really it hasn’t come up that we would have to look at putting Swindon somewhere else.

‘The logistics of moving a factory the size of Swindon would be huge, and as far as we’re concerned from a

European [perspective], and as far as our Japanese head office is concerned, we’re right behind supporting continued production at Swindon and indeed our whole European operation to continue there’.

Honda was the first major Japanese car company to get involved in largescale manufacturing in the UK when it did a deal with British Leyland in 1980 to produce Honda-based models in BL factories. Work began on its own plant at Swindon in 1985. Swindon voted 55 per cent in favour of Brexit in the 2016 referendum.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 07

Dashboard.

Why solutions always create new challenges.

Rebecca Chaplin, p27

James Litton

DECISION

TRADER TALES

It’s important that we don’t look back to look forward

‘B Rebecca Chaplin interviewing Nigel Mansell in 2014

Nigel Mansell Museum closes to allow thriving dealership to expand

T

he Nigel Mansell Museum on Jersey has closed to create more space for the thriving car dealership housed in the same building and established by the former F1 champion six years ago.

Telling the story of Mansell’s battle to become one of the world’s greatest racing drivers, the museum, in La Route de St Aubin, St Helier, featured fascinating pictures and exciting video footage, plus his actual trophies and racing cars.

A statement on the company’s website confirmed: ‘Due to the continued growth of the Mansell Collection car dealership, the second floor of our premises, which is currently home to the Nigel Mansell Museum, will become a car showroom.

‘This will enable us to better showcase our two great franchises: Hyundai and Mitsubishi. The last six years of the Nigel Mansell Museum have been extremely successful, welcoming over 10,000 visitors every year. This is something that we are

by DAVE BROWN @CarDealerDave

extremely proud of. We have a number of options for the future of the museum, which we are currently reviewing.

‘Thank you to everyone who visited and for the kind words.’

Car Dealer Magazine was invited to the dealership to interview Mansell in the autumn of 2014.

Discussing the establishment of the business, he told Rebecca Chaplin: ‘We found the location and it was one of those projects that excited me because it’s about renovating a historic building which was listed, and it was one of those occasions where the pieces just got put together from there.

‘We saw the space upstairs that I could see would work as the museum and then we knew we could set up a dealership downstairs. It was an exciting concept.’

ut you don’t know what it was like to live in the ’50s.’ Sue, the owner of a hotel I frequently use in Dorset, has no idea how much I think about these words whenever I see Brexit-related news.

It is where I spent the night of the Brexit vote – room 6 to be precise.

It will also always hold haunting, ghostly memories of Sunderland voting out and the carnage that ensued.

I stay in her hotel every week as I live a long way from my employer, and it’s a real throwback to days gone by where people stayed in small guest houses or hotels around the coastline of Britain.

Very clean, nice hearty English breakfast, friendly welcome, all at a very reasonable price.

I once asked her why she doesn’t put her prices up. ‘I can’t do that, James. Some of the older people who have been coming here for years simply can’t afford it.’

It feels like a good slug of British people (51.89 per cent as a rough stab in the dark) are locked in this chamber of nostalgia – a room adorned with pictures of great British military victories, tables bountiful with scones and jam, Union Jack bunting tacked to the walls.

You won’t find any ‘snowflakes’ in here. Oh no. Just ‘hard-working people’ (for this trope, read largely white, older people) all agreeing that vegan sausage rolls are a travesty.

As someone on the other side of the Brexit debate, it would be easy to be critical of this view in today’s polarised world. There is no empathy any more: you’re either right or you’re wrong.

Papers such as The Guardian, so quick to publish editorials denouncing MPs like Jacob Rees-Mogg, seem to miss the irony of being as guilty of myopic thinking as those they criticise.

So while I do not agree with Sue’s view of Brexit, nor long to jump in a DeLorean to teleport myself to a time when men were men (you know – racist, homophobic and misogynistic) and it took four months to get to Australia, I can see why – for Sue and her fellow Brexiteers at least – they think things were better in the old days.

So what has this got to do with the motor trade?

Hindsight is rife everywhere.

‘I remember when we took £5,000 from a new car’, ‘We don’t need Carwow – just get on the phones and make appointments’, ‘I don’t care if the tyres are 2mm, MOT failure is 1.6mm – they’ll be fine for the pitch’, which is different to ‘Yes Mr Smith, your tyres are at 3mm. We definitely recommend replacing those now.’

The world is trying to teach us a lesson.

Don’t look back to look forward.

‘There’s no empathy any more: you’re either right or wrong.’

James Litton is general manager – director of Volvo Cars Poole. He always has something to say about the industry he loves.

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CarDealerMag.co.uk | 09

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Dashboard.

Lots of opportunities in a fast-moving market.

Key Notes with Traka, p84

LOOKERS ELECTRIC CHARGE

£215,755 – what an incredible total!

I

t’s fair to say that Lookers had a very eventful 2018. The national franchised retailer group continued its acquisition strategy with the purchase of Jennings Motor Group and its full-year and half-year financial reports told a story of resilience and confidence in the face of market uncertainty.

However, many of the headlines about the group last year were not the result of its performance on the stock market but its support for local and national charities.

Its biggest initiative was perhaps its involvement in the third annual Ben Industry Leader Challenge.

The baton is passed every year between businesses to raise vital funds for the charity, which works tirelessly to support those in the motor industry who have fallen on hard times.

Electric vehicles and hybrids took centre stage when Andy Bruce, the chief executive of Lookers, took up the challenge at the 2017 Ben Ball, a glitzy gathering of the great and the good of the motor industry in support of the charity.

Lookers Electric Charge tasked all 160 of its dealerships, as well as head offices, to raise as much money as possible for Ben over a six-month period.

This involved a relay of electric and hybrid vehicles travelling 2,000 miles to destinations that included the group’s entire dealership network.

Along the way, a wide range of fundraising activities was held, from carbon-neutral days to test-drive events and golf days.

Other stops included the impressive 75-acre Nissan plant in Sunderland and a finale in which Johnny Mowlem, European Le Mans Series GT champion, test-drove the all-electric Jaguar I-Pace around the manufacturer’s facility in Castle Bromwich. Carbon credits were also purchased where hybrid vehicles were featured.

The challenge got off to a roaring start in May at the £20 million Audi Centre in Dublin, before moving on to Charles Hurst’s sprawling Belfast operations, with pit stops at the group’s

Portadown and Lisburn Vauxhall dealerships.

It was then down to the team at Renault Newtownabbey to transfer the relay over the Irish Sea to Audi Ayr, from where it then headed down through Scotland and England until it reached its final destination at Mercedes-Benz Eastbourne in October.

Along the way, it was left to the good people of Lookers to come up with creative ways to raise as much money as possible and ensure that the Lookers Electric Charge would prove to be the most successful Industry Leader Challenge yet.

It was a challenge that staff would rise to

most emphatically – so much so in fact that Bruce would go on to announce the hugely impressive total of £215,755 at the 2018 Ben Ball in December.

He said: ‘I can’t say enough how incredibly proud I am of what we managed to achieve last year with the Lookers Electric Charge.

‘Ben is a vital resource for those within our industry who have found themselves in difficulty, and the Industry Leader Challenge was a fantastic opportunity for us to show our appreciation.

‘I would like to thank everyone who took part in raising such a remarkable total.’

Above: A blinding effort – Lookers’ Midlands dealerships were paid visits by a host of special guests. The Shelby crime family even dropped in at Mercedes-Benz Walsall!

Left: Back to the ’80s! The north-east leg included a 1980s neon-inspired barbecue at Lookers’ head office in Newcastle upon Tyne Right: Soaring to success – staff at Mercedes-Benz of Gatwick adopted an aeronautical theme for their leg of the challenge CarDealerMag.co.uk | 11

Dashboard.

News from around the UK

What’s been hitting the headlines on the home front? Here’s a round-up of stories MIDDLESBROUGH

Pictured are Will Turner, centre, partnerships and impact manager at the Derby County Community Trust, and James Parker, customer operations assistant at Motorpoint Derby with Derby County mascot Rammie and a signed Derby County shirt, which is a gift from the club to Motorpoint

Transport of delight for beauty queen

STONEACRE Motor Group Middlesbrough has presented Miss England with a new Suzuki Swift to use during her reign.

Alisha Cowie, a 19-year-old forensic science student from Newcastle upon Tyne, will be driving the supermini to arrive at assignments. A spokesperson for Stoneacre said: ‘We are delighted to be partnering with Alisha and the Miss England campaign.’

Alisha, above, said: ‘My reign so far has been incredible and this new car is the icing on the cake!’

DERBY

Motorpoint sponsors fun run to support charity MOTORPOINT staff will be taking to the streets of Derby to raise money for a community trust.

The independent car retailer, which is headquartered in the city, has agreed to sponsor the popular Derby 3K Fun Run on Sunday, April 7 as part of its support for the charity this year.

The fun run takes place shortly after the end of

DORCHESTER

EAST MIDLANDS

VIP event marks new Nissan dealership

Marshall adds a brace of Skoda showrooms

DORCHESTER Nissan’s new showroom was officially launched recently with a special VIP opening event. The dealership’s fully refurbished showroom has now nearly doubled in size and is one of the region’s most cutting-edge retail environments.

Top executives from Nissan Motor GB and the mayor of Dorchester, Cllr David Taylor, joined more than 170 customers for the launch. The showroom is now one of the largest in the manufacturer’s UK network.

MARSHALL Motor Group has announced the acquisition of Leicester and Nottingham Skoda from Sandicliffe Limited.

The acquisition extends Marshall’s relationship with Skoda and sees it becoming one of its largest franchise partners in the UK with seven locations.

Daksh Gupta, pictured, chief executive of Marshall Motor Holdings, said: ‘I am delighted to welcome all colleagues of Leicester and Nottingham Skoda to Marshall.’

12 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

the Derby 10K and is designed to be accessible for all, including pushchairs and wheelchairs. More than 5,000 runners took part in the Derby 10K and 3K last year, raising more than £30,000 for projects across Derbyshire. Emma Pilgrim, events manager at Derby County Community Trust, said: ‘We are thrilled to have Motorpoint on board.’

Top-selling cars of January January 2019

Source: SMMT

Ford Fiesta Ford Focus Nissan Qashqai Volkswagen Golf Mercedes-Benz A-Class Vauxhall Corsa Kia Sportage Volkswagen Polo Toyota Yaris Mercedes-Benz C-Class

5,399 4,397 4,270 3,930 3,768 3,097 3,063 2,963 2,821 2,606

The statistics, p64

HAMPSHIRE

Huge new FordStore is open for business

FORD’S UK managing director Andy Barratt has opened a new Hendy FordStore in Eastleigh, Hampshire – believed to be the largest in Europe.

It followed a major investment programme by Hendy at the Leigh Road site. The showroom measures some 1,000 square metres and is designed to hold 18 cars and eight commercial vehicles. It also boasts a large Vignale lounge, Care Zone and Relax area. Hendy chief executive Paul Hendy, pictured left, said he was delighted to welcome Barratt.

A global snapshot of dealership news

Around the World, p32

GALASHIELS

CARLISLE

Clelands named top UK Volvo retailer

Senior managers are welcomed aboard

A CAR RETAILER in Galashiels has been awarded a national accolade

by Volvo Cars UK. Clelands of the Borders became Volvo’s Retailer of the Year by achieving the best results of 2018.

The key performance indicators included sales and growth targets, as well as customer satisfaction scores for sales and aftersales.

Retailer principal John Cleland is pictured on the right, receiving the trophy from Volvo Cars UK managing director Jon Wakefield

TWO senior managers have been appointed to Bristol Street Motors’ Vauxhall Carlisle site.

The dealership has welcomed franchise manager Steven Harris, left, as well as general manager, David Brown, right.

Harris began working in various sales executive positions before starting his managerial career in 2008. Brown has more than 25 years’ experience in the motor retail industry, having started his career as a trainee sales executive.

GLASGOW

‘As we walked down the road, we had to guess if the next car in the row was higher or lower in terms of engine size than the one before it.’

Big Mike, p29

Henrys opens £800k Suzuki showroom

HENRYS Suzuki has opened its doors near the centre of Glasgow after an £800,000 investment by the automotive retail group.

The existing premises have been reconfigured and modernised for customers to browse round the manufacturer’s line-up.

With 12 cars on display, visitors can also explore different colours and variants and see some of the specification options.

In addition, the showroom boasts free wifi and refreshments.

BRISTOL

Shooting and scoring for Brislington Ladies

HYUNDAI Bristol has kicked off a two-year sponsorship of Brislington Ladies’ FC as part of its community engagement programme.

The Bristol Street Motors dealership is helping to maintain the FA league ladies’ team and its ground, as well as providing the team’s new away kit.

General manager Adrian Wilson said: ‘Brislington Ladies have seen a really strong performance this year and we are delighted to be supporting them.’

Adam Moore, left, receives the keys to the team’s support vehicle from Paul Smith, aftersales manager at Inchcape Cooper BMW

READING

New partnership with Morvélo Basso cycling team INCHCAPE UK’s Cooper BMW Reading dealership has forged a partnership with Morvélo Basso.

The luxury car retailer has provided the cycling team with a BMW 3 Series Touring, which will support the activities of the team as they train and race across the UK during 2019.

Paul Glister, head of business for Cooper BMW

Reading, said: ‘We are excited about this partnership and look forward to seeing the team progress in 2019.’

Adam Moore, team owner/manager of Morvélo Basso, added: ‘The partnership with Cooper BMW is fundamental in helping the team to develop and achieve its goals for 2019.’

First drive: Porsche 911

We’ve been out to Valencia to test the latest 992-generation model Forecourt, p40 CarDealerMag.co.uk | 13

Dashboard.

PURCHASE

Nail-biting action in another thrilling contest.

Go-Karting Challenge, p24-25

MCLAREN

eBay completes acquisition of Motors.co.uk ONLINE auction website eBay has completed its purchase of Motors.co.uk from Cox Automotive after the Competition and Markets Authority approved the sale.

On February 12, the CMA said it had approved the deal, four months after the brands initially made the announcement.

It was revealed on October 19, 2018 that eBay would be acquiring the car classifieds website from Cox Automotive if the deal was approved by the authority.

The Motors.co.uk team has now joined Gumtree UK, an eBay Classifieds business, and together with eBay Motors UK the combination of all three will mean a reach of 10m-plus unique site visitors and more than 620,000 listings.

Martin Forbes, CEO of Cox Automotive UK, said: ‘The completion of this deal is great news for Motors.co.uk. Under the new ownership of eBay, a business renowned for its strong consumer-led focus, I have full confidence that Motors.co.uk will further accelerate its growth.

‘This transaction enables Cox Automotive UK to focus its resources and assets in developing our “Connected Retail” proposition and build upon our strengths in the wholesale market, both physical and digital.’

‘We’ll keep building 20 cars a day, despite Brexit’

B

ritish sports car manufacturer McLaren will not halt production after Brexit as its chief financial officer says it is ‘well sheltered’ from the economic uncertainty.

Despite most UK-based car manufacturers announcing plans to stockpile parts or halt production altogether, the supercar maker famed for its P1 hypercar and 720S sports car says it will continue building at its current rate.

McLaren group CFO Paul Buddin revealed the firm has been building up reserves of some key parts to smooth production issues, but he is confident the factory can continue at its current rate of 20 units per day.

He said: ‘The Woking production centre will not be held back or halted in any way in light of Brexit and we will continue to build at the current rate of 20 cars per day through the Brexit period – we are not planning a special shutdown.’

That’s not the same story for other UK-based car plants. Honda announced in January that it was halting production at Swindon for six days after Britain’s departure from the

by JAMES BAGGOTT @CarDealerEd

EU on March 29 – and we report on page 6 about the whole plant closing in 2021, which is attributed to global trends rather than Brexit – while JLR, Toyota and Vauxhall have all said they are either stockpiling parts, cutting jobs or planning to halt production lines after Brexit.

Some of these manufacturers only have space in warehouses for days’ worth of parts, not weeks, and delays at borders could see those production lines stopped for even longer.

Buddin explained that McLaren brings in 50 per cent of its parts from continental Europe and as such has plans to boost reserves of these marginally – however, he doesn’t envisage Brexit causing the luxury car firm quite the same headache as more mainstream rivals.

‘We operate in a different way to the likes of Nissan and Toyota – they based themselves here to take advantage of the European Union; we didn’t. JLR’s issues are more diesel related and we don’t have any of that.

‘We may increase part stocks generally across our range to smooth production through, but there is not one thing we can do to guard against it – it is a big unknown.

‘But that said, Brexit is not impacting our investment in the UK. We announced our ‘‘Track 25’’ plan in July 2018 and we said that our £1.2bn investment in the UK was going ahead irrespective of Brexit.

‘For us, this is more of a shortterm issue. We keep on top of developments with the government and potentially we might see disruption to imports into the UK, but we are ready to deal with that.’

He added: ‘We don’t want issues bringing goods in. We bring parts in and we export cars out and therefore we don’t want friction either way.

‘We just want some certainty. We want to know what the rules are and when we know that we’ll crack on with them. It’s the uncertainty of not knowing, and the more time that passes, the less time we will have to deal with it. McLaren is quite flexible and once we know what the rules are we’ll just get on with it.’

600LT Spider on test, p38

Ferrari F40 LM sells for £4.2 million (but that still wasn’t its top estimate!)

A RACE-WINNING Ferrari F40 LM has sold for £4.2m at RM Sotheby’s Paris auction.

One of just 19 F40 LMs built for racing by Ferrari’s GT racing partner Michelotto, the stunning twin-turbocharged V8-powered car was one of the rarer vehicles under the hammer at the auction – part of the famous Paris Retromobile classic car event.

14 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

The auction house labelled it ‘without doubt the most significant F40 LM’ but that wasn’t enough for the car to reach its top estimate of 5.5m euros (£4.8m), with the hammer eventually falling at 4.8m euros (£4.2m). In LM spec, the F40 is a truly wild car, with more

than 700bhp – up from 471bhp in the road-going version – and a weight of just 1,050kg. Other modifications include a stiffer chassis, a gearbox built for the rigorous nature of endurance races such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and aerodynamic improvements.

Wednesday

June 12

2019 Farnborough International

Why you MUST attend CDX 2019 What’s new?

Knowledge is power

Networking

Time is money

Be inspired

Register now

CDX is the ideal place to find out what’s happening in the industry, check out the latest trends and opportunities and speak directly to the suppliers that are delivering the latest innovations.

CDX offers more chances to meet industry colleagues than anywhere else, meaning not only can you catch up with contacts, you can also share best practice, compare challenges and talk business.

CDX is a great way to freshen your perspective, give you new ideas and inspire you to take your business to the next level.

Visit

cardealerexpo.co.uk

CDX is all about learning and it’s filled with some of the biggest businesses and industry leaders, all ready to share their insight and knowledge with you.

With so many automotive suppliers on show, attending CDX is the most time-efficient way to meet key suppliers and evaluate new products and offers for your business.

Visit cardealerexpo.co.uk to register and we will keep you up to date with what’s happening at CDX.

Email

events@blackballmedia.co.uk

In association with

CDX and all related content and sessions are subject to change or cancellation at any time up to and including the event day.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 15

CDX 2019 CONFIRMED WORKSHOPS

Book your FREE June 12, 2019, Farnborough International Exhibition & Conference Centre It’s the must-attend automotive conference and expo – and here we reveal more about what will be happening there on the day. Rebecca Chaplin reports.

C

DX 2019 will be taking over the halls of the UK’s newest conference and expo facility, Farnborough International Exhibition & Conference Centre, on Wednesday, June 12, 2019 – in the heartland of the UK automotive industry.

Now in its fifth year, CDX is the most important conference and expo dedicated to the UK retail motor industry – gathering key industry suppliers and experts to show their latest products and deliver best-practice workshops and seminars.

This year, the first 1,000 dealers or manufacturer staff who register for CDX will receive a FREE pass to The London Motor & Tech Show – worth £10* – on Thursday, May 16, 2019, as well as their FREE ticket to our fantastic trade show.

At CDX 2019 we have even MORE reasons to sign up this year. We’ll be revealing more about each element soon in the magazine and on our website, but for now here’s a taster of what will be making up the day.

Live Stage The ever-popular Live Stage returns! We’ll be hosting the biggest and most influential names from the industry and talking about the latest developments and hot topics, as well as revealing the findings of four White Papers from our headline partners.

Workshops CDX 2019 is all about outperforming! Each workshop session, to be led by industry experts, will focus on key areas in your business, helping you to ensure your company is performing at its best. From online sales and marketing to protecting your business from fraud, we’ll make sure you’re well informed.

Expo With time often being the most precious commodity for busy dealers, CDX will be the most time-effective day out of your business in 2019. Boasting more suppliers and leading industry experts than any other motor industry event in the UK, the show is a must-attend.

Dealership of the Future Sponsored by GardX, the Dealership of the Future will see a range of suppliers brought together to showcase products and services to take you forward.

Dealers’ Den Taking place on the Live Stage, start-up companies from our Innovation Zone will each have five minutes in which to pitch their products to our ‘dragons’.

The Business Hub Sponsored by CitNOW, the Business Hub is a dedicated area where suppliers and customers can meet in private. Networking has always been a key component of CDX, and that will continue for 2019.

In association with

16 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

CDX and all related content and sessions are subject to change

tickets now!

CDX 2019 will be hosting 12 best-practice workshops throughout the day and they’re not to be missed! Every session will offer practical advice that you can apply at your dealership immediately and every workshop will include a

dealer case study on the subject. Here are our first two workshop announcements, where dealers will be able to assess their performance online and consider better opportunities to drive sales with in-market car buyers.

WORKSHOP

Why end-to-end online retailing should be the next step for your dealership Presented by Paul Stokes, head of online retailing at GForces, and Katie Newton, group business development manager at RRG Group.

With GForces predicting the number of cars sold entirely online will grow significantly by mid-2020, this workshop will show you why offering customers the option to complete the whole transaction on your website is an opportunity not to be missed.

The session will be presented by GForces head of online retailing Paul Stokes, who was

We can’t wait to welcome you all to Farnborough for this year’s CDX!

*Tickets only available to verifiable car dealers and members of the UK motor industry. One ticket per registration only.

Tickets are subject to availability and on a first-come, first-served basis. The London Motor & Tech Show is solely responsible for the allocation and distribution of these tickets. Tickets will be sent directly

by The London Motor & Tech Show once authenticity as a member of the motor trade has been validated.

previously managing director of Rockar. He will explain what the current marketplace position is and why we are seeing this change.

His role has been to look at the way GForces reacts to this, and he’ll explain what it has done and how dealers can change to make this easier for their customers.

Stokes will be joined in this workshop by Katie Newton from RRG Group, which has recently adopted end-to-end online retailing on its website. She will explain why it wanted to do this and what sales it has seen already.

WORKSHOP

Top three digital marketing tricks that deliver real results for your business Presented by Tanesha Stafford, co-founder of Armchair Marketing, and Neil Smith, operations director at Imperial Cars.

‘Fifty per cent of your marketing works – the trouble is, we don’t know which 50 per cent!’

Every day, dealers spend money on being seen online, but what is the real value? In this session, ex-dealer marketer and co-founder of Armchair Marketing Tanesha Stafford will explain how a powerful, results-driven online strategy can positively boost your offline sales.

She will tell you how you can get the maximum reach for your brand but in the most relevant context and with the desired impact. This session will give you simple advice that you can take back to your dealership immediately, not only to boost sales by driving in-market car buyers to your business, but also to protect these customers from competitors.

Stafford will be joined by Neil Smith, Imperial Cars operations director, who will explain how this marketing approach has helped the firm grow from six to 13 sites in three years.

To register for your ticket to CDX 2019, visit the website cardealerexpo.co.uk or cancellation at any time up to and including the event day.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 17

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FINANCIAL RESULTS

Profits at Daimler hit by trade

WE’RE SUPPORTING DEALERS

At Black Horse we have a range of tools to help you meet the latest FCA requirements. With dedicated account managers we can help you create a transparent experience and deliver great customer outcomes.

A better way of doing business

18 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

DAIMLER has reported a significant drop in its profits for 2018, despite revenues rising by two per cent to £147bn. Net profit fell 28 per cent from £9.3bn to £6.7bn, while operating profit fell 22 per cent from £12.6bn to £9.8bn.

Discussing the company’s performance at a press conference, Daimler boss Dieter Zetsche said issues such as ongoing trade disputes between China and the US, the problems caused by Europewide WLTP certification and increased costs of raw materials were all having an impact.

He also called the UK’s departure from the EU an ‘important and crucial factor’ in the firm’s risk portfolio for the coming years. ‘It could put the world economy into an uncertain situation,’ he said.

‘The UK is the world’s fourth biggest market for us, and if a no-deal Brexit became a reality, the market in Great Britain would be very much adversely affected.

Foreign exchange relations would also become unfavourable.’

The firm, which is the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, said that earnings in 2019 would also be negatively impacted as Daimler steps up its investment in selfdriving and electric cars.

The firm intends to offer an electrified variant of every model it sells by 2022, across the Mercedes and Smart model ranges. The extra cost of this is compounded by falling sales of diesel models across Europe – many of Mercedes’ larger models are predominantly dieselpowered. For 2019, Daimler does

Trade watchdogs after dealer jailed A car dealer who posed as a trading standards officer to try to recover a customer’s car so dangerous that it was labelled potentially ‘catastrophic’ by a judge has been jailed for a year.

Mark Drury, 45, of Garfit’s Lane, Boston, Lincolnshire, was imprisoned after admitting supplying a dangerous product on a limited basis that he had no involvement in the sale and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Lincoln Crown Court was told Drury – who had previous convictions for common assault and dishonesty – sold the 2005reg Honda CR-V Sport to Donna Woodlow in 2017 from a yard in Kirton. No sale price was given, although Lincolnshire County Council told Car Dealer Magazine that a £200 deposit was paid.

However, prosecutor Jonathan Goulding said that the day after picking up the compact crossover SUV, she noticed a ‘crunching’ noise coming from the back of the car so took it to her local workshop

by JOHN BOWMAN john@blackballmedia.co.uk

– Whittington Garage in Kings Lynn – where mechanics found both the prop shaft and both drive shafts had been removed. They then informed Lincolnshire trading standards. Goulding added that the missing parts meant the brakes could have failed and the rear wheels fallen off.

Trading standards seized the car and ordered it to remain at Whittington Garage to undergo further safety tests.

