Car Dealer Magazine: Issue 135

MUSCLING IN: THE DEALERSHIP WHERE MUSTANGS REIGN SUPREME

N O R E-T Issue 135 | June 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

graeme@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @graemewindell

PRODUCTION EDITOR Dave Brown

dave@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @CarDealerDave

FEATURES EDITOR Jack Evans

jack@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @jackrober

STAFF WRITER Ryan Hirons

ryan@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @RyHirons

STAFF WRITER Darren Cassey

darren.cassey@ blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @darrencassey

Advertising SALES MANAGER Jon Hickey

j.hickey@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @cardealerjon

ACCOUNT MANAGER Michelle Searle

michelle@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @cardealermich

Suits CEO, BAIZE GROUP James Baggott james@thebaize.com Twitter: @CarDealerEd

MANAGING DIRECTOR BLACKBALL MEDIA Andy Entwistle andy@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @CarDealerAndy Contributors John Bowman, Jess Ernerth, Ted Welford, Adam Weller, Oliver Young

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Welcome.

I STILL remember my first experience of CDX five years ago. Back then, it was called the Car Dealer Conference and it was held at Rockingham Motor Speedway, when it actually was a speedway circuit and not a car auction centre.

That in itself is a sign of how far the industry has moved on in what feels like no time at all. Back then, we hired the whole venue. We used the track for five photoshoots with two photographers, while filming videos on another part of the circuit and hosting a smaller version of the conference and expo in the venue building itself.

These days, the idea of spending time on any other projects during the day of the show seems ridiculous.

Back in 2014, big boss James even changed into his suit in the pits, drove a Caterham to the door for his speech, introduced Google as ‘Gooble’ and then drove back to our photoshoots.

As a business, magazine and event, we’ve moved on drastically since then. Each time we’ve moved venue, I’ve stood in the new hall, gawping at the space while wondering how we fill it. Every time we do – or at least other people do – and then I get to gawp from the stage at the crowds forming on the day itself.

I even remember one year at Silverstone telling James there was no chance I’d be able to get up on stage as a presenter – I was freezing up in the wings. His response was simply: ‘Sorry, you’re going on now.’

This year, with the relocation to Farnborough, it’s another challenge to get our heads around the fact that a little team from Gosport can organise something so large and important for the industry.

We as journalists, you see, are eternally pessimistic and always looking for problems to expose – something that’s definitely a theme in our columns this month (on pages 31

and 82). Often, I think one of the largest problems the sales and events teams have is convincing us it’ll all be OK. This time around – as you can read from pages 13 to 17 – we’ve shaken things up on the Live Stage though, and it’s reaching a point where it feels like it’s all coming together.

The Car Dealer Live Stage really is unmissable – and of course I would say that, as it’s my pet project at CDX – but I’m getting to read the White Papers produced by our partners, Barclays, CarGurus, CitNOW and Cox Automotive, and it’s getting me very excited for the day.

You see, they have done the hard work of examining different areas of the industry and producing these pieces of research – and the first place you can hear about them is CDX on June 12.

They’ll be presenting the must-know pieces of research and then the full White Papers will be available on the day. We’ll be hosting a panel afterwards as well to discuss the topics, and you as members of the audience will be able to ask your questions.

Also on the day will be the manufacturer and dealer boss panels – two elements of the event I’m very excited to bring you, particularly in the current economic climate.

If you have any questions you want answered, you can email me using the contact details on the left of this page and I’ll put them to our panellists on the day.

If you want full details of the day, it’s all available online at cardealerexpo.co.uk – where you can also book your free tickets for CDX 2019.

See you at the show!

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

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Dealer Network

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

Driven: BMW X7 It’s the German manufacturer’s biggest SUV to date – but is it the best? Ryan Hirons delivers his verdict.

Why getting new EV stock can be an uphill struggle

ISSUE 135 I JUNE 2019

Dashboard.

The Big Story Around the UK Countdown to CDX 2019 Volvo launches online sales Rebecca Chaplin Big Mike Feedback Around the World Finance

6 10 13 20 31 33 34 36 38

Features.

Mustang Magic How video can boost business

Data File.

The Statistics Fully Loaded Aftermarket Car Dealer Club Auctions Taking Stock

Forecourt.

DS 3 Crossback Audi e-tron BMW X7

42 44 46

Market Insight Suppliers Guide Long-termers James Baggott

48 52 54 56 60 62 64 65 66 76 79 82

Round-up of news from right across the UK

CV Show is a sellout success for the fifth year running!

Our events...

As voted for by dealers, Car Dealer Power is unique. Get involved with the 2019 survey online at cardealermagazine. co.uk/powersurvey/

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.

Car Dealer’s major automotive trade expo features the Live Stage, workshops and much more. It’s at Farnborough International on June 12 this year – find out more on pages 13-17.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 05

Dashboard.

SWANSWAY

Profits rise by 35 per cent despite WLTP and Brexit SWANSWAY Motor Group has reported details of its financial performance for 2018. Turnover was down by £32 million over the year, but profit before tax increased by 35 per cent from £5.1m to £6.9m.

Company director Peter Smyth said: ‘The decline in turnover was caused by Audi fleet moving to the agency model of sales, but it’s exceptionally pleasing to see that on reduced turnover profits were up, particularly when you take into consideration the challenges of WLTP and Brexit uncertainty.

‘Our Volkswagen passenger car and commercial vehicle centres performed particularly well, increasing profitability on similar year-on-year volumes.’

The group also increased its return on sales from 1.12 per cent to 1.42 per cent year-on-year, and as part of its ongoing strategy the group reduced its debt by £7.7 million from £38 million to £30.3 million.

Swansway Motor Group operates 14 franchises across 21 dealerships from Birmingham to Carlisle.

MOTORS.CO.UK

Used cars are moving quickly!

DEALERS sold used cars faster in April than any other month so far this year, according to Motors. co.uk’s latest Market View.

The research shows used cars were sold on average in just 38 days last month – one day faster than 12 months ago and despite many showrooms being closed for two Easter bank holidays. Average days in stock this year have fallen steadily since January.

06 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

THE BIG STORY

Electric dreams fade as lack of supply leaves dealers facing a bit of a nightmare Bottleneck in battery production means manufacturers can’t keep up with demand – and it’s an issue that’s hampering the EV revolution.

B

ritain’s electric vehicle revolution is being hampered by a bottleneck in global battery production, as demand far outstrips supply of zero-emission vehicles.

An investigation by Car Dealer Magazine found that some dealers were telling customers they could be waiting more than a year if they placed an order for an EV today, with some manufacturers confirming they couldn’t provide a guarantee about the number of vehicles coming to the UK in the future.

Kia and Hyundai appear to be the worst affected, with the former’s e-Niro and latter’s Kona and Ioniq Electric experiencing 12-month-plus wait times. Jaguar, Tesla, Nissan, Smart, Audi and Volkswagen are all also experiencing delays of between two and five months with their electric vehicle offerings.

A Kia spokesperson blamed global demand and battery supply, calling

the e-Niro ‘a victim of its own success’ and adding that the South Korean firm’s 2019 UK allocation of about 800 cars sold out within two weeks of going on sale in January.

He said: ‘The simple fact is our battery suppliers cannot make battery packs quickly enough for the demand, and if we haven’t got battery packs, we cannot sell the cars.’

Both Kia and its sister company Hyundai said they were taking reservations for 2020 deliveries and would contact interested customers once pricing and delivery time frames were clearer.

Simon Moores, managing director of lithium-ion battery specialist Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, confirmed there was a bottleneck in the production of the high-quality batteries needed for electric vehicles.

He said: ‘Not all lithium-ion batteries can be used in all electric vehicles. There are quality and scale issues at play, and they don’t usually

‘We are undoubtedly seeing demand outstrip supply for electric vehicles in the UK.’ Tom Callow, director of communication at BP Chargemaster

KIA E-NIRO: 12+ MONTHS

go hand in hand. Western EV makers need the highest-quality lithium-ion batteries for a multitude of reasons, including safety, range and longevity.

The surge in EV demand in the past two years has meant that tier one battery producers – such as Panasonic and Tesla, LG Chem and Samsung SDI – are playing catch-up.

‘Global capacity of tier one lithiumion battery supply is still an issue, but we are seeing a shortage in the quality and quantity of key raw materials, especially graphite anode at present.’

Tom Callow, director of communication at EV charge point supplier BP Chargemaster, said supply delays should become less of an issue in 2020 as new EU emissions targets applying to manufacturers come in.

‘We are undoubtedly seeing demand outstrip supply for electric vehicles in the UK at the moment,’ he said. Elsewhere in the market, Volkswagen confirmed wait times for the e-Golf were nearly four months.

The e-Up, however, remains unavailable to order because of long wait times, but should return ‘later in the year’.

In 2018, the German manufacturer stopped taking orders for the Passat

RENAULT ZOE: TWO TO FIVE MONTHS

The van that kick-started a revolution.

Sliding Doors, p57

RENAULT TWIZY: CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE TO ORDER

GTE and Golf GTE plug-in hybrids because ‘unprecedented demand’ had put factories at full capacity.

The electrified Golf remains on hold, while a new Passat GTE goes on sale soon.

A Renault dealer quoted wait times of up to five months for the Zoe, but a spokesperson for the manufacturer disputed it, saying it’d expect even an order with ‘a very particular specification’ to be delivered within two months.

Meanwhile, the Twizy remains unavailable for order while production moves to a new factory.

The typical wait time for an electric vehicle is about three months – quoted for cars such as the Nissan Leaf, Audi e-Tron Quattro, Jaguar I-Pace and BMW i3.

Nissan said: ‘We are seeing very strong demand for both the Leaf and e-NV200, and we continue to try to secure production allocations that match our customer demand.

‘However, across Europe and

Bring forward ban ‘if feasible’ GOVERNMENT advisers have called for the 2040 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the UK to be brought forward to 2030 ‘if feasible’.

The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) believes greenhouse gases in the UK must be cut to zero by 2050 in order to end the country’s contribution to global warming, and that pushing sales of EVs is key to this, it said in a new report.

Its report states that meeting that goal will only be possible if all new sales of vans and cars are for electric models by 2035 at the latest, although an earlier end ‘would be preferable’. globally there is also strong demand.

‘For Leaf we have reasonable supply but depending on variant the lead time will vary.’

A BMW spokesman said ‘production and delivery times can vary’ because it offers customers ‘a range of built-to-order options in order to make their vehicle truly their own’. However, lead times for

BMW i3: APPROX THREE MONTHS

Doing this, CCC says, would also lead to better air quality and lower cumulative CO2 emissions.

Electric vehicles are not the only component to meeting these emissions targets, according to the report, which also suggests ending heating of homes with traditional gas boilers, using electricity from more reusable sources, encouraging people to walk more and eat less meat and dairy, as well as take fewer flights.

Lord Deben, Committee on Climate Change chairman, said: ‘We can do it, we know how to do it and we will benefit from doing it.’

the i3 ‘are in line with expectations for a build-to-order BMW’.

In May, Tesla opened its UK configurator for the Model 3 – the firm’s new entry-level EV. It claims deliveries should be less than two months from an order being placed.

However, UK customers who placed deposits when the car was first revealed have been waiting three

HYUNDAI IONIQ: 12+ MONTHS

years for right-hand-drive models.

Tesla says deliveries of the Model S and Model X could take up to three months, and estimated delivery times are shown on the company’s website.

A company spokesperson added that because the cars are built in the US, it factors in a transit time of ‘around six to eight weeks’.

NISSAN LEAF: APPROX THREE MONTHS

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 07

Dashboard.

Oh brother! I hatched a clever holiday plan.

Confession, p77

Ex-chairman of Sturgess Motor Group dies at 85 ROBIN Sturgess – the thirdgeneration chairman of the Leicester-based Sturgess Motor Group – has died at the age of 85.

He started his working life with a technical apprenticeship at the Rover Company’s Tyseley factory in 1951, and following demob from National Service in 1957 joined the family business as a service receptionist.

The year 1958 saw him get the motor-racing bug, starting with a Jaguar XK120 and progressing to a C-Type two years later. However, it was with E-Types that he became synonymous.

These cars bore the distinctive registration number 2 BBC, serving their weekday roles as company demonstrators and then acquitting themselves well

on the circuits of Silverstone, Mallory Park and Snetterton at the weekends. The 1962 season was undoubtedly his most successful, with 12 first places out of 22 starts and no retirements.

Following the birth of his first son, Christopher, he gradually curtailed his racing activities with a final flourish in a Lotus 22. Sturgess, pictured right, then threw all his energy into the family business, becoming sales director, managing director and finally chairman in 1982. In addition, he turned his attentions to the motor trade ‘aftermarket’ and established Robin Sturgess Accessories during the 1960s, from a modest shop in Leicester, with his old friend Chris Mitchell.

RSA flourished during the 1960s and ’70s, representing

brands such as Cibie, Motolita and Les Leston among many others, and continued to grow until it was eventually sold in the early 1980s.

He continued an active business life and saw the Sturgess Motor Group acquire a number of further franchises, all based in Leicester. Throughout his busy working life, he was a member of the City of Leicester Rotary Club, supporting the work of the organisation for more than 40 years.

Sturgess finally retired from the family business in 2008 when Chris and second son Barney became chairman and managing director respectively.

His final days were spent at home in Rutland, surrounded

by Christopher, Barney and daughter Polly. He also leaves seven grandchildren.

FINANCIAL RESULTS

Cambria reports profit and revenue growth in first half of financial year C ambria Automobiles has reported strong growth in the first half of its current financial year, with underlying profit before tax up by 14.6 per cent to £5.5m compared with the same period 12 months ago.

The group also saw revenue grow by 4.5 per cent to £308.3m in the six months ending February 28, 2019, compared with £295.1m in the first half of its previous financial year.

Overall new vehicle sales dropped by 23.4 per cent to 3,432 units, but Cambria’s report explains that this was offset by a 30.6 per cent increase in profit per unit. In particular, new unit sales to retail customers fell by 16.3 per cent but profit per unit improved by 21.6 per cent thanks to more premium brands in its portfolio.

Used vehicle sales fell by 8.8 per cent but profit in this area also improved 1.7 per cent to £12m.

The group saw growth in aftersales as well, with revenues up 6.5 per cent to £37.5m and profit up to £14.2m.

Mark Lavery, chief executive of Cambria, said: ‘I am pleased with the group’s financial results in the first half. Despite the economic backdrop, general consumer uncertainty, continued inconsistent messaging around diesel engines and cost pressures, they were ahead of our expectations and substantially ahead of last year.

‘The significant disruption incurred in the prior year as a result of the group’s refranchising activity is behind us and we are now starting to see

‘While the economic environment remains uncertain, we are making good progress.’

Mark Lavery, chief executive of Cambria 08 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

the benefit of these changes coming through.

‘Our level of activity undertaken with our property development and refranchising efforts should not be underestimated, and while the new franchises are still in their infancy, the potential earnings streams from these businesses is encouraging. Aside from the high luxury segment additions, we are also making positive steps in refranchising some of the group’s underperforming franchises.

‘While the current economic environment remains uncertain, we are making good progress and remain well placed to accelerate the group’s growth as a result of our robust underlying business model and enhanced franchised portfolio.

‘Based on the results of the first half and the March performance, the board expects that performance for the full financial year will be ahead of current market expectations.’

VERTU

Aftersales performance a highlight VERTU Motors suffered a pre-tax profit drop to £25.3million during the past year.

In its final results for the year ended February 28, it said its pre-tax profit had gone down from £30.4m last year. Meanwhile, its adjusted profit before tax fell by a similar percentage from £28.6m to £23.7m, which it said was ahead of market expectations.

Its revenue, however, soared by £186m to £3bn – a rise of 6.7 per cent – and it reported an ‘excellent aftersales performance’, which saw like-for-like revenue growth of seven per cent delivering a 6.4 per cent growth in gross profit.

Like-for-like used vehicle revenue grew by 11.6 per cent, delivering £2.5m additional gross profit. The full-year dividend is 1.6p per share – up 6.7 per cent on 2018’s figure of 1.5p.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 09

Dashboard.

News from around the UK

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

LEVC TX franchised dealer appointed

THE LEVC TX electric taxi is now officially available from Glasgow’s first franchised LEVC dealer.

LEVC Glasgow, which has opened at Taggarts Motor Group’s Volvo showroom in Hillington Park, will be the new home of the LEVC TX in Scotland’s most populous city.

The appointment will further support the adoption of zeroemission-capable taxis, says LEVC. Pictured from left are LEVC Glasgow service manager Steven Gibson, head of business Derek Muir and head of sales Roger Buchanan

OXFORDSHIRE

New era dawns for Porsche specialist Autofarm PORSCHE specialist Autofarm has officially opened the doors at its new purpose-built facility.

The independent outfit has moved all operations a few miles from its site at Oddington Grange in Weston-on-the-Green to a new workshop at a business park development in Merton Grounds to streamline the company and increase efficiency.

LUTON

REDDITCH

Vauxhall moves to new headquarters

We’re Startin a new chapter with Suzuki!

VAUXHALL employees have been making themselves comfortable in their new state-of-the-art Luton head office after nearly 30 years at the company’s Griffin House base.

Chalton House is just minutes from the new junction 11A on the M1, and combines the sales, marketing, communications and finance divisions with its customer engagement centre.

Around 470 staff are now at the new HQ, including 220 who have moved from Griffin House.

SUZUKI has increased the number of dealerships it has in the UK to 159, with Startin Suzuki Redditch.

It’s the second Suzuki franchise for the Startin Group in the Midlands, adding to the showroom it launched in Worcester last summer.

Startin’s existing Redditch premises in Far Moor Lane have been redesigned and modernised.

Dealer principal Daniel Shuker said: ‘We are delighted to be expanding our Suzuki portfolio with a second location.’

10 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Developed in barn buildings among woodland and lakes, the workshop is in the new Boxengasse development, which provides premises dedicated exclusively to Porsche-focused companies.

Co-managing director Steve Wood said: ‘We are excited to be able to invite our customers to come and see what the next era of Autofarm looks like.’

Best-selling new cars in April April 2019

Source: SMMT

Ford Fiesta Ford Focus Volkswagen Golf Nissan Qashqai Mercedes-Benz A-Class Ford Kuga Volkswagen Polo Volkswagen Tiguan Vauxhall Corsa Hyundai Tucson

5,606 4,565 3,953 3,791 3,584 3,455 3,022 2,822 2,728 2,702

The statistics, p54

NORTHAMPTON

Perrys launches leasing service

PERRYS Motor Sales has launched a new division – Perrys Leasing.

The newly formed operation of the Northampton-based business will specialise in business contract hire and personal contract hire for cars and commercial vehicles.

Company director Denise Millard said: ‘We are committed to moving forward with the times and see this as a great opportunity.’

Pictured are Denise Millard, right, with fellow director David Johnson and team leader Jo Sadler

A global snapshot of dealership news.

Around the World, p36

CARLISLE

LONDON

Jobs created at new and bigger retail site

Palace honour for Gordon Murray CBE

MERCEDES-BENZ of Carlisle has opened its all-new state-of-the-art retail outlet on Kingmoor Park – creating new jobs in the process.

More than twice the size of its previous home at Rosehill, the 4.5-acre, 12-car site significantly increases sales and aftersales capability. Around 15 new staff are being recruited as a result.

Head of business Barry Crooks said: ‘The new site is a world apart from our previous home. It is bigger and better in every respect.’

LEGENDARY automotive designer and engineer Gordon Murray was presented with his CBE by Prince William at Buckingham Palace for his contributions to the motorsport and automotive sectors.

Murray, who was created a CBE in the 2019 New Year Honours List, said: ‘Receiving a CBE from Prince William is one of the highlights of my life – right up there with Formula One World Championship wins or creating the world’s fastest production car.’

‘ I can still remember the ‘‘fun’’ involved in picking out bits of regurgitated Chewits from velour upholstery, but this was a whole different level.’

Big Mike, p33

WALES

Mind over matter for Snowdon challenge

AN INTREPID team from Motorpoint branches in Oldbury and Newport climbed Snowdon in aid of Mind.

The four-strong group of, from left, Joshua Lee, Geraint Rowlands, Andrew Davies and Michael Gittings braved sub-zero temperatures to reach the highest peak in Wales as part of the company’s on-going support of the mental health charity’s Newport branch.

They raised a total of £1,070 following their ascent of the 3,650ft mountain.

LONDON

MG Motor increases foothold in capital

MG Motor UK has strengthened its position in London with the opening of WLMG Marylebone.

Located in Marylebone Road at MG’s office, the launch of the new showroom serves customers in the West End. The new site joins the fast-growing MG dealer network, taking the total to 91 dealers across the country.

The multi-franchise WLMG, which was founded in 1996, also has dealerships in Reading, Ruislip, Eastcote and High Wycombe.

CHESTERFIELD

MP praises £5.4m investment in showroom GORDON Lamb Land Rover at Chesterfield welcomed its MP Toby Perkins as it celebrated a £5.4m investment in the showroom.

The site, acquired by Vertu Motors in June 2016, has undergone a major refurbishment implementing the latest brand corporate identity. It can showcase nine vehicles, and the overhaul has also included a

pre-delivery inspection centre, Land Rover Approved used car display, plus 14 technician bays.

Perkins, pictured right with head of business Robert Bonser, said: ‘It has been a pleasure to be shown around the new Land Rover dealership.

‘The new site is very impressive for new sales and servicing.’

First drive:

DS 3 Crossback

Stylish new model from French manufacturer is put through its paces.

Forecourt, p42 CarDealerMag.co.uk | 11

12 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

CDX 2019 FIVE-PAGE SPECIAL

CDX is almost here!

June 12, 2019, Farnborough International Exhibition & Conference Centre

Join us – we can’t wait to see you C ar dealers face a difficult challenge in 2019: how do you best spend your money to improve the experience of your customers, retain their loyalty and complete the deal faster?

With only a couple of weeks until CDX, there are plenty of businesses preparing to share their latest technology, products and plans to turbocharge your dealership in the second half of 2019. And CDX’s headline partners have been going above and beyond the call of duty.

Each one has been examining different areas of the industry and the difficult decisions dealers will need to make soon about their own businesses. Our partners, Barclays Partner Finance, CarGurus, CitNOW and Cox Automotive, will all be presenting their findings in keynote sessions on the Car Dealer Live Stage at CDX, which takes place on June 12 at Farnborough International Exhibition & Conference Centre.

When it comes to emerging partners for your dealership, too, Dealers’ Den will be taking place on the Live Stage to kick the morning off.

Here, our ‘Dragons’ – Mike Bell of Imperial Cars, Daksh Gupta of Marshall Motor Group, John O’Hanlon of Waylands Automotive and Liam Quegan of NextGear Capital – will hear from up-and-coming businesses with an interesting product to share.

Later in the day, we’ll be hosting our dealers again on the dealer boss panel – with Daksh Gupta, John O’Hanlon and John Tordoff of JCT600 sharing their views on the industry, making some

predictions and answering your questions. Our final panel will be the manufacturer session, with Isuzu’s William Brown, Citroen’s Karl Howkins, Mitsubishi’s Rob Lindley and Vauxhall’s Stephen Norman taking part.

The Car Dealer Live Stage will showcase a variety of unmissable speakers and panels, with exclusive data to be revealed at the show.

Turn the page for the timetable of Live Stage sessions and πworkshops and go to pages 16-17 to read what our keynote speeches will be about.

We’ll see you in Farnborough on June 12!

To register for your ticket to CDX 2019, visit the website cardealerexpo.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 | 13

CDX 2019 PLAN YOUR DAY

Your hour-by-hour EXPO OPENS AT 8.30AM Live Stage 8am

sponsored by

Workshop Room 1 sponsored by

With Spencer Scott, senior vice-president at CarGurus.

See page 16.

9am

9am

10am

9.45am CarGurus

10.30am

11am

CitNOW

11.15am Dealer Panel

12.00 Midday Dealers’ Den

1pm

1pm

With Carol Fairchild, commercial director at CitNOW. See page 16.

With CEOs John O’Hanlon of Waylands Automotive, John Tordoff of JCT600, and Daksh Gupta of Marshall Motor Group.

Suppliers who could be the next big thing in the automotive industry vie for a fantastic prize.

Barclays

2pm

1.45pm Cox Automotive

With Adam Mepham, sales director at Barclays Partner Finance. See page 17.

Sytner

10.30am Women in the Motor Industry

1pm CarGurus

2.30pm

3pm

Manufacturer Panel

With Martin Forbes, chief executive at Cox Automotive.

See page 17.

Get insight from the bosses of leading manufacturers Mitsubishi, Vauxhall, Isuzu and Citroen.

5pm

In association with

14 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Sytner people director Fiona Cottle will explain how you can engage your employees with your company values and make your dealership a place where people want to work.

Shining a light on gender inequalities in the automotive industry in a bid to encourage more women to pursue a career in it.

10.30am

CarGurus’ Spencer Scott, along with Nathan Quayle from Fords of Winsford, will offer top tips on using clever digital tactics to drive sales.

1pm

Armchair Marketing

GForces

2.30pm CitNOW

3.15pm Facebook

4pm

Workshop Room 2

Ensure your local marketing activity is effective and make the most of Facebook’s Messenger service, with Aiden White.

timetable Workshop Room 3

sponsored by

sponsored by

Workshop Room 4 sponsored by

8am

Tanesha Stafford, joined by Neil Smith of Imperial Cars, will explain how a powerful, resultsdriven online strategy can boost business.

9.45am

Emails and phone calls are dead – find out about the new ways your customers want to hear from you, with Thom Coupar-Evans.

LivePerson

Why end-to-end online retailing should be the next step for your dealership, presented

by Paul Stokes, head of online retailing at GForces.

How to engage the customer of today, presented by CitNOW’s Oliver Parsons and Gordon Grant.

9am

10am

Gallagher

11.15am Cox Automotive

9.45am

All you need to know to keep your business protected from cyber crime, with Johnty Mongan, cyber risk consultant at Gallagher.

11.15am Stock in the digital age: How to maximise margins and reduce days to sell, presented by Simon Caine, director of Manheim Vehicle Solutions, part of the Cox family.

Codeweavers

1.45pm

1.45pm

Rob Purfield

Barclays

What’s the point of a car showroom? presented by Rob Purfield, the go-to business profit consultant for the motoring sector.

Why do car buyers want to personalise finance at 4pm but reserve a car at 10pm? hosted by Paul and Rebecca Boocock.

Finance in the headlights: The role of regulation when creating a good customer outcome, presented by Helen Foxworthy and Marc Jones.

11am

12.00

1pm

2pm

3pm 3.15pm Lawgistics

Nona Bowkis, legal adviser at Lawgistics, will be dealing with the false statements and scaremongering around Brexit in this must-attend session.

4pm

5pm

To register for your ticket to CDX 2019, visit the website cardealerexpo.co.uk 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 HEADLINE PARTNERS

White Papers you June 12, 2019, Farnborough International Exhibition & Conference Centre 9.45am

Live Stage

10.30am

Live Stage

Car shopping is a search problem

The evolution of the car buyer

with Spencer Scott, senior vice-president of advertising and digital marketing solutions at CarGurus

with Carol Fairchild, commercial director at CitNOW

T

hrough the internet, car buyers now have more choice than ever when buying a new car.

While most dealers have good websites, a social media presence and their cars advertised on multiple online car listing sites, how many are using paid search to its full capability?

If you aren’t too sure what paid search is and the huge benefits it can bring to your dealership, the CarGurus keynote speech at CDX 2019 should be high on your priority list to attend.

Paid search is all about targeted advertising, and ensuring that the top advertisements on search engines such as Google are closely aligned with what a consumer is looking for in their next car – through keywords.

Spencer Scott, CarGurus’ senior vice-president of advertising and digital marketing solutions, will be presenting the company’s findings on the Live Stage at CDX, and explaining how implementing a strategy such as this can increase visits to your website and lead to more sales.

CarGurus has accumulated vast knowledge by advertising and promoting its site as a growing company, and is a global leader in paid search. As such, it is in an ideal position to help dealers with this. Most car purchases now start through search engines, and Scott said: ‘Dealers need to come and see the information that we’re going to share at our keynote and at our workshop.’

In association with

16 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

W

ith so much information at their fingertips, buyers need not rely on just one source of information when making their car-buying decisions. Technology has moved on significantly in recent years, and it doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.

What does that mean for the average car buyer though?

CitNOW has already changed the way car buyers interact with dealerships and garages by allowing them more access to these businesses faster.

It has undertaken research into who today’s buyer is, how future technologies will change the way they shop for cars, and what we can expect from buyers in coming years.

For a few years now, mobile, video and the digital marketplace have been the great disruptors in the automotive industry as buyers have demanded more information, a simpler car-buying journey and greater transparency plus speed – not to mention the rise of PCP, leasing and the decline of the rental sector.

One of the biggest questions for the industry is whether these trends will continue to grow among consumers.

CitNOW commercial director Carol Fairchild will talk through the highlights of this piece of research and look at what disruptor will next change the way car buyers shop.

can’t miss 1pm

Live Stage

1.45pm

Live Stage

Bridge the physical to digital gap in car buying

What’s ahead for the car market?

with Adam Mepham, sales director at Barclays Partner Finance

with Martin Forbes, chief executive of Cox Automotive

P

reparing for the next big shift in automotive retailing is a vital consideration for forwardthinking car dealers.

Trends in other areas of retail are accelerating fast and adapting the expectations of consumers.

Every time a customer experiences a seamless, fast and reliable purchase process from one outlet, their expectations are set for every other buying situation.

Barclays Partner Finance’s research will examine how traditional car purchasing will need to change to meet these new expectations – be they tackling the challenge of multi-channel buyers, seamlessly bridging the gap between the physical showroom and the digital sphere, or addressing new challenges in communicating effectively with a new generation of buyers.

Each stage of the buying process is a new opportunity for the system to fail and for consumers to become frustrated. Avoiding that scenario is all-important.

Adam Mepham, sales director for Barclays Partner Finance, will present the company’s findings and shed some light on the challenges and solutions for car dealers.

His keynote will look at how you can reshape your business to offer the most convenient and efficient route for buyers.

T

he title of this session is the number-one question on people’s lips but it doesn’t seem as though anyone has the answer – until now. The industry currently feels like a perfect storm of problems. The used market is growing, while there are numerous issues for new, but with car dealers holding on to part-exchanges or buying more good-quality used motors, there’s a lack of supply to feed buyers’ needs.

Meanwhile, some of the core traits of buyers are changing drastically too, challenging the role of the car dealer, the dealership and even the car itself in today’s market.

Buyers are transforming the system from the very start of the process by shopping and buying in new ways. The demand for electric vehicles is growing at an exponential rate that battery suppliers can’t keep up with, while more car buyers are looking at subscription options rather than traditional finance deals to get on the road.

In its second annual Insight Report, Cox Automotive will examine these different areas of the market, with the aim of providing an in-depth analysis of current trends and predicting their impact.

The major report will deliver a forecast for the new and used car market, and discuss hot topics including the future of fuel, ownership and mobility, and the changing retail marketplace. This unmissable keynote will highlight the most important findings from the report.

To register for your ticket to CDX 2019, visit the website cardealerexpo.co.uk 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 | 17

18 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Dashboard.

SURVEY

Tech causing reliability woes

INTEGRATION

Sale of Jaguar Land Rover to PSA could be ‘imminent’

L

eaked information suggests a sale of struggling Jaguar Land Rover to French automotive group PSA could be imminent.

It is understood a ‘post-sale integration document’, which outlines the benefits of the two companies joining forces, is already in circulation and the firms are exploring the detail of cost-saving benefits after a tie-up.

A spokesman for PSA – owner of Peugeot, Citroen, DS and Vauxhall – told the Press Association that the firm was in ‘no hurry’ to make acquisitions and could ‘stand alone’.

However, despite denying the rumour, spokesman Pierre-Olivier Salmon added: ‘We are generating the cashflow necessary to pay for our future. If an opportunity comes, like Opel (Vauxhall), we will consider it.’

PSA chairman Carlos Tavares has made no secret of his desire to either merge or acquire struggling UK-based luxury car manufacturer JLR. During an interview with Autocar India in April, he said he believed it would be good for PSA to have a luxury brand and that the company was ‘considering all opportunities’.

Both companies have denied the latest rumours, but sources inside JLR have told Car Dealer that despite public statements, ‘things are moving quickly behind closed doors’.

One insider, who has seen the integration paperwork, said: ‘To have a

by JAMES BAGGOTT @CarDealerEd

document like this in circulation at the two firms points to the fact things are very far down the line with either a sale or acquisition.

‘Just look at how close the two firms are in the UK – the two head offices in Coventry and Gaydon are just 25 miles apart and both firms make cars in the UK. There are plenty of ways the two companies could save money by working together.’

Automotive industry expert Professor David Bailey of the Birmingham Business School believes the tie-up could be a good fit for both brands.

He said: ‘PSA said last month it was interested in acquiring JLR but [its owner] Tata publicly ruled out a sale.

Tata shareholders’ patience may be wearing thin, though, given recent JLR losses. A partial sale may be an option.

‘I’m sceptical about JLR being able to go it alone bearing in mind the need for very high research and development spend on new

technology, given that the auto industry will transform itself in the coming years towards connected, autonomous electric cars.

‘At some point JLR may have to collaborate with another auto firm. A partial PSA stake might open that up.’

Tata Motors – 100 per cent owner of JLR – said ‘there was no truth to rumours that Tata Motors is looking to divest its stake in JLR’.

Jaguar Land Rover has been struggling in recent months, making redundancies across its business and cutting back production at its plants.

In February it revealed a quarterly loss of £273m in the three months to December 31, 2018, blaming Brexit uncertainty and slowing demand in China. It also wrote down the value of its plants and other assets, posting a £3.4bn loss for the quarter overall.

PSA, meanwhile, has been flourishing since it bought Vauxhall in 2017. It has returned the struggling brand to profit in less than two years and is cash-rich with revenue up 18.9 per cent in 2018 to £63.7m.

Kick-start for JLR, p82

‘At some point JLR may have to collaborate with another auto firm. A partial PSA stake might open that up.’

Professor David Bailey of the Birmingham Business School

PREMIUM manufacturers have come out at the bottom of a new reliability survey. Brands such as BMW, Audi and Jaguar have all trailed in the study, despite their cars being packed with cutting-edge technology.

Conducted by J.D. Power, the survey put Peugeot at the top in terms of reliability, followed

by Skoda in second and Hyundai in third.

Owners of premium vehicles most commonly flag issues with audio and communication systems, while problems with electric and hybrid vehicles are more frequent than in combustion enginepowered cars.

The study is judged by measuring the number of problems experienced per 100 vehicles (PP100).

The industry average is 119 problems per 100 vehicles, with top manufacturer Peugeot registering 77 pp100, and bottom company BMW 181 pp100.

The study is based on responses from 11,530 owners of new vehicles.

MORE CAPACITY

Polestar opens new R&D centre POLESTAR has significantly expanded its research and development capacity with the establishment of a new R&D centre in Coventry.

The new facility will allow Polestar to increase its own R&D capabilities, and further strengthens the brand’s ability to engineer its future electric performance vehicles.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 19

Dashboard.

PROSECUTION

Dealer fined over car he didn’t own

INTERVIEW

Changing times as Rebecca Chaplin talks to Jon Wakefield about the Swedish manufacturer’s new online offering and its aim of selling 60,000 cars in the UK this year.

A DEALER who sold a car with an outstanding loan has been fined and ordered to pay compensation.

Jamie Bryant, of Annand Way, Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, failed to carry out any checks to make sure he was entitled to sell the BMW 1 Series.

The sports hatch was sold for £1,500 in February 2018 by Bryant, trading as Trade Cars (NE) Ltd, Factory Road, Blaydon. But a debt collection agency came to the unsuspecting buyer’s home some months later with two options – pay £2,200 in outstanding finance or return the car.

The buyer contacted Gateshead Council’s trading standards department for help and officers soon discovered the car had an outstanding log book loan against it – a simple check that Bryant had failed to carry out.

Trading standards officers immediately contacted Bryant but he took no action and the agency took the car from the buyer. The council then prosecuted him under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations for negligence as a director.

He failed to attend the first court hearing in February 2019 and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

On April 29, Bryant pleaded guilty at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court and was fined £600.

He was also ordered to pay the buyer £1,500 compensation, as well as costs of £273.

Picture: Gateshead Council

20 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

V

olvo has launched its online car purchasing system, fittingly named Volvo Online, with the Swedish manufacturer claiming it is the most complete online sales service offered by any car manufacturer in the UK. Customers can select the model they want from the Volvo range, specifying every detail from powertrain and colour choices to equipment options and even accessories, ready for factory order.