They also contacted Drury about it and a day later, Drury arrived there, pretending to be the trading standards officer in charge, and tried to tow the SUV away, but quick-thinking staff at the garage realised what was going on and blocked the vehicle in.

Drury then ran off.

The name of the garage that sold the car wasn’t given, but Lincolnshire County Council said Drury operated businesses under a

Latest news from the Car Dealer fleet

Long-termers, p87-89

war and Brexit uncertainty Dieter Zetsche: ‘We have faced the headwinds’

expect sales to increase slightly despite the drop in profits.

Zetsche said: ‘For Daimler, 2018 was a year of strong headwinds – with the ongoing diesel debate, the changeover to the new WLTP

FOR WHATEVER IS AROUND THE NEXT CORNER.

test method and the global trade dispute. All of this is reflected in our financial results. Nonetheless, we faced those headwinds and made substantial progress on key areas for the future.’

issue warning for 12 months number of names from premises at 47 London Road, Kirton, near Boston.

Vehicle expert Mark Brown, who gave evidence at the case, said: ‘The car was unroadworthy and in a dangerous condition when sold.

The rear brakes were worn out and incorrectly assembled, the prop and drive shafts had been removed and there was practically nothing holding the rear wheels on.’

After going to Whittington Garage, Drury attempted to alter his appearance by wearing glasses and shaving his hair, the court was told.

In mitigation, the court was told that Drury wasn’t involved in the Honda sale and had been diagnosed as having a ‘reactive attachment disorder’ after seeking help from a counsellor.

Jailing Drury for 12 months, Judge Simon Hirst said: ‘Perverting the course of justice is very serious.

Mr Drury knew what he was doing and caused distress to everyone around. Mr Drury is a man of very deceptive nature – a dishonest man, who twisted and turned at every

opportunity to get out of the situation.’ The judge added that the Honda’s condition was potentially ‘catastrophic’.

After the case, Sara Barry, head of trading standards at the county council, said: ‘In Lincolnshire, we target our resources against those individuals and businesses that cause the most problems for consumers – this case was no exception.

‘Vehicles which are dangerous and unroadworthy put all our lives at risk. This case should send out a very strong message to rogue traders – we will prosecute you and bring you to justice.’

‘This case should send out a strong message to rogue traders – we will prosecute you and bring you to justice.’

As industry regulation and customer trends continue to change, we’re here to help.

Discover more at: blackhorse.co.uk/abetterway

A better way of doing business

Sara Barry Sue Robinson Lincolnshire trading standards CarDealerMag.co.uk | 19

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TRIBUTES

Haynes Manuals creator dies at 80

AUTONOMOUS MOTORING

Key stages on the Autonomy is a hot topic in the automotive industry – but it comes with a lot of confusion. Jack Evans explains all you need to know.

THE creator of the Haynes Manual maintenance guide series has died aged 80.

John Haynes, founder of Haynes Publishing Group and Haynes International Motor Museum, died peacefully surrounded by family on February 8 after a short illness.

The first Haynes Manual, for the Austin-Healey Sprite, was published in 1966 and the first print run of 3,000 sold out in under three months.

More than 200 million Haynes Manuals have been sold around the world. In 1985, Haynes founded the Haynes International Motor Museum in Sparkford, Somerset, donating his collection of 30 cars. It now has more than 400 vehicles on display.

He was awarded an OBE in 1995 for services to publishing. In a statement, the museum said: ‘John was a kind, generous, loving and devoted husband, brother, father and grandfather, who will be missed enormously.’

FORD

Hundreds of jobs go at Bridgend AMERICAN car manufacturer Ford has confirmed that nearly 400 jobs will be lost at its engine manufacturing plant in Bridgend.

The company says the ‘voluntary separation programme’ at the Welsh factory is needed to cut costs and create a ‘sustainably profitable business’ in Europe.

20 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

D

riverless cars are a hot topic in the motoring world at the moment.

Everyone’s talking about them. Manufacturers, politicians and transport chiefs are all nattering on about the future of cars without the need for drivers. But what are they, and what do they mean for the future of motoring?

The government is predicting that driverless cars could be in full use on the UK’s roads by 2021, following an announcement that advanced trials of automated vehicles would be taking place.

Are they safe?

The safety of autonomous vehicles was brought into question after a 49-year-old woman was killed while crossing the road in front of a selfdriving vehicle in Arizona last March.

The issue is the co-existence of road users and driverless vehicles – until people are sure about how to interact with them, accidents will still happen.

cars from Audi, BMW, Citroen, DS, Fiat, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar, Kia, Land Rover, Lexus, Mazda, Mercedes, Nissan, Peugeot, Porsche, Renault, Seat, Skoda, Subaru, Suzuki, Tesla, Toyota, Vauxhall, Volkswagen and Volvo – phew! It’s fair to say that most cars do incorporate the technology, but it can include features such as adaptive cruise control.

Levels of autonomy You may have heard about people discussing the various levels of autonomous assistance, and they’re categorised from one to five. Here’s what they mean: Level 1 Introduced around 1990s/00s Level one autonomous assistance is,

Which manufacturers currently offer some level of autonomous assistance?

Quite a few, actually. You’ll find some partial self-driving tech in

as expected, the base level. It means that just one element of the driving process is taken over by the car – but the driver is very much still in charge.

This level of assistance has been around for some time now, pioneered by early cruise control systems.

Level 2 Current day Level 2 autonomy represents pretty much where we are today. Computers are now clever enough to deal with multiple functions, meaning the car can take control of steering, throttle and brake functions, but it still requires the driver to show that they’re in charge of the car by putting a hand on the steering wheel.

Level 3 Estimated 2020 Level 3 takes things up a notch. It means that all of the safety-critical functions can be controlled by the car but the driver must still be able to intervene should they need to – this isn’t completely ‘hands-off’ tech yet.

Level 4 Mid-2020s Things are getting serious at Level 4. This sees cars capable of

Animal charities express concerns over Tesla ‘Dog Mode’ LEADING animal charities have expressed ‘serious concerns’ over Tesla’s Dog Mode that’s designed to keep pets cool in unattended cars.

The software update, which has been made available on all Tesla models, allows owners to leave the air conditioning on in their cars to keep their pets cool.

However, national animal charities have said they believe that under no circumstances should dogs be left unattended in cars as they could ‘die in minutes’ if the technology failed.

Holly Barber, RSPCA campaign

manager, said: ‘Technology can fail and it isn’t worth the risk of injury to your pet to put them in this situation.

We would advise owners to leave them at home if they know they are going to be away for a longer time.

‘The RSPCA receives thousands of calls every year about dogs left in hot cars and our inspectors see first-hand the trauma this can cause.

‘Many people think it will be fine just to leave their pets for a minute or two, but this is all it takes for temperatures inside a car to soar to dangerous levels. Our advice is never

to leave a dog in a car on a warm day.’

Dog Mode not only cools the car but also informs passers-by via a message on the infotainment screen that the owner will be returning soon and not to worry. The mode remains on when occupants leave the vehicle and they receive a notification via Tesla’s mobile app if the car’s charge drops below 20 per cent while Dog Mode is in use.

Tesla said: ‘This feature keeps your dog at a comfortable temperature while letting people passing by know that the owner will be back soon.’

Fake reviews – what to do if you get one.

Car Dealer Club, p72-73

road to driverless cars

Manufacturers such as Nissan have been making great strides in the area of autonomous motoring. On the opposite page, a driverless shuttle vehicle being tested in London being fully autonomous, albeit in selected areas – most likely innercity ones. Dedicated lane markings and infrastructure will be required to ensure that the cars keep on the straight and narrow, too. Complex mapping systems will combine with advanced cameras, sensors and artificial intelligence to determine where the car needs to go. The driver may need to intervene at

PARTNERSHIP

Austin becomes an ambassador ENGLISH rugby star and sports commentator Austin Healey is the official UK Brand Ambassador for New C5 Aircross SUV. From playing rugby for England to showing off his moves on Strictly Come Dancing, Healey is said to embody Citroen’s ‘Be Different, Feel Good’ spirit.

He said: ‘It is an honour to to work with the brand.’

certain points, but for the most part it’ll mean hands-free driving.

Level 5 Late 2020s/early 2030s Level 5 will see the vehicles derestricted – they won’t have to operate within certain areas or environments, they’ll simply be capable of driving anywhere, without the need for a driver. There

won’t be a need for a steering wheel or traditional ‘controls’ either. These vehicles will be fully capable of operating themselves. It’ll free up space inside the cars themselves and, because of that, they’ll probably look more like lounges on wheels.

Timeline predictions It’s worth noting that this timeline is based on predictions by many

different manufacturers. Although various dates are pitched by different car makers, most agree that the bulk of progress will happen between 2020 and 2030. It’s a real technology race at the moment – each company is charging ahead to develop their own systems quicker than the next. It’s why these dates are estimates – some may get there sooner than others.

UK’s used car market finishes 2018 down by 7.9m sales BRITAIN’S used car market finished 2018 slightly down on the previous 12 months, dropping by 2.1 per cent to 7,945,040 transactions, according to figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

The 2018 performance was 167,980 sales lower than in 2017 – a decline not as severe as the new car market and still the third highest year on records going back to 2001.

Growth in the market came through sales of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery-electric cars, which rose by 27 per cent in the year to 106,658.

Conventional petrol and diesel models countered recent trends seen in the new car market, with petrol showing a full-year decline in sales of 4.2 per cent and diesel holding steady with a 0.3 per cent increase.

While superminis remained the largest segment grouping in 2018 with a 33 per cent market share, sales were down 3.7 per cent to 2,618,544.

Growth in sales of larger vehicles supported the used market in the year, with dual-purpose and executive cars up 9.3 per cent and 2.3 per cent respectively. All other segments

recorded falls over the period.

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: ‘It’s encouraging to see more used car buyers snapping up lowemission vehicles as supply grows – but those sales remain low as an overall proportion of the market.

‘We still need the right policies and incentives from government to give new car buyers confidence to choose the cleanest petrol, diesel and electric models that best suit their needs, so that even more drivers can benefit from this exciting technology as it filters down to the used market.’

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 21

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VISIT

MP drops in to Porsche dealer

ASTON BARCLAY

Digital and physical blend seamlessly at super-centre C ar auction group Aston Barclay has demonstrated its commitment to serving both its digital and physical customers at its new super-centre in Wakefield.

The 78,000 sq ft auction house opened at the end of January and acted as the venue for the launch of its new Digital Solutions arm and Cascade suite of products.

The site will host 15 dealer and fleet auctions per month and has the capacity to sell 50,000 used vehicles a year, contributing to Aston Barclay’s plan of doubling its group sales volume to 160,000 vehicles by 2022.

The 18-acre site is a stone’s throw from the M1, M62 and A1, with the super-centre featuring two glassfronted auction halls, interactive screens and artificial intelligence, as well as a gym, restaurant and meeting rooms. Aston Barclay’s current sixacre Leeds auction base, which is

by REBECCA CHAPLIN @believebecca

consistently voted as the UK’s top auction site by its customers, will be turned into a used LCV centre.

Wakefield will also become the head office for the newly acquired The Car Buying Group.

Aston Barclay CEO Neil Hodson said: ‘Wakefield is a game-changer for the remarketing sector and there is no other auction facility like it in Europe. We have created a five-star, dynamic environment filled with new technology, which will be a great working environment for our buyers, vendors and colleagues alike.’

He added that the new Cascade suite also made buying and selling with Aston Barclay easier and more profitable, whether people were able to attend one of its centres or not.

Cascade combines Aston Barclay’s new e-Valuate, e-Hub, e-Xchange and e-Live products for dealers and leasing vendors, from initial used car appraisal through to wholesale disposal and onward delivery to buyers. The e-Hub smart dashboard allows for ‘at-a-glance’ decisionmaking with the benefit of real-time market intelligence.

Inside the impressive super-centre The Cascade process starts with the e-Valuate vehicle appraisal app, allowing dealers to accurately value incoming vehicles, as well as get a guaranteed purchase price from The Car Buying Group.

Vendors can then use e-Xchange to fix the duration the vehicle is to be advertised for disposal, as well as set ‘buy now’ and ‘minimum reserve’ prices. Should the vehicle sell, the buyer arranges logistics and payments with the vendor. If the vehicle is unsold, it then flows into either a physical or online e-Live auction.

Hodson added: ‘Used car buying and selling patterns are changing and client requirements are becoming ever more complex.

‘Digital Solutions places us firmly as a digital business supported by physical fulfilment, combining the best of both worlds to drive real value for our buyers and vendors.’

‘Wakefield is a game-changer for the remarketing sector and there is no other auction facility like it in Europe.’

Neil Hodson 22 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

JARDINE Motors Group welcomed MP Stephen Timms to its Porsche dealership in east London.

The former shadow minister for employment, who is the Labour MP for East Ham, was invited to visit the Gallions Park showroom, where he met Jardine chief executive Neil Williamson and centre principal Ivan Howell.

Over the course of the visit, the trio discussed business turnover, the number of employees and volume of cars sold. Timms met technicians and was shown a CitNOW video displaying the integrity and honesty of Jardine Motors Group and Porsche East London. He also took the opportunity to meet two apprentices and chatted about how they got into the automotive industry.

ISUZU

Congratulations to top dealers!

ISUZU UK recently announced its Dealers of the Year at its annual awards ceremony.

This year, the awards took place at Madame Tussauds in London and recognised the best and brightest dealers who provide a top service to Isuzu’s UK customers.

In addition to the awards, many dealer staff were accredited as Pick-Up Professionals after completing the relevant training programme.

Full list of winners online here: bit.ly/Isuzu132

Local insight to help your business succeed.

At Close Brothers Motor Finance, our dedicated account managers help UK car dealers make the most of local market conditions, by combining customer insight with specialist local knowledge.

Find out more at closemotorfinance.co.uk/insight

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 23

Dashboard.

ROUND 3 – EAST

It might have been cold outside but the action on the track was red hot!

Rebecca Chaplin reports from the third regional heat of our great Go-Karting Challenge.

J

anuary saw the return of the Car Dealer Magazine Go-Karting Challenge in association with Close Brothers Motor Finance. This third round would take us to Essex, and the TeamSport Karting track in Basildon.

Ten teams lined up on the grid, and when the 90-minute race fired into life it was ultracompetitive from the start.

The grid was made up of experienced karting racers from Essex and the surrounding counties – all with the podium in mind.

The Selective Motors Direct and Essex Auto Group kart #6 with Harry Pritchard behind the wheel took first position off the line and the remainder of the pack battled for position while they extended their lead.

By the end of the first driver switch, the #2 kart of Your Best Car had taken the lead but in the pits, motorcycle dealers Dobles, Fins and Hythe Hill in kart #5 and Selective Motors Direct both overtook them.

It was only a couple of laps more before these teams had to pit and #2, driven by Andrew Woolger, jumped back into the lead.

In the thick of it with the pack leaders was the Car Loan Company in kart #1 and Allen Ford in #9. The fastest lap times kept coming down in what was arguably one of the cleanest but hardest-fought races of the Go-Karting Challenge yet.

The final half-hour of the race was nail-biting stuff as kart #6 swapped in Ricky Carr, who set the fastest lap of the race, and soon jumped the motorcycle team’s Joe Brown, putting them into second. A man down, the Your Best Car 24 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

A couple of racers get up close and personal, left

team had started the race from the back of the grid with Garrett Green, who would also finish the race in the hot seat.

Speaking about his final stint on track, he said: ‘I knew Josh [driver two of #2] had come into the pits with only a 20-second gap, so by the time I got back out on track they’d be right behind me.’

With only minutes to go, the top three karts raced to the finish line for the top spot on the podium with less than a lap between each of them. The teammates on the sidelines held their breath in the final seconds but it was the #2 kart of Your Best Car that kept hold of the lead to the very end, finishing with the most laps.

Josh Brown of Your Best Car said: ‘All of us kept

the pace up throughout the race. The pit stops were quick, the corners were quick, and that really benefited us when we were being chased in the final laps.

‘We were worried about the other teams – there were a lot of competitive people in the briefing, so it was a genuine surprise and delight that we won.’

Team Your Best Car and team Selective Motors Direct/Essex Auto Group now go through to the final in Reading on March 28.

The final regional heat was taking place in Bristol as this edition of Car Dealer was rolling off the presses. Full coverage of that will appear in the next edition of Car Dealer.

How much prep is really necessary?

PHOTOGRAPHY: JON REAY

Feedback, p30-31

See more go-karting pictures at bit.ly/essexkart

Regional heats all over now !

THE report on the left covers the third regional heat of the great Car Dealer Go-Karting Challenge – but by the time you read this, the fourth and final heat will have taken place too!

That event was due to take place in Bristol on February 20 and pretty much coincided with this edition of Car Dealer Magazine rolling off the presses. As with the previous races, the top two finishers will automatically qualify for the March final, while the third-place finisher and the fastest lap holder will also be in contention for a grid slot.

The Bristol track will have presented some fascinating challenges for our western round competitors. A wide and competitive circuit, it has lots of overtaking opportunities and a tricky trio of multi-apex corners sure to test the drivers’ ability to control their karts.

Once again, it’s worth mentioning that this whole challenge would never have got away from the starting grid without the fantastic support of Close Brothers Motor Finance. Thanks again!

Above: The winning teams proudly take their places on the podium Left: Action from the eastern regional heat in Essex

Dates and tracks TeamSport karting venues and dates: Round 1 – North

Leeds, October 24

Round 2 – South

Eastleigh, November 21

Round 3 – East

Basildon, January 23

Round 4 – West

Bristol, February 20

Final

Reading, March 28

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 25

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Behind the scenes REBECCA CHAPLIN

Blackball Media’s head of editorial is never afraid to tell it like it is

Dealers must box clever to overcome the pain points of online retailing

W

e still don’t know if there’s a future for the high street. We’re not quite there yet with online shopping either. It’s getting better, but let’s not pretend it’s a golden ticket that everyone has sussed out.

At our Automotive Influencers event, which you can read about from pages 42 to 55, I chatted with some of our guests about the challenges the industry faces and what needs to be addressed.

Making it easier for consumers to buy will always be the goal, and the posts won’t stop moving. Perhaps one day, buyers will be able to simply walk up to a car they like and tap their iPhone on the bonnet to buy it. Finance would be automatically approved thanks to the state-of-the-art technology of the day; the DVLA would be alerted of a change of ownership; the car would unlock itself and the customer would drive off. Until then, there will always be barriers that can be smoothed out with more efficient processes.

I love the phrase ‘efficient processes’. What great management-speak that is for ‘do things faster’ or ‘stop doing the pointless stuff’.

I found the new data from What Car? about discounting really interesting too.

Close to half of car buyers want to walk into a dealership with a purchase price in mind, meaning that having those discounts displayed online to set you apart from other retailers can make a huge difference when it comes to getting them through your doors.

Solutions almost always create new challenges though – just take a look at the clothing industry. Before online shopping became everyone’s favourite pastime, people found it hard to believe that consumers would buy clothes online without trying them on first.

The industry managed to cut out a large portion of people coming into their stores to buy, but instead added some new problems.

It’s hard to imagine now that this was ever an issue, as we’ve been ordering online and returning what doesn’t fit for years. Plenty of people have been buying, then wearing with the labels in and returning too, though.

But how on earth does the clothing industry actually cope with online retailing?

How many times have you ordered three sizes of jeans because you weren’t sure if they would fit? I’ve ordered standard size, petite and tall (optimistically) before, or different colours, all with the expectation that I would return the ones I didn’t like. This

must balance out at some point, surely? People like me will order more and forget to return them, while organised people will order more and have them back in the warehouse within days and the cash back in their bank.

That whole process – returns staff, managing stock in and out twice and free postage – all adds more cost for the seller.

Returns policies also mean customers and retailers know what’s expected of both sides and build trust that if something’s not quite right it can be fixed. Remember the Next Directory or Argos catalogue? Yes, I know they still exist but I remember when that huge book from Next was how my family found clothes for the season.

The idea that you could buy something having seen it in a twoinch-high photo and usually from only one angle was perfectly fine, and the process of ordering has just been streamlined by the ability to make it faster and safer online.

A quicker and more reliable postal service, too, has improved the delivery of things. It doesn’t take a genius to spot how competitive this sector has become. (Although I won’t bore you with the ASOS delivery that I missed, rearranged and then collected from my corner shop, only to find poor Emma’s order had been relabelled as mine. Maybe it’s not that reliable after all...)

The latest brilliant solution arrived with my most recent ASOS delivery (and this time it really was my order). I’d bought some trousers and a jacket, and both had a loop of ribbon through the leg or sleeve with ‘this must be intact to return’. They were completely unwearable with these in place and I’m sure will save money in the long run from clothes that have been worn on sweaty club nights then sent back – still complete with their labels but now with added not-so-fresh smell.

I know, you’re thinking that the solution to selling cars online is not to put a ribbon through the doors and hope that someone doesn’t drive it for a week. And I’m not sure how putting only 50 miles of fuel in it and covering the cap with a sticker that says ‘IF THIS IS REMOVED YOU CANNOT RETURN THE CAR’ would go down with customers.

The one thing that struck me when I saw this strip of ribbon was that there must still be huge pain points in online clothes retailing and actually these businesses aren’t happy with the way consumers abuse the system.

But, undeniably, this is one of the biggest ways people are purchasing from them. So can we ignore it? Of course not. It’s going to be a long and painful road but, regardless, it’s coming.

‘The idea that you could buy something having seen it in a two-inch-high photo and usually from only one angle was fine.’

Rebecca Chaplin is head of editorial at Blackball Media and the editor of Car Dealer Magazine.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 27

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*76% of used car buyers surveyed who purchased a car from the RAC Approved Dealer Network said that the dealer’s affiliation to the RAC impacted their decision to buy a car from them. (Source: RAC Reviews)

Big Mike Our man on the inside shares his thoughts on the car business

Size is important! (When it comes to saying what’s under the car bonnet)

W

hat’s under the bonnet of your car, then? I wager that, other than total petrolheads like us lot, the vast majority of people haven’t got a Scooby, while even the experts can get caught out sometimes.

Indeed, most people I’ve spoken to in our trade find it baffling that simple information, once displayed on the boot lid, can now only be uncovered by inspecting a car’s registration document.

Back when my son was a kid, we used to have a game called Play Your Cars Right, which was based on good old Brucie’s TV show with the giant playing cards.

It was a simple formula. As we walked down the road, we had to guess if the next car in the row was higher or lower in terms of engine size than the one before it.

There was nothing for a pair, of course, so if you came across two Cortina 1.6 Ls parked in sequence, you were out and play passed to the next person.

My boy and I used to walk miles around the streets of suburban Birmingham, looking for easy higher or lower targets such as Minis and Rover V8s, although the old SD1 could be a bit of a decoy if you were unlucky enough to claim higher than a Triumph Stag, only to discover it was the miserable 2.3-litre model. You took solace in the fact that you weren’t as unlucky as its owner, however.

When my lad came over to ours at Christmas (he’s 33 these days), we popped out for a couple of pints – a rite of passage for fathers and sons, even if you do end up being the one who puts his hand in his pocket – and decided to have a game of Play Your Cars Right for old time’s sake.

Except it was impossible.

Practically anything with a Ford badge was a 1.0-litre, even a Mondeo, and by the time we got to the juicier models, Junior and I were having a heated discussion as to what was under the bonnet of a BMW 318i these days.

The one thing we agreed on was that it wasn’t a 1.8.

The debate continued in the pub, right up until the point we realised we looked like a right pair of sad gits. Nobody goes to the

pub to talk about cars with their mates and avoid their better halves, after all…

When my son went to the gents to make room for a few more beers, I picked up a copy of one of the red-top newspapers, and that’s when I had my brainwave. Within it was a story about childhood obesity, and how today’s kids spend so much time sitting on their backsides playing computer games, they simply aren’t getting enough exercise to burn off the calories they consume.

I’m therefore launching a campaign to bring back engine size badges on car boot lids. When Daniel (my lad) was growing up, he didn’t have an inch of fat on him. The annoying little sod still doesn’t, despite getting half his DNA from a lardy car dealer.

Part of the reason for his slender physique was that he used to walk miles and miles as a kid.

Despite being a total petrolhead like his old man, Danny would choose to walk everywhere as each game of Play Your Cars Right was even more of a thrill for his car-addicted mind.

He’s a dad himself now, and I know he’s sad that he’ll never get to play our silly game with his own kids – something that started to go horribly wrong when BMW first put a 2.2-litre engine in the 520i.

Aside from the inability to play a truly competitive game of Play Your Cars Right though, there is a serious side to this.

Up until a few years ago, buying a car at auction was far simpler. You didn’t need to listen to the auctioneer’s incessant chatter, as you could make a split-second decision on whether or not a car was good forecourt fodder ‘just like that’ (and yes, I appreciate that’s a Tommy Cooper reference and not dear old Brucie).

Half the time today, I have no idea what I’m buying, not least because when you get an engine like the aforementioned Ford EcoBoost, you know it’s a 1.0-litre three-pot, but you’ve no idea what power output it has. I appreciate the environmental benefits of smaller engines, but where’s the suburban one-upmanship? The joy of having a 2.0 GL over a 1.6 L? So, bring back clearly displayed engine sizes and not only will our children be happier and healthier, but life will be easier for everyone. It’ll be nice to see them, to see them nice. Anyway, thank you for once again reading my drivel.

What a lovely audience. So much better than last week …

‘We used to have a game called Play Your Cars Right, based on good old Brucie’s TV show with the giant playing cards.’

Who is Big Mike? Well, that would be telling. What we can say is he’s had more than 40 years in the car trade so has probably forgotten more about it than we’re likely to know.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 29

Feedback.

Your comments via email to dave@blackballmedia.co.uk

Our website at CarDealerMag.co.uk

Be careful not to prep WE’RE relatively new to the game. We’ve been trading a year but we’re doing well enough although it massively quietened down during January. We are a small, family-run business – mother, father, two sons, me being one of them.

We have an ongoing argument about vehicle prep and condition. My dad likes the idea of making the cars absolutely immaculate and thinks no-one will buy them if they’re not. We still make money but doing this work eats time and profits. I was just wondering how much prep is acceptable usually? Our cars range between £3k to £15k as a guide. Obviously at the more expensive end, cars sell better based on condition but at the cheaper end, do they still sell well with scuffs and bumps?

In the opinion of more experienced traders, are we doing too much?

Our cars are offered with the following: 12 months’ MOT; six months’ warranty (Warrantywise); up-to-date service if needed; paint remedied to an immaculate condition; alloys repaired if scuffed.