They can also part-exchange their old vehicle, apply for finance and sign their agreement via e-signature, all from the comfort of their home or office.

From start to finish, the entire process can take as little as 20 minutes to complete – less than it takes most Brits to do their weekly grocery shopping.

The brand claims that the platform will strengthen the relationship between the customer and their local retailer, who will manage the process and help them to choose the right car and finance package for them.

Volvo seems to be flying, with its latest range of stylish products in such high demand the UK market

has grown this year to become the brand’s third biggest market – overtaking Sweden.

The man at the top, Jon Wakefield, will soon be moving to take over the managing directorship in Sweden.

We caught up with him at the Volvo Online launch to find out what this new technology will mean for the business in the UK. Are you pleased with the online offering? It’s very easy to look around and see people who sell cars online, but all you’ve really got is putting your credit card details into a deposit pool and then someone contacts you days later, whereas this is a really integrated, well-thought-through, end-to-end solution. I’m very proud of what the team has done, because this is not easy.

Was it important to you that every stage was catered for? It has to be, otherwise you’re just going to add to the consumer’s frustration.

They’ll get halfway through a process and realise they can’t go any further. We’ll evolve it and there’s still more to do.

My only disappointment is that we couldn’t get PCH in for launch.

What are your sales expectations? I know

at this point I’m supposed to talk to you about targets and we’ll sell this many cars – but we don’t know.

I’m not anticipating this will immediately generate incremental sales. I think it’s a longer-term tool for us to use. It’s about genuinely populating our brand statement – that we’re easy to do business with and a human brand. If our brand position is right, that should bring more customers in the long term. This is just about allowing people to deal with a retailer but take some parts of it away if they wish to. We’ll learn from there.

There must be some expectation though to return the money you’ve invested? We’ve invested, but it’s more in the way you invest in a retail network.

You could argue that these guys are spending more money on sofas in the showrooms – does that sell more cars?

It does elevate the position of your brand and, we shouldn’t be shy of this, being premium is about actually being able to charge good money for your product. It’s the quality of what we offer that commands the premium. You don’t just become a premium brand because you’ve got nice sofas and an online offering. We are a business.

Will dealerships need to change how

235,000 Zafiras recalled for third time over risk of fires VAUXHALL is recalling 235,000 Zafira cars for a third time after a new source of fires was discovered.

The Zafira B cars were previously recalled in two stages in 2015 and 2016 after campaigners claimed more than 300 had caught fire, often leaving their occupants with just a few seconds to escape before their vehicles were destroyed.

Vauxhall said the latest recall

affects cars built between 2005 and 2014 that do not have electronic climate control. The action comes after the manufacturer found ‘a small number of vehicles’ where wiring has overheated and melted, with at least one incident resulting in a fire.

It is writing to the registered owners of affected cars to alert them to the issue. Vauxhall chief executive Stephen Norman told The

Sun: ‘Where the first two recalls have robustly fixed problems of fires, we’ve discovered one incident of a fire caused by overheating of a pin in a plug on a wire. The very moment this was brought to my attention we decided to go for a full recall.’

Work to replace potentially faulty parts will take an hour and will be completed for customers without charge, Vauxhall said.

Another month of decline for new car sales.

SMMT statistics, p54-55

Volvo sales go online Volvo is aiming to sell 16,000 examples of its award-winning XC40 in the UK this year

they operate with new members of staff to manage these online leads?

Many of them are already.

I was last in the retail sector in 2010 when I left Inchcape, so I’m old hat now, but we still had a barrage of sales executives all lined up by the doors.

Even then I had some guys in an office upstairs taking online inquiries, because we had Autobytel, if you remember that.

If you now look at the construct of one of our typical retailers, you’ve got a smaller number of sales execs, you’ve got product specialists who are very passive and not commission based, and then you’ve got some people dealing with online inquiries from other portals.

There’s already the infrastructure there to a degree, but the retailers of tomorrow are the ones to accept there’s a change coming.

Will you make home delivery an option in the future? All of the research at the moment suggests that people do want to come into a dealership and have some sort of experience.

This is a big exciting day, and just having a package delivered at your office means you lose a bit of that magic. We’ll evolve though, and we’ll see what consumer behaviour predicates. It may be that in a few years’ time everyone wants to have a car delivered to their home.

Will dealers still get the same return on these deals? We’re not interfering with our normal rules of engagement. We give our retailers a margin structure and they pay their people in the way they choose, so we’re not interfering with any of that at all. Our margin model is the same whether it’s a stock car

or a forward order car, and it’s our margin model that underpins the payment process, nothing to do with online.

Some dealers are telling us that their targets are really high and they’re not very happy. Are you getting that feedback? I love this debate. Last year we delivered 50,000 cars in the UK and we actually sold 58,000. The XC40 is a great new product in a growing market.

I came out to dealers earlier this year and and said ‘we did 50,000 cars this year, we’re going to do 60,000 next year, and we’re going

to increase your targets to match that.’ At that point, dealers have panicked, but actually if I came out and said: ‘Look, you know that XC40 that’s been selling really well in its first six months? How about if I managed to get another 10,000 that we could easily sell?’ That sounds like a good plan. Unfortunately, all dealers are hearing is that targets have gone up. The target increase is based completely on our increased allocation of XC40, which we’ll sell about 16,000 of this year.

But we’re hearing they can’t actually get hold of XC40, too.

What you’re hearing is that the 16,000 isn’t enough to meet the demand there is, which is why they shouldn’t be worried about their targets, because there’s lots of demand. I might have secured an extra 10,000 but they actually wanted 15,000. Of course, if I said I’ll put targets up by 15,000 units, they’d tell me I was mad. So, with the volume increase – which is all sustainable – we’re selling one for every two we could sell.

‘All the research at the moment suggests that people do want to come into a dealership.’

Marshall and Manheim team up for a mega-week success MANHEIM sold more than 850 vehicles for Marshall Motor Group in a single week in April as part of a hugely successful mega-week event.

The five-day event saw more than 1,100 high-quality vehicles from Marshall Motor Group go through Manheim’s auction lanes.

More than 1,900 buyers registered for auction events at Manheim’s Bristol, Wimbledon, Colchester,

Northampton and Mansfield centres, or logged on to buy through Manheim Online. Across the week, Manheim sold 853 vehicles, beating its previous mega-week record of 815 and achieving a combined sales value of £4.6 million.

Jon Head, commercial director at Marshall Motor Group, said: ‘We hold mega-week events twice a year at Manheim as part of our stock disposal strategy, and there’s always a real

feeling of anticipation in the run-up to the events. We’re delighted to have broken our record for the number of vehicles sold in a week.’

Peter Bell, managing director of Manheim, said: ‘The success of this mega-week is testament to a great partnership between Manheim and Marshall Motor Group, and I’d like to congratulate everyone that worked to organise and manage the event.’

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 21

Dashboard.

SSANGYONG

‘Very excited’ to be joining brand

SSANGYONG Motors UK has welcomed DS Dalgleish & Son to the brand.

Its range of 4x4s and SUVs is now available from the dealership, which operates from premises in Coldstream.

Nick Laird, managing director of SsangYong Motor UK, said: ‘On the back of the hugely successful launch of the new Rexton and Musso pick-ups, we have been looking to attract new dealers.

‘The brand is committed to long-term investment in new products and will see at least one new model launched each year through to 2022. We are especially delighted that DS Dalgleish & Son has decided to add the brand to its dealership in Coldstream.’

Barry Dalgleish, dealer principal at DS Dalgleish, said: ‘We’re very excited to be joining SsangYong. We were attracted to the brand by the exciting new vehicles that have started coming through from South Korea.’

SUPERCAR

Revealed: the first GT from McLaren

M

cLaren plans to open its range to a wider audience with its new GT – a car that’s said to offer outstanding ride comfort and segment-leading cabin refinement.

It will be the first time McLaren has offered a true grand touring model, built with passenger comfort for long-distance travel in mind.

To achieve this, the Woking-based manufacturer has adapted its existing platform and engine block to increase refinement and luggage capacity without affecting performance.

McLaren’s 4.0-litre, twinturbocharged V8 is once again present, providing 612bhp and 630Nm of torque. However, it has

by JACK EVANS @jackrober

been tweaked for the GT with a flatter torque curve that provides more linear acceleration. The zero-to60mph sprint takes just 3.1 seconds, while the top speed is 203mph.

To increase passenger comfort, a new damping control system has been incorporated into the lightweight aluminium suspension set-up. McLaren says it has also improved the suspension controls it introduced on the 720S supercar.

These use sensors to read the road and predict imperfections before adjusting the suspension in

anticipation of bumps. Meanwhile, softer engine mounts reduce vibrations through the cabin.

The interior has been overhauled, too. It might look similar to existing McLarens, but there are new seats that are heated, with extra padding and back support. They’re available in Nappa leather as standard, with luxury leather, cashmere and Alcantara options available.

Mike Flewitt, chief executive of McLaren Automotive, said: ‘This is a car that redefines the notion of a grand tourer in a way that only a McLaren could.’

Order books are now open, with prices starting at £163,000. Deliveries are scheduled for late 2019.

MANUFACTURER NEWS

Honda: ‘Body blow’ as factory closure confirmed HONDA has confirmed it is to close its Swindon factory in 2021, with the loss of thousands of jobs. The Japanese firm said that following a ‘meaningful and robust’ consultation, no viable alternatives had been found.

Honda director Jason Smith said the decision had been made with ‘a heavy heart’.

Unite national officer Des Quinn described the move as ‘a body blow which is nothing short of a betrayal of the workforce, customers and the wider supply chain which relies on Honda Swindon for work’.

A spokesman for the prime minister said: ‘Clearly, this is a disappointing decision.’

22 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Lotus: New recruitment initiative at headquarters LOTUS Cars is looking to employ an additional 200 staff to add to the 289 people already recruited during 2018.

The new positions are available at Lotus’s headquarters in Hethel, Norfolk, and an ‘engineering satellite office’ planned for Warwickshire. Backed by Geely since 2017, Lotus employs 1,090 people worldwide.

Ford: ‘Hundreds of UK jobs to face axe in reorganisation’ FORD is reported to be cutting hundreds of jobs in the UK in an attempt to combat faltering profitability. The American car maker is said to be planning as many as 550 redundancies, predominantly at its Dunton plant near Basildon in Essex, according to City AM. The cuts aren’t expected to affect UK manufacturing employees at the firm’s Dagenham, Bridgend or Halewood plants.

A Ford spokesman said: ‘We are reorganising our workforce in the European region. The goal is to significantly decrease structural costs, reduce bureaucracy, empower leaders and managers, and eliminate less value-added work.’

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✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Major investment - v3 of website and smartphone applications.

Cutting Edge design - improved navigation and functionality.

Online Centre - 24/7 timed or buy now.

View NAMA graded inspection reports and mechanical health checks Review suite of digital images with damage detail

www.cityauctiongroup.com

Download our iOS/Android Live Bid and Auction Apps Now Full listings can also be viewed on our website www.cityauctiongroup.com CarDealerMag.co.uk | 23

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MOTOR SHOW REVEALS

Most exciting new metal from New York and Shanghai A pril was a busy month for motor shows, with both New York and Shanghai hosting events. Wild and wonderful creations were showcased at each – from all manner of manufacturers too.

And although many aren’t destined for the UK’s roads, the cars from both shows give a little clue as to the vehicles we may see here in Britain in the coming months and years. Let’s take a look at some of the best from each...

Genesis Mint Concept

Porsche 911 Speedster

Porsche knows a thing or two about creating great-looking drop-tops, and it proved that it could still hold its own with this – the 911 Speedster, unveiled in New York. Underneath, it runs the same mechanicals as you’ll find on Porsche’s ultra-focused GT3, yet with a folding roof. This could be the performance convertible to beat.

Porsche Cayenne Coupe

Proving that you can never go a niche too far is this, the Porsche Cayenne Coupe. Taking on the likes of the Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe, this big Porsche aims to combine luxury and performance – just what you’d expect from a Porsche. Packed with tech and power, the Cayenne Coupe divided opinion at Shanghai – and continues to do so.

24 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Genesis reckons its Mint Concept reimagines the design of a city car, and with its funky, sports car-esque styling and dinky proportions, this is a reimagining we can get behind. The American firm is best known for building huge luxury cars, but this concept shown in New York gives us an enticing look at a new direction the company could take in an all-electric future.

Mercedes GLB

Merc’s new compact SUV showed its face at Shanghai. It’s designed to sit between the GLA and GLC in the firm’s range, and the concept we got to see certainly made up for its petite size with plenty of go-anywhere styling touches. There’s reportedly a hot GLB35 version in the works, too.

Keep ahead of changing demand.

Sean Speaks: p73

Mercedes-AMG A35 Saloon

We’ve already seen the regular A35 hatch but New York was the first time we caught a glimpse of its four-door cousin. Retaining the smaller car’s turbocharged 2.0-litre engine, the A35 Saloon delivers a little more interior space without taking anything away from the car’s ballistic performance.

Subaru Outback

Subaru’s Outback has been a go-to vehicle for those after dependability with a fair amount of off-road capability thrown in for good measure. New York played host to a new version, with a more powerful engine and revised looks.

Kia Habaniro

If the press release that accompanied the reveal of the Habaniro in New York is anything to go by, Kia is pretty excited about its allelectric SUV concept. Describing it as a ‘hot and spicy...wonder car’ with ‘more advanced tech than what helped land men on the moon’, this is the kind of wonderful concept car hyperbole we rarely see any more.

Volkswagen I.D. Roomzz Mitsubishi e-YI Concept Aston Martin Rapide E

Even Aston Martin can’t ignore the increasing importance of electric cars. This, the Rapide E, which was unveiled in Shanghai, is an electric version of the firm’s luxurious four-door grand tourer. Although it’s powered by batteries, it’ll still crack a 155mph top speed – but it can only sustain this for 10 minutes.

The Mitsubishi e-YI Concept, revealed in Shanghai, follows on from the Engelberg Tourer concept we saw at Geneva. It moves things forward from the current Outlander PHEV but retains a hybrid layout combining battery power with a regular petrol engine. It may not be the final car but it gives us an idea as to what the new Outlander will look like.

Yet another entry into Volkswagen’s I.D. family of electric vehicles, the Roomzz, which debuted at Shanghai, is the largest of the range we’ve seen and packs seven seats, thanks to VW’s roomy MEB platform. A pair of electric motors give it 302bhp too, so it’s not likely to be much of a slouch.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 25

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VOLVO

Why our industry needs to get more climate-conscious.

James Litton, p76

RENAULT TECHNICIANS

Paid parental leave scheme is launched VOLVO Cars has launched a paid parental leave policy for all sales company employees in the EMEA region, offering mothers and fathers a total of six months of leave with 80 per cent pay.

Inspired by national legislation in Volvo Cars’ home market of Sweden – famous around the globe for its generous parental leave arrangements – the new policy is more benevolent and inclusive than most existing national parental leave policies in Europe and is the first of its kind in the car industry.

Hanna Fager, head of people experience at Volvo Cars, said: ‘The EMEA initiative is one of several activities with the aim to create an inclusive culture and attract and retain a diverse set of people.

‘It improves life-work balance, boosts family time and fits with a human-centric company such as Volvo Cars.’

Most countries in the EMEA region offer some form of paid parental leave, but there is often a large discrepancy between what is available for mothers and fathers.

WARNINGS

Another fall in car production CAR production has fallen for the 10th month in a row amid warnings that Brexit is undermining Britain’s reputation as stable for business. Around 126,000 cars were built in March – down 14.4 per cent on the same month last year, the SMMT said. Manufacturing for the home market dropped by 18 per cent, and by 13 per cent for overseas customers.

26 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

First group of advanced apprentices graduate T he first group of young technicians to complete Renault’s Advanced Apprentice Programme are celebrating graduating.

The scheme was established in 2015, and a total of 18 youngsters were presented with their qualifications at a special ceremony at Renault’s state-of the-art training facility in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, where they also enjoyed a speech from former automotive apprentice-turned-public speaker Cat Traenor.

Renault Academy manager Emma Holmes said: ‘What these young people have achieved is terrific.

Automotive apprenticeships are very different today from what they used to be, and being a dealership service technician is an extremely skilled and specialised job. By joining the scheme and showing a willingness to learn and work hard, our graduating apprentices are setting themselves – and our dealers – up for a very bright future indeed.’

One of the apprentices collecting his certificate at the event was 22-yearold Brad Baker from Lookers Renault in Newcastle upon Tyne.

‘When I left school I really

by TED WELFORD @TedWelford

struggled to find work,’ he said. ‘I kept getting knocked back for jobs in retail and I was thinking of joining the armed forces just so I could have a meaningful role. Then I found out about the apprentice scheme at Lookers and I went in for a chat.

‘They liked my desire to work and gave me a chance. It has changed my life. Not only do I now feel like I have a proper career to look forward to, but I have also developed my interpersonal and social skills.

‘I’m a much more confident person and am happy dealing with colleagues and customers. I can’t wait to progress to a senior tech role, and then train to be a service manager.’

Twenty-year-old Shaun Strowger from Mitchells Garage of Lowestoft, Suffolk, echoed his views. ‘I started off doing work experience at my local Renault dealer in Year 10,’ he said.

‘When I heard about the apprentice scheme, I went back and begged them to take me on. Four years later and here I am, a qualified technician.

I’ve enjoyed every minute of it and have matured as a person, learnt new social skills and really developed my knowledge. So many people my age have no idea what they want to do with their lives, but I’m already on the way to a proper career.’

The training and development provided through the Renault UK Advanced Apprentice Programme is second to none, comprising stateof-the-art facilities and equipment backed up by highly experienced technical training staff.

During the programme, the apprentices take part in a number of residential block-release modules at the Renault Training Centre in Doncaster, where not only do they get to learn more about the brand, but also meet their peers from other dealerships.

At the end of the course, the apprentices are awarded Renault’s Advanced Apprentice certificate, which is recognised by the Institute of the Motor Industry, and become qualified technicians, with an option of developing their training further to become senior technicians and ultimately master technicians.

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TAKING FINANCE Our dealers have told us they want a simpler, faster finance process.

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The all-electric Leaf takes centre stage

EVENT SUCCESS

Atmosphere was electric! CV Show sells out for fifth successive year

by CRAIG CHEETHAM @Chumpytweet

I

t wasn’t just the atmosphere that was electric at this year’s CV Show, with a whole host of new EVs debuting at the NEC event.

Both Peugeot and Citroen pulled the wraps off new plug-in vans, with the 100 per cent Electric Citroen Relay and Peugeot Boxer making their international debuts, while LDV also revealed its new EV contender – the EV30, which is a direct rival for the market-leading Nissan eNV-200.

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, meanwhile, showed a whole range of electric vans, including the ABT e-Caddy, ABT e-Transporter and the previously shown e-Crafter, all of which were at the very forefront of the brand’s stand.

Not electric yet but certainly destined to be, the all-new Vauxhall Vivaro, which goes into production at the brand’s Luton plant next month before arriving in showrooms in the summer, was also at the show. Other new LCVs making their debuts included the Ford Ranger Raptor and two new versions of the Isuzu D-Max, along with the MAN TGE Minibus.

‘We’re absolutely thrilled with the industry’s response to this year’s CV Show.’

Rob Skelton, CV Show director 28 | CarDealerMag.co.uk BHL11167_Car_Dealer_Rocket_Bookends_AW_v2.indd 2

02/04/2019 13:25

TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Above: Vauxhall wasn’t shy about the fact that its new Vivaro will be built in the UK Left: Citroen’s Relay Electric is the company’s first heavy-duty electric vehicle Left: MAN’s TGE is now available as a minibus

Discover the next level of dealer finance at blackhorse.co.uk/nextlevel Rob Skelton, CV Show director, said: ‘We’re absolutely thrilled with the industry’s response to this year’s CV Show and to have achieved a fifth successive year sold out.

‘There’s lots of talk of uncertainty in the market but that’s not been evident in commercial vehicle sales or the enthusiasm and excitement of the industry for the CV Show.’ The event will be back at the NEC from April 28 to 30, 2020.

Fully loaded, p56-59 CarDealerMag.co.uk | 29 BHL11167_Car_Dealer_Rocket_Bookends_AW_v2.indd 3

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Behind the scenes REBECCA CHAPLIN

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

Rip-off Britain – or just another chance to damage dealers’ reputations?

T

he BBC has taken a swing at those pesky car dealers again, this time investigating accident-damaged cars turning up for retail sale without so much as a mark on their HPI or other vehicle check report.

I do keep bouncing around but arriving at the same conclusion: I want to see the best in people and therefore I can’t believe dealers would do this on purpose.

If you didn’t manage to catch the Rip-Off Britain show about this, then let me run you through the basic plot before jumping into the figures that are causing me consternation.

Consumers are buying cars, both from dealers and privately, which come up as never having been written off when they complete a vehicle check online. However, these cars have been salvaged and the buyers find out later – in some cases years later.

The way they figure this out varies, too. In one case, the data saying a particular car had been written off had gone on to the register long after an unsuspecting purchaser had bought the car – although it was put on the V5C. In another case, a car was inspected by a mechanic and it became clear it had been in an accident.

This is because while insurance companies have to let the DVLA know that a car has been written off, they’re under no obligation to inform the Motor Insurers’ Bureau, which runs the Motor Insurers’ Anti-Fraud and Theft Register – the database where all this information comes from…

I could argue that not just anyone should be allowed to sell a car. There are plenty of safeguards in place to stop people selling things that are a little bit dangerous, but a car can be sold by absolutely anyone without a licence or permit.

However, the businesses accused of being at fault in this investigation are actually large dealer groups and household names: Arnold Clark, Evans Halshaw and Car Store – the latter two both owned

by Pendragon.

I’m not about to get on my high horse about how this was reported, but it has left me with more questions than answers. You see, the show suggests that these dealerships should know that the cars they are retailing have been written off but – back to me wanting to believe the best in people – if they’re using the same data to check a car’s history, how can they be held responsible?

What I want to do, like you’d hope most serious buyers would, is check the V5C to see if it says it’s salvaged.

If I knew that, it would answer a lot of questions for me. If it’s marked as previously written off, in a best-case scenario I could hope that it was bought by someone at the group who never saw the car, and with so many cars coming through the dealership, a salesperson

never got close enough to the repairs to spot them. If it’s not marked, that opens up a whole new can of worms about how this has been badly crash-damaged and skipped the register.

As I’ve looked into this, I’ve found that the system seems to be broken in so many places it would be impossible in most cases to say what a car has been through in its lifetime.

On a basic level, say I drive my car into a wall, no-one knows and I fix it – that’s one car which the next owners may never find out has been badly crash-damaged. Depending on my financial situation, this might make a lot more sense than calling my insurance company, increasing my premium, potentially having to pay the excess anyway and losing some resale value in my car.

There are plenty of businesses self-insuring though, so what if that is happening on a much larger scale and they’re saving money on insurance premiums by never having to declare a car is written off?

These cars are making their way to auction from many channels and it would probably shock most consumers to realise they are so openly listed for sale online.

There’s no attempt to disguise this on salvage auction websites. This isn’t some dark art of winning on the write-off lottery and finding the car you’ve just bought isn’t marked at all – it’s as simple as shopping on eBay. And eBay, interestingly, is just another place you can search using the word ‘unrecorded’ and find crash-damaged cars the insurance companies have never found out about.

However, the most worrying figure from the BBC investigation came from a freedom of information request carried out by Auto Express that found an 80,000-car discrepancy between the number of cars the DVLA had registered as salvaged in the past two years and the number the MIB had been notified of.

That’s a pretty scary number, even considering that a large number probably don’t make it back on to the road. Those are cars that are actually written off by the insurer though – a quick search online will find me around 2,000 cars going through auctions as unrecorded this week. Is anyone really to blame here? Let’s face it, no-one actually seems to be breaking any rules.

All I can tell you is who has the most to gain and it’s not the vehicle check websites, which have guarantees in place if a consumer finds their data is wrong, and it’s not the car dealers who face the backlash from customers.

There is, however, more money to be made from an unrecorded salvage car at auction than one marked ‘S’ or ‘N’ and I think that is where undercover reporters should be paying closer attention.

It’s a lot easier to point the finger at car dealer ‘crooks’ though...

‘It would be impossible in most cases to say what a car has been through in its lifetime.’

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

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 31

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BEST MODEL

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

The Megane mistake that left me more than £500 out of pocket

N

o matter how much experience we have in this game, there’s not one of us that doesn’t make a mistake every now and then.

But after 40-odd years of pushing tin, I think that last week was my crowning glory. For reasons best known to the bottom of my whisky glass, I bought a 2007 Renault Megane Scenic. That, in itself, isn’t necessarily a bad thing, for despite their propensity for throwing their electronic toys out of the pram, they’re popular among people who can’t afford a new car because they’ve had too many children, and in turn, that makes them fairly easy to sell.

Now, I admit, we’re not talking telephone numbers here, as I bought it unseen via a live online auction for just £480, or £565 out of the door. It was a nice bright metallic blue, had a low-ish mileage of 82,000 and most of the service history, so in my mind’s eye it was sitting on my forecourt with a nice lick of polish and some tyre gloop, looking like half-decent value at £1,495. It’s cars like this that make the decent wedge these days, as they’re far easier to shift than the stock that clogs up the middle ground between PCP buyers and bangernomics.

Specialise in the £4-10k market and it’s hard work out there right now, as I’m sure a lot of you already know.

Cheap family motors, though, fly out of the door and I usually do at least one a week, normally with between five hundred quid to a grand on the bonnet. It’s a fairly decent income among the other, more specialist stuff that I sell.

However, I very quickly realised that I’d pretty much flushed my £565 down the khazi with this one. As usual, I sent my mate Tony the Trailer to go and pick it up for me.

Tony’s a good bloke, albeit not a very intelligent one, and he’s also as deaf as a house brick. So I can’t really blame him for bringing it back to me, despite the awful noise it was making.

As soon as I fired it up to back it off the trailer (a challenge in itself as the clutch was so high I almost had to cut the roof off to let it out), the Renault started tapping like a crack-fuelled woodpecker, as various bits of the engine that weren’t supposed to work loose decided to tell us that’s exactly what they’d done.

Tempering that particular din, though, was the exhaust,

which was farting more than I do after the rugby club curry night.

Tony the Trailer might be Mutton Jeff but I’m astonished he didn’t notice this particular issue by virtue of the fact that it would have made his head wobble about on his neck.

There was no way of drowning the racket out either, as the ageold cure of turning the radio on resulted in an LCD display with more broken crystals than Del Boy’s chandelier, accompanied by, well, nothing. Then, as I was moving it to the back of the yard out of shame, it started to over-rev. If you’ve ever watched American tractor racing on the TV, you’ll understand the noise.

I switched it off quickly, only to get out and find the headlights and taillights doing an impression of the disco at my local working men’s club. Red, orange, white and not keeping time to any kind of music. I’ve seen this before on Renaults of this vintage, and it basically the means the battery or alternator are goosed. Or in the case of this particular ‘gem’, both.

Not only that, but the thing is also a biohazard. I know kids can make a mess – after all, I’m a father myself, and although it was a long time ago, I can still remember the ‘fun’ involved in picking out bits of regurgitated Chewits from velour upholstery, but this was a whole different level. I don’t think the car ever had a child in the back, but more likely a bunch of lads on a stag do having a beer-fuelled food fight.

I’ve been in the trade long enough to know how to work miracles with a bag of cleaning products, but this one simply wasn’t worth the effort.

A less scrupulous dealer may well have cut his losses, slapped an exhaust bandage on it to shut it up a bit and flung it back through the ring, but I just can’t do that myself. Either an unsuspecting private punter will buy it, or worse it could end up with one of my mates in the trade, and if they were to find out it was sourced from me, there’d be forfeits aplenty in the way that only the car trade knows.

When I had a similar experience a few years back and found out the car was from my pal Dirty Dave, he found himself fending off 72 pizzas that were delivered direct to his work…

Instead, the Megane has gone to a good home, where engaging the clutch will now be a lot easier: my local fire station – and when I walked my dog past the other evening, they’d already lopped the roof off…

‘Tony’s a good bloke, albeit not a very intelligent one, and he’s also as deaf as a house brick.’

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 | 33

Feedback.

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

Our website at CarDealerMag.co.uk

Valeters might start off JUST wanted to know what people do as far as valeting is concerned. Many moons ago, when I operated from a pitch, every car got the full works: spare wheel out; back seats lifted and cleaned under; engine steamed off, the lot, but since I have worked from home I have not done things to the same degree. Maybe I should and just pay the extra and get them done.

I was just wondering what everyone else does.

Also – is it just me, but do a lot of valeters start off dead keen but then start scrimping to the point I seem to have to fall out with them to get them to do a proper job?

Lazz This seems to vary a great deal from dealer to dealer. I know of some dealers who don’t valet anything they buy and you can even see light stains on the seats in their ad photos.

Not good at all!

Others really go to town even if the car is immaculate and get everything done. Personally, I think it depends on the car. I have gone to extreme lengths in the past but I think a middleground approach works well with most cars.

If it’s already immaculate, I’m reluctant to go too far with the valeting. I’ve had quite a few buyers even say they prefer to see a dirty engine bay! You can’t win with some. When I had a pitch, all the engines were steam-cleaned and I was accused of trying to cover up leaks!

Personally I couldn’t sell anything with an absolutely filthy engine bay.

MJG50 Unless it’s awful, we leave the engine bay and explain why. We got sick of people saying it’s been cleaned to hide leaks or whatever.

Probably once a month, someone says they’d prefer it clean so we explain we are happy to do so for collection now they have seen it ‘as is’.

SC Derby I don’t clean the engine but anyone who says

Picture of the month

Something a bit different this month as we bring you a limelight-hogging gull who made a bid for fame as it stared directly down the lens of a traffic camera. The bird was spotted inspecting the lens of the Transport for London camera on Brunswick Road in east London. Say cheese!

they prefer to see leaves and gunge in the engine bay is a liar. When it goes on a ramp for its test and its PDI, Mr Customer, any leaks are spotted and fixed. If you are worried we are hiding something, it’s probably best you don’t buy anything from us.

EPV Unless you are doing cheapies, if you skimp on valeting or any prep, you will lose business. It was instilled in me when I was a boy that your stock had to look mint at all times and smell nice.

How often do you leave a stone chip on a bonnet thinking it will sell and it doesn’t? You then get it done and it sells quickly. I know a lot of punters don’t open the lid to inspect and listen before buying these days but for the time it takes, I think you have got to do it. trade vet

A stone chip on a bonnet will not make any difference to a modern-day buyer’s decision.

If they walked away, it wasn’t because of one stone chip on a bonnet. I’ve never steam-cleaned an engine bay in the 14 years I’ve been selling cars and it definitely hasn’t lost me much (if any) business.

Nick M.K. I only do the engine bays if they look awful.

I wrap up any sensitive stuff with cling film, spray down with soapy water, agitate in, do a VERY quick spray-off with the jet and dry with compressed air and towels. Then I dress the plastics with a tiny bit of tyre shine on a microfibre towel. It hasn’t caused any problems yet (touch wood).

Mikey360 Back last year I had a fussy punter who wanted the engine bay cleaned due to some leaves and general dirt. Just to humour him, I told the valeter to do it all by hand and not to put the lance in there at any time. Now does the valeter spend 20 minutes picking out all the dirt and debris or take the easier and quicker option of being a jet-wash warrior? As soon as I turned my back, he took option number two which I wasn’t aware of until Mr Customer broke down with loads of dashboard lights coming on. Turned out water had got into one of the ECUs and the car had to be sent away not once but twice.

Dealer Anything apart from bangers and trade sales have to be cleaned within an inch of their lives.

Unless every single person is commenting how well looked after a car is and how immaculate it is, you’re not at the right level of valet. All used cars will have evidence of wear and tear but if you can get your car clean to such an extent that your punters are not seeing this evidence of use and wear, then you are halfway to a sale.

Blenheim Car Sales

Top tweets Here’s Chloe collecting her summer blue Polo from John Rawlings @Marshall_VW #Bridgwater. I bet Chloe had a wonderful bank holiday driving her new car! #marshallmoments.

Marshall Motor Group @MarshallGroup We’d like to say a huge well done to the 13,000 walkers and 100 Arnold Clark employees who took part in last week’s Glasgow @TheKiltwalk!

Arnold Clark @ArnoldClark

34 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Plug into some #positive energy with the quirky yet cool #RenaultTwizy!

This #car is unlike anything you’ll have experienced out on the #road...

Hendy Group @hendygroup

The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index for April is out, showing wholesale vehicle prices are up from March and year-ago levels.

Cox Automotive @CoxAutomotive

Maybe it’s time for a new career. We have lots of exciting opportunities at our Slough and Tunbridge Wells branches including technician and office junior roles.

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It’s a milestone year for Starkwood Media Group Ltd as we celebrate providing innovative media solutions to the automotive industry for 20 years!

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

On Twitter: Follow @CarDealerMag

Forum: CarDealerMagazine.co.uk/forum

keen, but does it last?

NEW BUSINESS

It’ll be slow, but I am determined!

ME and my friend have been selling cars for four years approximately at a main dealership.

We are fed up of not reaping the full benefits, for example selling a car and only getting a percentage. Hence why we want to start a business up ourselves.

In regards to setting up, we will have to go part-time because if we quit our jobs and went all-in to setting up ourselves, this would cause huge financial strain. We’ve always bought the odd car by scrounging through Shpock/ Facebook/Gumtree and then sold it for a tasty return but it is such a headache as you are trying to get private sellers to sell to you for near-enough trade money.

We want to get our trade plates/trade insurance asap so that we can buy our cars and drive them home without having to worry about getting caught by the police.

Our vision is to have our own forecourt eventually with a small garage to carry out repairs/MOTs/servicing and a recovery business too. Understandably it is going to be a slow process but I am determined to get this done. My question is, what would we need?

Jaime

If you can’t afford to do it full-time, there’s no point in starting up as part-time traders because that’s all you will ever be. You’d be better off getting an ice cream van. It’s a fulltime job in other words.

Tony911 One of the problems with part-time trading with a tiny amount of stock is the fact that things can grind to a halt when you get a car that just won’t sell. If you’ve got 10 vehicles and one sticks, it’s a pain but doesn’t drag the business down. When you’ve got two cars and they won’t sell, what do you do? It’s a genuine question you’ll have to resolve, otherwise you could be doing nothing for two months.

Darkbluecars The best way to get started is just to do it.

There will never be the perfect time, you will never have enough money or enough stock or anything else but the key is getting cracking, getting stuck in and learning. Learn what works, what sells, what doesn’t, what attracts good customers and what attracts the bad.

Rory RSC

That awkward question if you charge an admin fee...

JUST interested if anybody charges admin fees?

It’s becoming increasingly popular, and if anybody does charge an admin fee, how do you answer the inevitable, ‘what’s that for?’

HKQAC We charge an admin fee of £150 if the customer arranges their own finance. This covers the time spent required for new set-ups when some companies want pictures of premises inside and out and proof of where the car came from.

MarkTVS If I was a customer, I would not pay an admin fee.

Row Us dealers pay HUGE fees to the auction houses and don’t walk. Because even with the fees added, the purchase still makes sense.

Car supermarkets and low-cost airlines have demonstrated over the years that customers will absolutely pay any fees and even if some ‘walk’, most will buy. For a small business, however, it’s a great selling point to not have fees. We have bigger margins and lower costs than the supermarkets so we can live without them.

Nick M.K. I would love to charge admin fees to every customer. Huge profit potential.

Rory RSC

Transfer trouble: I’m being kept waiting for cash!

I SOLD a car on Saturday afternoon for £3,500.

It was paid for via phone banking and I heard the whole conversation as my customer had it on loud speaker. He passed all his security checks and the lady said the money would be with me within two hours. It’s now Wednesday morning and there’s still no sign of it. I spoke to the customer yesterday and he contacted the bank and verified his account details to make sure they hadn’t sent it elsewhere. They have now informed him it can take up to four working days! In the 11 years of doing this job I have never waited so long for a transfer – maybe a day at most. Has anybody else had this before? The customer did seem genuine.

Tony911 Mine normally takes minutes. That said, for the first time ever, I had one go missing over Easter.

My neighbour paid me £44 for a couple of parts I got him. He did it on the Thursday before Easter but by the Wednesday after Easter it still wasn’t

Sometimes payments get flagged for additional security. The customer may get an automated phone call, text or email asking him to confirm the payment instruction. Sometimes customers miss these and it takes a while for the bank to release the funds. Chances are, after he spoke to his bank again, you will receive this payment today.