NCS_Pete I have found that below £2k, very fussy. £2k-£3k, you can get away with things like small rips in leather seats, scuffed alloys, minor dents.

AutoJacob Walk up to each car in turn with your arms folded (as if you were the lady of the house sick of looking at cars with your husband and wishing he’d keep the stinky one he has already) and walk round and round the car. Do the same inside then under the bonnet. Can you fault it? (It is quite acceptable at this stage to use your foot to point as customers invariably do.) Would you buy it?

If not, mint again. My motto is, if someone walks having made the journey, I’ve failed. Don’t have walkers. A vehicle can never be over-clean. boring dave Any prep you do over the minimum required to sell it quickly for the going retail price is

Picture of the month

Bear in mind the first thing which happens when someone takes a new car home is family and neighbours want to have a look.

David Ayers Do a smart repair course and do the paint damage yourself. As long as you’re not slicing your margin too much, a car can never be too clean. I’ve never lost a sale and my personal opinion is that having a gleaming car creates trust with the customer. They may think, ‘wow, this has been looked after, if they prep their cars to this level, they must know what they are doing’.

MrV

You might be aware that the parent company of Car Dealer Magazine is Baize Group – so named because founder and CEO James Baggott loves the game of pool. We’ve had a table in the office for several years now and it received a little bit of TLC recently in the form of a new covering of the green stuff. Rack ’em up! effectively too much. Knowing where to stop takes years of trial.

Nick M.K. I used to be a perfectionist. Every car had to be immaculate. It’s a huge chunk out of the profit and a ton of hassle. I now touch up bumper scuffs and light marks with the correct matching paint from a local paint supplier, £16 a can. Not had one customer notice the scuff if touch-up applied lightly. I’ve never done a wheel refurb although I know a lot of dealers who do. Basic for me is full valet, removing seats, wet vac, three months’ warranty, 12 months’ MOT on anything less than six months old and oil and filter service. I’d rather offer a £200 discount for all the niggles than spend £300/£400 making the car mint! iJCS1

My cosmetic prep is far higher than it used to be, mechanically/electrically the same – very high – as I hate comebacks. New MOT regardless (even if it has 10 months like the Megane I had done today) and a proper PDI, service, new keyfob batteries. I don’t think you can ‘over-prep’ something, but we are all different. tradex The more expensive the car, the more prep required, this stands to reason. On a sub-£3,000 car, I would say a fresh MOT, a good valet and maybe a service is all that’s necessary. £3,000+ and I would be looking at getting paintwork and alloys refurbed etc. At the end of the day, it depends how much profit is in the car. Do not prep the profit out of it!

Max Branning I pretty much mint cars up but I enjoy it. I take the time to make them irresistible and my ratio of sales to viewings is about 95 per cent. I would hate it if I was showing someone a car thinking to myself, ‘please don’t notice the bumper scuff, please don’t notice the bald tyre, please don’t notice the smashed alloys, please don’t look in the glovebox as it’s caked in crumbled peppermints...’

EPV

Top tweets Tewkesbury MP Laurence Robertson visited Bristol Street Motors Cheltenham Ford to meet the dealership’s award-winning apprentice. Congratulations Connor! Keep it up.

Bristol Street Motors @BristolStMotors We are proud to provide a vehicle to Police Scotland that will support them as they carry out their

30 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Community Policing, to ensure local communities are safe. Arnold Clark Head of Security, David Tassie, met with Inspector Louise Brownlie from Coatbridge to hand over the keys!

Arnold Clark @ArnoldClark Thanks to the Toyota Fund For A Better Tomorrow, Currie Motors Toyota Great West Road were proud to present a cheque for

£1,750 to @ReactCharity who do a fantastic job at helping children with life-limiting illnesses.

Currie Motors @CurrieMotors BMW Group and @Daimler have always been pioneering mobility.

Together, we want to shape the future of urban mobility and improve quality of life.

BMW Group @BMWGroup

More and more of our readers are joining the debate – and it couldn’t be

On Twitter: Follow @CarDealerMag

Forum: CarDealerMagazine.co.uk/forum

the profit out of a car!

NISSAN DECISION

So new X-Trail won’t be made in UK Sad to see production leave the UK, but is it because there is little demand for diesel in the EU? It’s only built as a diesel. Or is it Brexit woes? friar The way I read it is there was never a guarantee the new model would have been built in the UK anyway and it won’t affect Qashqai production.

Downturn in diesel is probably the main reason, same with JLR, but obviously Brexit will be used as an excuse.

Lakeside

in Europe. They have been told that whatever happens with Brexit they will be looked after. trade vet I think it has more to do with Carlos Ghosn and Nissan Japan than we will never know. boring dave Nissan quoted lack of appetite for diesel in the EU as the reason for the X-Trail going to Japan – not Brexit. The papers and TV quoted Brexit, lying beggars.

David Horgan

Anything unpredictable is not good for a business, so Brexit, which of course is extremely unpredictable, could have helped sway the decision.

Screenman

I’m very pleased to announce I’ve just taken a deposit on my TT (just under wiping its face).

Been in stock since 14/05/18. arfur dealy I have had an Audi since September 23. Every time I go away, someone wants to come and buy it THAT DAY! No more trips for two months so I can see the back of it!

Nick M.K. Nothing’s sold till you’re holding the folding. boring dave We’ve got a Tigra that’s been in around 400 days. Only done 50k as well.

SC Derby That surprises me. I bought one two weeks ago, it sold in under a week with good margin and the phone rang off the hook. Longest currently in stock is a Laguna diesel estate I’ve had for three months without a phone call.

Lakeside

When I read the article, I thought it was just the usual headline-grabbing tabloid sensationalism, but I must admit to not taking much notice now of all the Brexit stuff and scaremongering.

NOACROSS The Nissan Mackem factory is the most efficient

Always good to get rid of cars we’ve had for a while!

An example of a current X-Trail

Just got rid of my longest standing car so far, it was a Mondeo Estate Titanium X (2008) with only 70k on the clock. I had it for 85 days, glad to see the back of it!

Mikey 360

What do you (and your punters) class as high mileage?

HAD a customer in yesterday who was looking at a 12-plate car which had done 118k. He saw the car, loved it, loved the price, but as soon as he found out it had done more than 100k, he nearly fell on the floor! This was a diesel by the way.

To me personally, with decent history, 118k is nothing on a nearly nine-year-old car, just above average you could say. 100k seems to still be the magic number with customers, anything over this and they feel it’s ‘high mileage’ and doesn’t have much life left in it. I feel more like 200k should be the magic number.

Max Branning As we only do very small engines and no diesels, the magic number I have found is 80k. Anything higher than that, they think Doctor Who owned it. justina3 For an easy life, I tend to go for less than 100k on diesels (the lower the better) and 80k for petrols (again, the lower the better). We all know,

however, that a 150k diesel that’s been serviced 10 times has a whole lot of life left in it. Buying public still think it’s a high-mileage car.

Blenheim Car Sales I think the highest I’ve retailed was a Land Cruiser that had done about 240k. Two owners, full main dealer history. I don’t think it’s a case of ‘what’s classed as high mileage’, it’s more a case of what’s been best maintained.

Would he rather have an 80k 12-plate with sketchy history that hasn’t been looked after? It’s like the ‘how many owners?’ question.

My dad (he has zero knowledge of the motor trade) runs his cars on the tightest of budgets, scrimps and saves wherever he can and ‘lives’ with certain issues.

How is his car which will have two owners on it better than a six-owner car which has potentially been retailed six times and therefore gone through more prep, MOTs, services, warranty claims, goodwill gestures and that new-owner

TLC than the two-owner car? When people complain about the number of owners, I ask ‘‘how many people owned your house before you bought it?’’ They never know the answer unless it’s relatively new. How is it any different?

The people I bought my house off had lived in it for 40 years. Absolutely everything had to be replaced. If six people had owned it in that 40-year period, I dare say some jobs, ie re-wiring, would’ve been done before I bought it.

CB I find it depends on the amount of miles the prospective punter does on average or what the cars they have had have done.

We get some right fussy (often older) customers here on the south coast. Anything above 70k is often a problem and over 100k? You get the impression they think it’s a scrapper!

The internet has luckily widened the audience, as elsewhere in the country I think attitudes differ.

NOACROSS

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The publisher reserves the right to edit submissions.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 31

Dashboard.

Around the world Dealer news from somewhere other than here

SPAIN

ROLLS-ROYCE has opened a showroom in Barcelona following a partnership deal with Spirits of Speed Catalunya. The manufacturer says it will serve a highly relevant market as sales of luxury products and services in Spain rose by nearly 10 per cent year-on-year in 2017. Regional director Julian Jenkins said: ‘Our new partner in Spain brings significant business experience to the brand and is well equipped to meet the demanding level of customer service expected from the marque.’

AMERICA

CALIFORNIAN dealers have filed a petition in a bid to stop ‘Care

by Volvo,’ a car-based subscription service announced by the Swedish manufacturer in 2017. The state dealer group describes it as a ‘clever, but illegal, marketing ploy’ and have previously sent a letter to the CEO of Volvo’s North America division regarding the matter.

The group says it violates the franchise agreements Volvo has with dealers.

SOUTH AFRICA

SUZUKI is enjoying impressive levels of success in South Africa. The manufacturer has recently become one of the 10 biggest-selling vehicle brands in the country and has also joined the ‘1,000-units-per-month’ club after increasing annual sales by more than 30 per cent. Cars such as the Jimny, Ignis and Swift have been flying off dealers’ forecourts lately.

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32 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

INDIA

SAUDI ARABIA

GAC Motor has opened the kingdom’s largest sales and service centre in the heart of the automobile business district in Riyadh. The 5,588 square metre establishment is operated by Aljomaih Automotive Company (AAC), the automaker’s exclusive dealer in Saudi Arabia. The opening ceremony – attended by more than 100 VIP guests and media professionals – featured the launch of the GS7 SUV and GM8 minivan.

Yu Jun, the president of GAC Motor, said: ‘We are committed to providing Saudi Arabian customers with an enjoyable mobile experience.’

HONDA is modernising its dealer network in India with all car showrooms and service centres set to adopt a new corporate identity over the next three years. Company spokesman Rajesh Goel said: ‘The modernisation is part of our effort to provide the highest level of premium retail experience.’ The manufacturer recorded a healthy 23 per cent sales growth in India in January.

Responsible for Keeping the wheels of the Industry turning?

You need insurance that is in tune with the challenges you face. And a specialist broker who understands the intricacies of your sector.

Contact E: jem.emirali@astonlark.com T: 01732 872899 M: 07775 023559 YOUR WORLD IS OUR FOCUS www.astonlark.com/business/motor-trade Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 33

Finance.

PARAGON

New commercial lending doubles over past year P aragon’s commercial lending division has doubled new lending in the past year with every product line showing strong levels of growth, the bank says.

Asset finance and development finance led growth within the division, a quarterly trading update to December 31, 2018 revealed.

Acquisitions of property finance company Titlestone and legal finance firm Iceberg have also delivered potential for the specialist lender, which serves SMEs in the UK. Paragon Banking Group reported a 41 per cent increase across all business lines to deliver £661 million of new lending in the first quarter of 2019.

The commercial lending division reported the highest levels of growth across the group, to achieve a 105 per cent increase in lending to £212 million, compared with £103 million in the same quarter last year.

That was helped by a 56 per cent increase in lending by asset finance to £93 million, compared with £60m in the same period last year.

That volume includes £19 million

from Iceberg, which joined Paragon in December 2017.

Like-for-like asset finance growth was 27 per cent.

Development finance reported a 451 per cent year-on-year increase in lending with £79 million of new business written in the quarter.

That is in line with the £321 million of new advances achieved by the combined Paragon and Titlestone teams in the year to September 2018.

Elsewhere in the division, motor finance increased lending by 25 per cent to £36 million and structured lending brought in more than £3m of business in the quarter.

Richard Doe, managing director for commercial lending at Paragon, said: ‘As a specialist lender, Paragon is working hard to improve access to funding for British companies and SMEs and our increased levels of lending reflect this.’

NEW PROPOSITION

Santander expands partnership with Aston Barclay SANTANDER Consumer Finance is launching a wholesale finance facility for selected dealers at Aston Barclay, the leading national independent vehicle auction group.

The new finance proposition enables dealers to buy stock at Aston Barclay’s six auction centres in person or online then charge the cost to their wholesale facility with Santander.

Dealers benefit from faster turnaround on vehicles bought through Aston Barclay, as well as C

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34 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

enhanced cashflow management through the new launch.

Santander is building on the success of a long-term remarketing contract with Aston Barclay agreed last year to sell its used stock at its Prees Heath auction centre.

Andy Green, Santander consumer finance marketing director, said: ‘We are always looking for new ways to further strengthen the support we provide to our dealer partners and the facility for Aston Barclay is an

important development. It helps dealers with cashflow as well as streamlining the process of buying stock.’ Martin Potter, group managing director at Aston Barclay, said: ‘Dealers are putting more energy and investment into their used car businesses in the light of falling new car sales and the Santander product will help them to buy more efficiently at auctions.’

Santander Consumer Finance has 500,000 live customer agreements.

IVENDI

First major international deal is signed

E-COMMERCE specialist iVendi has signed its first major international deal – with an automotive bank serving around a quarter of car dealers in Germany.

Its technology will provide a complete online marketplace with motor finance pre-approval for all 4,500 dealers using Société Générale subsidiary Bank Deutsches Kraftfahrzeuggewerbe GmbH (BDK).

A new search function, believed to be among the most sophisticated anywhere, provides intuitive results based on vehicle, payment and locality. All results are shown on a map.

BDK is one of the leading motor finance providers in Germany and offers a wide product range, including dealer financing, retail loan and retail leasing business for new and used cars.

James Tew, pictured, chief executive at iVendi, said: ‘This marks a major step forward for iVendi.

‘While we have worked with some customers on overseas projects in the past, this is our first major international deal with a significant motor finance provider.’

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Time is money BEN GARSIDE

A monthly look at the world of automotive finance and marketing

Be prepared for both scenarios of the Brexit outcome – best and worst

S

omeone asked me my opinion on Brexit the other day, and as it is just around the corner and there seems to be a lot of uncertainty on the table at the moment, I thought I’d share it with you all.

We’ve seen a great deal of news both for and against our departure from the EU. We’ve also seen a lot of debates positive and negative. However, I feel we are not in a great place as a country, as we are all so split on our position, rather than being a ‘United’ Kingdom.

The constant propaganda being pushed from both sides is leading us down one path or another, dependent on how the writer wants you to read an article, or how you decide you want to read it. Take myself for instance. I’m a ‘glass half full’ kind of guy, and some would say I tend to look at life through rose-tinted glasses a lot of the time. I do pretty much always look for positives.

For instance, I read an article about the UK losing a business relationship and the headline was written in a way that made me believe that this was going to damage the UK. However, the actual loss would be for a company based in the EU that is set to lose 70 per cent of its customer base, as it is currently all based in the UK. So, my brain read it in a different way than intended, and that it is as much of an issue for another country as it is for us – so both would lose out, not just the UK. Looking at Brexit in totality, we are probably going to hit some volatility, no matter what the outcome of the current negotiations, and we probably won’t be the only country in Europe to have issues

following Brexit, so we should definitely be prepared. However, we should always be prepared for a worst- and best-case scenario.

A worst-case scenario, for instance, could be that a recession is likely. Let’s say consumer confidence drops following uncertainty about the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union.

It’s already at a very low position according to market research institute GfK and that’s being pegged up by strong employment, low interest and low inflation rates. So, if UK consumers start to see companies going into administration, ceasing trading and employees losing their jobs, we could see it significantly hit consumer confidence and sales everywhere.

What does this mean to us?

Well, the motor trade should be prepared for a lower turnover of stock in the short to medium term at least. We should expect fewer cash buyers, as people save their money for a rainy day, and we may expect to see some rate increases from finance companies and banks, maybe even fewer acceptances as finance companies tighten their belts. Finally, motor traders may need to look at some cost-saving techniques to help tread water through the tough periods.

The best case could be that we see some stability and nothing significantly changes, meaning consumer confidence grows, sterling rises and as such we continue to work hard on converting our leads, offering great deals and great service.

If anyone has a crystal ball that can tell the future, feel free to give us all a heads-up, but in the meantime I’ll keep formulating my thoughts on both possibilities and proceed carefully.

‘The constant propaganda being pushed from both sides is leading us down one path or another.’

Ben Garside is marketing manager for First Response. Call him on 07817 518739 or email ben.garside@frfl.co.uk

Turn over the page for more finance stories

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 35

Dealfinder.

Finance.

YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO FAMILY ESTATE CARS

Seat Leon ST

Kia Ceed Sportswagon THE Kia Ceed Sportswagon – or SW for short – is the newest car out of this trio, as it only reached showrooms at the end of 2018.

The SW can carry five adults in comfort, has an impressively big boot for its class, and should the 134bhp, 1.6-litre dieselengine model, pictured here, be chosen, it’ll be cheap to run.

It’s also good value in ‘3’ trim, with 17-inch alloy wheels and a handy reversing camera among its features.

If the customer puts down a £3,150 deposit, Kia contributes £1,500. It’s followed by 36 monthly payments of £298.42, bringing the total payable by the customer to £13,893.12. An optional final payment of £8,761.25 to buy it can be made.

This brings the overall amount to £22,654.37, which works out £300.63 cheaper than the £22,955 cash price because of Kia’s deposit contribution and the low 2.9 per cent APR rate.

SEAT’S Leon ST hasn’t been a particularly popular model over the years – but it’s still an estate worth considering with its excellent driving characteristics and well-sized boot.

The Leon’s also very well equipped, with an SE Dynamic example coming with 17-inch alloy wheels, front and rear parking sensors and sat nav. We’ve chosen the Leon with the 113bhp, 1.6-litre diesel engine, which delivers decent performance, cheap running costs and low CO2 emissions of 109g/km.

Seat currently has a zero per cent finance offer running on the Leon ST. A £3,050 customer deposit is followed by 35 monthly payments of £301.36. Over a three-year contract, the customer will spend £13.597.60. If they then choose to buy their Leon, a final payment of £7,422.30 can be made. This brings the total to £21,019.90 – identical to the cash price for this model.

STARTLINE

‘Half of our business with TrustFord Now uses flexible PCP’ H alf of the business that Startline Motor Finance writes with TrustFord Now uses the company’s ‘flexible’ PCP product, it says – just six months after its launch.

It is offered by TrustFord dealerships and designed as an alternative source of funding when applicants are declined by more traditional prime lenders. However, with its competitive APRs and general terms, it has been designed to be different from a sub-prime product.

Startline chief executive Paul Burgess, pictured, said: ‘Our PCP product has hit the ground running and been adopted by a number of major dealer groups. However, the most dramatic results have been at TrustFord, who have been very quick to recognise its potential.

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by JOHN BOWMAN john@blackballmedia.co.uk

‘Being very forward-looking, they understood the potential for a near-prime option that meets the needs of a relatively large group of car buyers who would otherwise probably be excluded from using PCP and are likely to be lost as customers.

‘Our vision for our PCP product was always that it would fill this type of niche in the motor finance sector, sitting alongside established prime lenders as an alternative when applicants are refused. TrustFord are finding that this strategy is working well in practice.’

The PCP product was especially finding favour with dealer groups who recognised the current

importance of the used car market and wanted innovative finance solutions to maximise its potential at a time when new car sales were less than robust, he added.

‘We are very much in a period of economic uncertainty when the new car market is suffering almost month by month and consumer confidence is similarly falling, largely prompted

by Brexit. As tends to happen at these times, the used car market is the main beneficiary and dealers are increasingly looking to drive profitability from this sector.

‘However, just as this is happening, many prime lenders are unfortunately tightening their lending criteria. Our PCP fits this need.’

TrustFord is part of the Ford Retail Group.

Its TrustFord Now proposition enables customers to buy and drive away their new vehicle within an hour.

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer THE Astra Sports Tourer’s highlights include LED lights, more angular design and chrome detailing. It’s also good value for money and enjoyable to drive as well – even if the boot isn’t quite as large as rivals’.

We’ve chosen the popular SRI trim, which comes with a touchscreen, cruise control and automatic lights and wipers. The engine is the 108bhp turbocharged 1.6-litre diesel unit.

Vauxhall is offering £3,600 towards this Astra Sports Tourer. The customer then adds £3,300, before making 36 monthly payments of £356.65. This brings the total amount payable at the end of the threeyear contract to £16,139.40.

A final payment of £6,541 can be made if the customer wants to own their Astra Estate – bringing the total payable to £22,680.40. Because of Vauxhall’s large deposit contribution and low 4.2 per cent APR rate, this makes it more than £2,000 cheaper than the £24,720 cash price.

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ACCREDITATION

Banking group gets into bed with DealTrak to tap into £32bn sector

Inchcape recognises IMI achievements of business managers

BNP Paribas Personal Finance has expanded its presence in the UK automotive finance sector after going into a partnership with F&I platform DealTrak.

It gives it access to 1,100 UK dealerships and the potential to tap into the 3.6m proposals sent through DealTrak each year.

Andrew Brameld, managing director of motor finance at the French banking group, said: ‘The volume of traffic through the DealTrak platform represented potential transactions totalling £9.6bn last year, and to achieve our aims – and tap into the £32bn UK car finance sector – it made business sense to partner with an F&I specialist with DealTrak’s expertise.’

DealTrak commercial director Ian Tinker said: ‘The entry of BNP Paribas Personal Finance into the prime motor finance space is an exciting and significant event. We are delighted the team has identified DealTrak as a key platform to provide access to many of the country’s largest dealer groups.’

INCHCAPE Retail held an event to recognise the first cohort of business managers successfully assessed against the IMI’s accreditation for finance and insurance standards.

Ian Woodward, group F&I training manager, developed a comprehensive training programme, and working with Alphera Financial Services, which performed candidate assessments, 10 business managers from Inchcape demonstrated their capability against industry-agreed standards. Sue Myers, F&I director for Inchcape, said: ‘Inchcape is committed to ensuring every customer receives the very best advice from our business managers.’ Franco Boscarelli, business development manager at the IMI, said: ‘We are very proud to be able to offer such a ground-breaking opportunity to our professionals.’

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CarDealerMag.co.uk | 37

Forecourt.

FIRST DRIVE

McLaren 600LT Spider James Baggott travelled to Arizona to test the British manufacturer’s stripped-back, track-orientated supercar.

THE KNOWLEDGE Model: McLaren 600LT Spider Base price: £201,500 Engine: 3.8-litre twin turbo

V8 petrol Power (bhp): 592 Torque (Nm): 620 Max speed (mph): 201 0-60mph: 2.8 seconds MPG: 23.2 Emissions (g/km): 276 TARGET BUYERS: Performance car drivers who want the ultimate track-prepared McLaren.

THE RIVALS: Ferrari 488 Pista Spider, Lamborghini Huracan Perfomante Spyder, Mercedes-AMG GT C. KEY SELLING POINTS: 1. Lightweight.

2. Thrilling driving experience.

3. Limited edition.

Engine

It’s powered by a 3.8-litre twinturbocharged V8 engine.

Wheels

It rides on bespoke, track-focused Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tyres.

DEAL CLINCHER: It’s the height of super-sports performance from McLaren.

What is it?

The market for highly focused, track-orientated supercars is a lucrative business – you only need to look Germany’s way for proof of that and the success of the likes of the Porsche GT3. So it’s hardly a surprise that relative upstart McLaren has sought to emulate that cash cow with its LT series. Short for Longtail, the marque’s trackorientated range follows in the famous footsteps of the 1997 Le Mans-winning F1 GTR Longtail.

Now it’s time for the fifth chapter in the firm’s LT story – the 600LT Spider.

What’s new?

The Longtail badge means McLaren’s engineers are targeted to save weight, improve aerodynamics and increase power while putting driver engagement and a track focus at the heart of its design. Based on the 570S Spider, it’s had an impressive 100kg stripped out to create this LT version.

38 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

The seats are 21kg lighter, deleting air conditioning saved nearly 13kg, while new wheels and specially made Pirelli Trofeo R tyres lopped an additional 17kg from the kerb weight – even the wheel bolts were swapped for titanium options to save a further 460 grams. This staggering weight-loss programme has created a car with incredible focus.

What’s under the bonnet?

Using the same engine as the 600LT Coupe that arrived last year, the Spider generates an astonishing 592bhp from its 3.8-litre twin turbo V8. A stomach-twisting 620Nm of torque helps propel the car to 60mph in just 2.8 seconds – and 124mph just 5.4 seconds later. Keep your foot planted and it’ll go on to a top speed of 201mph with the roof raised, and 196mph with it down.

What’s it like to drive?

Those figures sound impressive and they most

certainly are – this is one devastatingly quick supercar. It delivers that power in sledgehammer blows to your nervous system, rattling through its seven-speed gearbox in blink-of-the-eye seamless shifts. It’s all combined with a raucous soundtrack, a choir of whooshing, sucking and blowing from the turbos, coupled with almighty whip cracks from the twin top-mounted exhaust pipes on down shifts. It’s an addictive combination that’s nothing short of automotive theatre, Hollywood blockbuster style.

On the road it’s firm and you feel the bumps, but on a race track that translates to tantalising feedback through the alcantara-clad steering wheel. It’s sniper-like in its precision, clipping apexes you didn’t think you could clip and crushing straights with an adrenalin rush to the head. It’s playful too – with several driver settings to choose from, you can swaddle yourself in a comfort blanket of driver assistance or go fully nude and dance with the LT bareback.

Body

The 600LT uses a lightweight carbon-fibre cell.

Interior

McLaren removed the glovebox and door pockets to keep the car’s weight down.

How does it look?

In true Longtail tradition, the 600LT gains 47mm at the rear and 27mm at the front over the 570S. A fixed rear spoiler, carbon-clad top-exit pipes and a speed hump-bothering front splitter give the McLaren an aggressive, purposeful look. However, it’s the roof that’s the real Spider talking point.

The three-piece hard-top raises or lowers in 15 seconds at speeds of up to 25mph, and when it’s stashed away you can really enjoy the engine’s chart-topping soundtrack.

What’s it like inside?

Inside, it’s obvious the LT has been on a diet.

The seats aren’t the comfiest – they’re thin and the fixed back will need you booking a chiropractor’s appointment quicker than you can say ‘acupuncture’. That said, you don’t really buy a track-focused car like this to cross continents in comfort. Carbon fibre has been used extensively inside to save weight too –

even the glovebox and door pockets got the chop to save precious grams.