Nick M.K. Guys, do not release any cars until the money has cleared in the destination bank.

Stalker

in. His bank told him it had gone elsewhere, but he only has me on his transfer list. They told him he will have to wait to get his money back. They redid my transfer, which went in within minutes.

Not sure how he’s going to recover his money though. His was RBS, mine Santander.

Dave2302

My neighbour is here, he’s got his money back.

His bank had a software problem and sent the money to the wrong account!

Dave2302 BOOM! In this morning after a visit to his bank who had messed it all up. HAPPY! Tony911

easier to get involved! Sign up to our forum at CarDealerMagazine.co.uk/forum

The publisher reserves the right to edit submissions.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 35

Dashboard.

Around the world Dealer news from somewhere other than here

SLOVAKIA

THE next-generation Land Rover Defender will be assembled in Slovakia rather than the UK, it has been confirmed. Jaguar Land Rover said the new vehicle will be designed and engineered in the UK, and will be unveiled later this year.

Its engines will be built in Wolverhampton, reinforcing its British roots. And the company said that although Defender was being moved abroad, there were plans for ‘significant investment’ at its Solihull plant.

USA

A MEMBER of staff at a car dealership in Bowling Green, Kentucky, has been dismissed after appearing in a racist video on Facebook.

People reacted with horror to the film, which insults African-Americans, and the worker was fired as soon as his employer, Martin Dodge Jeep Chrysler Ram, was made aware of the film. The company said: ‘We fully condemn the abhorrent racist and bigoted comments.’

GREECE

MAZDA has announced that together with its partner Syngelidis Group it will start sales of new vehicles in Greece later this year. A Mazda flagship store will open in the south of Athens this summer, when Greek drivers will be able to experience the latest model line-up of Mazda cars, including the all-new Mazda3 and the MX-5.

CHINA

DAIMLER has suspended the sales franchise of a Chinese Mercedes-Benz dealership after a video of a customer complaining about the business went viral on social media.

The woman can be seen sitting on the bonnet of a car in a dealership in Xi’an city in the northwestern province of Shaanxi, expressing her displeasure. She is apparently unhappy with the fact that a car she bought from the business leaked oil and that she allegedly suffered poor service in her attempts to get staff to resolve the issue.

Daimler, Mercedes-Benz’s parent company, said the business’s franchise had been suspended.

AUSTRALIA

A DEALERSHIP in Shepparton, Victoria, has been targeted by thieves who stole cars, keys and tools worth £230,000 in multiple burglaries that took place over a single weekend.

Criminals also caused damage to the Toyota dealership by removing fencing and cladding and breaking into a locked room.

Two of the stolen vehicles were subsequently found burnt out.

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Finance.

NEW ARRANGEMENT

Startline secures £325m credit deal from bank

MOTONOVO

Integration with Aldermore seen as ‘exciting’

S

tartline Motor Finance has secured a new £325m credit facility from multinational investment bank J.P.Morgan.

It is the second arrangement of its type between the two companies, following a successful £250 million facility issued at the end of 2017.

They allow Startline to borrow money for particular purposes for a specific period of time.

Glasgow-based Startline, which boasts a flexible approach to the motor finance sector, also reported ending the first quarter of 2019 with business volumes up by more than 20 per cent on the same period last year.

Chief executive Paul Burgess said: ‘The lending philosophy that we have pioneered in the motor finance sector is increasingly coming into its own, thanks both to greater understanding of our proposition from introducers such as dealers and to current market conditions.

‘Across our product range, we have seen higher levels of penetration but the PCP offering that we introduced

last year has been especially effective.

‘It effectively has its own market niche that is very relevant to the used car market today.’

Startline doubled its headcount in 2018 to around 80 people and announced in March that it would be recruiting a further 50 as it brought its customer services function in-house.

Burgess added: ‘The last 12 months

have been transformative for us as a business. Our lending takes place mainly through introducers such as franchised dealer groups, car supermarkets and online platforms – and we are now working with larger numbers of all of these as well as seeing higher penetration at existing customers.’ He predicted further growth in 2019.

TECHNOLOGY

Dealer support boosted with bigger investment SANTANDER Consumer Finance is increasing investment in technology support for dealers.

It now has an enhanced renewals platform aimed at boosting retention and expanding training for sales staff.

New features have also been added to its free Customers for Life programme which delivers an enhanced lead management system focused on significantly increasing customer retention rates and driving dealer profitability.

38 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

It is also providing free interactive online training for sales staff as part of its commitment to supporting personal development with the launch of Virtual Dealer aimed at helping dealers increase the efficiency of renewal calls to customers.

Enhancements to Customers for Life, which is part of the Gateway renewals platform used by more than 600 dealers nationwide, include support on managing leads and a new customer profile area.

Andy Green, director of marketing and innovation, said: ‘Feedback on Customers for Life shows it has been successful in helping dealers to increase renewals and enhance their sales performance, but it needs to keep evolving. We believe there is an enormous opportunity to help our dealers prosper and deliver mutual sales growth, which is part of our long-term commitment to creating a sustainable and prosperous future for our dealer partners.’

MOTONOVO Finance has become part of UK specialist lender and savings bank Aldermore.

The integration comes after Aldermore was acquired by FirstRand Group in March 2018 and marks the successful coming together of FirstRand’s UK operations in retail, business and motor finance.

The MotoNovo Finance business has been owned by the FirstRand group since 2006.

MotoNovo chief executive Mark Standish, pictured, said he viewed the integration as the latest exciting step forward for the motor finance company.

‘Joining the Aldermore family brings us the strategic benefits of greater sustainability through a lower cost of funds and greater diversification.

‘MotoNovo will now begin to write new business from Aldermore’s balance sheet – a move that will put us in a far stronger competitive position.’

Aldermore chief executive Phillip Monks said: ‘This is a very exciting step in Aldermore’s journey.

This move will create real benefits for our customers and shareholders.’

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Time is money BEN GARSIDE

A monthly look at the world of automotive finance and marketing

Investing in your ‘stadium’ and team should net you a championship result

W

ho would have thought it? An all-English Champions League Final. I think we may have witnessed two of the greatest comebacks in the history of the Champions League. Liverpool suffering a 3-0 defeat to Barcelona, then winning the second leg 4-0 at Anfield. Then, one day later, Tottenham were down on aggregate after losing 1-0 at home and went 2-0 down in the first half at Ajax (3-0 on aggregate). Everything looked doomed for Tottenham, only for them to score three goals in the second half, clinching the victory on away goals.

Before and during the games, a group of my friends were discussing how it was the end for both teams. Obviously, Liverpool and Tottenham subsequently came back from the depths of defeat to win. I’m sure my friends were not alone, as not many people could have foreseen this happening. These results reminded me that football’s a crazy old game at times, and that it always has a surprise or two up its sleeve!

But looking deeper into the results, why did two English teams win and why are there two English teams in the Champions League Final?

Well, here’s my take on it... As we know, money has been ploughed into our great game over the past decade or two, and while there are a lot of heads that turn when people hear how much players are on, that’s not the only money that has been spent.

A lot of teams have been investing, improving their facilities and training grounds, and building better stadiums. Derby County (my team) have invested heavily in the youth team environment, the

facilities for them to use, and their ongoing development.

All of these improvements and developments are helping on and off the pitch, with the new or improved stadiums bringing better views and easier access for new and old fans, meaning attendances are growing in all their stands.

The improved training facilities are helping to secure new stars for our beloved teams and meaning as well that the youngsters are getting the training and development that they need to advance to the first team.

If you wrap all these things together you start to see well-trained, fully developed, knowledgeable clubs and teams. And when watching Liverpool and Tottenham (and many other UK teams at the moment) you see a great sense of teamwork and togetherness – and it’s this that has helped the two clubs get into the final.

What I’m trying to say is that it’s not just the players, it’s also the fans, coaching staff, facilitation teams, accounts team, academy recruits, customer service staff, etc. They’re all one team, one fine-tuned engine, pushing in the same direction… to succeed!

A car dealership is no different. If you continue to invest in your ‘stadium’ (showroom) with fresh signs, clean facilities plus an improved look and feel, then new and old customers will continue to visit or return.

If you invest in your team’s training and development, they will continue to improve and grow as a team to help you push towards your goals, and if you invest in your ‘academy’ (apprentices) you’ll continue to bring fresh young talent and ideas through the business. And continue to succeed.

‘All of these improvements and developments are helping on and off the pitch . . . meaning attendances are growing.’

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 | 39

Dealfinder.

Finance.

YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO CITY CARS

Kia Picanto

Citroen C1

THE Picanto is one of the more popular city cars, with its practicality and seven-year warranty having lots of buyer appeal.

We’ve opted for the ‘3’ spec 84bhp 1.0-litre petrol unit, whose standard equipment is very generous, including as it does cruise control, a reversing camera and autonomous emergency braking.

Kia is offering a £1,000 deposit contribution towards the model, which is joined by the customer putting forward £2,000.

This is followed by 36 monthly payments of £178.47, bringing the total payable by the customer at the end of the three-year contract to £8,424.92. A final payment of £5,085 can be made if the customer wishes to buy their Picanto, bringing the overall amount to £13,509.92. Even with the deposit contribution, this works out at £359.92 more than the £13,150 list price, because of a 5.9 per cent APR rate.

THE Citroen C1 is an ideal summer city car – particularly as it has the option of an ‘Airscape’ electric canvas roof.

We’ve chosen the C1 in high-spec Airscape Flair grade, which has equipment such as a reversing camera, 15-inch alloy wheels and seven-inch touchscreen with smartphone connectivity, and with the sole petrol engine option – a 71bhp 1.0-litre petrol unit.

A customer deposit of £1,999.94 is joined by a Citroen deposit contribution of £1,000. This helps to lower the 36 monthly payments to £169.71. At the end of the three-year deal, the customer will have spent £8,109.50.

If they decide to buy it, a final payment of £5,332 can be made, which means the total payable by the customer is £13,441.50. This works out £168.50 cheaper than the £13,610 list price, because of the deposit contribution and low 2.9 per cent APR rate.

INVESTMENT

Toyota’s finance arm takes majority stake in carpool start-up T oyota Financial Services is to become the majority shareholder in Faxi, a carpooling app firm start-up.

It began working with London-based Faxi last year to develop a Toyota-branded platform offering incentivised carpooling in Europe.

The Japanese car manufacturer currently runs several projects across six cities in Europe and three around the globe.

Via the app, users can find and connect with colleagues who share the same route to work and commute at similar times.

It lets companies verify employee carpooling in real time and offer incentives and rewards, such as priority parking. TFS has now decided to invest in Faxi, becoming the majority shareholder.

40 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

by DAVE BROWN @CarDealerDave

The ambition is to scale the Faxi platform across Europe and beyond, expanding the current number of cities and projects.

Doug Gillies, pictured, managing director of Toyota Financial Services (UK), said: ‘In addition to delivering sales support for environmentally friendly hybrid-electric technology, Toyota Financial Services is engaging in new mobility solutions.

‘Building on the partnership with Faxi, TFS decided to invest in Faxi to introduce technology to reduce single-occupancy vehicles and the congestion and emissions that they cause.

‘This is game-changing technology and we’re excited to get behind it with our brand.’

Tony Lynch, chief executive and co-founder of Faxi, said: ‘Large organisations across the globe have workplace parking issues.

‘In addition to benefiting companies by solving this concern, employees are encouraged to carpool with co-workers by, for example, earning a reserved parking space.

‘Ultimately, if more people carpool, this can have a considerable downsizing effect on the number of cars on the road, benefiting an entire community.’

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU CAN PROPOSE TO US

Ford Ka+ FORD updated its small Ka+ city car last year, with the model benefiting from a new touchscreen and Sync 3 infotainment system, torquier engines and the introduction of a new SUV-inspired trim level – known as the Active.

However, the pick of the range is the mid-spec Zetec, which comes with features such as 15-inch alloy wheels, air conditioning and a 6.5inch touchscreen.

We’ve paired it with the more powerful 84bhp version of the 1.2-litre petrol unit (a 69bhp version is also available).

A customer deposit of £1,900 is followed by 36 monthly payments of £166.70, which adds up to £7,901.20 over the three years.

Should the customer wish to buy their Ka+, a final payment of £5,154 can be made, which brings the total amount payable by the customer to £13,055.20, working out at £1,105.20 more than the £11,950 list price.

DEALERWEB

FLA

Prompt responses by dealers urged as finance penetration increases

Latest figures show drop in consumer car finance market

THE growing popularity of finance in the used sector drove a positive month of used car sales in April, according to lead management expert Dealerweb.

Finance penetration jumped by 2.1 per cent to 46 per cent against the same month in 2018, marking a 6.4 per cent increase in used car finance sales as dealers continued to focus on used revenues.

Overall revenues from used car operations increased by 1.6 per cent, which saw drops in paint and GAP sales of 2.3 per cent and eight per cent respectively.

Dealerweb chief executive Martin Hill, pictured, said: ‘It is clear that online channels are growing in importance and it is vital that dealers capture these inquiries accurately and respond quickly.

‘Customers expect a quick response to their inquiries and our data shows that a prompt response is crucial for sales conversions.’

LATEST figures from the Finance & Leasing Association show that new business in the point-ofsale (POS) consumer car finance market fell one per cent by volume in March compared with the same month in 2018.

The corresponding value of new business was at a similar level to March 2018. The POS consumer new car finance market reported a fall in new business in March of three per cent by value and five per cent by volume compared with the same month in 2018.

The percentage of private new car sales financed by FLA members through the POS was 90.9 per cent in the 12 months to March – down from 91.1 per cent in the same period to February.

The POS consumer used car finance market reported new business up nine per cent by value in March, while volumes grew by four per cent compared with 2018.

ONLINE? SAY YES TO A

PROCESS THAT IS: QUICK EASY EFFICIENT

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 41

Forecourt.

FIRST DRIVE THE KNOWLEDGE

DS 3 Crossback Ted Welford headed to London to put DS’s new premium crossover through its paces. Does it have what it takes to rival premium German manufacturers?

What is it?

DS is remembered as Citroen’s forward-thinking model back in the 1950s, and the firm aimed to capitalise on that heritage by relaunching the model name in 2010 with its DS3 supermini.

But as of 2015, it’s been attempting to fend for itself, which has proved to be a challenge. It didn’t help that its early models were just rebadged Citroens. Now though, the firm is trying to separate further from Citroen. This has meant stopping production of the ex-Citroen models and launching its own cars such as this one.

What’s new?

The DS 3 Crossback is the first model to use the PSA Group’s new ‘Common Modular Platform’. The key benefit to this is flexibility, which is why the DS will be seen with an all-electric version later in the year. The DS 3 Crossback also majors on tech – with the highlights being matrix LED lighting, a 10-inch touchscreen and flush pop-out door handles.

Alongside the car, buyers get access to DS’s ‘Only You’ programme – essentially a concierge service that can allow free rental of another car, eight years of roadside assistance and access to VIP events via an app.

What’s under the bonnet?

Petrol engines are expected to be the best sellers on the DS 3, and 42 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

there are three variants of the turbocharged 1.2-litre petrol engine available – producing 99bhp, 128bhp and 153bhp.

The middle option, tested here, is the best choice as it delivers a good mix of performance and efficiency.

An ultra-efficient turbocharged 1.5-litre diesel is also available, while a pure EV (dubbed the E-Tense) is due before the end of 2019.

What’s it like to drive?

DS likes to make a point about how comfortable its cars are, but this clashes with its goal to fill the model’s wheel arches with the largest alloy wheels possible.

The set of 18s fitted to our test model resulted in a disappointing ride. The smaller 17-inch rims fitted on models lower down the range are a far better option.

With city drivers at the heart of the DS 3, that is unsurprisingly where the model makes the most sense. Light, direct steering and largely good visibility result in it being an effective around-town runaround. It’s surprisingly refined at motorway speeds, too.

How does it look?

Despite the fussy styling, DS should be praised for the new car not looking like anything else on the road. Far too many crossovers blend into the background with their lacklustre designs, but this is the antithesis. Sharp headlights (matrix

LEDs on range-topping models) along with 3D-effect taillights and a large black painted grille give the model real presence out on the road.

What’s it like inside?

Model: DS 3 Crossback Price as tested: £32,800 Engine: 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine Power: 128bhp Torque: 230Nm Max speed: 124 0-60mph: 9.0 seconds MPG: 47.1 Emissions (CO2): 117g/km TARGET BUYERS: City-based buyers looking for a premium crossover with bold and distinctive styling.

If you thought the exterior was a bit extreme, just wait until you see the cabin. It’s as if DS decided to tear up the rulebook with the interior.

The touchscreen’s key buttons are operated using rhombusshaped buttons that surround the sleek air vents, while in the centre console there’s enough glitzy metal to make a magpie shy away – the aluminium switches actually being the controls for the electric windows. It’s needlessly fussy and overly complicated. What should be applauded, though, is the highquality leather, while the 10-inch touchscreen is fantastic to use.

eye-watering list price. Our test car came in at nearly £33,000 – or £30,000 without options.

What’s the spec like?

What do the press think?

DS is pricing the 3 Crossback optimistically, to say the least, with the range starting at £21,550 for an entry-level Elegance model.

Basic features include a seven-inch touchscreen with smartphone connectivity, keyless start, flush door handles and a suite of safety kit.

Our top-of-the-range Ultra Prestige test car had oodles of equipment – such as a 10-inch touchscreen, massaging front seats, matrix LED headlights and superbly comfortable black Nappa leather seats. That said, it should have plenty for its

Autocar said: ‘You certainly can’t accuse the 3 Crossback of being boring.’ Fleet News said the car feels ‘a bit more special than the usual crop of mainstream models’.

THE RIVALS: Audi Q2, Mini Countryman, Volkswagen T-Roc. KEY SELLING POINTS: 1. Unique styling.

2. Loaded with tech.

3. Feels French and luxurious.

DEAL CLINCHER: A genuine feeling that you’re standing out from the crowd.

What do we think?

It’s hard not to admire the French brand for what it’s done with the DS 3 Crossback. But it all just feels a touch too ambitious. DS needs to offer some tempting deals and deliver some superb marketing to get buyers away from the premium German manufacturers.

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CarDealerMag.co.uk | 43

Forecourt.