What’s the spec like?

McLaren still suffers with an infotainment system that doesn’t live up to rivals’ – most of its competitors have the might of big parent companies’ buying power behind them, allowing them to add things like Apple CarPlay far easier.

The McLaren system is a little clunky in places – think old smartphone – but it’s functional and reasonably easy to get on with.

The standard specification is generous,

‘It’s sniper-like in its precision, clipping apexes you didn’t think you could clip.’ and so you’d hope for £201,500, but there’s plenty to tick on the options list for those looking for something more bespoke. MSO Paint will set you back £6,120, a Bowers & Wilkins audio system £3,640, while our test car had more than £10,000 spent on additional carbon fibre.

What do we think?

McLaren won’t say how many 600LT Spiders it’ll be making, revealing only that it’ll be in production for just 12 months, but as a gauge its predecessor, the 675LT Spider, was limited to 500 units – and they sold out in just three weeks.

Those now command a considerable premium as collectors’ cars and it’s likely the 600LT Spider will follow suit. It’s a hugely rewarding car to drive, ferociously fast and a rightful rival to the likes of the Ferrari 488 Pista Spider or Lamborghini Huracan Perfomante Spyder.

It’s a special car this, from a very special car manufacturer indeed.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 39

Forecourt.

FIRST DRIVE

Porsche 911

THE KNOWLEDGE

A new Porsche 911 is always big news. Tom Wiltshire’s been out in Valencia testing the latest 992-generation model.

What is it?

Quite simply one of the most famous badges, and possibly the most famous sports car of all time, the Porsche 911 has been with us in one form or another for decades now, and in that time it’s developed a reputation for delivering a pure enthusiast’s driving experience.

Although the 911 has become more modern and luxurious as time has gone on, Porsche has remained stubborn that the engine should stay at the back, endowing the car with a unique character and spectacular handling. This is the latest 992-generation model, and it doesn’t change the formula so much as refine it.

What’s new?

The new design pairs classic Porsche cues and carryovers from the previous model with a few additional touches. Don’t be fooled, though – the bodyshell is entirely new. All cars now receive the same wider stance previously reserved for all-wheel-drive models, so the only true distinguishing features between the two launch models – Carrera S and Carrera 4S – are the badges and a piece of trim above the tail lights.

The rear uses the same style of full-width light bar as the Cayenne.

Under the skin, there’s more power from the flat-six turbocharged engine, along with a few chassis 40 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

alterations (including, for the first time, differently sized wheels front and rear) and a new, eight-speed PDK dual-clutch gearbox.

What’s under the bonnet?

The only choice customers will have to make at launch is whether they’d like two- or four-wheel drive – as there are only the Carrera S and Carrera 4S to choose from for now.

Both use the same rear-mounted flat-six engine, producing 444bhp and 530Nm of torque.

A seven-speed manual gearbox is on the way but an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic is all that’s available at the moment. As for performance, it’s as impressive as the numbers suggest.

iconic. For the 992, Porsche has sharpened up some of the edges and given it even more purpose.

Round the front, things are much the same as before, but the lid to the ‘frunk’ (or front boot) now has corners rather than a rounded edge.

The rear, meanwhile, has been totally redesigned.

What’s it like inside?

The interior’s been given a serious injection of class, but the clear driver focus remains. The driving position is nearly perfect and endlessly adjustable, with comfortable seats that hug your body just enough without being too tight. The central screen is large, super-responsive and crystal clear.

What’s it like to drive?

What’s the spec like?

The Porsche 911 is one of the most capable, rewarding and downright satisfying steers on the market. So good are the driver aids that the 911 never appears to be anything but unflappable, yet the whole experience is wonderfully analogue in feel. It may be a cliché but the driver really does feel in harmony with the machine.

Don’t expect to pay the 911 Carrera S’s sticker price of £93,110. To get the best out of this car, it really needs some options added. The test cars we drove would have cost no less than £115,000.

We’d say Porsche’s Dynamic Chassis Control is a must – it costs £2,273 but must be paired with £1,592 rear-wheel steering. The Sport Chrono Pack is also essential, bringing the drive mode selector and a stopwatch for £1,646.

How does it look?

The new 911 is, well, unmistakeably a 911. The bum-heavy silhouette and sloping nose is a product of the rear-engine layout, and it’s definitely

What do the press think?

ThisisMoney.co.uk said: ‘The

Model: Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Price (as tested): £115,000 Engine: 3.0-litre twinturbocharged flat-six Power (bhp): 444bhp Torque (Nm): 530Nm Max speed (mph): 191mph 0-60mph: 3.5 seconds (3.3

seconds with

Sport Chrono Pack) MPG: 31.4 Emissions: 206g/km TARGET BUYERS: Those in the market for an ‘everyday’ supercar.

THE RIVALS: Aston Martin Vantage, Audi R8, Mercedes-AMG GT. KEY SELLING POINTS: 1. Pin-sharp handling.

2. Comfortable cruiser.

3. Practical enough for two.

DEAL CLINCHER: Still one of the best-driving cars money can buy. cabin has been uncluttered like a housemaid has been at it on a spring-time mission.’ Sunday Times Driving said the 911 is ‘still the benchmark that all other sports cars want to beat’.

What do we think?

Getting the 911 ‘right’ is something Porsche has managed time and time again, and we’re thrilled to say it’s pulled it off once more. From a driving perspective, this is an incredible car.

DRIVE YOUR RECRUITMENT STRATEGY IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

Now that your brand new ‘19 reg plates are here, March is set to be, as always, a busy period for many dealerships. So while you’re busy pairing up happy customers with their dream car, maybe it’s time to give your recruitment strategy a refresh for success too?

Don’t waste the opportunity to get them excited about the role you’re advertising. Create an effective, impactful description. Don’t bother including any arbitrary information - paint a picture of what the role entails and what success looks like.

So - want to push your recruitment strategy up a gear?

Consider these 3 points below:

BUILD YOUR PIPELINE

KNOW WHAT YOU NEED Have an in-depth understanding of the role you are advertising for.

If you have more knowledge on the skillset needed, and type of person, you’ll quickly be able to determine who has the experience required to successfully fulfill the role. The job description you create will also be more specific, improving the quality of candidates who apply.

Recieve

19%OFF The First Time You Post a Job

Call 01772 639615

SPECIFY IN YOUR JOB DESCRIPTION A job description is the first insight a quality automotive candidate will have of your dealership.

Posting your job advert on your website alone may not bring as much visibility as you would like - branch it out through a niche job board like InAutomotive. We have over 325,000 candidates on our database just waiting for an automotive job like yours to catch their eye. And we have email alerts set up to specific categories - so as soon as you post your job with us, it goes straight to the relevant candidates inbox.

If you’re ready to accelerate your recruitment strategy, give InAutomotive a call today on: 01772 639615 to discuss your options.

Are you currently working in the automotive sector and are looking for a new challenge?

Visit www.inautomotive.com today to search the 5,000 automotive jobs we have on our site CarDealerMag.co.uk | 41

Feature.

Influencers What does 2019 hold for the industry? The great and the good from across the automotive spectrum have their say.

Tanesha Stafford Armchair Marketing Page 52

Louise O’Sullivan Groupe Renault UK Paul Philpott Kia Motors UK Page 44

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Page 45

Paul Humphreys Cox Automotive Page 50

PICTURES: JONATHAN FLEETWOOD

IT’S the time of year when we bring together some of the top movers and shakers from the automotive industry and ask them to give us their thoughts on what might be coming up in the year ahead.

Regular readers might notice a change of venue for our photoshoot this year. Our guests are surrounded by Sir Frank Williams’ private collection of cars thanks to the team at Williams Advanced Engineering, who are currently working on some very exciting but

Iain Wight Williams Advanced Engineering Page 53

annoyingly top-secret projects. However, we did manage to grab business development director Iain Wight, who is included in this year’s line-up.

Also among our 2019 influencers, we have two representatives from manufacturers that have launched online retailing platforms for their brands.

One of them is Louise O’Sullivan, who was MD of Dacia UK when this section of the magazine was compiled but is now Groupe

Renault’s network operations director.

The other is David Peel, the managing director of Peugeot UK. We chat to him on page 46, but unfortunately he wasn’t able to be present for the group shot.

All our influencers provide thoughtprovoking commentary about the current state of UK Automotive plc and we’re grateful to each of them for taking time out of their busy schedules to chat to us.

Rebecca Chaplin

Anton Hanley The Lead Agency Max Stolton Google Page 55

Page 54

Phill Jones Motors.co.uk Victoria Finn Pendragon

Page 48

Page 47

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 43

Feature.

Paul

Philpott

KIA MOTORS UK: South Korean brand will be looking to maintain momentum after 2018 sales growth.

What opportunities does 2019 present?

Alongside all the current uncertainty, we have many opportunities to maintain our momentum this year (we grew by three per cent last year!) with new products, new powertrains and a continuously improving purchase and ownership experience delivered by our excellent dealer network. We have a great partnership with our dealers, which forms the foundation of our profitable franchise.

What poses the biggest threat to the motor industry in 2019?

Obviously the biggest concern is about Brexit.

We need certainty and stability and we need consumer confidence to return rapidly. But global trade uncertainty could also have an impact on operations and profitability this year.

What do you foresee as the biggest change coming in the year ahead?

I think we are at a tipping point with electrified cars. They are about to become more mainstream, which will be a good opportunity for those with a strong range of electrified products. Awareness and demand is increasing rapidly and e-Niro is going to have a big impact for Kia. Do you think our industry needs to change?

The industry is always changing and will

continue to do so! But in the end, customers still want to receive the very best level of service.

Those brands who remain customer-focused through this period of uncertainty will win.

If you had a message for the government in 2019, what would it be?

Come together to give us certainty and stability – long-term planning is essential for profitability and investment and to be able to meet changing demand and new regulation.

What change should dealers be making to their existing forecourts?

They must, of course, be attractive, appealing and inviting places to visit, and clearly demonstrate the range of services on offer. They must reflect latest technology (plug-in charging points will be increasingly essential), and of course customers must always find it easy to park!

What one change should dealers make to their digital presence?

Fast, effective lead management – customers now do all their research online and want quick and effective responses from trusted people. Taking 24 hours to respond is simply not good enough! The integration of digital processes with the physical environment and human contact of a dealership must be seamless and efficient.

Mini CV

Paul Philpott, president & CEO, Kia Motors UK. Lives: Dorking, Surrey.

Drives: Kia Stinger.

Career: Midland Bank, Ford, Toyota, Kia (UK & Europe).

Petrol, diesel, EV or hybrid?

Increasingly electric!

Digital or physical presence? Physical supported by valued digital services.

Dream car?

I drive it – a Kia Stinger!

What do car buyers want in 2019?

Value, reliability, security, ease of information and outstanding service – I believe customers will pay a fair price for all these things but will go elsewhere if one is missing. Customers still want to buy from people they trust and can go back to in the future, and not just transact with a faceless screen!

Should dealers be changing their stock profile to suit a changing consumer?

Of course, this has always been the case, but by having a close partnership between manufacturer and dealers, we will optimise our new car production and inventory planning, and the dealer will get their stock profile right!

‘Brands who remain customer-focused through this period of uncertainty will win.’

44 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Louise

O’Sullivan GROUPE RENAULT UK: Unique value offering means a stronger position in uncertain times.

Mini CV

What opportunities does 2019 present?

Dacia has a real opportunity for growth in 2019.

Our key models compete in the fastest-growing segments: B and C-SUV. This is the first year we will take advantage of a full year of All-New Duster sales with a full engine line-up now available. A new entry-level engine has been added to Sandero Stepway – making it even more affordable. Our unique value offering with Dacia means we’re in a stronger position in uncertain economic times. The opportunity for our network is not only there from conquest customers but we’re now seeing our first customers renewing and coming back to the brand.

What poses the biggest threat to the motor industry in 2019?

Economic uncertainty and a lack of consumer confidence in making big purchase decisions.

What do you foresee as the biggest change coming in the year ahead?

The alternative fuel market will continue to rapidly grow.

Do you think the motor industry needs to change?

The industry needs to further adapt to modern consumer buying habits, ready to deal with customers’ demands and requests for information at all times of the day. We have taken the first steps in doing this through Dacia Buy Online.

If you had a message for the government in 2019, what would it be?

It would be to provide more EV infrastructure through increased public charging networks to support the demand for EVs. What change should dealers be making to their existing forecourt?

Customer convenience is key, so a simple thing like parking is actually a major issue. People need to access the dealership; the ‘forecourt’ itself should move to become more digital.

What one change should dealers make to their digital presence?

They should be easily accessible, through tools

Louise O’Sullivan, network operations director for Groupe Renault UK. Lives: Buckinghamshire.

Drives: Dacia Duster.

Career: Having been made head of Dacia UK in 2015, Louise was promoted to network operations director at Groupe Renault UK in January 2019, retaining responsibility for the Dacia brand in the UK and Ireland until a successor to her former role is announced.

She joined Groupe Renault UK in 1995 on the graduate scheme and moved up the ranks through market analysis, product marketing, sales, aftersales, fleet business and marketing communications.

Petrol, diesel, EV or hybrid?

For me, diesel fits my driving needs.

Digital or physical presence?

Both are important.

Dream car? Mk1 Ford Escort. such as live chat systems that provide quick responses back to customers.

Personal interaction in digital areas is important and people still want to speak to a human being. Engaging with customers through digital platforms ‘out of hours’ is important and can help to convert awareness or consideration into a potential purchase.

What do car buyers want in 2019?

Value for money, good customer service, ease and simplicity in purchase and ownership.

Should dealers be changing their stock profile to suit a changing consumer?

We don’t have too many choices for consumers – we keep the Dacia line-up simple and this means that buyers are less confused.

‘The industry needs to further adapt to modern consumer buying habits.’

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 45

Feature.

David

Peel

Mini CV

PEUGEOT UK: Confidence and momentum are the watchwords for French manufacturer.

What opportunities does 2019 present?

At Peugeot UK, we enter 2019 with real confidence following three years of creating solid foundations for success through a disciplined trading strategy and successful launches of our fabulous 3008 and 5008 SUVs, all-new 508 Fastback and most recently, our Partner Van (2019 International Van of the Year). This, combined with our ‘Stronger Together’ engaged network, gives us both confidence and momentum.

What poses the biggest threat to the motor industry in 2019?

Brexit uncertainty is a challenge for most UK industries. Potential tariffs and forex fluctuations resulting from a hard exit would have a significant influence on trading terms across the UK automotive industry post-March.

Similarly, with CAFE regulations, which come into play from 2020, consumer confidence and understanding of the real-life diesel situation will also be at the forefront of everyone’s agenda.

What do you foresee as the biggest change coming in the year ahead?

Outside of any Brexit impact, an acceleration towards Low Emission Vehicles (LEVs) will be the biggest change. At Peugeot, we will introduce both plug-in hybrid and fully electric vehicles this year, with a consumer message that Peugeot will offer an LEV powertrain on every model, including LCVs, by 2023. Simply put, the customer will be able to choose their Peugeot, then choose their powertrain, across the entire range.

Do you think our industry needs to change?

Yes. Every business needs to continue to adapt.

General retailers continue to make the customer experience more digital, enjoyable and efficient.

Motor retailers in 2019 need to find ways to replicate this type of omni-channel customer journey, as well as seriously preparing in terms of culture and infrastructure for LEVs in volume.

If you had a message for the government in 2019, what would it be?

There is an urgent need for the government to support the motor industry in two ways. Firstly with clear communication on the benefits of driving a diesel vehicle while quashing the myth that modern diesel cars are dirty oil-burners. A government diesel scrappage programme, removing old, inefficient diesel cars, is long overdue. And secondly, to develop the conditions to assist the growth of LEVs through infrastructures and clear incentives on PHEV and BEV which they have just cancelled.

What change should dealers be making to their existing forecourt?

In 2017 every Peugeot dealer upgraded their physical premises to the latest Peugeot corporate identity. For 2019, every Peugeot dealer is upgrading its physical facilities to cater for LEVs with charging points at every point of sale.

What one change should dealers make to their digital presence?

Online retailing will continue to accelerate in

David Peel, managing director, Peugeot Motor Company.

Lives: Kenilworth, Warwickshire.

Drives: Peugeot 508 GT Fastback.

Career: Peugeot Motor Company managing director, 2016-present; Robins and Day Ltd CEO, 2009-2016; Peugeot Motor Company fleet director, 2009; Peugeot Motor Company regional director, 2006-2009; Robins & Day / Evans Halshaw dealer principal, 1991-2006.

Petrol, diesel, EV or hybrid? All four.

Digital or physical presence?

Both – omni-channel.

Dream car? Peugeot E-Legend.

2019 and my advice to all dealers is that if you cannot replicate general retailers with a seamless online and physical omni-channel customer journey, your business won’t survive.

What do car buyers want in 2019?

Nothing new! They want a reliable mobility solution from a brand that is trustworthy, operates with integrity and delivers great, honest customer satisfaction.

Should dealers be changing their stock profile to suit a changing consumer?

Not really, as at present, consumers are confused over the misleading information they have received regarding diesel vehicles especially.

Today’s trends will change as the diesel message is addressed and the reality of the situation becomes more commonly understood.

New car consumer demand will ultimately drive the mix of available stock in the market place and there is definitely a place for petrol, diesel, hybrid and full electric powertrains.

‘A diesel scrappage programme, removing old, inefficient diesel cars, is long overdue.’

46 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Victoria

Finn

PENDRAGON: Striving for simplification in a sector that is highly complex.

What opportunities does 2019 present?

2019 is in many ways no different to any other year. We’re always looking for opportunities to stand out from the crowd.

Our clear strategic objective to double used car revenue by 2021 remains at the forefront, and we’ve recently launched our online marketplace carstore.com as a key step to achieving this ambition. Car Store will enable customers to purchase or sell cars online, and is supported by a growing sourcing and fulfilment network across the UK. This is a really exciting development for the group and continues to gather pace.

The industry is changing, and will continue to do so. We work in a sector that is highly complex and we should drive for simplification.

For us, this is about making our services and retail offering transparent and simpler for our customers, and also the simplification of processes and minimising red tape, to enable our teams to perform at their best.

We need to make the motor industry a more desirable employment prospect and also strive for exceeding consumer expectations; we cannot do this if the industry remains overly complicated and opaque.

What poses the biggest threat to the motor industry in 2019?

We cannot afford to be complacent. Every single industry is facing disruption and the motor industry is no different. We all need to challenge, innovate and disrupt ourselves. Customers are always demanding more for less, and more convenience across all areas of their lives.

We need to adapt and be open to changing, and changing fast.

What change should dealers be making to their existing forecourt?

An interesting question – if the ‘forecourt’ is the physical premises, it’s back to basics. It needs to be welcoming, clean and tidy, well laid out and intuitive to customers. More and more we refer to the ‘forecourt’ as our digital presentation. Our websites and social presence are essential to the modern customer journey.

What do you foresee as the biggest change coming in the year ahead?

Hopefully political stability – and at the time of answering, things can only get better! We need to get back to the day job.

Do you think our industry needs to change?

What one change should dealers make to their digital presence?

The customer’s research and decision-making process is not a simple linear journey. There are various triggers driving a customer to type in relevant search terms, watch a video or visit your website. Make sure you have appropriate content to support their various stages of research and to

Mini CV

Victoria Finn, group marketing and communications director at Pendragon.

Lives: Derbyshire.

Drives: Mercedes-Benz GLC. Petrol, diesel, EV or hybrid? Driving a diesel with work, but also have an electric car for personal use (BMW i3).

Digital or physical presence? My responsibilities are across both, but driving the digital strategy for Pendragon is a key focus.

Dream car? Porsche 911.

address any concerns, build confidence and trust – this is not achieved by just having product offers.

What do car buyers want in 2019?

The car buyer in 2019 still wants great customer service and a convenient experience. Expectations are set by the experiences they have in other areas of their lives, and our industry needs to continue to evolve in order to meet growing demands.

Should dealers be changing their stock profile to suit a changing consumer?

If retailers are using data available to them to have a stock profile that fits their market then they will see it evolving in line with market demands.

‘Every single industry is facing disruption and the motor industry is no different.’

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 47

Feature.

Phill

Jones

MOTORS.CO.UK: Managing director advises dealers to keep listening to the market and responding accordingly.

What opportunities does 2019 present?

The biggest opportunity for dealers is to prioritise and continue the adoption of digital into their sales culture. It’s fundamental to understand that behind every walk-in or telephone or email lead is hours of research on multiple websites that makes the consumer think this is the right car and dealer for them.

Do you think the motor industry needs to change?

A rolling stone gathers no moss. We always need to be challenging ourselves to improve. The motor industry has many amazing efficiencies, but it can be guilty of trying to hold on to the status quo.

Consumer choice is so rich these days, that you can quickly be left behind.

What poses the biggest threat to our industry?

Brexit creates uncertainty that all of us could do without. This uncertainty could cause consumers to delay purchases which will hurt volume.

Within dealerships, it is failing to evolve and being left behind by consumers who find them inflexible or unresponsive to their demands.

Dealers need to factor in the potential impact of non-traditional competitors who may shine a light on known frustrations for consumers.

If you had a message for the government in 2019, what would it be?

Stop playing political games, listen to businesses and your constituents and work collaboratively to see us through Brexit. I’m staggered by the lack of grit within politicians, who prefer to cut and run, rather than focus on the job.

What do you foresee as the biggest change coming in the year ahead?

More people will be willing, and expecting, to do more of the car buying process online. Although the physical dealership will always be important, our research shows that the vast majority of consumers want to be able to start their deal online, including generating finance and partexchange quotes in advance, with the aim of reducing unnecessary time in dealerships. Clickto-buy schemes are worth investigating, with our research showing 37 per cent of consumers would consider buying their next car online.

What change should dealers be making to their existing forecourt?

Ensure that their online and physical dealerships are consistent and effectively communicate their core values and messages.

Always ask yourself ‘why would I buy from this dealership?’ because if you can’t see it, consumers certainly won’t.

What one change should dealers make to their digital presence?

Aside from ensuring they have the online ‘basics’ covered – fast website, excellent imagery, video, mobile-friendly design etc. – the opportunity online is to be clear why someone should buy from you. This needs to be across all platforms

Mini CV

Phill Jones, managing director, Motors.co.uk.

Lives: Gloucestershire.

Drives: Lexus IS 300h (it’s the accountant in me).

Career: Chartered accountant specialising in corporate finance at Deloitte and Ingenious Media; Business development at Daily Mail and General Trust, Various roles at Motors.co.uk.

Petrol, diesel, EV or hybrid? Hybrid.

Digital or physical presence? Digital.

The car-buying journey starts online!

Dream car? Porsche 944.

including car search websites and social media as well as their own websites.

What do car buyers want in 2019?

Essentially the same as they have always wanted: good-quality cars with valuable information; to be listened to and treated well; and ultimately to get a fair deal. The perceived challenge is doing this online, but if you get the culture right this will naturally flow through your business.

Should dealers be changing their stock profile to suit a changing consumer?

Dealers are experts at doing this. We saw in 2018 dealers smartly reducing diesel stock to better match consumer demand. Continue to listen to the market and respond accordingly.

‘Consumer choice is so rich these days, that you can quickly be left behind.’

48 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 49

Feature.

Paul

Humphreys

COX AUTOMOTIVE: The need to change is being driven by consumers’ desire to do more online.

What opportunities does 2019 present?

2018 was a challenging year for the UK car industry – alongside many others – and so I think the main opportunity is to reset and refocus on how we go to market.

We’re seeing a great deal of innovation in e-commerce and digital retailing, and those businesses that are ready to embrace these changes will certainly stand a better chance of enjoying success in 2019.

What poses the biggest threat to the motor industry in 2019?

2018 was a challenging year for new cars, and it looks likely that this will continue in the first half of 2019. As a result, many dealers have switched their focus to used cars, capitalising on the relative buoyancy in the market when compared to new, and there will still be plenty of opportunity in this area over the months ahead.

What do you foresee as the biggest change coming in the year ahead?

I don’t think there will be ‘one big change’ for the industry this year but rather a continuation – and possible acceleration – in the growth of online retailing and e-commerce.

Do you think the motor industry needs to change?

Absolutely. Every industry needs to change.

Change is the only constant.

For manufacturers, we’re seeing an unprecedented level of change with the fall in

diesel sales and the race to create increasingly viable AFVs. For retailers, the need to change is being driven by consumers’ desire to do more online. Retailers can’t just expect someone to deliver them an e-commerce platform to sell cars. The online experience must be supported by the right roles and responsibilities in the showroom.

If you had a message for the government in 2019, what would it be?

Obvious really – let’s get Brexit behind us one way or another. The automotive industry is a major employer and an important sector for UK business – from new and used vehicles to the parts, technology, services and solutions surrounding them.

Don’t underestimate the impact uncertainty about Brexit could have.

What change should dealers be making to their existing forecourt?

Retailers need to be ready to help consumers with their desire for convenience, and find a blend between physical and digital that effectively connects people and processes within the dealership with the online journey.

It’s about connected retailing, connecting how consumers search and view vehicles with how they actually buy them.

What one change should dealers make to their digital presence?

Make it easy. Provide consumers with all the

Mini CV

Paul Humphreys, managing director, Cox Automotive Retail Solutions.

Lives: Yorkshire.

Drives: Volvo XC90 T8.

Career: High street and grocery retail for 12 years followed by six years in aviation and online travel retail before joining Cox Automotive in 2014. Since joining Cox, sales director for retail solutions and managing director of incadea UK before joining the UK board to deliver a ‘connected retail’ experience that brings together valuation & appraisal, sales & service, and digital marketing.

Petrol, diesel, EV or hybrid? Hybrid.

Digital or physical presence? Both of course.

Dream car? Singer 911 – Classic appeal with modern tech!

tools and information they need to do what they want, when they want, in the way they want. The beauty of a digital showroom is that it’s easier to make frequent, small changes to optimise your presence. If you have to make one change, engage with solutions that are flexible and designed to make the most of opportunities.

What do car buyers want in 2019?

As ever in the digital age, consumers want more convenience and control – trust, transparency and ease of process are key to a great experience.

Car buyers want an easy path through the whole buying process, from initial search, through part-exchange, to completion.

Should dealers be changing their stock profile to suit a changing consumer?