FIRST DRIVE

Audi e-tron Styling

The car does look very similar to other models in the Q range – but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Audi’s hotly anticipated entry into the EV market is here, but has it been a worthwhile wait? Rebecca Chaplin finds out...

What is it?

Audi has looked at a flourishing SUV market in a world that is taking electric vehicles seriously for the first time and made a very sensible decision to launch the e-tron. It’s the first of three new all-electric cars on their way by 2020, all of which will wear the e-tron name but with GT and Q4 added for those coming later this year.

What’s new?

This is the first time that Audi has sold a completely electric model. However, you shouldn’t feel bad if it didn’t jump out as anything other than another Audi SUV. While there are some subtle updates to the overall image, it does look very similar to other models in the Q range – and we don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing.

What’s under the bonnet?

This is all powered by two electric motors paired with Audi’s electric all-wheel-drive system.

The e-tron 55 quattro uses Audi’s new and confusing naming system that brings electric, petrol and diesel powertrains under the same umbrella.

In this case, it means its electric motors produce 265kW of power – or 355bhp in old money – which will take the 44 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

car to 60mph in 5.5 seconds. That’s not going to feel like the fastest Teslas on the market, but for a mid-sized SUV it’s still pretty quick off the mark.

The e-tron is also capable of charging to 80 per cent in 30 minutes from a fast charger, and at maximum capacity can last for up to 259 miles.

Ride quality

The ride is smooth – even at high motorway speeds – and the steering feels responsive.

What’s it like to drive?

If I were to hand the keys for the e-tron to my mum, I’m not sure she’d notice it was an electric car. OK, she might detect the slight whirring noise that you wouldn’t get from anything other than an EV, but this could be the most convincing electric vehicle masquerading as a conventional car around.

Maybe this says more about the refinement of Audi’s standard engines, or it’s possible that the e-tron has arrived at the perfect time when driving an electric car really is, well, normal.

Power delivery is great, the ride is smooth – even at high motorway speeds – and the steering feels responsive.

We knew exactly how far we would be going on our test drive – around 20 miles within the initial range given – but my driving style didn’t change, I wasn’t worried about running out of charge, and we safely arrived back with more charge than expected.

How does it look?

The e-tron has been given some styling additions that update the car’s appearance compared with others in the Audi range and improve efficiency. From the front, it shares a similarly striking look to the latest Q8 model. However, has this moved on far

‘This car will surely convince more people to make the switch to electric driving.’

THE KNOWLEDGE Model: Audi e-tron 55 quattro Price as tested: £74,895 Engine: Twin all-electric motors Power: 265kW/355bhp Torque: 561Nm Max speed: 124mph 0-60mph: 5.5 seconds Range: Up to 259 miles Emissions (CO2): 0g/km TARGET BUYERS: Existing premium car drivers who are looking for zero fumes from their exhaust.

Drivetrain

The car is powered by two electric motors paired with Audi’s electric allwheel-drive system.

THE RIVALS: Jaguar I-Pace, Tesla Model S, Tesla Model X. KEY SELLING POINTS: 1. German quality in an electric car.

2. Audi’s new infotainment system.

3. Easily achievable range.

DEAL CLINCHER: Driving more or less like a conventional car will suit buyers who don’t want to change their driving style for an EV.

enough from the existing range of SUVs? Take out of the equation that this is an EV therefore most buyers expect some futuristic technology, and it just doesn’t feel as special as it should when older Q-model SUVs drive by with a very similar design.

What’s it like inside?

In fairness to the e-tron, if you go for the launch edition you’ll get the very special wing mirror cameras – or you can opt to replace your standard mirrors with these pod-like cameras. These display what’s behind you on small OLED screens in the doors. To use them at first is a little jarring, but slowly your brain adjusts to what you’re seeing. Apart from this, high-quality and durable interior materials are used and you get the latest Audi dual-screen infotainment system.

What’s the spec like?

The price of the e-tron does start a little high at £70,805. You could buy a Q8 for £10,000 less, while an entry-level Jaguar I-Pace is even cheaper than that. However, the e-tron is packed with some great standard equipment and arguably better space than either of those models. At entry level, it gets 20-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, air suspension, keyless entry, leather seats and parking cameras.

What do the press think?

Autocar said: ‘Keen drivers may miss the I-Pace’s more pronounced athleticism, but as a classy, refined, practical, comfortable and sophisticated premium electric car, it could well be the e-tron that proves the more popular of the two.’

AutoExpress noted: ‘The styling might be plain to some and it does little to allay reservations that electric cars are too expensive, but doing without the weirdness of some rivals might prove to be a clever way of appealing to those still on the fence about EV ownership.’

What do we think?

The Audi e-tron has completely wowed us simply because it is so normal. For years, we’ve been testing electric cars with spaceship-like qualities, but Audi has taken the features of its fantastic SUV range and seamlessly added all-electric power. Paired with its impressive range and high-quality specifications, it’ll surely succeed in convincing more people to make the switch to electric driving.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 45

Forecourt.

FIRST DRIVE THE KNOWLEDGE

BMW X7 Ryan Hirons heads up to Scotland to drive the largest BMW SUV yet – the Range Rover-rivalling X7. What did he make of it?

What is it?

BMW has long been an established contender in the SUV market. Since the X5 debuted in 1999, it’s gone on to become one of the most recognisable faces in the premium large car segment which has gone on to spawn a series of nichebusting X cars. There is one part of the SUV market it has been notably absent from, however – and that’s the very top end of it. Until now.

What’s new?

Now, BMW is keen to point out this isn’t just a bigger X5 — think more a 7 Series that can also cover the muddy stuff if need be.

That it can do, in no small part thanks its standard all-wheel-drive system, but this is first and foremost a luxury cruiser — as well as the first seven-seater SUV from BMW. Plus, being just over five metres long, two metres wide and 1.8m tall, it’s comfortably the biggest car the brand has ever marketed.

What’s under the bonnet?

From launch, two diesels and a petrol are on offer for the BMW X7, and it’s the latter we’ve got behind the wheel of. It’s the firm’s triedand-tested ‘40i’ offering — a 3.0-litre, turbocharged straight-six engine.

It produces 335bhp and 450Nm of torque, delivered to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic gearbox. The result is 0-60mph in 5.9 seconds, with a top speed of 46 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

152mph possible. As for efficiency, BMW says it’ll manage 24.6-24.8mpg on the combined WLTP cycle, with emissions weighing in at 198g/km.

It’s a unit that’s remarkably smooth in smaller cars – and that remains the case here.

What’s it like to drive?

The X7 does a remarkable job of hiding its weight. It offers a more involving drive than its key rival in the Range Rover, and certainly feels more agile in all scenarios too.

It’s when covering motorway miles the X7 really shines, though.

With a supple ride, and a near enough silent and very comfortable cabin, it makes the prospect of a multi-100-mile journey quite pleasing – although we’d opt for the 30d in that scenario so less time is spent at the pump.

We’ll be honest, the styling of the BMW X7 is something of an acquired taste. Up front, there’s the unmissable – and most divisive – huge front grille, flanked by thin LED headlights, while taking the long walk around to the rear reveals a taillight assembly that almost mimics that of the 7 Series saloon.

It’s definitely more appreciable in the flesh.

What’s it like inside?

When forking out £70k+ out for a luxury SUV, you’d expect a plush cabin, right? Well, that’s certainly the case with the X7. It’s emblazoned

in leather and real wood trimming, with supremely comfortable seats and bags of room for all seven occupants. Yep, that third row is actually liveable with – even for a full-sized adult.

The thing with the interior, though, is that it’s still missing that sense of occasion that the Range Rover delivers.

What’s the spec like?

Standard equipment is generous on the BMW X7. Its £74,195 starting price in 40i guise brings with it luxury highlights such as adaptive LED headlights, 21-inch alloy wheels, four-zone climate control, ambient interior lighting, an electrically-adjustable steering wheel and seats, plus BMW’s Digital Live Cockpit that features its iDrive system and 12.3-inch digital instrument display.

There’s also a plethora of safety and assistance gear thrown in like cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, BMW’s Parking Assistant Plus package and rainsensing wipers. Buyers could comfortably knock the price of the car into the £100k ballpark with a generous ticking of the options list but it offers a respectable amount of kit at a price that means it undercuts the Range Rover.

What do the press think?

Autocar said: ‘It’s far from the most elegant or imaginatively designed

Model: BMW X7 Price as tested: £74,195 Engine: 3.0-litre petrol straight-six Power: 335bhp Torque: 450Nm Max speed: 152mph 0-60mph: 5.9 seconds MPG: 24.8 CO2 emissions: 198g/km TARGET BUYERS: 7 Series owners looking for a larger car.

THE RIVALS: Range Rover, Audi Q7, Mercedes-Benz GLS. KEY SELLING POINTS: 1. Genuine off-road capability.

2. High levels of build quality.

3. More engaging to drive than rivals.

DEAL CLINCHER: Brings BMW quality and driving experience to the large SUV market.

BMW and it’s really too big for many British roads (and car parks).’ The Sun said: ‘Someone needs to tell the person who designed the X7 grille that size doesn’t matter.’

What do we think?

BMW knows how to build a good and proper SUV, and it’s showcased that in the X7. It’s presented a genuine Range Rover alternative that undercuts its British rival just enough on price to be noteworthy, while presenting a more engaging driving experience and some actual off-road ability too. That said, there’s a desire for a bit more flair from the X7 and its looks are not what most people would describe as ‘elegant’.

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CarDealerMag.co.uk | 47

Feature.

BILL SHEPHERD MUSTANG

MUSTANG

MAGIC!

To celebrate the Ford Mustang’s 55th birthday and fourth year running as the world’s best-selling sports car, Oliver Young headed to Bill Shepherd Mustang to find out exactly what makes both the car and the dealership so special.

B

yfleet in Surrey might seem like an unusual place to find an American muscle car specialist but that’s where Bill Shepherd Mustang is based. Founded in 2005, it holds the self-proclaimed title of ‘the only “one marque” Mustang specialist dealer in the UK and possibly the world’. From the selling of vehicles to general servicing and modifications, if something bears the 55-year-old iconic horse emblem, these guys are here to help.

Since I first witnessed the American pony car slide around on the silver screen at a young age, I became obsessed with the Mustang. The intoxicating V8 roar and brutish looks won me over instantly. With this in mind, you can imagine how excited I was to visit Bill Shepherd Mustang – a place that deals almost exclusively with the heralded nameplate found in its title.

General manager Billy Hines welcomed me on my arrival. Although fairly new to Bill Shepherd Mustang, having worked there since September 2018, he has held several positions with the Ford brand over the years.

First of all, we took a look around the showroom – a fairly small area but one packed with cars. Most of the stock consists of performance-enhanced Mustangs, with highlights including an 800bhp 2018 Shelby Super Snake, imported Shelby GT350 and the BSM F5 – a oneof-a-kind Mustang built to take on the Goodwood Festival of Speed hill climb.

Hines was excited to reveal the dealership’s latest news. Ford has asked it to create some modification packages for the Mustang. This means you can buy your new car at a Ford Store 48 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

and select a Bill Shepherd styling, performance or handling pack. He compared it to ‘what RTR and Mountune do right now’.

Because it will be an official product, this addition won’t affect the manufacturer warranty.

‘This is why we’re really trying to work with Ford at the moment, so hopefully you’ll see that Bill Shepherd name out there,’ he said.

But going back to the dealership itself, there’s a notable classic American theme running through the place, complete with a retro jukebox and many Mustang pictures of old. The majority of the memorabilia can be found towards the back of the showroom, nicely complementing the three very special cars that reside there – two Shelby Cobras and what’s called the ‘NewClassic’.

The NewClassic is a £200,000 mash-up of old and new – in the best possible way. Hines described it as ‘a classic car with none of the classic car problems’. The NewClassic incorporates a ’60s Mustang shell with all-new parts. The showroom model, despite having the appearance of a classic, Bullitt-style Mustang, had the latest Mustang’s 5.0-litre Coyote V8 under the bonnet, as well as electric windows, among other things.

Next was the workshop where the next NewClassic, based on the shell of an original GT350, is being made. This will cost more than

Performance car technician Martin Sutherland, right, admires a customer’s Mustang GT that has special air suspension

General manager Billy Hines, left, with Oliver the current car because of the pricier shell and Roush supercharger set to bump the 5.0-litre up to over 700bhp, going on sale for £249,000.

The last part of the tour featured an abundance of cool classic race cars, two being a one-of-four Ford Battlebird and a Mustang Boss 302 – the latter of which had unfortunately suffered raceending damage at Goodwood. It’s then and while talking to Hines that you really discover the heart of Bill Shepherd Mustang – racing.

Bill Shepherd himself began in Formula Ford Racing and even got to know legendary American performance car designer and racing driver Carroll Shelby. Shepherd then moved to classic car racing before setting up shop in Surrey with the

‘Owners of 2015 to 2017 Mustangs are deciding to upgrade their cars rather than go for the new-shape Mustang.’

General manager at Bill Shepherd Mustang, Billy Hines

PICTURES: DARREN CASSEY

A Shelby 427 Cobra in the showroom goal of importing and selling Mustangs. Hines explained that Shepherd has always been a ‘Ford guy’ but has had a particular love for the Mustang since he began racing them. Shepherd, who’s also a Goodwood governor, in a way uses his business as a means of fuelling his racing addiction.

With the likes of Jim Farley, newly appointed president of new businesses, technology and strategy at Ford, and twice-Le Mans winner Romain Dumas co-driving with him at some of his races, you can tell it isn’t just a hobby to him.

After the tour, Hines discussed why the Mustang’s 55-year success story seems only to be growing, as well as how the dealership has continued to triumph with only one model to its name. While sitting opposite him and alongside another beautiful Cobra, two phone conversations for new business took place – the first about a possible supercharger upgrade and the other concerning the 2020 Shelby GT500.

It quickly became evident that the dealer’s good reputation, expertise and racing pedigree have allowed it to thrive among enthusiasts.

Attention to detail is everything in the Bill Shepherd Mustang workshop Customers even come from abroad simply for a service. What’s more, they don’t mess around when it comes to modifications. A lot of research and development goes into them, with Bill Shepherd personally driving your car ‘nine times out of 10’ to check it’s been set up correctly.

Hines adds he’s had emails from customers calling them ‘wizards’ for making their cars feel like new after modifications.

Much of it may seem like wizardry but an extensive amount of testing is involved. For example, with the BSM F5, a whole day was spent at the Top Gear Test Track doing solely 0-1200mph runs just to see how the car rocked back and forth. Hines said: ‘This was done simply to work out the optimum bump stop for the vehicle.’

Not only that but the people who work on Bill Shepherd’s cars have experience in fields such as Nascar, so they know what they’re doing.

You might think the new Ford Mustang, in right-hand drive and finally being sold in Europe, would be good for business, but it’s been CarDealerMag.co.uk | 49

Feature. something of a double-edged sword. With less demand for imported Mustangs, the company had had to adapt and move more towards the modification side of things. In the end, though, it seems making the jump was for the better.

Hines said: ‘We have seen significant growth in the past 12 months with sales and especially modifications. Owners of 2015 to 2017 Mustangs are deciding to upgrade their cars rather than go for the new-shape Mustang.’

I was then shown the parts wall, where customers can view the modifications on offer.

From a supercharger to an exhaust, it’s all visible when you enter the showroom.

Last but by no means least, I met performance car technician Martin Sutherland, whose job consists of the day-to-day servicing of vehicles and performance upgrades.

I was curious about what kind of people usually come knocking on their door.

‘Most customers are enthusiastic,’ he said.

‘I think they have done their homework on the internet before they come to us and they’ll tend to stick with a particular aftermarket manufacturer. You find most people either keep their cars completely standard or once they’ve started on one modification they’ll go for everything that’s available.’

The majority of cars are now the latestgeneration model, built since 2015. However, he said, when he joined just over a year ago, they dealt with a lot more classics.

Sutherland believes the used car market is to thank for making the already fairly affordable S550 even more accessible and popular. In terms of general upgrades, it’s now their job to improve on what Ford has done with the Mustang.

And really, that’s it right there – Bill Shepherd Mustang is essentially a group of passionate people coming together to expertly build upon a much-loved nameplate. This has allowed the dealer to tap into a market of loyal enthusiasts who share that same passion.

They say lightning never strikes twice, but Ford has seemingly pulled off the same trick it did in 1964. The original Mustang was a smash hit because the stylish pony car offered affordable performance plus a plethora of personalisation options, and the same can be said about the most recent iteration.

It may not be as luxurious, composed and dynamic as some rivals, but the car undeniably has a certain charm. Throughout its 55-year existence, the Mustang has captured our hearts through film and other forms of popular culture, and now it’s more accessible than ever.

In a time of expensive Mercedes-AMG and BMW M cars, the Mustang is a breath of fresh air, and it seems the rest of the world agrees with me – it’s become the world’s best-selling sports car for the fourth year running.

When asked if the plan was to stick with the Mustang as the sole focus of the dealership, Hines nodded, saying: ‘Because it’s the best in the business.’

50 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

A 1966 Ford Mustang Notchback is attended to in the Bill Shepherd Mustang workshop

The parts wall lets customers see what modifications are on offer

Through the years: the Ford Mustang’s greatest hits

1968

1969/70

This is the ’Stang everyone remembers.

Featuring in Bullitt’s famous car chase, the 1968 Fastback has cemented its place in the history books of film and motoring.

The Steve McQueen-driven classic has even spawned special Bullitt editions.

This 7.0-litre beast was born out of Nascar.

Ford needed at least 500 examples for its new racing engine to qualify – making 429s rare. It’s also the star car Keanu Reeves drove in the John Wick films (but some think it’s a Mach 1 posing as a 429).

Ford Mustang Fastback

Ford Mustang Boss 429

Q&A

We sat down with Lee Lapihuska, Bill Shepherd’s racing manager, to see what motorsport really means to them.

What’s it like working at Bill Shepherd Mustang?

It has its challenges, but we do a lot of exciting stuff. We have all sorts of things going on.

Throughout the year we do probably eight to 10 race events, some of them being low-level stuff, ranging through to premium events such as the Goodwood events. We do the Members' Meeting, and obviously the Festival of Speed and Revival. Also, Bill being a Goodwood governor, we do a lot of governor track days and things like that. And then we do the Silverstone Classic, which is coming up in July.

What’s the focus of your job?

Basically race preparation. I run the race team.

We’ve got about eight to 10 historic race cars including a ’57 Thunderbird Battlebird.

We’ve got a few Mustangs obviously. We have a Falcon, AC Cobras, we’ve got a Boss 302 Mustang. So a few different cars, but mainly American V8s. And there’s always other projects going on. We’ve got about three or four restorations coming up as well, so there’s never a dull moment.

Billy Hines, right, inspects the Mustang GT

Does it take a long time to prepare for a race?

Yeah, because there’s a different car going to different events. We’ve actually got a few weeks' grace at the moment [of race events], so it’s just prioritising what cars are going

to what events, what needs to be done with them.

What’s it like seeing one of your race cars perform successfully out on track?

You know, we do a lot of hours. We take a lot of care and do a lot of research and development. We put a lot of effort and thought into the cars. It’s a good feeling.

The Boss 302 was quite extensively damaged during a race. Is it heartbreaking when that happens?

It is a bit. But it’s a race car at the end of the day. We don’t go to race events to be at the back of the grid, we’re there to try to win. If there's an incident, as long as everyone’s OK that's the main thing. We can always repair and rebuild the cars.

Who races the cars?

Bill drives a lot of the cars, but at the Goodwood events, we have some celebrity drivers and professional drivers to co-drive.

We've just had Jim Farley, who’s president of new businesses, technology and strategy at Ford and a good friend of Bill’s. We also had Romain Dumas, who’s won Le Mans twice. A couple of years ago we had record-holding nine-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen. He drove our ’59 Thunderbird.

2000

2013

2015

Developed by Ford’s Special Vehicle Team division, this was the fastest factory Mustang ever at 177mph when it came out.

It has a 385bhp naturally aspirated 5.4-litre V8, can hit 60mph in 4.7 seconds – and look at those amazing side exhausts!

As well as its 662bhp, this Shelby boasted a 200mph top speed and no front grille.

At the time, it was the most powerful production car made in America. Good thing Aaron Paul chose one for his coastto-coast US trip in 2014’s Need For Speed.

This is the model that brought the ’Stang bang up to date. Although powered by an old-school 415bhp 5.0-litre Coyote V8, the 2015 GT has an independent rear suspension set-up – a first for the Mustang. A true American pony car. [CD]

SVT Mustang Cobra R

Ford Shelby GT500

Ford Mustang GT

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 51

Feature.

Cash in on the James Baggott explains why motoring video should form a vital part of any dealership’s marketing strategy – and says it doesn’t have to cost as much as you might imagine.

C

ar buyers these days are finding vehicles in a very different way to how they did so 20 years ago.

Chatting to a bunch of car dealers the other day, there was plenty of reminiscing about how it used to be. Weekends would see a steady stream of car buyers touring the local lots, a copy of the FreeAds in their hand or the latest Auto Trader.

Buyers had a rough idea of what they wanted – a car – but apart from that, the art of selling was to persuade them to try the one on your pitch that had the most profit in it.

They might have come in looking at a VW Polo, but if you could upgrade them to the 4x4 ‘capabilities’ of a Vauxhall Frontera with £1,500 in it, then that’s what you did.

The difference was, these customers were less knowledgeable about what they were buying.

Most of their research consisted of a flick through the local FreeAds, a copy of Parkers Price Guide in their hand, or worse still – a ‘friend in the trade’ they had been talking to.

Nowadays, it’s very different. Customers know what they want before they walk on to your dealership forecourt, having researched everything online in detail. The very fact they’re there is indication enough they’re ready to buy.

In recent years, the explosion of motoring video to funnel buyers further down the buying cycle has become more prevalent. Research by Google says an incredible 75 per cent of car buyers believe motoring videos influenced their purchase, while 40 per cent said they used video to narrow down their choice.

A report by Google added: ‘Video doesn’t just facilitate discovery and exploration, it also encourages people to take action.

‘Of the car shoppers who used video during the research process, more than 60 per cent reported visiting a dealership after watching a video of a vehicle they were considering.’

OK, so the facts are pretty clear – car buyers want video to help them choose what to buy and they use video to help them decide where to buy it. However, creating this video content can be tough for dealerships. Some ask salesmen to record them – but these vary in quality and it can be hard to get staff to fit them in around selling.

52 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

New car videos

Blackball Media produces videos for pretty much every new car on sale today. These are around 90 seconds long and feature key facts about the vehicle, set to music. Recent models covered include the Volkswagen T-Cross, DS 3 Crossback, Mercedes CLA and the Jaguar F-Pace SVR.

Now there is an affordable solution for dealers to get their hands on a huge array of video content to populate their websites, social media or email campaigns.

Blackball Media – the publisher of Car Dealer Magazine – has launched a new car video website which has a huge archive of video content for dealers to download.

From new to used cars, buying guides to general motoring videos, the archive is vast and is being added to every single day of the week.

These videos can be downloaded for a one-off cost of just £99 each, or for a more personal touch they can be branded with a start and end frame, including your company’s logo and contact details, for £149.

A number of dealers work with Blackball

Media on a subscription basis – allowing them to download as much as they want from the website. An unbranded video subscription, allowing you to download as many videos as you want without the bespoke element, costs £599 per month. A subscription allowing you to download as much as you want, but have them branded with your contact details and logo, costs £999 per month.

‘These videos are used by dealers in a variety of ways,’ explained Blackball Media managing director Andy Entwistle. ‘Most dealers embed them in their websites alongside adverts for the cars, while others use the more general news video content to populate a blog. They all add to engagement on these dealer websites and help funnel car buyers down the purchase cycle.’

*Price of £99 is for one video downloaded from video.blackballmedia.co.uk

PRICES START FROM JUST

£ video vibe 99

*

‘Blackball Media’s videos allow us to produce vital collateral that gives both valuable information and provides “stickiness” to our websites.’

Snows marketing director Allen Scott

Used car videos

With an impressive back catalogue of videos, plenty of used cars are covered too. And what’s more, if the car you are looking for is missing, the Blackball Media team will be happy to produce one to add to the archive for you. Many videos feature a range of cars, such as the best sports coupes for under £15k, best cars for spring under £5k and French classics for under £20k.

‘How to’ videos

A number of car dealer groups are already using Blackball Media’s car videos to great success – dealers such as Snows Group.

Marketing director Allen Scott said: ‘At Snows, we see video as an enabler for improving our communications at every stage of the customer journey.

‘Blackball Media’s videos allow us to produce vital collateral that gives both valuable information and provides “stickiness” to our websites.’

All the videos can be viewed now at video.blackballmedia.co.uk where you can start downloading. Payment can be made via credit card on the site, or for subscriptions an account can be set up by emailing buyvideo@blackballmedia.co.uk

These videos are great for social media feeds or blogs, giving your site stickiness and added enriched content to keep customers engaged. They can be uploaded direct to your social channels to entertain followers or used as part of a longer-form piece of content on your website. Recent videos include ‘How to keep your car safe from thieves’, ‘The car life hacks you never thought of’, and ‘How to tackle the winter in your car’.

View videos now at video.blackballmedia.co.uk

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 53

Data file.

Thestatistics

SMMT sales data

| SMMT SALES DATA | TAKING STOCK |

April/year to date

APRIL FIGURES

Fleet demand stable but private sales down in a month of decline

T

he UK new car market declined by 4.1 per cent in April, according to figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

The month saw 161,064 units registered – the second lowest April volume since 2012 but following a double-digit increase the previous year.

Registrations by private motorists fell last month, down 10.3 per cent, after a rise of more than 26 per cent in April 2018. Fleet demand, meanwhile, remained stable, growing by 2.9 per cent, with these businesses registering 2,498 more cars than in April 2018.

Declines were recorded across most vehicle segments, with registrations of popular supermini and small family cars falling most significantly, down 14.1 per cent and 10.6 per cent. Demand for lower-volume luxury saloons and sports cars rose while the dual-purpose segment also grew, by 18.4 per cent to 40,580 units. These vehicles are now the third most popular body type, with registrations trebling since 2012.

Diesel registrations fell again, but the pace of decline slowed significantly – down 9.4 per cent. Petrol demand also dropped, by 3.0 per cent. Overall,

alternatively fuelled vehicle (AFV) registrations grew by 12.7 per cent, with 10,254 leaving showrooms.

Petrol-electric hybrids remained the most popular choice – up 31.1 per cent to 6,810 units. Battery-electric cars also recorded a strong uplift, from 929 to 1,517 units, which still only represents 0.9 per cent of the market.

Meanwhile, zero emissioncapable plug-in hybrids experienced a significant decline, down 34.4 per cent in April and 20.4 per cent for the year to date – evidence of the consequences of prematurely removing upfront purchase incentives before the market is ready, said the SMMT. Manufacturers are investing heavily to bring ultra-low and zero-emission cars to market, with some 40 plug-in models now available in showrooms, and more than 20 others expected to arrive in 2019. However, if this stillemerging sector is to reach meaningful levels, added the society, measures and incentives that build business and consumer confidence will be vital.

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes, pictured, said: ‘While it’s great to see buyers respond to the growing range of pure-electric cars on offer, they still only represent a tiny fraction of the market and are just one of a number of technologies that will help us on the Road To Zero. Industry is working hard to deliver on this shared ambition, providing ever-cleaner cars to suit every need.

‘We need policies that help get the latest, cleanest vehicles on the road more quickly and support market transition for all drivers.

‘This includes investment in infrastructure and longterm incentives to make new technologies as affordable as possible.’

Sue Robinson, director of the National Franchised Dealers’ Association, said: ‘The uncertainty surrounding the government’s decisions on Brexit continues to affect consumer behaviour in the new car market.

‘It is vital that clarity on the UK’s future relationship with the EU is provided as soon as possible.’

Best sellers, p10

5

Top

Most-improved manufacturers in April

Lexus +30% Bentley +23% Mazda +22% BMW +20% MG +18%

5

Bottom

Worst-performing manufacturers in April

DS -80% Chevrolet -67% Infiniti -49% Abarth -41% Mini -35%

Kia hits another record in April as sales increase by 8.7pc KIA saw its April sales rise by 8.7 per cent to a new record for the month of 7,472. The figure represents a market share of 4.64 per cent – despite the new car market being down four per cent.

The strong performance saw Kia’s year-to-date sales reach 37,426 – up by just over five per cent compared with the same period last year. Kia’s previous 54 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

best sales figure for the first four months was set in 2017 when the brand delivered 35,996 vehicles to customers.

Sportage was once again the brand’s best seller, with 2,585 delivered in the month. Picanto took second place with 1,391 models sold. The all-new Ceed family found 1,049 buyers. Niro took fourth place and Stonic completed the

top five during April. Paul Philpott, president and chief executive of Kia Motors (UK) Limited, said: ‘Excellent quality, sensible pricing and an outstanding customer experience are behind our success.

‘We are very grateful to our customers and our dealer network for this ongoing enthusiasm for Kia.’

Bentley

Subaru

+23% April 2019 Marque Abarth Alfa Romeo Alpine Audi

2019

-34%

April 2018

% market share

2018

Year-to-date (YTD)

% market share

% change

2019

% market share

2018

% market share

% change

212

0.13

358

0.21

-40.78

1,444

0.17

1,885

0.21

-23.40

240

0.15

304

0.18

-21.05

1,263

0.15

1,762

0.20

-28.32

8

0.00

0

0.00

0.00

51

0.01

0

0.00

0.00

12,454

7.73

13,135

7.82

-5.18

54,330

6.30

61,050

6.89

-11.01

132

0.08

107

0.06

23.36

561

0.07

517

0.06

8.51

10,868

6.75

9,078

5.41

19.72

57,621

6.68

56,471

6.37

2.04

1

0.00

3

0.00

-66.67

4

0.00

20

0.00

-80.00

Citroen

3,628

2.25

4,024

2.40

-9.84

20,764

2.41

18,695

2.11

11.07

Dacia

2,060

1.28

1,919

1.14

7.35

12,986

1.51

9,101

1.03

42.69 -55.21

Bentley BMW Chevrolet

107

0.07

529

0.32

-79.77

1,181

0.14

2,637

0.30

Fiat

1,892

1.17

2,166

1.29

-12.65

12,848

1.49

13,710

1.55

-6.29

Ford

18,074

11.22

20,114

11.98

-10.14

85,848

9.96

102,071

11.52

-15.89 -13.33

DS

2,912

1.81

3,089

1.84

-5.73

18,397

2.13

21,226

2.39

6,468

4.02

6,987

4.16

-7.43

31,245

3.62

34,991

3.95

-10.71

Infiniti

37

0.02

72

0.04

-48.61

130

0.02

385

0.04

-66.23

Jaguar

2,607

1.62

2,414

1.44

8.00

13,901

1.61

12,123

1.37

14.67

371

0.23

477

0.28

-22.22

1,918

0.22

2,205

0.25

-13.02

Kia

7,472

4.64

6,872

4.09

8.73

37,426

4.34

35,623

4.02

5.06

Land Rover

5,688

3.53

5,027

2.99

13.15

29,528

3.43

28,842

3.25

2.38

884

0.55

678

0.40

30.38

5,290

0.61

4,751

0.54

11.34

Honda Hyundai

Jeep

Lexus Lotus Maserati Mazda McLaren

21

0.01

32

0.02

-34.38

54

0.01

92

0.01

-41.30

94

0.06

103

0.06

-8.74

370

0.04

539

0.06

-31.35

2,033

1.26

1,673

1.00

21.52

15,091

1.75

15,845

1.79

-4.76

63

0.04

55

0.03

14.55

204

0.02

268

0.03

-23.88

11,739

7.29

11,854

7.06

-0.97

63,612

7.38

63,027

7.11

0.93

MG

980

0.61

829

0.49

18.21

3,996

0.46

2,604

0.29

53.46

Mini

2,502

1.55

3,846

2.29

-34.95

20,636

2.39

20,855

2.35

-1.05

Mitsubishi

1,063

0.66

1,189

0.71

-10.60

6,579

0.76

7,186

0.81

-8.45

Nissan

6,340

3.94

7,448

4.44

-14.88

35,742

4.15

42,242

4.77

-15.39

Peugeot

5,674

3.52

6,225

3.71

-8.85

30,916

3.59

30,868

3.48

0.16

Porsche

1,717

1.07

1,646

0.98

4.31

4,132

0.48

5,720

0.65

-27.76 -7.38

Mercedes-Benz

Renault

3,261

2.02

4,462

2.66

-26.92

22,291

2.59

24,066

2.72

Seat

4,882

3.03

5,315

3.17

-8.15

25,517

2.96

23,705

2.67

7.64

Skoda

5,680

3.53

6,216

3.70

-8.62

27,672

3.21

27,827

3.14

-0.56

Smart

410

0.25

495

0.29

-17.17

2,116

0.25

2,562

0.29

-17.41

113

0.07

151

0.09

-25.17

825

0.10

1,016

0.11

-18.80

Subaru

101

0.06

153

0.09

-33.99

981

0.11

1,131

0.13

-13.26

Suzuki

2,027

1.26

2,121

1.26

-4.43

14,007

1.62

13,444

1.52

4.19

Toyota

6,067

3.77

6,713

4.00

-9.62

38,048

4.41

39,928

4.50

-4.71

SsangYong

10,639

6.61

11,214

6.68

-5.13

65,563

7.61

65,749

7.42

-0.28

Volkswagen

15,161

9.41

14,607

8.70

3.79

74,680

8.66

72,065

8.13

3.63

Volvo

30.68

Vauxhall

3,971

2.47

3,782

2.25

5.00

20,175

2.34

15,439

1.74

Other British

135

0.08

169

0.10

-20.12

824

0.10

678

0.08

21.53

Other imports

276

0.17

260

0.15

6.15

1,333

0.15

1,479

0.17

-9.87

-4.08

862,100

Total

161,064

167,911

886,400

-2.74 Figures supplied by SMMT

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 55

LCV news.

Fullyloaded

| LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLES | FLEET | REVIEWS |

REPORT

GIFT

Used van and pick-up sectors perform well

Toyota Proace donated to hospice carer team

by JOHN BOWMAN john@blackballmedia.co.uk

THE used van and double cab pick-up markets have performed well during the past year, according to Aston Barclay’s first LCV market insight report.

It said average prices rose by £227 (5.2 per cent) and £1,036 (13.5 per cent) respectively to £4,533 and £8,666 between the first quarters of 2018 and 2019.

And it said the nine per cent increase in new van registrations during 2019’s first three months continued to provide an excellent range of used stock coming into the market.

The report added that much of the changing profile of used fleet vans hitting the auctions could be attributed to the introduction of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), which had forced companies to speed up their replacement cycles and buy Euro 6 vehicles to enable them to comply with ULEZ rules, while the Transport for London scrappage scheme was forcing some older stock into the market.

The double cab pick-up sector has also been affected, with prices rising year-on-year to £8,666 in Q1 2019 from £7,630 in Q1 2018, but a dramatic fall when compared with Q4 2018 (£11,074).

Aston Barclay predicts that in Q2 and Q3 the age and profile of used vans and double cab pickups will start to return to a more consistent level, particularly from southern vendors.

56 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

V

ertu Toyota Chesterfield has gone the extra mile to ensure that a hospice team can continue to deliver vital services in the community.

The Lockoford Lane dealership has given Ashgate Hospicecare a Toyota Proace Van, which will be used to transport equipment to patients’ homes across north Derbyshire to help them stay at home when it matters most.

The specially branded van will also appear at events, raising awareness of the hospice and supporting fundraising efforts.

In addition to the 21-bed inpatient unit and 16-place day hospice, hundreds of people are helped and supported every year by the community team. The hospice needs to raise around £10m every year to continue delivering its essential services.

Dealership general manager David Littlewood, who is a staunch supporter of the hospice and even stood in for Father Christmas at the hospice’s Christmas market, said: ‘The hospice is a fantastic facility for the local area, supporting

David Littlewood, left, and fleet manager Matt Smith present the new van to staff at Ashgate Hospicecare, from left, Veronica Doxey, Claire Ledger, Beth Cole, Tracey Howarth and Sarah Kerry individuals and their families at the very worst time of their lives.

‘Most people know someone who has been affected by cancer, and it’s important that local businesses get involved in the fundraising to ensure the hospice remains open and its nurses can carry on delivering care and treatment.

‘We are proud to be able to support the hospice and to provide the van to enable the community

outreach work to continue efficiently and safely.’