Retailers should constantly optimise their stock profile to suit their strategy and their identified customer base and profile. The opportunity is in using data tools to monitor the market and stock availability to understand what vehicles will increase stock turn, and maximise returns.

‘Don’t underestimate the impact uncertainty about Brexit could have.’

50 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

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CarDealerMag.co.uk | 51

Feature.

Tanesha

Stafford

ARMCHAIR MARKETING: Digital consumer journey is going strong with plenty of room for innovation.

Mini CV What opportunities does 2019 present?

The opportunity to thrive – it looks like the market will continue to slow, which means we’ll need to work harder on conquesting. So regardless, for those that want it, and those that have the knowledge, 2019 brings leads, walk-ins and cold, hard cash.

What poses the biggest threat to the motor industry in 2019?

I would have to say Brexit uncertainty. As there’s no clarity about the conditions under which we’re going to leave the EU, it’s understandable that both private consumers and businesses have become more wary of investing.

What do you foresee as the biggest change coming in the year ahead?

It’s difficult to say. If, as looks likely, we’ll leave the EU without a deal, both tariffs and loss of easy access to our biggest market would make quite a change. Whilst the uncertainty is there, I suspect OEMs will be cautious to push, influence or invest in our market and without the buzz and noise we’ve experienced not too long ago, it’s hard to stimulate new car buyers into the pot.

Do you think our industry needs to change?

Our industry continues to see opportunity in the digital consumer journey and it’s going strong, with plenty of room for innovation. We’re also seeing it coupled with good old reliable processes becoming adapted for the online experience. Our industry is also experiencing a really positive equality focus, specifically

highlighting the opportunities for females in the motor industry and slowly finding the confidence to openly challenge any remaining old-fashioned and derogatory behaviours.

If you had a message for the government in 2019, what would it be?

To set aside political views and work together towards minimising the potentially devastating impact that a hardline Brexit could have.

What change should dealers be making to their existing forecourt?

Should we look at a forecourt in silo? Or is it wise to look at it as part of a flowing journey from online to offline? Car dealers are now open 24/7 and we can generate leads while you sleep.

What’s really changed? Make sure stock is displayed in the best possible way and that no information is hidden. Make it easy for customers to enquire. Put systems, processes and procedures in place to accurately track enquiries.

What one change should dealers make to their digital presence?

Invest properly in your advertising and align it to your business goals and metrics. Don’t invest in people or agencies that can’t help you understand how to do that and aren’t able to demonstrate a clear path to how much money you directly make from your advertising.

Most people don’t realise you can do that in the automotive industry, and that’s largely driven by a common theme of historic smoke and mirrors reporting that seemed to create more

Tanesha Stafford, founder, Armchair Marketing.

Lives: Northampton.

Drives: Fiat 500.

Career: An advanced paid advertising specialist, Tanesha has managed Google and Facebook advertising accounts for major global brands such as AutoTrader South Africa, Toyota and Lexus. Her work spans across multiple countries, in multiple languages.

Petrol, diesel, EV or hybrid? Petrol.

Digital or physical presence? Digital.

Dream car? A super-classic Chevrolet Corvette.

questions than answers. As a result, dealers understandably seem to have a lost a little faith with regards to reporting their advertising ROI. Those who have found highly skilled partners are using their advertising to grow revenues and profits while the market shrinks.

What do car buyers want in 2019?

Apparently not a lot. Many just want you to offer a smooth, stress-free car-buying journey, where they get given all the information they need; can easily reach out to the dealer in a way that best suits them; and get a friendly professional who genuinely wants to find the best solution for them. They also want the industry to increase its fairly consistent doom statistic: only 50 per cent of email enquiries are responded to.

Should dealers be changing their stock profile to suit a changing consumer?

It seems like a no-brainer. Having stock that doesn’t sell is a very costly exercise, as any dealer in that situation will confirm.

‘Make sure stock is displayed in the best possible way and that no information is hidden.’

52 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Iain

Wight

WILLIAMS ADVANCED ENGINEERING: The move towards electrification is presenting significant openings.

What opportunities does 2019 present?

2019 looks like another year of volatility, and while that presents challenges for businesses it also naturally offers opportunities.

For example, as automotive moves towards greater electrification, this presents us at Williams Advanced Engineering with openings to support car makers in terms of vehicle integration, batteries and more, thanks to our award-winning experience as the original battery supplier for Formula E and our transfer of that know-how into commercial applications.

We are already working with Aston Martin on its first battery-electric vehicle, the Rapide E, including – via our joint venture with Unipart – Hyperbat, which will open its factory in Coventry this year.

Hyperbat will be the largest independent vehicle battery supplier in the UK and we will be seeking out additional customers for it this year and beyond to help electrify vehicles from car makers in the UK, Europe and beyond, which is a significant opportunity.

In addition, we expect to be asked to support manufacturers through our own battery, wind tunnel and aerodynamics, lightweight materials and simulation and training capabilities.

exist just a decade ago. Automotive could see similar things taking place, in particular inspired by the transition to electric vehicles. Will that disruption take place in our sector? Who will be the disruptors? Where will they come from? How will the incumbent leading companies respond?

Competition makes everyone better but it doesn’t always let everyone win. So what will be the fallout from this change and can we all be nimble enough to respond sufficiently quickly?

It’s what makes the current period fascinating for our industry.

The risk is that the uncertainty during this transition might lead to people keeping their money in their pockets until things shake out.

So while we work on new, innovative products we also need to explain clearly where we’re going as an industry and how people will benefit to reduce this risk as best we can.

What poses the biggest threat to the motor industry in 2019?

I would suggest that inertia is a big challenge.

We have already seen other sectors, such as retail and aerospace, being shaken up by new, nimble entrants making use of technology that did not

Do you think the motor industry needs to change?

All industries need to change constantly. The world doesn’t stand still and nor should we. As we stand on a significant shift to electrification that is never more true than right now.

What do you foresee as the biggest change coming in the year ahead?

Definitely electrification. The shift to electric vehicles has been slow until now but I expect to see an acceleration this year as more companies launch new products to meet social and customer demand.

Mini CV

Iain Wight – Business development director, Williams Advanced Engineering Lives: Shipston on Stour, Warwickshire.

Drives: AMG E43 and Ford Transit.

Career: Ferranti – Electronics Development Engineer (1987-1990), Bosch – Automotive Systems (1990-1995), Pi Research – Sales Manager (1995-2003), Ricardo – Director of Transmissions (2003-2017), Motorsport Industry Association – Chairman (2017-present), Williams Advanced Engineering – Business Development Director (2017 – present) Petrol, diesel, EV or hybrid? EV. Digital or physical presence? Being in business development, I’d lean towards a physical presence.

Dream car? Singer Porsche DLS or a Bugatti Chiron.

If you had a message for the government in 2019, what would it be?

Listen. Often, the desire to be seen to be doing something to meet social demands can be overpowering. But listening to industries that can deliver on these demands will enable more effective solutions. It might take slightly longer but it will deliver greater benefits in future.

The way the government has embraced the challenge of electric vehicles and engaged the sector to understand it further is encouraging.

We need to keep that going together, as well as spread the practice of engagement to other areas of potential collaboration.

‘Competition makes everyone better but it doesn’t always let everyone win.’

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 53

Anton

Feature.

Hanley

THE LEAD AGENCY: The chase is on to realise opportunities in the year that lies ahead.

Mini CV What opportunities does 2019 present?

As with any year in business, we are confident that 2019 represents a year of opportunity, although we will have to chase it down for it to be realised.

The Lead Agency helps automotive retailers engage with on-brand car buyers who are actively in the buying cycle to purchase a new car.

Through our network of digital partners and proprietary digital assets, we engage directly with more than 50,000 consumers per month who require assistance in navigating the new carbuying landscape to find the most suitable car for their circumstances.

As a result of continued investment into our workforce, technology, industry partnerships and more, we are uniquely positioned to be the intersection of car buyers, publishers and the automotive retailers, assisting in the matching and directing to help all three achieve their goals.

What poses the biggest threat to the motor industry in 2019?

The biggest threat to the automotive industry in 2019 is the lack of consumer confidence in the marketplace pre-Brexit and potentially post-Brexit.

We all know that generally in uncertain times big purchases are delayed.

What do you foresee as the biggest change coming in the year ahead?

The biggest change in the year ahead will be around our relationship with Europe and how that affects manufacturing in the UK and the lack of consumer confidence that relates to car buying.

Do you think the motor industry needs to change?

The automotive industry is changing, and that rate of change will only increase as the automotive industry fundamentals change (product, usage profile, continuing digitalisation of the research and buying process, etc). With major manufacturers already exploring, investing in and testing mobility as a service – widely considered to be one of the growing trends in the industry – there is a feeling that ownership will become less important to the average consumer.

If you had a message for the government in 2019, what would it be?

The government needs to get behind the automotive industry, which provides £20.2bn to the Treasury every year and accounts for around 850,000 jobs. The support should equate to clear policies around company car tax, emissions, congestion charge policies, etc. The government should also be ready with a ‘scrappage-style

Anton Hanley – CEO and founder of The Lead Agency.

Lives: West Hampstead.

Drives: Waiting for a Tesla 3.

Career: Seventeen years at The Lead Agency.

Petrol, diesel, EV or hybrid? EV. Digital or physical presence? Digital.

Dream car? Singer-Williams 911 DLS.

scheme’ if the market rapidly deteriorates around new car registrations.

What change should dealers be making to their existing forecourt?

In this day and age, it’s imperative that the offline forecourt and online forecourt are 100 per cent aligned with stock levels.

What one change should dealers make to their digital presence?

Mobile first.

What do car buyers want in 2019?

SUVs and AFVs. Should dealers be changing their stock profile to suit a changing consumer?

Smart dealers know their customers and will no doubt change their stock profile to reflect the market demand.

‘There is a feeling that ownership will become less important to the average consumer.’

54 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Max

Stolton

GOOGLE: Making the purchase process as simple and seamless as possible is the name of the game.

What opportunities does 2019 present?

Users turn to digital for intuitive and assistive experiences. It is the first place many people turn to before making a purchase decision and auto is no exception. They have access to a wide range of information and dealers have the opportunity to be there at those key moments, providing genuine value to assist their purchase decisions.

My advice would be to maximise every relevant opportunity in digital to connect with potential customers, providing useful information that helps to inform their purchase decisions and elevate your brand above the competition.

What poses the biggest threat to the motor industry in 2019?

My answer hasn’t really changed from last year.

Uncertainty and confusion cause doubt in consumers’ minds and we’re seeing some put on hold bigger purchase decisions such as a new car. We’re also starting to see more waves of disruption with new digital-first propositions entering the market in 2019.

These new business models, potentially backed by large funding, are going to pose a threat to dealers who aren’t able to transform fast enough to meet consumer demands.

What do you foresee as the biggest change coming in the year ahead?

The combination of fewer car sales in the near term, consumers demanding more, and disruptive companies entering the market will be the catalyst for change through 2019. It will

provide an opportunity for the dealerships that embrace it. I expect to see dealers and portals start to test new approaches to customer acquisition, and some interesting new business models appearing.

Do you think the motor industry needs to change?

I think we’re seeing a realisation from the industry that change is inevitable. Manufacturers have been experimenting over the last few years with new sales models and I think 2019 will be the year that dealerships start to change some fundamentals in how they think about customer engagement and fulfilment, particularly through digital platforms.

What changes should dealers be making to their existing forecourts?

This isn’t my area of expertise but I am already seeing some interesting uses of technology to improve the customer experience and I’m excited to see how these evolve. Making the purchase process as simple and seamless as possible is the name of the game. Being able to check in to an appointment, browse the full range of cars or experiment with finance offerings are all simple ways to assist your customers and enhance their dealership experience.

Thinking longer term, I look forward to seeing how dealers can make use of new technologies such as augmented reality. In a world where you can virtually showcase your whole stock, do you need large, expensive forecourts filled with cars depreciating in value?

Mini CV

Max Stolton, industry manager, Google.

Lives: London.

Drives: Mini Countryman SE. Career: Seven years in various digital marketing agencies in Canada, Australia and the UK, leading digital strategies for some of the UK’s top brands. I’ve been at Google UK working with automotive dealerships for the last 16 months.

Petrol, diesel, EV or hybrid?

I own a hybrid but would go EV if the infrastructure was in place.

Digital or physical presence? Digital.

Dream car? Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato.

What one change should dealers make to their digital presence?

Look for the friction in your purchase journey, especially on mobile. Leading players have made gains on site speed but the market as a whole still lags behind on mobile user experience and an over-reliance on poorly captured leads.

What do car buyers want in 2019?

Beyond the constant demands of getting the best price and wanting more choice, consumers are demanding more control, convenience and a better experience when buying a car.

Should dealers be changing their stock profile to suit a changing consumer?

I think you would be hard-pressed to find any successful business that doesn’t change what they offer based on consumer demands. Stock that meets customers’ needs is important but I would also argue that entire business models may need adapting in the future in light of fewer people taking their driving test or owning cars. [CD]

‘Maximise every relevant opportunity in digital to connect with potential customers.’

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 55

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Feature.

MANHEIM ACADEMY

HAMMER TIME..!

Adam Weller grabbed the bull by the horns and the gavel by the handle at a Manheim Auctioneers' Academy selection day.

W

illingly coming forward as the office guinea pig at Car Dealer has as many upsides as it does downsides. For every interesting experience or learning opportunity, there’s an occasion where you feel like you’ve been thrown in at the deep end while wearing lead boots.

All of the above thoughts were present in my mind when I visited Manheim’s Bruntingthorpe centre recently to take part in the firm’s Auctioneers' Academy selection day.

The programme gives Manheim employees in other departments the opportunity to become an auctioneer. On this particular day, staff from across Manheim’s UK bases had turned out, ranging from secretaries to those in charge of car preparation. Some of the workers who had arrived for the open-to-all opportunity were veterans of the firm, while others had barely been there three months.

However, all had a common interest in going from being a part of the auctioning process to the podium itself. In truth, this was where I differed, but not for a lack of enthusiasm.

As I travelled up to the venue, I started to dig through my memory for the last time that I witnessed an auction. It revealed a worrying lack of knowledge as to what I was about to do. The only one I could recall attending was a charity event in which a secretary from the organisation sold off tickets to a music festival – the wrong music festival, as it turned out.

Certainly, this was not the preparation I needed, and sadly, there was no time for an impromptu Bargain Hunt marathon. Some of my co-workers, including the editor of this magazine, had informed me that my second life moonlighting as a motorsport commentator 58 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Adam, fourth from left, with fellow budding auctioneers would probably help me, but I wasn’t sold on that at all as I arrived.

I mingled with the other participants, who didn't know that I wasn’t ‘one of them’, although the lack of Manheim branding on my poor excuse for formal wear was surely a dead giveaway. Just seconds before we all walked into the auction room, I was introduced to Manheim’s general manager of group auctioneers, Andy Conde.

‘You’ll do a quick presentation on yourself – no more than 10 minutes – and then you’ll simulate selling off a car,’ he said. I certainly hadn’t been made aware of either task ahead of time, and I wasn’t sure which one I was least prepared for.

No time to go back outside and feign an illness, though; we were going in.

First, Conde let us all know what he was looking for. ‘We’re surrounded by PCPs in the motor industry and that’s exactly what we

want from our auctioneers – Personality, Clarity and Presence.’

We then drew numbers from a hat to dictate our order. Thankfully, I had a few people to watch before I went up there myself. They didn’t know it, but I desperately needed them to be good so I had at least some idea of what I was trying to do.

Thankfully, a lot of them were extremely confident and obviously knew what they were doing. Another advantage was that we were all selling the same car – a grey, diesel Vauxhall Insignia on a 64 plate, which was a stark contrast to the newer (and greener) Mercedes A-Class parked at the podium. Nonetheless, I knew the hypothetical Vauxhall like the back of my hand when my turn came.

As a terrible liar, I decided that the safest option for my presentation was to lay all my cards out from the start. ‘Hello, my name is Adam

Adam gives it his best shot!

‘As I sat down after my attempt, I was convinced I had fluffed it. Among other things, I had forgotten to mention the car’s MOT status and mileage.’

Weller and I am an impostor,’ I began.

I explained that I was a journalist from Car Dealer Magazine, discussed my previous work experience and also clued them into my extremely limited previous auction knowledge.

After going through the ‘crowd pleasers’ – growing up on the Isle of Wight, escaping the Island, yelling at cars for money (commentary) – I had to get to the nitty-gritty of auctioning off the fictitious grey Insignia. I spoke quickly, waved the gavel a little and spoke of its supreme motorway economy as it was a diesel.

As I sat down after my attempt, I was convinced I had fluffed it. Among other things, I had forgotten to mention the car’s MOT status and mileage.

As I watched the other participants and bid on half a dozen other fictitious Vauxhalls with money that was equally fanciful, I was very worried about what would be said in the post-trial debrief with Conde and his team.

Crunch time eventually came. I was initially asked how I thought I did, to which I said that aside from the missed details, I thought I hadn’t done badly – I hadn’t had a brain Control, Alt, Delete moment on the podium, after all.

Conde’s reply was a surprise. ‘I thought it was excellent for your first attempt. If you were here today as an applicant for the academy, you’d have been on it.’ I did try to let him know that I’d happily ask Mr Baggott for some time off, but it was taken as a joke – darn!

Admittedly, I hold some suspicions as to whether or not they were being nice to me, because I was there to write about the academy; with the highest scores on their rating sheets, I was a little sceptical they might be keeping the press on side!

After the other applicants were given their evaluations, Conde spoke of his satisfaction with the academy’s class of 2019 and his excitement at the potential on display.

But the academy isn’t just a bit of fun for Manheim as it was for me, as he explained: ‘The success of any business has to be invested in your own people.

'That’s what we’re doing today. We look to our people, rather than trying to bring others in.

We’re giving them – whether they’re young, old or indifferent – the opportunity to become an auctioneer and a master of the gavel at Manheim.’

Certainly, it seemed that everyone there

Judges Kevin Blincowe, left, Andy Conde and Gill Lomax assess everyone’s efforts appreciated the opportunity, as did I. Rumour has it I’ll be reunited with the class of 2019 at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where they are sent to gain a grasp of stage presence and public speaking – certainly, that’s another thing I thought I’d never do as a contributor to a car magazine, dealership based or otherwise!

I left the Bruntingthorpe site feeling happy with what I'd achieved but – being an eternal pessimist – still a little sceptical about the glowing feedback.

However, given time I reckon I'd probably be able to do the job properly: a nice fallback if this idea of a career in journalism doesn’t pay off then. Mr Conde, I’m open to offers! [CD] CarDealerMag.co.uk | 59

Focus on.

RAC Approved Dealer Network

Network given boost with interest-free warranty option RAC

T: 0330 100 3807

W: rac.co.uk/joinournetwork

A

n interest-free option for customers on all sales of RAC-branded warranties is being made available across the 1,360-strong RAC Dealer Network.

Thanks to support from Assurant, which partners with the RAC Dealer Network in the warranties and aftersales sector, buyers are being given the opportunity to pay for their RAC warranty over 10 months of equal payments through direct debit.

Sean Kent, head of account management at Assurant, said: ‘This is all about increasing the affordability of our products, putting them within the reach of more used car customers and also benefiting our dealers with greater sales penetration at no extra cost to them.’

Sean explained that the affordability of value-added products is set to grow in importance during 2019 with research showing that almost one in three customers (29 per cent) would be more likely to buy a warranty if a monthly direct debit option was available.

‘In times when consumers feel their finances are under pressure, they seek out products that provide them with protection from unexpected costs,’ said Sean, pictured above.

‘It is essential that dealers are able to provide warranties that meet customer needs and are within reach for as many used car buyers as possible. The key to enabling these consumers to acquire the level of cover they desire will be very much based around affordability – and we expect to see a greater amount of attention being paid to offering warranties on an interest-free basis this year.’

Our research shows...

• 29 per cent of customers who wouldn’t normally consider purchasing a warranty would do so if monthly direct debit payments were available.

• 52 per cent of customers who want a warranty would rather pay over 10 payments than one lump sum.

Based on a survey of 1,162 respondents conducted by Assurant in January 2019.

60 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Consumers are keen on products that protect them from unexpected costs

Assurant plans to expand network to 1,550 members THE RAC Dealer Network is aiming to add around 200 new dealers by the end of 2019, bringing the total to just over 1,550.

The increase comes in addition to a recruitment drive in 2018 that saw the network increase in size from just under 1,200 dealers to its present 1,360 dealers.

Sean Kent, head of account management at Assurant, which partners with the RAC Dealer Network in the warranties and aftersales sector, said that the ongoing growth was also leading to a commensurate increase in warranty sales, which had risen 13 per cent in volume last year.

He said: ‘We believe that there remains substantial potential for network growth and are looking for dealers across the country who want to work with us and share our passion for delivering a customer experience that reflects the high expectations associated with the RAC brand. While we have seen considerable expansion in recent years, we have always

worked to a mantra of only recruiting dealers if they are the right dealers and can meet the kind of standard that we believe the market deserves. This policy will continue in 2019.’

Sean said that the success of the RAC Dealer Network had been based on getting right the basics of the warranty proposition.

‘We offer excellent products backed up with high-quality training and excellent systems, all of which show an expert knowledge of the needs of used car and van dealers and buyers.

‘However, what really makes the difference is the presence of the RAC brand, the way in which we apply that brand to products reflective of the trust that customers place in it, and then actively help dealers to maximise its impact for marketing purposes.’

RAC warranties are provided by Assurant, a leading global provider of lifestyle protection products and services, including extended warranties.

Do you want to find out more about joining the RAC Dealer Network?

For further details call 0330 100 3807, e-mail dealernetwork@rac.co.uk or visit rac.co.uk/joinournetwork

Focus on.

Sigmavision

Increase revenue from tyre and alignment sales SIGMAVISION

treadreader.sigmavision.com

A

swift inspection of tyres and a conversation with a customer can be all it takes to create a tyre or alignment sales opportunity.

For many dealers, tyre checks form part of the standard vehicle inspection on every car brought in.

At a growing number of dealerships, the inspection video is sent straight to the customer.

But why are some dealerships still missing out on replacement tyre revenues? Why are dealerships not able to convert failed or advisory tyres into replacement tyre sales or alignment revenue?

Best practice recommends wheel alignment checks every 10,000 miles, subject to driving style and road conditions. However, there are no stated requirements from vehicle manufacturers. Dealerships stand to gain by putting in place new technology, systems and processes to educate their customers about the importance of tyre maintenance and correct wheel alignment.

The scale of the opportunity Tyre condition trend data from the tyre sales management service TreadManager, provided by original equipment manufacturer Sigmavision, makes interesting reading. The data reveals that 10 per cent of all tyres scanned using TreadReader tyre measurement equipment have a tread depth of less than 1.6mm and are therefore illegal.

In addition, 22 per cent of tyres are shown to fall into the ‘advisory’

category, with a tread depth of between 1.6mm and 3mm.

TreadReader 3D tyre measurement technology also diagnoses wheel misalignment or incorrect inflation.

Twelve months of TreadManager data reveals that 29 per cent of tyres present with uneven wear due to incorrect wheel alignment.

This data, together with the knowledge that there are over 31 million passenger vehicles on UK roads and 24,496 miles of road will need repair during 2019, confirms that there is a major requirement for dealers to offer tyre management and wheel alignment services.

Using technology to educate Educating the motorist remains the first step to changing behaviour and boosting dealer sales. Industry solutions such as the TreadReader 3D tyre measurement technology from Sigmavision serve as powerful conversion aids for dealership tyre and alignment sales.

In the case of TreadReader, the technology produces colour-coded 3D tyre scans, revealing tread depth and tyre wear in a way that is immediately understood.

This makes them compelling for the vehicle owner and valuable to the dealership as a way of building customer trust.

Sigmavision is currently working with dealerships to help them achieve increased revenues from tyre and alignment sales. l For more information visit treadreader.sigmavision.com

TYRE SALES FEELING FLAT? Achieve up to 46% additional tyre sales and increase customer retention with TreadReader™ 3D tyre measurement TreadReader™ 3D scans reveal any uneven wear due to wheel misalignment or suspension issues, allowing customers to see wear and tear with their own eyes.

We produce industry-leading 3D images of tyres, to educate your customers as to the importance of tyre safety and the optimum time to replace tyres.

Calculate your potential increased revenue and help your customers better understand their tyres.

Visit: treadreader.sigmavision.com

Rear Left NSR 80% worn

Colour-coded 3D rendering of customer’s tyre, produced by TreadReader™ surface or flush mounted ramp.

2.9 3.4 3.7 3.8 mm

For more information, or to book a visit, call 01865 689065

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 61

Focus on.

Legalsolutions4u

Join the industry revolution LEGALSOLUTIONS4U

T: 0191 481 3992

E: advice@legalsolutions4u.co.uk

Would you like to: • Never have to deal with customer complaints ever again?

• Have the opportunity to increase your sales?

• Increase your reviews with five-star customer service?

We have the answer!

L

egalsolutions4u are motor trade legal experts and specialise in looking after all aspects of motor law. The firm was established following the introduction of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and demand from car dealerships to ensure that they were legally protected in all aspects of law, ranging from legal disputes with customers to removing bad reviews from the internet.

Legalsolutions4u offer an unrivalled service to car dealerships in that they will deal with unlimited issues in relation to consumer disputes, bad reviews on the internet, employment issues, trading standards disputes, financial ombudsman disputes, credit card chargebacks and finance house disputes – all for a small monthly fee of £49.99 plus VAT. There are no tie-in contracts and we operate on a rolling monthly basis to give dealers maximum flexibility. As part of the service, we review your existing sales procedure and then provide a fully compliant procedure to ensure that you are complying with your legal obligations under the CRA 2015.

The firm is always developing new ideas and strategies for dealers to protect them further and ensure that they can operate as efficiently as possible. The latest incarnation has been developed by working alongside dealerships and listening to what they want. Based upon dealership demand, Legalsolutions4u have set up a revolutionary aftersales service.

The service was established because Legalsolutions4u were repeatedly hearing from dealerships that they were spending a large amount of time dealing with customer issues post-sale and in the vast majority of cases the dealership was going above and beyond what they needed to do and often in doing so they were prejudicing themselves in relation to matters to do with the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

How many dealerships out there have had the call when the vehicle has not long been sold? – ‘I have a puncture in my tyre! You need to sort it’, 62 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

‘My engine management light has come on’, ‘My car has an issue – fix it or I am going to leave a bad review on your website’, ‘I don’t like the car and I want to reject it’.

All these calls are familiar to most dealers and dealing with them takes up time when they could be selling the next vehicle. By using the aftersales service, Legalsolutions4u can deal with the call from the outset and legally protect your dealerships whilst giving 110 per cent customer service and saving you time and money!

How the aftersales service works The service allows dealers to provide a truly effective aftersales department to match that of franchise dealerships and improve the customerbuying experience as well as ensuring the dealer remains protected from the outset.

The manner in which the system works is that your dealership is provided with a unique direct-dial number which is specific to your local area code and when a customer dials the number the phone call is answered in the name of your

dealership. The advantage of using the aftersales service is that firstly it frees up a dealer’s time to concentrate on sales and not having to deal with complaints. Secondly, every complaint is vetted and underwritten from a legal angle so we can then advise you what you need to do and how you may wish to resolve it.

By having control and being proactive as opposed to being reactive, this gives a much greater level of control over what you should or should not be doing and ensures that anything you may say or do is not prejudicing yourself.

We can also communicate with your current warranty provider and advise if the issue that the customer is raising should be directed towards your warranty company, thus giving more protection to stop a customer eventually moving towards a rejection of the vehicle.

By offering a full aftersales department, it gives the customer a better experience in the event that they do have an issue. In addition, instead of your dealership dealing with multiple customer calls, you will only have one point of contact, which is

in aftersales What you get when joining the industry revolution in aftersales • We provide you with your own personalised aftersales phone number to match your area code • We answer your calls in the name of your dealership • Unique portal log-in to register each vehicle • Your own customer service team, call

ourselves, and you can then decide what action you wish to take in the knowledge that we have advised you from the outset to ensure that you are legally protected all the time.

There is no contract involved. It is £12.50 plus VAT for every vehicle that you sell and put on the

system and that includes unlimited calls from the customer for the lifetime that they own the vehicle. If a dealership does not like the service there are no tie-in contracts and they can revert to the way they currently operate, so why not try it and see how much Legalsolutions4u can help and protect your dealership?

The feedback from existing dealerships that have started using this service has been incredible and they have advised that it has transformed their aftersales service and has given a greater customer feedback, which has led to better reviews on their website.

It has also meant that all issues no matter how big or small have been resolved quickly and without matters escalating and going legal. We are very proud of the fact that we have managed to save our dealers thousands of pounds in reaching amicable and commercial resolutions without the need for expensive litigation.

The most important feedback of all that we have had is that the customer is happy with the service they have been given from start to finish.

transfers and message-taking • Every call vetted to ensure no breaches of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 • Full audited complaints log to demonstrate compliance with your FCA obligations • We communicate with your current warranty provider

The service was established because we were hearing on numerous occasions how, when dealing with the customer when they initially rang back with a complaint/problem, the dealerships were wanting to do right by the customer but, in fact, were creating more work and cost that was not necessary, because they didn’t know what they legally can and cannot do.

As we mentioned earlier, how many dealerships out there have had this call when the vehicle has not long been sold? – ‘I have a puncture in my tyre! You need to sort it’, or ‘I can’t find my locking wheel nut’, or ‘My engine management light has come on’.

All these calls are what we’re sure you can relate to, but it takes up time when you could be selling your next vehicle. Also, by using us for your aftersales service, we can deal with the call from the outset and legally protect your dealerships, whilst giving 110 per cent customer service and saving you time and money!

• Join the industry revolution in aftersales – call now to protect your dealership: 0191 481 3992.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 63

Data file.

Thestatistics

| SMMT SALES DATA | TAKING STOCK | JANUARY FIGURES

‘We need to restore momentum after a fifth month of sales decline’

T

he UK’s new car market dipped 1.6 per cent in January, according to figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

A total of 161,013 new cars were registered for use on UK roads, with trends in fuel choice seen last year continuing in the first month of 2019.

Following a decline in December, private buyers returned to showrooms – up 2.9 per cent – registering 71,378 models in the month. Conversely, demand from businesses and fleet buyers fell by 33.5 per cent and 3.4 per cent respectively. Meanwhile, appetite for alternatively-fuelled vehicles grew by 26.3 per cent, resulting in a total 6.8 per cent market share. The performance supports the latest forecast for this sector, currently expected to rise by more than a quarter by the end of 2019 to around 177,000 units.

Some 86,000 of these cars are set to be ultra-low-emission plug-in hybrids and battery electrics – taking the plug-in market share to around 3.7 per cent as an ever-increasing number of models come on sale. However, this level is still at the lower end of government ambitions,

underlining the need for greater purchase incentives and investment in charging infrastructure.

Petrol demand also grew in January, up 7.3 per cent, but this was not enough to offset another month of decline for diesel, as registrations fell 20.3 per cent.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, pictured, said: ‘It’s encouraging to see car registrations in January broadly on a par with a year ago as the latest high-tech models and deals attracted buyers into showrooms. This, however, is still the fifth consecutive month of overall decline in the market.

‘To restore momentum, we need supportive policies, not least on vehicle taxation, to encourage buyers to invest in new, cleaner vehicles that best suit their driving needs – from the latest petrols and diesels to an ever-growing range of exciting electrified vehicles.

‘This would be good for the environment and good for the industry and those who depend on it.’

Ian Gilmartin, head of retail and wholesale at Barclays Corporate

Banking, said: ‘There are some bright spots in the new car data with the first increase in private sales since August and a really impressive 26 per cent rise in alternatively-fuelled vehicles.

‘However, the celebrations in the showrooms will be fairly muted, as although consumer purchases held up, it wasn’t enough to prevent an overall decline with business buyers reluctant to commit to longterm fleet investment until they are more comfortable with the broader economic outlook. As Nissan has made clear, a lack of clarity around Brexit is hurting UK vehicle manufacturing, but it’s also affecting car sales.

‘Dealers have been holding out hope for some certainty, or at least a clearer route to certainty, on Brexit plans being in place before the new plates hit the road in March.

‘That now looks pretty optimistic, and it could be that the most important month for the new car sector is falling at the worst possible time, so the car industry will want to see some progress in the very near future.’

SMMT sales data Jan/year to date

5

Top

Most-improved manufacturers in January

Volvo +79% MG +58.7% Jeep +58.3% Seat +31% Dacia +16%

5

Bottom

Worst-performing manufacturers in January

Infiniti -65% Lotus -41.6% Porsche -41.5% Audi -26% Maserati -24%

Increase in demand from private consumers is good news INCREASED demand for new cars from private consumers was one of the highlights of the January new car registration figures, according to the National Franchised Dealers Association.

Sue Robinson, director of the NFDA, which represents franchised car and commercial vehicle retailers in the UK, noted: ‘The new car market remained stable in January. Positively, sales of alternative fuel vehicles grew substantially in 64 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

January and we expect the sector to perform well throughout 2019.

‘It is encouraging to see that demand from private consumers grew by 2.9 per cent. With different types of vehicles coming to the market and new emission figures available, retailers have an important role to play in informing consumers and helping them choose the right car.’

Alex Buttle, director at the car-buying

comparison website Motorway.co.uk, said: ‘The latest SMMT data suggests it’s finally the year hybrid and electric sales will take off, but it’s unfortunate that such positive growth in AFV sales is continually overshadowed by plummeting diesel sales figures. While the AFV market is showing consistent green shoots, the number of units being sold is nowhere near high enough to compensate for the slump in diesel.’

Seat

Audi

+31% January 2019 Marque

2019

-26%

January 2018

% market share

2018

Year-to-date (YTD)

% market share

% change

2019

% market share

2018

% market share

% change

Abarth

260

0.16

279

0.17

-6.81

260

0.16

279

0.17

-6.81

Alfa Romeo

299

0.19

277

0.17

7.94

299

0.19

277

0.17

7.94

Alpine Audi Bentley BMW Chevrolet

16

0.01

0

0.00

0.00

16

0.01

0

0.00

0.00

8,632

5.36

11,806

7.22

-26.88

8,632

5.36

11,806

7.22

-26.88 -5.80

130

0.08

138

0.08

-5.80

130

0.08

138

0.08

9,553

5.93

9,000

5.50

6.14

9,553

5.93

9,000

5.50

6.14

0

0.00

1

0.00

0.00

0

0.00

1

0.00

0.00

Citroen

3,887

2.41

3,488

2.13

11.44

3,887

2.41

3,488

2.13

11.44

Dacia

2,475

1.54

2,121

1.30

16.69

2,475

1.54

2,121

1.30

16.69 -12.76

DS

253

0.16

290

0.18

-12.76

253

0.16

290

0.18

Fiat

1,676

1.04

1,714

1.05

-2.22

1,676

1.04

1,714

1.05

-2.22

Ford

16,629

10.33

19,654

12.01

-15.39

16,629

10.33

19,654

12.01

-15.39

Honda

3,700

2.30

4,282

2.62

-13.59

3,700

2.30

4,282

2.62

-13.59

Hyundai

5,778

3.59

6,429

3.93

-10.13

5,778

3.59

6,429

3.93

-10.13

Infiniti

32

0.02

94

0.06

-65.96

32

0.02

94

0.06

-65.96

Jaguar

2,121

1.32

2,174

1.33

-2.44

2,121

1.32

2,174

1.33

-2.44

Jeep

372

0.23

235

0.14

58.30

372

0.23

235

0.14

58.30

Kia

8,328

5.17

7,582

4.63

9.84

8,328

5.17

7,582

4.63

9.84

Land Rover

5,601

3.48

5,660

3.46

-1.04

5,601

3.48

5,660

3.46

-1.04

Lexus

1,007

0.63

887

0.54

13.53

1,007

0.63

887

0.54

13.53

Lotus

7

0.00

12

0.01

-41.67

7

0.00

12

0.01

-41.67

83

0.05

110

0.07

-24.55

83

0.05

110

0.07

-24.55

2,724

1.69

2,861

1.75

-4.79

2,724

1.69

2,861

1.75

-4.79

56

0.03

53

0.03

5.66

56

0.03

53

0.03

5.66

12,249

7.61

11,891

7.27

3.01

12,249

7.61

11,891

7.27

3.01

MG

754

0.47

475

0.29

58.74

754

0.47

475

0.29

58.74

Mini

3,251

2.02

2,871

1.75

13.24

3,251

2.02

2,871

1.75

13.24

Mitsubishi

1,213

0.75

1,555

0.95

-21.99

1,213

0.75

1,555

0.95

-21.99

Nissan

6,969

4.33

7,917

4.84

-11.97

6,969

4.33

7,917

4.84

-11.97

Peugeot

5,653

3.51

5,276

3.22

7.15

5,653

3.51

5,276

3.22

7.15

Porsche

581

0.36

994

0.61

-41.55

581

0.36

994

0.61

-41.55

Renault

3,365

2.09

3,747

2.29

-10.19

3,365

2.09

3,747

2.29

-10.19

Seat

5,522

3.43

4,203

2.57

31.38

5,522

3.43

4,203

2.57

31.38

Skoda

5,402

3.36

5,473

3.35

-1.30

5,402

3.36

5,473

3.35

-1.30

Smart

490

0.30

601

0.37

-18.47

490

0.30

601

0.37

-18.47

SsangYong

208

0.13

187

0.11

11.23

208

0.13

187

0.11

11.23

Maserati Mazda McLaren Mercedes-Benz

Subaru

174

0.11

155

0.09

12.26

174

0.11

155

0.09

12.26

Suzuki

3,006

1.87

3,305

2.02

-9.05

3,006

1.87

3,305

2.02

-9.05

8,575

5.33

7,975

4.87

7.52

8,575

5.33

7,975

4.87

7.52

Vauxhall

12,250

7.61

12,652

7.73

-3.18

12,250

7.61

12,652

7.73

-3.18

Volkswagen

13,224

8.21

12,579

7.69

5.13

13,224

8.21

12,579

7.69

5.13

Volvo

4,079

2.53

2,270

1.39

79.69

4,079

2.53

2,270

1.39

79.69

222

0.14

138

0.08

60.87

222

0.14

138

0.08

60.87

Toyota

Other British Other imports Total

207

0.13

204

0.12

1.47

207

0.13

204

0.12

1.47

161,013

100

163,615

100

-1.59

161,013

100

163,615

100

-1.59

Figures supplied by SMMT

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 65

LCV news.

Fullyloaded

| LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLES | FLEET | REVIEWS |

BRAND AMBASSADOR

NISSAN NV300

Seeing the light with Garage Inspector Andy

Concept demonstrates bespoke van potential N

LIGHTING company Lumileds has welcomed aftermarket expert and keynote speaker Andy Savva – aka The Garage Inspector – as Philips Automotive Lighting’s brand ambassador for the UK and Ireland.

He said: ‘I will be promoting that road safety starts with seeing and be seen, therefore garages should be using highquality automotive lighting with maximum light output combined with long-lasting performance to offer the most efficient lighting solutions to our customers, because we know that our highquality lighting may save lives.’

Richard Armstrong, Lumileds’ automotive business development manager for the UK and Ireland, said: ‘We are delighted to welcome our new ambassador to the team.

‘Andy knows how to run a successful workshop and recommends fitting OE parts because they protect the customer and his reputation.

‘Andy is also a familiar face to many vehicle technicians, and he understands the challenges that they face on a daily basis.’

Savva has been involved in the automotive industry for more than 32 years, having owned and managed some of the most successful independent garages in the UK. 66 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

issan has created an allnew NV300 van concept to highlight the versatility of its commercial vehicles for bespoke conversions of all types.

Unveiled at the Brussels Motor Show, the vehicle’s cargo area was kitted out as a mobile workshop for a creative woodworking professional.

It contains various practical and innovative features and, says Nissan, illustrates how its extensive LCV range can be the perfect partner for professionals in any sector or trade.

The van’s content was developed and created in a collaboration between Nissan and Studio Hardie – the design workshop founded

by Will Hardie, the co-presenter of Channel 4 show George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces.

The concept comes with an integrated portable battery called Nissan Energy Roam – an all-in-one, weatherproof power pack that provides convenient, emission-free and silent energy while on the go.

Boasting a storage capacity of 700kWh and maximum power output of 1kW, it is, says Nissan, a state-of-the-art energy hub for mobile professionals.

For a woodworker moving regularly between jobs, it would allow them to power their

professional life – from tools to tablets – in a highly efficient and eco-friendly way.

Using second-life batteries recovered from Nissan Leafs that have come to the end of their life, the power pack can also be

Top-selling LCVs in January Ford Transit Custom 3,015 Ford Transit 1,400 Volkswagen Transporter 1,272 Mitsubishi L200 1,237 Ford Transit Connect 1,184

recharged using a solar panel accessory mounted on the roof.

Francesco Giacalone, LCV planning and marketing director for Nissan Europe, said: ‘With the NV300 Concept-van, Nissan is really thinking about the future of the commercial vehicle as an authentic partner for business customers.

‘It’s practical and versatile as well as innovative and self-sufficient with the addition of Nissan Energy Roam. We believe it has enormous potential in the LCV sector and is a key differentiator for Nissan commercial vehicles.’

Source: SMMT

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 1,170 Ford Ranger 1,029 Citroen Berlingo 959 Peugeot Boxer 764 Vauxhall Vivaro 763 LCV registrations, p68

‘When you look at the pricing, it’s hard to ignore the Musso. Drive one and it gets even harder.’

New SsangYong Musso on test p69

Sliding doors WITH CRAIG CHEETHAM

A look at the world of buying and selling vans and pick-ups

Check out the CV Show and be bold and confident in the face of adversity

I

n just a few weeks’ time, one of the biggest automotive events in the UK will open its doors, with the CV Show set to take place at the NEC in Birmingham from April 30 to May 2.

For those unfamiliar with the event, it’s not an exhibition for writing the perfect job application, but it is by far the biggest annual event in Europe for those who work in the commercial vehicle or associated sectors. And if you’re into van sales, it’s one that should definitely be on your calendar.

Being a commercial vehicle show, though, it’s not like a motor show. Yes, there are a few bits of shiny (often white) metal to sit inside and clamber over, ranging from car-derived vans to 42-tonners. (And let’s face it, who doesn’t want to sit behind the wheel of a big truck?)

But more than that, the show is a shop window into all of the peripheral services that exist for the CV industry.

If you’re selling vans, or if you’re thinking of doing so, then there’s a lot there that could well lead to incremental sales, especially if you’re trading in used LCVs rather than new ones, where you’re not tied to manufacturerapproved accessories that can only be procured through the dealer network.

On the larger scale, there are conversions that can be carried out retrospectively – box bodies and tipper mechanisms, for example, that can then be fitted to existing chassis cabs, or other conversions that are generally more popular with second-hand vehicles than new ones, such as beavertail car transporter bodies. Then there’s the stuff that you can sell on cheaply and easily – amber beacons, tow bars, tool safes, racking systems, ply lining, work lights, roof racks, ladders.

Indeed, the upselling potential of being a van dealer is greater than that of being a car dealer, because no sooner has your customer bought his or her vehicle than they want to put it to work.

The CV Show also plays host to a workshop zone, where you

can buy tools, ramps and hoists that are specifically designed for working on larger-than-average vehicles, so if you need to kit out your service bay, it’s all there.

At the time of writing, this year’s show looks likely to take place just a few weeks after the UK’s departure from the European Union, and assuming Brexit goes ahead as planned (if, indeed, there’s been any planning, which looks increasingly unlikely…), it will be a real litmus test for the state of the automotive sector as a whole.

An upbeat CV Show has the potential to be a barometer for business confidence – not just for those who are exhibiting at the event, but also for the business owners and representatives who attend.

Hats off, then, to Vauxhall for using the event to launch the new Vivaro. The van may be a reworked version of the Peugeot Expert and Citroen Despatch, but it will also be built in the UK, using a largely British supply chain.

The messaging behind its launch will be essential – that Britain is open for business and fully intends to build things here and sell them across Europe. We can only hope and pray that our MPs and policymakers don’t do their level best to eat that particular turkey before it’s cooked, although I’m not going to presume they won’t.

This year, then, more than ever, the CV Show is a hugely significant event. Commercial vehicles are the wheels of business, both figuratively and literally, and optimism among those who buy them and those who sell them can have a massive knockon effect on the rest of the motor industry. Ignore that at your peril.

If you’ve got a spare half-day between April 30 and May 2, go along. It’s free to get in, and the more people that can get through the door, the more likely we are to collectively stave off a recession.

The media and business commentators will be watching, and as businesspeople ourselves, we owe it to them to be bold and confident in the face of adversity.

‘The more people who can get through the door, the more likely we are to stave off a recession.’

Craig Cheetham is an experienced automotive journalist with specialist knowledge of the LCV sector.

Turn over the page for more LCV stories CarDealerMag.co.uk | 67

LCV news.

LATEST STATISTICS

‘Bounce-back’ sees new van market expand by 8.6 per cent THE new light commercial vehicle market grew by 8.6 per cent in January, according to the latest figures from the SMMT. More than 22,000 new vans and pick-ups joined UK roads in the first month of the year – an uplift of 1,761 compared with January 2018.

The top seller was the Ford Transit Custom,

with 3.015 units shifted. All segments saw growth in the month, except medium vans weighing 2.0 to 2.5 tonnes, where demand fell by 3.9 per cent.

Car-derived vans weighing less than 2.0 tonnes and pick-ups both saw double-digit increases, by 31.7 per cent and 13.4 per cent respectively, boosted by new model introductions and sales

campaigns. Demand also grew for large vans weighing 2.5 to 3.5 tonnes, increasing by 7.1 per cent to 13,268 vehicles. Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: ‘January’s positive performance follows a mixed 2018, which finished on a particularly poor December, so some bounce-back was to be expected.’

Registrations of new commercial vehicles less than 3.5 tonnes January 2019 Marque

2019

January 2018

% market share

2018

Figures supplied by SMMT

Year-to-date (YTD)

% market share

% change

2019

% market share

2018

% market share

% change

Ford

7,065

31.77

7,142

34.88

-1.08

7,065

31.77

7,142

34.88

-1.08

Volkswagen

2,609

11.73

2,372

11.58

9.99

2,609

11.73

2,372

11.58

9.99

Peugeot

2,111

9.49

1,978

9.66

6.72

2,111

9.49

1,978

9.66

6.72

Citroen

1,950

8.77

1,654

8.08

17.90

1,950

8.77

1,654

8.08

17.90

Mercedes-Benz

1,789

8.05

1,372

6.70

30.39

1,789

8.05

1,372

6.70

30.39

Vauxhall

1,586

7.13

1,490

7.28

6.44

1,586

7.13

1,490

7.28

6.44

Mitsubishi

1,249

5.62

697

3.40

79.20

1,249

5.62

697

3.40

79.20

Renault

1,010

4.54

1,250

6.11

-19.20

1,010

4.54

1,250

6.11

-19.20

Nissan

805

3.62

724

3.54

11.19

805

3.62

724

3.54

11.19

Toyota

664

2.99

578

2.82

14.88

664

2.99

578

2.82

14.88

Fiat

545

2.45

459

2.24

18.74

545

2.45

459

2.24

18.74

Iveco

251

1.13

246

1.20

2.03

251

1.13

246

1.20

2.03

Isuzu

194

0.87

258

1.26

-24.81

194

0.87

258

1.26

-24.81

111

0.50

0

0.00

0.00

111

0.50

0

0.00

0.00

Renault Trucks

75

0.34

117

0.57

-35.90

75

0.34

117

0.57

-35.90

MAN

68

0.31

14

0.07

385.71

68

0.31

14

0.07

385.71

Isuzu Trucks

53

0.24

34

0.17

55.88

53

0.24

34

0.17

55.88

SsangYong

41

0.18

25

0.12

64.00

41

0.18

25

0.12

64.00

LDV

40

0.18

31

0.15

29.03

40

0.18

31

0.15

29.03

Fuso

10

0.04

16

0.08

-37.50

10

0.04

16

0.08

-37.50

Hyundai

10

0.04

5

0.02

100.00

10

0.04

5

0.02

100.00

Dacia

0

0.00

12

0.06

0.00

0

0.00

12

0.06

0.00

Great Wall

0

0.00

1

0.00

0.00

0

0.00

1

0.00

0.00

22,236

100.00

20,475

100.00

8.60

22,236

100.00

20,475

100.00

8.60

Land Rover

Total light CV

Registrations of new commercial vehicles 3.5 tonnes to 6.0 tonnes January 2019 Marque

2019

Fiat

January 2018

% market share 102

2018

Year-to-date (YTD)

% market share

28.49

97

Figures supplied by SMMT

18.37

% change 5.15

2019 102

% market share

2018

% market share

% change

28.49

97

18.37

5.15

Mercedes-Benz

81

22.63

96

18.18

-15.63

81

22.63

96

18.18

-15.63

Peugeot

74

20.67

111

21.02

-33.33

74

20.67

111

21.02

-33.33

Iveco

47

13.13

32

6.06

46.88

47

13.13

32

6.06

46.88

Ford

22

6.15

173

32.77

-87.28

22

6.15

173

32.77

-87.28

Vauxhall

11

3.07

5

0.95

120.00

11

3.07

5

0.95

120.00

Citroen

9

2.51

3

0.57

200.00

9

2.51

3

0.57

200.00

Volkswagen

7

1.96

9

1.70

-22.22

7

1.96

9

1.70

-22.22

Renault

5

1.40

2

0.38

150.00

5

1.40

2

0.38

150.00

Isuzu Trucks Total heavy CV

68 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

0

0.00

0

0.00

0.00

0

0.00

0

0.00

0.00

358

100.00

528

100.00

-32.20

358

100.00

528

100.00

-32.20

FIRST DRIVE VAUXHALL

All-new Vivaro safeguards jobs at plant

SsangYong Musso Craig Cheetham puts South Korean manufacturer’s newest pick-up to the test.

What is it?

SsangYong’s latest entry into the double cab pick-up market is a serious proposition, with a new Euro 6 2.2-litre diesel engine, a choice of four generous trim levels, some serious value for money and joint class-leading towing capability.

Also, it gets a seven-year warranty.

What’s new?

The Musso shares a lot of its architecture with the SsangYong Rexton SUV, but that’s no bad thing as it means a separate chassis, a very strong 2.2-litre turbodiesel engine and a car-like cabin, with loads of extras. While it might not be the most prestigious model on the market, it has a lot going for it.

No other pick-up comes close in terms of warranty either, with seven years or 150,000 miles of cover.

What’s under the bonnet?

The Musso comes with a Euro 6-compliant 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel engine, which develops a punchy 181bhp and 400Nm of torque, available from as little as 1,600rpm. The engine is compatible with either a six-speed manual transmission or an Aisin-Warner six-speed auto, the latter of which is an impressive companion to the engine. Although it has a notable resonance at idle, the engine is exceptionally refined at speed.

What’s it like to drive?

No pick-up truck is going to be a dynamic tour de force, and the Musso’s separate chassis makes itself felt on rough or uneven

THE KNOWLEDGE Model: SsangYong Musso

Rebel e-XDI 220 Price (as tested): £23,745 Engine: 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel Power: 181bhp Torque: 400Nm Max speed: 119mph 0-60mph: 11.8 seconds Economy: 28mpg Emissions (g/km): 226 TARGET BUYERS: Large and small fleets, owner-drivers, small businesses.

THE RIVALS: Isuzu D-Max, Mitsubishi L200, Nissan Navara.

KEY SELLING POINTS: 1. Value for money.

2. Euro 6 drivetrain.

3. Spacious cabin.

DEAL CLINCHER: Arguably the best value pick-up on the market. road surfaces, with a fair amount of jiggling around and feedback through the steering. But on smooth surfaces and motorways, it’s extremely comfortable.

How does it look?

The Musso’s front styling is quite smart, with sweeping headlamps and a distinctive chrome-barred grille. But it’s a truck that doesn’t work from all angles – there’s a big gap around the join between the cab and the load bay, and the doors don’t sit as harmoniously as they could with the truck’s rear end.

What’s it like inside?

The cabin has a pleasantly spacious ambience and is extremely comfortable. The rear seats are a bit cramped but perfectly fine for occasional passengers or children.

What’s the spec like?

There are four trim levels. The base spec is the EX, which gets cloth trim, 17-inch alloys, rain-sensing wipers, auto lights, manual air con and electric windows. The Rebel adds faux leather, the smartphonecompatible touchscreen, roof rails, a heated steering wheel plus heated and cooled seats.

Move up to the Saracen and you get proper leather, poweradjustable seats, heated rear seats, a bigger touchscreen, cruise control and side steps, while the top-ofthe-range Rhino gets black 20-inch alloys, standard auto transmission, tinted windows, a roll bar and offroad skid plates.

What do the press think?

Top Gear said: ‘The price nestles right at the bottom of the pick-up ladder. For that, you get one of pick-up land’s better cabins, as well as strong load-carting ability.’

Auto Express said: ‘The Musso is a class-leading pick-up in more ways than one.’

What do we think?

When you look at the pricing, it’s hard to ignore the Musso. Drive one and it gets even harder. Some pickups are arguably better looking, others are better finished, but it never feels like a compromise.

VAUXHALL’S all-new Vivaro van has been revealed, heralding a bright future for the company’s Luton plant where the vehicle will be built.

Available to order now and arriving in Vauxhall showrooms this summer, the third-generation Vivaro medium van is based on a state-of-theart platform and available in two lengths. Body styles include panel van, double cab for up to six occupants and a platform chassis.

Priced from £21,240 ex VAT, it will be available in three trim levels: Edition, Sportive and Elite.

Dual side sliding door, driver/ passenger airbags and cruise control with speed limiter will all be available as standard on the Vivaro for the first time.

The new model will help secure 1,250 jobs at its manufacturing plant.

Derek Wilson, Vauxhall’s LCV director, said: ‘As a British brand since 1903 and the UK’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, we’re delighted to reveal the all-new Luton-built Vivaro.’

EUROPCAR

Scottish van presence grows EUROPCAR has opened its second location for commercial vehicle rental in Scotland.

The new site is in Lancefield Quay, Finneston, Glasgow, adding to the Edinburgh supersite, which has been operating since 2014.

Stuart Russell, commercial vehicles director, said: ‘The Glasgow van hub provides firms with a station that can meet all their commercial vehicle needs.’

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 69

Workshop.

Aftermarket

SERVICING & REPAIRS | PRODUCT NEWS | PEOPLE & PLACES

MARATHON MAN

Dave to run 1,500 miles for charity

‘HAMMER BLOW’

Cooper Tires to axe 300 jobs at factory

by JOHN BOWMAN john@blackballmedia.co.uk

STARTIN Suzuki parts manager Dave Pountney is planning to run more than 1,500 miles this year in aid of a diabetes charity after his daughter was diagnosed with the condition.

Dave, who works at the St Peter’s Worcester dealership in Kempsey, started with the Gloucester Half Marathon and plans to run in at least another seven events, as well as tackling the Three Peaks Challenge.

In 2017, his eight-year-old daughter Ellie was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, and Dave will be racking up the miles in aid of research funder JDRF. He said: ‘Through everyone’s combined fundraising efforts and continued medical research, a cure for this terrible disease will hopefully be found.

‘It has taken many evenings and weekends to build up and maintain my fitness, and I could not have got to where I am today without the tremendous support of my family, friends and colleagues.

Thank you!’

Dealer principal Richard Eldridge said: ‘We wish Dave the best of luck as he embarks on his many miles of running, and we encourage everyone to make a donation, no matter how small, to what is an extremely worthwhile cause.’

Go to bit.ly/dpountney to help with the fundraising.

Pictured are Dave Pountney, right, with sales manager Paul Bothma 70 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

A

tyre company has confirmed plans to cut 300 jobs as it ends some production.

Cooper Tire & Rubber said production of light vehicle tyres at its factory in Melksham, Wiltshire, would be phased out over 10 months. Workers losing their jobs will be paid 150 per cent of the statutory entitlement as well as other separation pay and be offered expert career services.

About 400 workers will remain at the site to support functions including motorsports and motorcycle tyre production.

Jaap van Wessum, general manager of Cooper Tire Europe, said: ‘This has been a time of uncertainty for our colleagues in Melksham and we appreciate their professionalism and cooperation throughout the collective consultation process.

‘Now, with the collective consultation concluded and plans for the future confirmed, there is more certainty for the workforce, and we are helping those who will be leaving us over the coming months to do so in the best possible way for their future.

‘Cooper Tire Europe will remain

The Cooper Tire & Rubber factory in Melksham in Melksham and we will continue to implement plans designed to grow our business in a way that supports a long-term, sustainable future.’

Unite described the job losses as a ‘hammer blow’ to the local economy when they were first proposed last October. Tony Hulbert, the union’s regional officer, said: ‘We are blaming the continued dumping of cheap inferior tyres

Picture: Google Street View

from countries such as China for the jobs losses at Melksham.

‘Unite has campaigned against this phenomenon and has repeatedly urged the government to create a level playing field for tyre manufacturers in the UK. ‘These inferior tyre imports are not only bad for road safety, but bad for UK jobs and manufacturing – as has been proved by this announcement.’

Hella promotes Martin to director role HELLA has made Martin McGreevy sales director for the independent aftermarket.

It follows his appointment as national sales manager at the OE manufacturer and system supplier last May. ‘My assimilation has been smoother than even I could have imagined and the team around me has

responded with great positivity from the moment I walked through the door,’ he said.

‘I believe that atmosphere and enthusiasm for the business will grow further as together we endeavour to fulfil the great potential the company still has to offer the UK aftermarket.’

RAC DEALER NETWORK

Warranty sales rise by 13 per cent

Skilled technicians are going to be heavily in demand once more, says Progress Recruitment A 13 PER CENT increase in warranty sales by unit was recorded by the RAC Dealer Network for 2018.

The rise was the fifth year in succession that the network, which now numbers 1,360 dealers, has seen double-digit growth. Sales director Sean Kent, pictured, said the increase had been powered by a number of factors including a generally buoyant used car market, higher consumer interest in longer and more comprehensive cover, growth in the number of dealers in the network, enhanced product support and development, and higher sales of warranties at larger dealers.

He said a large amount of effort had gone into supporting the RAC Dealer Network with the right warranties for the 2018 market alongside enhanced training and marketing support.

‘We have created products such as Platinum Plus that are a response to greater car buyer demand for more comprehensive warranties and have backed up these developments with the marketing resources needed to really drive higher sales.

‘All of this is underlined, of course, by the strength of the RAC brand, which continues to be a major differentiator and key advantage in this sector.’

The RAC Dealer Network partners with Assurant in the warranties and aftersales sector.

WARNING

2019 ‘poised to be an employee’s market’ P

rogress Recruitment is warning garages that 2019 could be an employee’s market as skilled qualified technicians seem set to be in high demand across the industry again.

Laura Rycroft, managing director at the automotive recruitment specialist, said: ‘When I began my recruitment career in 2009, 22 dealerships in my region closed and dealers had people queuing at the doors with their CVs looking for work.

‘But now the tables have turned!

Fully qualified vehicle technicians are now in great demand.’

A survey of 45 garages by Progress Recruitment in October 2018 found 96 per cent of them agreed that skilled technicians were ‘very

by DAVE BROWN @CarDealerDave

important’ or ‘vital’ but just two per cent found recruitment ‘very easy’.

Almost half indicated they had at times been unable to recruit the people they needed.

With fewer young technicians entering the trade than there are retiring, accompanied by the escalation of new vehicle technology, the industry is experiencing a ‘skills crunch’, said Progress Recruitment, which added that it was working to address the issue by extending the reach of its MOT Tester training courses, developed in partnership with the Independent Garage Association, to

help individuals who are looking to self-fund their training to enhance their skills and experience.

Political uncertainties are unlikely to help. The Institute of the Motor Industry believes new immigration laws could exacerbate the skills shortage in future as well.

Ensuring that home-grown automotive talent is sufficiently qualified to help bridge the potential gap has therefore never been more important, said Progress.

Rycroft said: ‘As a specialist agency, Progress Recruitment can help garages find the technical team they need from our extensive candidate database, our talent acquisition channels and our proven screening services, saving busy garages owners time and hassle.’

AutoRaise and NBRA form alliance to help repairers AUTORAISE and the NBRA have united to help vehicle repairers across the UK address the challenges around skills shortages and investment in young people.

Both organisations serve the vehicle repairer community and say an alliance that brings together their complementary services for the greater good of the sector can only provide positive solutions.

NBRA executive director Chris Weeks said: ‘We recognise that the shortage of skills in the industry

is now one of the greatest challenges we face. Having offered various aspects of support to AutoRaise previously, it made sense to formalise and expand this into a partnership that offers the full weight of our membership and resources.’

AutoRaise chief executive Bob Linwood said: ‘It makes perfect sense to work alongside Chris and his team to extend our voice and our reach, and we are extremely excited about this important partnership.’

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 71

Data File.

Ask Lawgistics .com

Car Dealer Club lawyers at Lawgistics answer dealers’ legal questions. Join for £49.99 a year to get advice like this when you need it

Fake reviews – what you need to know

Q A

We’ve had a fake review posted online and it’s causing us serious problems. What can we do about it?

The opportunities to post online reviews are ever expanding, what with social media, search engines and numerous external specialist websites dedicated to reviewing particular industries and businesses. A customer can also enter company details if not already listed and provide a rating and a review.

According to research, online reviews are trusted by a whopping 85 per cent of readers, because they are viewed as a personal opinion.

Unfavourable or fake reviews are difficult to remove unless you can show the platform provider that the content violates its policies and terms, but some providers are more willing than others to err on the side of caution and remove bad reviews.

Legal action is costly and time-consuming, with a high standard of proof, and disputes

between business owners and review sites have rumbled away since 2010 when a group of upset hoteliers threatened TripAdvisor with legal action.

On the flip side, it’s a constant challenge for businesses to keep on top of their online reputation and many have used – or been tempted to use – false positive reviews to bury unfavourable reviews or otherwise promote their business profile by increasing their gold star count.

Businesses that mislead consumers may be in breach of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, and writing or commissioning fake reviews could lead to civil or criminal action.

In 2016, the Competition and Markets Authority took action against an online marketing company that posted fake reviews on behalf of its clients and it makes the following recommendations to businesses: • Don’t pretend to be a customer and write

ADVICE

reviews about your products or other businesses’ products.

• Don’t commission third parties to write fake reviews – you may be liable for their actions.

• If you’re working with a third party – such as a PR, marketing or search engine optimisation (SEO) agency – make sure they follow these rules.

• Don’t offer inducements – money or gifts – to customers to write positive reviews.

Trading standards and the Competition and Markets Authority can investigate potentially false reviews. They can ask for evidence the reviewer was a customer or, more seriously, could carry out an investigation into the IP addresses of the review source.

Avoid the temptation to arrange for the submission of false online reviews and instead encourage happy customers to submit honestly and genuinely given reviews. Negative reviews are best addressed with a cultivated, civilised response. Legal action against blatantly defamatory reviews will need the help of a specialist solicitor.

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Can they reject?

Q

We sold an £18,000, threeyear-old vehicle three weeks ago, completing a PDI and with a new MOT. The customer says the engine management light has come on and he wants to reject the vehicle and get a refund under the 30-day right to reject. We offered to inspect and make a repair but he says we don’t have that option and must refund him. Is this correct?

Probably not. Yes, a customer can reject without accepting a repair in the first 30 days after delivery but – and it’s a big but – it’s not that simple.

The light could mean anything.

For the entitlement to reject under the 30-day rule, the fault must have been present at the point of sale. If the customer is only complaining three weeks after the sale, this suggests the ‘fault’ wasn’t there at the point of sale, meaning they can’t reject under the rule. And even if it was present, if it’s a small repair, it would be disproportionate to reject such a vehicle for a repair, so again there is no entitlement to reject. Technically, if they want to reject, they must prove the fault so should let you look at it or get independent evidence.

A

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It’s so important to stay up to date with the law and know the rights of both sides WITH laws constantly changing, and the introduction of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, it’s more important than ever to know your rights as a dealer and what the customer is entitled to.

While the 2015 act aims to bring clarity, it can be hard to know where you stand with unpredictable used cars, and it’s why used car dealer Kettering Trade Cars is finding having Lawgistics on its side more important than ever.

James Payne, director at the Northamptonshire dealer, told us that Lawgistics regularly kept him informed of changes to the law, as well as legal precedents.

‘It helps us to understand the law and legislation, and with laws changing all the time, it’s important to know what our rights are, as well as knowing the customer’s.

Lawgistics helps us to resolve issues before they could go to court.’

Kettering Trade Cars has been established for seven years and with Lawgistics for the past five.

‘As a dealer, we don’t really have many issues at all, and we are now in a position to resolve issues

efficiently inside. After five years with Lawgistics, we’re quite clued up now and know about the law.

‘But sometimes we need to get Lawgistics involved, as while we always try to be fair with our customers, some are unapproachable and are unreasonable about what they want. They can be ignorant about the fact that they’ve bought a 15-year-old vehicle with 100,000 miles on the clock, and act as if they’re buying a brand-new car with no wear and tear,’ he said.

Mediation is a key area where Lawgistics helps Payne and his firm.

‘Lawgistics’ mediation is very useful. The excellent advice it gives helps both parties to understand the law so that we can come to an amicable agreement with the customer, which is the best solution for both us and the customer.’

He added: ‘It’s a great service. You only tend to need Lawgistics on rare occasions, but it’s nice to be able to pick up the phone and have that fantastic legal advice at the other end whenever you need it.’

Ted Welford

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Dragon2000’s dealer management system is one of the most versatile and easy-to-use products on the market. The software can help manage supplier and customer details, help you keep on top of your costs, and ensure that your business is running as smoothly and as profitably as possible. Car Dealer Club members are eligible for a 10 per cent discount on their first year of a Dragon2000 software subscription – and they get the free Vehicle Health Check app too.

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LAWGISTICS’ Basic membership – which you receive as a member of Car Dealer Club – is a cracking deal, but what if you need something that has extra clout? Larger dealer groups or a dealer embroiled in a big legal battle may require some more firepower, and the good news is that club members get discounts on Lawgistics’ other packages. You’ll receive a £100 discount off the Small Business package (normally £795) – perfect for sole traders, a partnership or a small dealer group – and £250 off the Professional package (normally £1,595). This is ideal for franchises, a dealer group or a car supermarket and covers all relevant legal areas and documentation.

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CarDealerMag.co.uk | 73

Auctions.

Healthy start to the year for motor retail stocks.

Market Insight, p76

Pearson

AUCTION STATIONS

Why we’re taking Dealer Pro to the next level during 2019

The first dual lane sale in progress

B

CITY AUCTION GROUP

Multi-million success at dual lane launch sale

C

ity Auction Group sold 450 vehicles worth more than £2.75m at its Rockingham dual lane launch event in January.

The opening corporate sale at the refurbished Rockingham centre saw endof-term contract and lease vehicles being sold for major listed vendors, both in the hall and live online, with purchases made across the UK and Ireland.

The three-hour sale had a conversion rate of more than 80 per cent at an average sale value of £7,513.

Michael Tomalin, managing director of City Auction Group, said: ‘The launch event has been a major success and a first for the group, as we introduced dual lanes at Rockingham.

‘The atmosphere in the auction halls at the inaugural corporate fleet and LCV auction was electric and massively different to the traditional single lane sale events. With the recent purchase of the complete Rockingham facility by our business partner, we have introduced state-of-the-art vehicle preparation bays for the inspection, valet, imagery and tactical refurbishment of vehicles to provide our corporate clients with a world-class service.

‘We have huge aspirations at Rockingham to defleet and remarket over 100,000 vehicles per annum by 2022, and with over 250 acres of prime commercial coverage we believe Rockingham will become a major automotive defleet and logistics hub.’

Putting the ‘old’ into Oldsmobile...

DORSET Vintage and Classic Auctions is gathering entries for its first sale of 2019.

Taking place on March 21 and back at Henstridge Airfield, where it held a number of previous sales, a 1904 Oldsmobile Curved Dash Runabout is the oldest lot Car dealer new strip Revised among the cars for sale, with aad guide price

of £50,000-£55,000, while a 1921 Jouffret – thought to be the only remaining example of the French marque, which was only in business for six years – brings a unique touch. It has a guide price of £25,000£35,000. There will be free-to-access 4/4/18the12:01 Page 1 viewing day before.

Fixed cost buyers premium User friendly website & stock locator. On-line bidding

Professional Vehicle Auctions for Professional Vendors & Buyers

74 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Stuart Pearson is BCA UK’s chief operating officer for remarketing. Visit bca.co.uk or call 0345 600 6644.

Excellent variety of weekly stock from premium sources

The Fleet Auction Group

www.fleetauctiongroup.com

CA has announced a programme of regular upgrades for its unique Dealer Pro product in 2019, with quarterly enhancements planned and further integration with dealer management systems. Dealer Pro is used by leading franchised and independent dealers across the UK and is integral to many manufacturers’ used car and online retailing programmes.

Dealer Pro delivers an accurate, transparent and professional part-exchange process while building confidence with retail customers and improving profitability. The award-winning tool delivers a simpleto-use appraisal and valuation app for tablet devices, providing dealers with a consistent pathway to manage every aspect of the part-exchange process.

Last year was a transformational year for the service, with over two million vehicle appraisals and valuations conducted and the launch of the Dealer Pro app free to download in Google Play and Apple’s App Store.

BCA also integrated Partner Finance to the app to enable dealers to finance a part-exchange instantly on the forecourt.

The service delivers a holistic range of dealer support services that make the part-exchange process more efficient and profitable. At the push of a button, a dealer can decide to fund and retail a part-exchange, retain within the group or remarket through digital or physical auction. Thanks to a series of data integrations, the vehicle can be loaded into the UK’s largest lead management and DMS providers.

BCA is working on a series of integrations with leading technology providers including Dealerweb, EnquiryMAX, Pinewood, Fast Track and CDK to remove the need for rekeying and improve data accuracy.

To apply for BCA Dealer Pro or find out more about the app, please call the BCA customer services team on 0345 600 66 44.

Fleet Car Sales every Tuesday at 1pm & Thursday at 10am Van sales every Wednesday at 10:30am Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles fortnightly, Wednesdays at 10am Truck, Trailer & Plant fortnightly, Wednesdays at 12noon Collection of vehicles 24 hours a day, 7 days a week Purpose built 15 acre auction complex Enclosed and heated auction halls and viewing area Vehicle refurbishment facility The UK’s finest auction restaurant Central UK location (Leicestershire) NAMA Vehicle Grading

Call 01530 833535 or go online for account application

Taking Stock.

Remarketing specialist BCA analyses its latest Pulse report to give its thoughts on matters that dealers need to consider in the months ahead

Rising volumes and strong buyer engagement across the network The used car sector has started the year strongly, with competitive bidding across the board, reports Stuart Pearson, chief operating officer for BCA’s UK remarketing operation.

O

ur most recent Pulse Report shows that, as in previous years, average used car values returned to more typical levels in January, following on from the seasonally affected values recorded during December 2018.

Volumes rose significantly and have remained high into February, with strong buyer demand supporting BCA’s nationwide sales programme.

The headline figure of £9,476 in January represented an increase of £178 year-onyear, equivalent to a 1.9 per cent improvement despite both average age and mileage rising over the period.

The increased values reflect both the richer mix of cars available at BCA over the past 12 months and the substantial levels of demand experienced at the start of the year. Fleet & lease and dealer part-exchange values increased by 8.9 per cent and 8.7 per cent respectively, while nearly-new values were up by 16.7 per cent.

All in all then, January was a strong month with rising volumes and strong buyer engagement across the network. Competitive

bidding was seen across the board from highvalue prestige stock to older, higher-mileage budget vehicles. Live Online volumes continue to rise, with certain sales attracting exceptionally high numbers of bidders.

A prestige car sale at BCA Nottingham in mid-January saw nearly three-quarters of the entry purchased by online buyers.

BCA customers also benefited from the launch of our new Buyer app that is streamlining the buying process to ensure that they never miss a vehicle.

The app offers mobile access to the largest range of used vehicles in the UK with the ability to search and track stock in real-time.

January 2019 values followed the pattern seen in previous years and BCA expects to see strong and sustained demand as we approach the March plate change. We are delivering an enhanced sales programme across our nationwide network to support this.

Fleet & lease values averaged £11,453 at BCA in January, one of the highest monthly values

BCA headline figure :

£9,476

on record and ahead of the same month last year by £940 (8.9 per cent). The retained value against original MRP (Manufacturer’s Retail Price) improved by two percentage points to 44.07 per cent compared to 2018. Average age at time of sale has risen slightly to 39.47 months, with average mileage falling by more than 2,000 miles compared to January 2018.

Dealer part-exchange values averaged £5,116 at BCA in January, up by £413 yearon-year, equivalent to an 8.7 per cent increase. Values have remained strong since rising sharply in October of last year and reflect the quality of the business BCA has won and retained in this sector. Average age and mileage decreased slightly compared to 2018.

Sustained demand for nearlynew vehicles at BCA has continued into 2019, with values averaging £22,985 during January and strong competition for stock across the board. Values were up by £3,305 (16.7 per cent) compared to January 2018.

Model mix has a significant effect in this very low-volume sector.

Average dealer part-exchange value:

£5,116

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 75

Market Insight.

...in association with ASE-global.com

Investments in Pendragon help to improve motor retail stocks 2019 enjoyed a healthy start following the supply challenges posed by WLTP, says Mike Jones.

T

he growth of two significant stakes in Pendragon helped to drive the overall improvement in motor retail stocks we saw during January. Most of the stocks recovered the losses they suffered during the autumn of 2018 on the back of supply challenges related to WLTP, to produce a healthy start to 2019.

On the back of Trevor Finn’s resignation announcement during December, there were further significant moves at Pendragon.

At the start of the month we saw further growth in the stake held by Teleios, which increased its overall holding to 21.29 per cent – not too far shy of the 30 per cent trigger point for an offer for the shares.

Given the stake built over recent months, this move was not surprising and sees it increase its influence over the business. What came as more of a surprise was Swedish investment firm and European motor retail business Anders Hedin buying up 11.34 per cent, including the 9.14 per cent stake previously held by GMT Capital. While neither party has made its intentions publicly known, with the position of chief executive still open, it will be very interesting to monitor movements over the coming months.

Share price movement since the start of 2019

Share price movement over 2018

Pendragon

16.0%

-21.1%

Vertu

11.6%

-30.2%

Lookers

16.9%

-10.3%

Inchcape

3.9%

-29.5%

Cambria

11.9%

-10.7%

Caffyns

0.0%

-9.6%

Marshall

3.9%

-7.5%

Motorpoint

-1.9%

-6.2%

BCA

-8.9%

7.1%

Auto Trader

0.5%

28.8%

All of this, in addition to the waning of the impact of WLTP, saw UK motor retail shares end the month more than nine per cent up – a welcome reversal of the performance we saw from many during the second half of the year.

As we move towards the Brexit deadline, we are likely to see continued variability, with share

performance dependent more on the perceptions of the impact to the wider economy than individual retailer performance.

Financial performance There were no formal results announcements during January. However, this will be the calm before the storm, with all businesses starting to report their recent trading and year-end results from the end of February.

Cambria did provide a trading update at its AGM, with trading in the three months to the end of November 2018 deemed to be ‘in line with the Board’s expectations and ahead of the corresponding period in 2017, both on a total and like-for-like basis’.

Acquisitions and disposals At the start of January, Vertu announced the acquisition of online retailer Vans Direct for £7.5m. Of this, £6m represented a payment for goodwill, with an additional potential £2m based on the terms of an earn-out. With a 2017 Ebitda of £1.2m, this would give an initial multiple of five, depending on 2018 trading mirroring 2017.

Mike Jones is chairman of dealer profitability specialist ASE plc. You can read his column here every month.

76 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

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CarDealerMag.co.uk | 77

NEW YEAR NEW LOOK SAME AWARD WINNING TEAM

AUTOMOTIVE RECRUITMENT AGENCY OF THE YEAR 2013 - 2018 78 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Recruitment.

DOUBLE CELEBRATION

From bricklayer to sales slayer with Swansway JOHN Lee Moore is not only celebrating promotion to sales manager at Swansway Chester Citroen but also five years at the Bumpers Lane dealership.

‘I’m a time-served bricklayer – that was my trade and I enjoyed it. But when the recession hit, finding work became more and more difficult,’ he said. ‘My best mate was a sales manager at Swansway at the time and he told me they’d started recruiting for their new Citroën dealership. I’d never considered car sales as a career before, I was quite happy with what I was doing, but I decided to apply for a trainee sales executive role, cross my fingers and see what happened!’

Moore’s work ethic has led to several promotions, and he said: ‘I’ve not finished, though. My aim is to be head of business.

‘To anyone worrying about the job they’re in and thinking about making a career change, I’d say, go for it.’

PROMOTION

Colin is vice-president and sales finance chief

M

azda Motor Europe has promoted Colin Maddocks from chief financial officer to vice-president and chief sales finance officer for Europe and North America with immediate effect.

In his new role, Maddocks will be responsible for leading the development and implementation of Mazda’s strategy on retail, lease and wholesale finance across all of Mazda’s North American and European businesses, as well as managing the relationships with all current and potential bank partners.

Maddocks started at Mazda in 2005 as director of network development and financing.

In 2009, he moved up to

become director of financial services, responsible for the company’s new financial services strategy, focusing on relationships with bank partners. He has been part of the company’s executive team since 2014 and became chief

financial officer in October 2015.

In his new position he will report to Jeff Guyton, president and chief executive of Mazda Motor Europe, and Masahiro Moro, president and chief executive of Mazda’s North American operations.

As a result of the new appointment, director of finance Giovanni Barbieri has been made vice-president and chief financial officer with immediate effect and will be responsible for leading the finance function at Mazda Europe.

He joined Mazda in 2006 and has a background in several finance areas at both Mazda Italy and more recently the European headquarters.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 79

Real Deals.

Because who doesn’t want a V8 estate car?

Ted Welford looks at a Mercedes with a fantastic spec and colour combination.

M

ention the phrase ‘estate car’ to most motoring enthusiasts and you’ll probably be greeted with eye rolls, groans and comments such as ‘Oh, how boring’.

But such vehicles still makes a terrific amount of sense to those who need plenty of practicality and boot space. And they can also be a lot of fun – particularly when manufacturers drop V8s under the bonnets of models that are more commonly fitted with 2.0-litre diesel engines.

Fast estate cars are nothing new. German manufacturers have been producing them for a number of years – notably Audi, BMW and, perhaps most prominently, Mercedes.

The Stuttgart-based firm has been putting V8s into its C-Class and E-Class wagons since the ’90s and still does so to high acclaim. The problem is, a new Mercedes-AMG E63 Estate costs almost £100,000. Even its cheaper C63 sibling starts from £65,479 new. That’s a huge amount of money, even if they are ‘two-in-one’ cars – combining estate car practicality with sports car thrills.

So, what are the other options? Well, the best way of saving money is to head to the used market. The last generation of Mercedes’ C63 was best known for its fabulous naturally aspirated 6.2-litre V8 engine, which delivered its 457bhp to the rear wheels, and it was capable of some fantastic wheel spins and drifts – which we, of course, would never condone…

The C63 was the smallest car in which the German marque used the engine, with Mercedes fitting the powerplant in everything from the

SLS supercar to the G-Class off-roader, albeit with different power outputs depending on the model.

But it’s not a car for those who want to slip under the radar, with a soundtrack so loud that owners could find their neighbours reporting them for noise disturbance.

But that’s part of the fun, surely? The engine is one of the best sounding in the business, with a muscle car-like tone and a fantastic sound from the exhaust. It comes alive the higher up the rev range you go, and is about as good as engines get outside of supercars.

However, with engines gradually downsizing and tough emissions regulations favouring smaller units, the naturally aspirated 6.2-litre V8 was sadly doomed. Since the latest C63 was introduced in 2015, Mercedes-AMG has started using a faster 4.0-litre V8 with two turbos attached, but it’s certainly not as enjoyable as the old V8 fitted to the C63 we feature here.

High running costs and the fact the C63 isn’t particularly rare has meant values have dropped significantly. The cheapest saloons start from just £13,000, although you need to do your research to ensure that the car’s engine hasn’t been thrashed.

Estate versions are much rarer to see, but their 485-litre boot and decent interior space now make them just as desirable as the Coupe and Saloon.

The cheapest of these start from around £17,000, but someone would have to be a brave soul to spend that kind of money on a C63 with 100,000 miles on the clock.

The example

you see here gets the balance just right between value and mileage. Having covered just 37,000 miles in seven years and with a full service history, it seems a great buy at £23,995.

We also think the spec and colour combination is superb. It’s finished in the stunning shade of Alabandine Grey and comes with the optional 19-inch AMG alloy wheels. The interior is equally classy – with the first owner specifying it with two-tone leather upholstery and a total of £6,000 of factory options. It also comes laden with toys, such as a Harman Kardon sound system, reversing camera, electric boot and bi-xenon headlights.

But perhaps what we love the most about this particular example is the fact it’s been debadged of all its AMG logos. In a world where everyone wants to make their car look sportier than it is, there’s something ultra-cool about someone trying to subtly hide their car’s performance from others.

This C63 is for sale with 1BR, which is a familyrun dealership in Petersfield, Hampshire, that specialises in sports, prestige and performance models. It might not be the bargain of the century but it could be a fantastic choice for a discerning buyer – and whoever ends up behind the wheel will never tire of that fantastic engine.

Two-tone leather upholstery adorns the interior, above This C63 is for sale with 1BR, a familyrun dealership in Hampshire 80 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

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CarDealerMag.co.uk | 81

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Sean Speaks.

...in association with Close Brothers Motor Finance

Increase your buying power and make your business grow Having the right stock funding plan can make all the difference to a dealership, says Sean Kemple.

I

t’s an easy scenario to picture. Your dealership is doing well but you have dreams of expanding. Maybe moving to larger premises, stocking more vehicles, stocking a different type of vehicle, or perhaps by making improvements to your current forecourt.

The world of finance makes everything much more accessible – not just for customers buying their next car but also for dealers.

Traditionally, dealers have favoured selffunding, using their own money for stock, or by borrowing from family members or investors.

Then there are those who opt for bank loans or use their overdraft facility. However, there is an attractive alternative in stock funding plans from a finance partner, which are a great way for dealers to improve and develop their business.

There is an old saying that dealers can and should bear in mind when purchasing stock: ‘If it appreciates, buy it; if it depreciates, finance it’.

We all know that stock is generally depreciating on a monthly, weekly and even daily basis. For that reason, finance can provide real benefits to a dealer’s bottom line.

By using stocking plans from a finance partner, dealers can ensure that their forecourts are fully stocked at all times.

It allows them to keep track of stock easily within a single facility. However, this kind of funding doesn’t just have to be used to pay for new stock, it can also help dealers pay for

KEY POINTS • If you currently use your own capital to fund stock, consider where else in your business you could invest this.

• Think about where you buy your stock from currently and if you want to explore other avenues to purchase further vehicles – eg, private sellers. forecourt improvements – such as additional servicing and valeting bays for example.

And dealers don’t just have to use this funding to buy cars at auction houses – it can also be used to help purchase vehicles from private sellers and elsewhere, which means there are more ways of buying the best stock for your business.

At Close Brothers Motor Finance, we offer three types of stock funding plans to dealers, depending on their needs.

The first option is what’s known as an APAK facility, which is a loan secured against funded vehicle stock. The loan can fund up to 80 per cent of the invoice value of the car, and it’s an easy way for dealers to monitor closely what they’re buying as well as the costs involved, with a fully controlled online system.

The next option is a stocking loan, which is often an unsecured loan. This allows dealers to expand where they buy their cars from – such as part-exchanges from other garages, or from private sellers. It’s a more flexible way of stocking a forecourt over a longer period of time, and with less admin involved.

The final funding option is a business development loan, which is interest-free for 12 months. This is the most flexible kind of funding and can be used to invest in the business, upgrade offices or make further changes to a forecourt.

One dealer that has benefited from stock funding plans is Ashford-based Key Auto Trade, which has been able to buy more expensive stock and appeal to more customers.

• If you haven’t already done so, work up a list of business objectives for the coming years and look at where finance can help meet these goals.

• Traditional routes of bank loans and overdrafts can’t offer the support of dedicated dealer funding solutions.

Khaled Zureiqi, the owner of the Kent-based dealer, said: ‘Working with Close Brothers has helped us to increase our sales through finance by a third, but further funding meant we could buy more stock, with this type of finance allowing us to explore different aspects of the market, which we wouldn’t otherwise have been able to afford.

It’s the best system I’ve used so far!’

Funded dealer partners of Close Brothers Motor Finance also receive regular performance-driven insight from their dedicated account manager to help boost sales and profits by turning over more vehicles more regularly.

In a tough used car market, it’s more important than ever for dealers to ensure that they free up their own capital to help develop and expand their businesses.

Meeting specific business objectives, tailored to each dealership, is a key part of what stock funding plans help to achieve.

So, what next?

If this is something that sounds right up your street, there are a number of ‘next steps’ you and your business can take.

The easiest one is to explore our website – closemotorfinance.co.uk/dealer – which also talks you through the different ways to apply for funding. If you prefer a face-to-face conversation, you’re in the right place as well. As one of the largest automotive finance providers in the UK, we have 115 account managers working across the UK who have regular conversations with dealers of all shapes and sizes about what stock funding plans might work for them.

But don’t worry if you’re already using another funding partner – we work with a number of dealerships that have multiple dealer finance facilities, as the most important part is making sure that dealers have access to the right capital to help improve, develop and strengthen your business.

Sean Kemple is director of sales at Close Brothers Motor Finance, one of the UK’s leading providers of motor finance. The company works with over 8,000 dealers and provides finance for new and used cars, LCVs, motorcycles, caravans and motorhomes. Go to closemotorfinance.co.uk to find out more.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 83

Key Notes.

...in association with Traka

Brexit blues are not the whole story so look on the bright side!

Paul Smith says that despite current uncertainty, there are plenty of opportunities in an exciting market.

B

ritish car production fell 9.1 per cent to 1.52 million units in 2018 – its lowest level for five years, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. Matters were not helped by anti-diesel sentiment. Britain saw a fall of 23 per cent in the number of diesel cars it made last year to 561,384. Even in a soft Brexit scenario, the trade body predicts a further three per cent drop in car manufacturing in 2019.

UK new car retailing was also down again last year: new car sales fell by 6.8 per cent in 2018 to 2.37million, with a further two per cent decline predicted by the SMMT for 2019.

However, although these numbers are clearly bad, they need to be seen in the context of a much tougher trading environment for new cars, particularly for diesel models, which have been under attack from the Treasury for more than two years now. They were further hammered by the EU’s new, much tougher Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) and realworld testing for emissions (RTE2), which left some manufacturers of diesel cars in particular short of approved stock from September 1 – normally a bumper plate-change month of course.

To see the collective damage caused by a combination of dieselgate followed almost immediately by two anti-diesel Budgets in both November 2017 and April 2018, and by the slightly rushed introduction of a tougher emissions-testing regime for new vehicles, you only have to look at September 2018’s diesel sales number in comparison to the year before.

They were a whopping 42.5 per cent down from 170,733 to 98,191, losing more than 10 per cent of overall market share and dropping to 29 per cent. Only the alternatively fuelled vehicle

market grew in that same period – by four percentage points – increasing its overall market share from 5.3 per cent to 6.9 per cent.

So, whichever way you look at it, the automotive sector didn’t have a great year in 2018.

But could the ‘Brexit effect’ push production as well as new car sales down still further?

In a no-deal scenario from March 29, clearly there would be some disruption to supply chains.

The SMMT has reported that some 1,100 trucks come across the Channel each day with parts for car assembly lines, geared for ‘just in time’ production. If any of these trucks get held up in border checks, or worse, find themselves subject to new tariffs, production will be slowed down or halted – production numbers and possibly margins will fall.

As the SMMT’s Mike Hawes said recently: ‘Two-thirds of our exports go to countries where we have preferential trade arrangements [for being inside the EU trading bloc]. After a no-deal [Brexit], that falls away.’

The reality is that UK-based manufacturers are already trimming their operations in readiness for Brexit-inspired tougher trading conditions.

The Financial Times reported recently that UK car plant investment fell 47 per cent from 2017’s

numbers to £588 million, as up to £100 million was diverted to Brexit-linked crisis-preparedness work and bosses stockpiled other cash.

However, investment in the combustion engine-led status quo may also be dropping, as the big players quietly begin to accelerate investment in EVs. JLR has, for example, announced plans to produce electric drive units in Wolverhampton, powered by batteries from Hams Hall in Birmingham.

What other light can we see at the end of the Brexit tunnel? Well, it seems pretty dark in there right now. However, if you look more widely, negative business and consumer confidence is not just about Brexit – it started some time before the June 2016 referendum.

In actual fact, business confidence has been gradually deteriorating for more than three years, according to the Charterhouse Research Business Confidence Index. And interestingly, it’s not Britain that is due to be the first EU country likely to be in a technical recession (ie, two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth), but Germany!

Meanwhile, France has more than nine per cent unemployment and higher government borrowing per capita than the UK. The key point is that while we may be going into Brexit in low mood, the economy more widely is not in bad shape relative to our neighbours across the Channel. And tougher times are also good times for everyone to take stock and button down plans for the future.

Let’s not forget, we operate in what remains a rapidly changing, fully globalised market, where opportunities are everywhere for those able to predict consumer demand correctly and prepare now to take advantage of the next wave.

Paul Smith heads Traka Automotive, part of the ASSA Abloy Group brand Traka. ASSA Abloy bought the electronic key management software provider eTag Solutions, which was founded by him. Traka is a leader in intelligent access control, key management control solutions and keyless electronic lockers.

Keys can make you money…

Find out how at www.traka-automotive.com The only viable key management solution for automotive Email automotive@traka.com or call 0845 225 2910 84 | CarDealerMag.co.uk traka-auto 1-6pg.indd 1

15/12/2016 09:56

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86 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Long-termers.

LATEST FROM THE FLEET...

Volvo V90 Volvo’s high-performance and environmentally friendly Volvo V90 T8 continues to impress.

by JAMES BAGGOTT @CarDealerEd

I

started my first long-term report on the Volvo V90 with a bold ‘best car on sale’ statement and while a lot of that could be attributed to the fact I’d just picked it up, I stand by the high praise I lavished on the hybrid.

Yes, as time has gone by and the miles have increased, there are a few minor things that have had me either scratching my head with bewilderment or raised my blood pressure slightly, but they’re still minor enough for me to stand by my proclamation.

Around six weeks ago I swapped a diesel V90 for this T8 twin-engine hybrid version. It has the benefits of a plug-in battery unit that can provide 25 miles of propulsion before it needs to use the 2.0-litre petrol engine. Together they provide an impressive 390bhp and can push the car to 60mph in just five seconds.

Sadly, I can’t vouch for any of that because I find myself driving the Volvo like Miss Daisy.

You see the problem is, if you put your foot down too hard the petrol engine kicks in and when you want to use the electricity you’ve so carefully topped it up with, that just feels rather wrong.

So, I treat the throttle with eggshell-like handling skills, carefully feeding in the power so as not to wake the polar bear-killing powerplant from its slumber.

I’ve been trying to top it up every day, either at work using a three-pin plug (five hours) or at home on the 3kW home charger (three hours).

At first, it annoyed me that sometimes no matter how hard I tried to drive carefully, the petrol engine would randomly kick in – even when I’d selected pure driving mode in the settings.

This, Volvo says, is when the car senses it needs to use the engine – but when you’re used to the silence of an EV, the traditional engine feels very intrusive when it starts up.

I drive very few miles on a daily basis, not usually exhausting the 25 miles of range before I can top up again, but the odd longer drive when the petrol unit has been needed has resulted in an overall 33.5mpg. I was getting 35mpg out of the diesel V90, but that was far more polluting.

It’ll be interesting to see how the hybrid’s figure improves over the few months I have with the car.

I adore the way the V90 drives. The suspension

The car is charged every day, above, while the cavernous boot has come into its own, below

THE KNOWLEDGE Model: Volvo V90 T8 Twin Engine Price: £70,240 (as tested) Engine: 2.0-litre petrol, electric motor Power: 390bhp Torque: 400Nm Top speed: 155mph 0-60mph: 5.0 seconds MPG (combined): 141.2 CO2 emissions: 46g/km Mileage: 1,230 THIS MONTH’S HIGHLIGHT: Being told by the app I’d left the car unlocked and being able to lock it from my phone. is compliant, the steering perfect, the seating position spot-on and the quality of the fit and finish is on a par with the very best cars on sale today. Yes, this may be an eye-watering £71k car and you’d expect quality for that – but it’s unlikely buyers will be disappointed. I’m seeing more and more V90s on the road these days too, and with the competitive lease deals available on them that’s hardly surprising.

But, to those frustrations. I hoped the V90 would benefit from fast charging so I could use the motorway service station charging points to top the 25 miles back up while I had a coffee, but sadly it can’t cope with those. Volvo said the maximum charge rate it can take is 3.5kW – so even higher-powered 7kW home chargers won’t be of use, let alone the powerful ones you’ll find on the road network.

I’ve also found the V90 has an incredibly over-sensitive accident warning system. Driving around town, even today, caused it to trigger twice. It can’t seem to understand right-hand bends in the road, thinking you’re going to have a huge head-on crash with a parked car you’ve yet to steer around. It’s probably gone off around

a dozen times in the six weeks I’ve had it – only proving of use once when a car slammed its brakes on to dodge a cat, which I was a little too slow to spot.

On the plus side, I’ve found the cavernous boot, especially with the seats down, amazingly useful. A recent trip to Ikea and a flat-pack purchase that would worry most estate car owners was swallowed with room to spare. Yes, it did mean my daughter lost most of her leg room in the front, but I still can’t believe it all fitted in.

I’m a huge fan of the Volvo On Call app too.

I’ve used it to warm the car on cold mornings, open the car when someone has needed to get something out of it and I’m nowhere nearby, and it tells me more often than I care to admit that I’ve left it unlocked, and then lets me lock it from my phone. My favourite part, though, is the fact it tells me if it’s charging correctly and when it will be fully charged – incredibly useful when planning my day.

Next up for the Volvo is my annual pilgrimage to the cold white stuff in the French Alps. My daughter and I will be tackling the 1,500-mile round trip, mostly I expect under petrol power, but also putting the AWD to the test.

Both could ruin my mpg figures forever, but we shall see.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 87

Long-termers.

LATEST FROM THE FLEET...

Peugeot 3008 We’re tripping the light fantastic when it comes to our Peugeot’s wealth of LEDs.

by TOM WILTSHIRE @mctreckmeister

I

’ve mentioned it before, but if I was specifying a brand-new car, the first option box I’d tick would be the one for LED headlights. Compared with old-fashioned halogens, they’re just so much brighter, clearer and safer – not to mention so ubiquitous on new models, that a modern vehicle without them looks downright odd.

That’s certainly the case with the Peugeot 3008, and one of the reasons I’m so glad our GT-Line model has them fitted as part of its standard equipment. I live near a Peugeot dealer, and most mornings I’ll catch sight of a more basic 3008 with the standard halogen headlights.

The old-fashioned yellowish beams look a total anachronism compared with the Peugeot’s sharpedged design.

The lights on our car aren’t anything especially clever – they lack the selective dimming or cornering functions of some more sophisticated rivals, and I’ve turned off the automatic high beam assist out of principle.

But they give off loads of light and make driving at night a pleasure. They’re also far from the only LEDs on the car…

LED daytime running lights are par for the course, but I do think the 3008’s eyebrow-like examples are particularly smart. They double as the indicators, too, with a really cool scrolling action usually reserved for premium models.

Round to the rear, the good news tails off a little – the tail-lights are halogen, but I still like the way they look with their three-bar design.

Best of all is the interior, which features lashings of utterly pointless but desperately cool mood lighting in the doors and centre console. Even the interior dome and map lights are LED. The overall effect is one that mates really well with the i-Cockpit display, fitted as standard to all 3008s. I’ve been genuinely impressed with it during my time with the 3008, arguably more than I am with the displays fitted to more expensive models.

It’s really clear, with a big digital speedometer regardless of the ‘mode’ you put the gauges in. I tend to favour ‘Dials’ which mimics a traditional speedometer and rev counter, but on late-night journeys I’ve slipped it into ‘Minimal’ and turned 88 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Tom has been enjoying life with our Peugeot 3008 and is loving the light show the car delivers!

THE KNOWLEDGE Model: Peugeot 3008 GT-Line 1.5 BlueHDi 130 Price: £30,454 Engine: 1.5-litre four-cylinder diesel Power: 128bhp Torque: 300Nm Top speed: 119mph 0-60mph: 10.6 seconds MPG: 67.4 CO2 emissions: 109g/km Mileage: 6,313 THIS MONTH’S HIGHLIGHT: Seeing clearly during dark winter evenings thanks to the car’s excellent LED headlights. the brightness down, helping me concentrate more on the road ahead.

The graphics to switch between the different modes are slick and swoopy – a bit too swoopy, if I’m honest – but show that Peugeot’s far from lagging behind when it comes to this sort of technology.

So are there any downsides to life with our 3008? Well, winter’s freezing cold depths have brought up a few complaints. I know, I know – I’m a millennial snowflake – but I feel a £30,000 car should have heated seats thrown in as standard, and their omission from this GT-Line’s spec is one that riles me every morning.

I’ve also been known to swear at the automatic wipers, which are especially dim-witted – and don’t have a warning for low washer fluid, which left me high and dry with a salt-covered windscreen on one particularly grim trip to work.

But generally, I’ve been enjoying life with ‘our’ 3008, and I reckon the sheer number of them I see on the roads (it’s the best-selling SUV in Europe) proves that others are, too.

OTHER CARS WE’RE DRIVING

Seat Ibiza FR Mileage: 3,491 Car Dealer Dave was delighted to get back behind the wheel of KY68 ZXK recently after a bit of a break from the daily grind. A cracking little car, it looks great in winter sunshine, above.

Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo Skoda’s facelifted hatchback has recently joined our fleet. What initial impressions has it created?

by RYAN HIRONS @RyHirons

T

he supermini market has gone through a total makeover in the last couple of years. Suzuki kicked things off early in 2017 with an all-new Swift, before Ford came in with a totally fresh version of the UK’s best-selling car — the Fiesta.

Around the same time, the VW Group made a similar move with the Volkswagen Polo and Seat Ibiza, shifting both to the new MQB A0 platform, which the recently-introduced Audi A1, roadtested in the February edition of Car Dealer, also now sits on.

Across the table though lies Skoda — which is soldiering on with its Fabia that has been on sale in more or less identical form since 2015.

It was given a mild refresh a few months ago in an effort to help it keep up with the pack.

In a crowd more competitive than ever, does it still have what it takes to compete? That’s what we aim to find out with our new long-termer.

Meet KY68 WXB — our Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo. Packing a 1.0-litre turbo three-cylinder petrol engine, it produces 94bhp and 160Nm and sends that to the front wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox.

As a result, 0-60mph comes in 10.6 seconds with a top speed of 114mph possible.

Skoda claims it’ll return 61.4mpg combined — although our early testing is putting that figure

It’s a case of so far, so good with KY68 WXB – but we do have a couple of minor niggles to report

around 45mpg while emitting 106g/km of CO2.

As for equipment, Monte Carlo trim comes with a fair amount of kit — including a contrast black roof, DAB radio, LED daytime running lights and a leather steering wheel.

Our car has a few options too — namely 17-inch alloy wheels (£360), touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support (£770), new LED headlights (£960), Monte Carlo special colour (£420), sports suspension (£125) and a winter package that adds heated

seats plus heated washer nozzles (£250). That brings the total price to £20,065 which is pretty high no matter how you look at it — more so when you consider the car lacks a six-speed gearbox, the more potent 114bhp engine or even cruise control.

Jaw-dropping price aside though, initial impressions of the Fabia have overall been very positive. Largely used as a commuting machine so far, it’s proving pleasant on motorway journeys, returning respectable fuel consumption and offering a decent amount of comfort.

A couple of niggles are cropping up, however.

First is the aforementioned missing cruise control, a feature many rivals now offer as standard at a lower price, with a limiter instead in its place — although it’s not a hard limiter and is very easy to just accelerate through. Some condensation is also beginning to form in one of the headlights, an issue to be sorted at a later date.

If by the time we have to say goodbye to KY68 WXB and those remain the only complaints though, it’s fair to say it’ll have been a good experience. Time will tell…

THE KNOWLEDGE

Ford Kuga

Jaguar E-Pace

Mileage: 10,630

Mileage: 4,823

Having been with us for much of 2018 and all of 2019 so far, the big Ford has taken us to all manner of places without any fuss or major problems (apart from its rather annoying stop-start system).

Jack Evans specified his latest long-termer with a bike rack, which, as you can see, has been put to good use. He’s also been putting Jaguar’s special ‘activity key’ wristband to the test.

Model: Price: Engine:

Power: Torque: Top speed: 0-60mph: MPG (combined): CO2 emissions: Mileage:

Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo £20,065 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol 94bhp 160Nm 114mph 10.6 seconds 61.4 106g/km 4,052

THIS MONTH’S HIGHLIGHT: Forming positive initial impressions of one of the newest additions to the Car Dealer fleet.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 89

The last word JA M E S B AG G OT T

Against our better judgment, we give our CEO the final say each month

Customer care: Why short-term pain could mean long-term gain

M

anaging customers’ expectations has to be one of the biggest issues every business faces. I’d argue it’s more important than price, intrinsically linked with customer service and one of the hardest things to manage. Get it wrong and not only could you lose a customer for good, but the damage to your reputation could be devastating. Get it right, and there’s a good chance you’ll win a customer for life.

Dealing with other companies is just as important as the way you deal with customers too. What goes around certainly does come around, and in an industry as small as the automotive one, bad reputations spread fast. I’ve always run my business with a view to being fair and as helpful as I can to others when they need it. That might mean sometimes going above and beyond that which was agreed in advance, perhaps letting the odd bit of extra work here and there slide, or understanding when a business needs a bit of time to pay a bill.

It’s perhaps for this reason that when I encounter a company that doesn’t act in quite the same way, it sticks in my throat rather painfully. We were recently forced to cancel an event we had booked at a pretty well-known venue. Circumstances beyond our control meant we couldn’t justify it any more, and having already paid a rather large deposit and given the venue plenty of time to resell the space, I didn’t expect to be hounded for the rest of the agreed fee – especially considering we already host another, similar event at the same venue.

But hound they did, refusing to accept our point of view and demanding yet more money for an event that didn’t happen.

Obviously we weren’t particularly pleased, and I’ll no doubt be looking for another venue very soon for the second event I mentioned. As a business owner, I simply cannot understand this ‘cut their nose off to spite their face’ position.

It got me thinking about the deposits car dealers take for cars. How often do you keep hold of the deposit customers pay you when their circumstances change and they can no longer go ahead?

I’d argue that, yes, keeping hold of the cash they’ve paid you is contractually sound, and they knew what they were getting themselves into, but is it good business practice?

In the long run, will that deposit you’ve banked for not doing anything really be worth more

than the goodwill you’ll receive from a customer you’ve let off?

Chances are they’ll tell their friends and pass on that positive message to others.

I know I certainly would have if this venue had helped us out. Now there’s not a cat in hell’s chance I’ll put a good word in for them anywhere. In fact, I’ll be doing quite the opposite – positively going out of my way to talk them down, such is the bad taste the whole episode has left in my mouth. Bitter? Me? Yeah, definitely. But that’s human nature.

It all goes back to that managing of customers’ expectations.

I’m sure they all know you’ll hang on to their deposit should they pull out of the deal – and I’m sure you’re very careful to explain they’ll lose their deposit too, but what if you told them that but then didn’t follow through? In terms of customer expectations, you’ll have far exceeded them and the positive impact that’ll have on your brand could be immeasurable.

It’s probably an issue many car dealers are facing right now, but with a twist. You may have seen the news that because of Brexit uncertainties some of the German brands are writing to customers to tell them that if their car arrives after the exit deadline has passed, and is then subject to an additional 10 per cent tariff, they’ll have to pay it. Porsche is giving customers who ordered after January 17 the chance to either cancel their order or agree to pay more.

Other manufacturers are following suit. At the time of writing this, VW will be doing the same – as I’m sure the rest of the VW Group will – and it’s likely many others will copy them.

I called a few dealers and one who represents BMW said they’d had no direction on this and were selling cars as usual. What happens if those cars ordered then go up in price? Is not telling customers and keeping the order better than having to have that conversation if and when they’re forced to ask them to cough up 10 per cent more?

It goes back to managing expectations – in business, I always play by the mantra of ‘no surprises’.

Be open, be honest and sometimes bend the rules to make your customers’ lives easier. Surely it’s better to have the option of them coming back one day than bad-mouthing your business forever?

‘Be open, be honest and sometimes bend the rules to make your customers’ lives easier.’

James Baggott is the founder of Car Dealer Magazine and chief executive officer of parent company @BaizeGroup, an automotive services provider. He now spends most of his time on Twitter @CarDealerEd and annoying the rest of us.

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