Alison Ward-Foster, partnerships manager at Ashgate Hospicecare, said: ‘We can’t thank Vertu Toyota enough for their support. Their generosity will make such a difference. The hospice is also saving money by not purchasing or leasing a vehicle, and the money saved enables our nurses to care for more patients and their loved ones.’

Top-selling LCVs in April Ford Transit Custom 3,505 Ford Transit 1,897 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 1,752 Volkswagen Transporter 1,516 Vauxhall Combo 1,036

Source: SMMT

Peugeot Partner Citroen Berlingo Ford Transit Connect Ford Ranger Volkswagen Crafter

1,035 1,024 997 885 856

LCV registrations, p58

‘Driving an Amarok has always been a pleasantly car-like experience, and this remains true.’

Jack Evans puts the Volkswagen Amarok Aventura to the test, p59

Sliding doors WITH CRAIG CHEETHAM

A look at the world of buying and selling vans and pick-ups

Transit gloria! Let’s hear it for the van that kick-started a revolution

I

love going to the CV Show, which is something a lot of my friends – and, indeed, my journalist peers – don’t understand.

To them, the notion of three halls of the NEC full of vans, trucks and associated stuff holds about as much appeal as a wet weekend in Scunthorpe. But for me, it’s a shop window into some of the best and most innovative automotive technology that’s coming our way.

Much like mobile phones, things start off big before they get small, so vans and trucks are the ideal testbeds for safety systems, drivetrains and consumer tech that, in just a few short years, will be installed in our cars.

But for me, there was one standout vehicle at this year’s show, and it wasn’t inside the halls.

Parked just outside the main entrance was a beautiful white Mk 1 Ford Transit, pictured below, lovingly restored as part of Ford’s heritage collection. I have a love of all classic vehicles and always have had. Nothing represents its era like design, and cars and vans were designs that were seen by everybody, everywhere. You only tend to notice them when they’re no longer part of the fabric of society, and for many years that’s what the Mk 1 Transit was.

I have vivid childhood memories of black and yellow Mk 1s delivering the Manchester Evening News to my local newsagent every teatime, and they were old vans then. I wasn’t born until the last year of Mk 1 production but they were still a common sight on the road throughout my formative years.

So, while many of my colleagues were bustling their way into the jam-packed halls, I decided, instead, to grab myself a

coffee and step outside for a few moments to commune with what has to be the best example of a Mk 1 Transit left on the roads.

As you’ve probably guessed by now, vehicle design has always been a significant part of my life, so aside from just admiring the Transit’s peaked headlamps, oh-so-Sixties flared arches and curvaceous flanks, I also pondered the main purpose of its design.

What Ford achieved with the Mk 1 Transit was to take a utility vehicle and make it look fantastic, perfectly proportioned, without any compromise at all to its functionality. The cargo area is vast and flat, easily accessed by wide-opening doors and capable of swallowing huge loads. If you wanted to go really heavy-duty, there was even a twin rear-axle variant with even beefier flared arches to cope with a bigger payload.

Then there’s the cab – on this example, accessed via a simple sliding door, which was once the favoured approach for multi-drop delivery drivers before health and safety took over. I can understand why, as I recall again from my childhood how our neighbourhood postman used to drive everywhere with the door wide open so he could jump in and out without having to bother opening and closing it. All it would have taken was one evasive manoeuvre and the next thing you knew it’d be the postie himself flying through your letterbox.

Ergonomically, it was far and away the best van of its time, too. That Mk 1 Transit was the first van designed with the driver in mind as much as the fleet manager, and in many ways it was the catalyst for making today’s vans what they are. By shifting expectations as well as loads, the Transit kick-started a revolution in van manufacturing, and it’s about time that was recognised. With all the amazing vehicles and tech packed into the NEC, it was a 53-year-old tin box on wheels that I wanted to take home most…

Craig Cheetham is an experienced automotive journalist with specialist knowledge of the LCV sector.

Turn over the page for the latest LCV registrations CarDealerMag.co.uk | 57

LCV news.

LATEST STATISTICS

New van market grows in April as strong start continues DEMAND for new light commercial vehicles grew in April by 4.7 per cent, according to the latest figures from the SMMT. A total of 24,604 vans and pick-ups were registered in the month, with new models and compelling market incentives continuing the strong growth seen in the first quarter of 2019.

Sales of small (sub-two tonnes) and large (2.5 to

3.5 tonnes) vans drove the market in April – up 8.8 per cent and 6.9 per cent respectively – while demand for medium-sized vans (2.0 to 2.5 tonnes) was flat.

Appetite for pick-ups and 4x4s was also broadly stable – down by 1.4 per cent and 4.4 per cent respectively.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: ‘Such

a strong start to the year is good news for the sector, drivers and the environment. Getting more of the latest, low-emission models on to our roads is the fastest way to tackle climate change and improve air quality.’

The news follows publication of a new report by the SMMT showing that one in 10 British workers relies on a van for their jobs.

Registrations of new commercial vehicles less than 3.5 tonnes April 2019 Marque

2019

April 2018

% market share

2018

Figures supplied by SMMT

Year-to-date (YTD)

% market share

% change

2019

% market share

2018

% market share

% change

7,761

31.54

7,889

33.57

-1.62

42,712

33.54

41,421

35.14

3.12

Volkswagen

3,370

13.70

3,117

13.26

8.12

14,524

11.41

14,734

12.50

-1.43

Mercedes

2,325

9.45

1,611

6.86

44.32

11,141

8.75

8,020

6.80

38.92

Vauxhall

2,225

9.04

1,326

5.64

67.80

10,598

8.32

7,852

6.66

34.97

Peugeot

2,154

8.75

2,728

11.61

-21.04

11,942

9.38

11,557

9.80

3.33

Citroen

1,799

7.31

2,248

9.57

-19.97

9,627

7.56

9,530

8.08

1.02

Renault

1,059

4.30

974

4.14

8.73

6,713

5.27

5,614

4.76

19.58

Fiat

749

3.04

644

2.74

16.30

3,324

2.61

2,971

2.52

11.88

Toyota

730

2.97

628

2.67

16.24

3,140

2.47

3,074

2.61

2.15

Ford

Nissan

701

2.85

541

2.30

29.57

4,435

3.48

4,853

4.12

-8.61

Mitsubishi

650

2.64

821

3.49

-20.83

4,590

3.60

3,856

3.27

19.04

Isuzu

282

1.15

246

1.05

14.63

1,535

1.21

1,672

1.42

-8.19

Iveco

240

0.98

225

0.96

6.67

1,033

0.81

1,210

1.03

-14.63

Land Rover

141

0.57

142

0.60

-0.70

454

0.36

263

0.22

72.62

Renault Trucks

-20.00

130

0.53

138

0.59

-5.80

464

0.36

580

0.49

Isuzu Trucks

79

0.32

63

0.27

25.40

276

0.22

203

0.17

35.96

MAN

77

0.31

90

0.38

-14.44

349

0.27

125

0.11

179.20

SsangYong

61

0.25

15

0.06

306.67

238

0.19

103

0.09

131.07

LDV

49

0.20

37

0.16

32.43

137

0.11

121

0.10

13.22

Fuso

14

0.06

11

0.05

27.27

69

0.05

53

0.04

30.19

Hyundai

8

0.03

6

0.03

33.33

46

0.04

23

0.02

100.00

Dacia

0

0.00

0

0.00

0.00

0

0.00

37

0.03

0.00

Great Wall

0

0.00

1

0.00

0.00

0

0.00

3

0.00

0.00

24,604

100.00

23,501

100.00

4.69

127,347

100.00

117,875

100.00

8.04

Total light CV

Registrations of new commercial vehicles 3.5 tonnes to 6.0 tonnes April 2019 Marque

2019

April 2018

% market share

2018

Figures supplied by SMMT

Year-to-date (YTD)

% market share

% change

2019

% market share

2018

% market share

% change -13.69

Peugeot

177

30.62

298

37.82

-40.60

706

29.19

818

27.24

Fiat

170

29.41

175

22.21

-2.86

681

28.15

626

20.85

8.79

Mercedes

99

17.13

161

20.43

-38.51

552

22.82

599

19.95

-7.85

Iveco

53

9.17

15

1.90

253.33

212

8.76

117

3.90

81.20

Vauxhall

28

4.84

15

1.90

86.67

71

2.94

40

1.33

77.50

Citroen

16

2.77

12

1.52

33.33

43

1.78

41

1.37

4.88

Ford

12

2.08

96

12.18

-87.50

81

3.35

703

23.41

-88.48

Renault

11

1.90

5

0.63

120.00

28

1.16

24

0.80

16.67

MAN

5

0.87

0

0.00

0.00

17

0.70

1

0.03

1,600.00

Volkswagen

3

0.52

10

1.27

-70.00

17

0.70

31

1.03

-45.16

Isuzu Trucks

3

0.52

1

0.13

200.00

7

0.29

3

0.10

133.33

Renault Trucks

1

0.17

0

0.00

0.00

4

0.17

0

0.00

0.00

Total heavy CV

578

100.00

788

100.00

-26.65

2,419

100.00

3,003

100.00

-19.45

58 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

FIRST DRIVE

VW Amarok Aventura

THE KNOWLEDGE Volkswagen Amarok Aventura Price: £47,891 Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 Power: 254bhp Torque: 580Nm Max speed: 127mph 0-60mph: 7.2 seconds MPG (combined): 33.6 Emissions (CO2): 220g/km Model:

It still looks fresh and is said to be the last word in pick-up luxury. But does Jack Evans think this Volkswagen’s hefty price tag is justified?

What is it?

This is the tip-top Amarok Aventura.

It sits at the very apex of the line-up, packing all manner of features to make this already quite luxurious pick-up an even more decadent affair. Although it may sit at the top of the tree in terms of price as well (our test car crunches in at close to £48,000), it’s there for people who want to have their cake and eat it.

Let’s see what it’s like.

What’s new?

The Amarok has been around for a little while now but still looks fresh.

Commercial vehicle-wise it ticks the boxes. It can take over a tonne in payload, and it’ll tow up to 3.1 tonnes. Although this latter figure is somewhat behind the industry standard (most can pull up to 3.5 tonnes), it’s likely to be more than enough for most.

What’s under the bonnet?

The Amarok Aventura uses the same 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 that you’ll find powering the rest of the range but here things are turned up even further. It pushes out an impressive 254bhp and 580Nm of torque, meaning this big pick-up can crack 0-60mph in just 7.2 seconds and hit a top speed of 127mph. It means that the Aventura claims the title

as the fastest-accelerating pickup on sale in the UK, eclipsing the Mercedes X-Class in the pace race.

Economy is decent enough, given the vehicle’s size. Volkswagen claims that it’ll return 33.6mpg combined, while emitting 220g/km of CO2.

What’s it like to drive?

Driving an Amarok has always been a pleasantly car-like experience, and it’s gratifying to report that this remains true. The seating position is high, of course, but behind the wheel it feels more like a large SUV than an all-out pick-up. Low-speed ride quality is a touch fidgety, but at speed it feels remarkably refined and easy to drive. The steering at town speeds is helpfully light too, meaning driving it in urban areas is far easier than you’d think.

How does it look?

The Amarok has never been a truck for shrinking violets, and the Aventura plays up to this even further. You get 20-inch alloy wheels thrown in as part of the specification, along with plenty of bespoke Aventura badges. You even get large ‘4Motion’ (referring to the Amarok’s four-wheel-drive system) stickers slapped on the car’s flanks – a feature that may not be to everyone’s taste.

What’s it like inside?

If you were expecting a typically rough-and-ready pick-up truck interior with the Aventura, think again. You get a full leather experience, with front seats that are both electrically adjustable and heated, too. It’s a very well made place to be, and is – for the most part – absent of the scratchy plastics that you’d usually find in a pick-up.

The build quality is spot-on too, with no squeaks or rattles to be heard.

What’s the spec like?

Given that the Aventura tops the list of Amaroks, it’ll come as no surprise that it’s accompanied by a wealth of standard equipment.

You get cruise control, a leather multifunction steering wheel and a six-speaker sound system thrown in as part of the car’s price, as well as Volkswagen’s full Discover navigation system. Although this latter feature is a touch behind passenger car systems (the unit’s screen seems very small compared with the ultra-wide displays a lot of cars are adopting now), it’s easy to operate and intuitive to use.

What do the press think?

Autocar said: ‘Potentially, this is the ultimate Amarok. Or at least we hope it will be.’ Car said: ‘This VW

TARGET BUYERS: Those who want the ultimate Amarok.

THE RIVALS: Mercedes X-Class, Nissan Navara, Isuzu D-Max. KEY SELLING POINTS: 1. Quicker than you’d expect.

2. Solid build quality.

3. Car-like steering.

DEAL CLINCHER: The Aventura may be expensive, but as the tip-top Amarok, it makes a lot of sense.

Amarok makes a genuine case for itself – it’s comfortable, fast, drives well and has a massive boot.’

What do we think? £47,891 is certainly a lot of money for a pick-up. The Aventura makes a sensible justification for itself with regard to that price tag, though, thanks to its extensive list of standard equipment and surprisingly brisk performance. Does it offer enough over the previously tip-top Highline specification? Only just.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 59

Workshop.

Aftermarket

SERVICING & REPAIRS | PRODUCT NEWS | PEOPLE & PLACES

EVs

Knowledge needs change highlighted

FORTY-two per cent of workshop technicians think knowledge of hybrid and electric vehicles will be their most important skill in five years’ time, according to automotive video services provider CitNOW. Registrations of electrified cars – including hybrids, plug-in hybrids and fully electric cars – topped 100,000 for the first time in a single month in March.

The number of electric and hybrid cars in the UK increased by more than three-quarters in 2018 to around 620,000.

Steve Nash, pictured, chief executive of the Institute of the Motor Industry, said: ‘Knowledge of these drivetrains will become increasingly important for technicians who want to excel in the automotive industry.’

The poll of 100 workshop professionals by CitNOW forms part of its Workshop Professional of the Future report, which examines the evolving role and skill set of workshop technicians.

Nearly half (46 per cent) said that traditional mechanical know-how was most important in the last decade, but that figure has declined to under a third (30 per cent) with the advent of new technology.

CitNOW CEO Alistair Horsburgh said: ‘Just as we are forging ahead in terms of video, manufacturers are moving on with engine technology – and electric and hybrid is clearly the way forward.’

60 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

DATA

Dealers ‘missing out on millions in urgent work’

by JOHN BOWMAN john@blackballmedia.co.uk

U

K franchised dealers are still only managing to sell just over half the amount of urgently required work identified during the service process.

Annual data from electronic vehicle health check provider autoVHC has revealed that the UK franchised dealership sector missed out on as much as £401.8 million in 2018, having managed to sell only 53 per cent of red work.

Red work is identified as faults that, if unaddressed, pose a serious safety risk and in many cases will mean the owner is breaking the law if they continue to drive the vehicle.

The company’s data, which polled 500 UK dealers in 2018, revealed the average UK dealer failed to sell £82,000-worth of urgently required work over the 12-month period.

Across the sample group, this equated to £41 million-worth of lost sales, meaning a total lost sales figure of £401.8 million across the UK’s 4,900-strong franchised dealer network.

In 2017, autoVHC’s data revealed this figure stood at £420 million, and while the total is down, the number of vehicles being presented at the

average dealership also declined during 2018.

Last year, the average dealership saw 520 fewer vehicles in its service department – a drop of more than 2.5 million vehicles in total across the UK’s franchised dealer network.

Although the drop wasn’t as significant as in previous years, said autoVHC, it continued a trend that further compounded the failure to sell significant amounts of urgently required work.

Chris Saunders, business unit director at autoVHC, said: ‘Dealerships are battling a

particularly challenging market at present and this applies to the aftersales side of their business as much as it does to new and used vehicle sales.

‘However, even when this is considered, it is still disappointing to see dealers missing out on such large volumes of work.’

He added: ‘With 2018 also seeing a continued reduction in the number of vehicles presented at franchised workshops, it is more crucial than ever before that aftersales opportunities are maximised.’

Jack Barclay Bentley wins top bodyshop award HR Owen has announced that its Jack Barclay Bentley Service Centre has been named Bodyshop of the Year 2018 by Bentley Motors Ltd. Winning the UK South title, Jack Barclay Bentley was one of just five bodyshops awarded throughout the world.

The Bentley paint and bodyshop network is made up of some of the best repair centres in the world, with

exacting standards necessary to deliver the world-class service and results Bentley has established over the past 100 years. But Jack Barclay Bentley, which occupies a two-acre site in south-west London, was highlighted for special praise. Bodyshop of the Year is awarded based on a number of criteria, including customer satisfaction and quality of work.

MOT

Free copies of test certificates online

MOTORISTS are set to save up to £6 million per year with a new DVSA online service that lets them get a free copy of their MOT certificate if they’ve lost theirs, instead of paying an MOT centre up to £10 for one.

In 2018, MOT centres issued more than 630,000 MOT certificate copies. However, as of May 9, motorists can view, print and save any MOT certificate issued after May 20, 2018 by visiting gov.uk/replace-motcertificate and entering their vehicle registration number plus the 11-digit reference number from the vehicle’s V5C. Roads minister Jesse Norman said: ‘Motorists could save up to £6 million a year now it’s easier than ever to get copies of MOT certificates for their vehicles.

‘This is part of a government drive to keep costs down for motorists and remove unnecessary barriers to getting out and about safely.’

Motorists will still be able to get copies from any MOT centre if they can’t use the online service, but they will be charged up to £10. The service can currently be used for cars, vans and motorcycles. Copies for lorries, buses and coaches will be available later in 2019.

Neil Barlow, the DVSA’s head of vehicle engineering, said: ‘The service will help us to protect motorists by giving them a free alternative to businesses that charge for a copy MOT certificate online.’

Mark Peacock, centre, with Marko Wowczyna, automotive director of NGK Spark Plugs (UK), and Tammy Suzuki, NGK Spark Plugs (UK) managing director

ACCOLADE

Mark proves he’s still the brightest spark...

M

ark Peacock has been named ignition specialist NGK’s Salesman of the Year for the second successive time.

The original equipment supplier of spark plugs, glow plugs, NTK lambda and other engine management sensors presented him with the 2019 award at its endof-year conference, which was held in Palma on the island of Majorca.

The 49-year-old said: ‘I am really pleased to have received the award for a second time.

‘It was an ambition of mine to win it when I first joined the company in 2011 and to win it again is fantastic.’

He took the honour in a close-

by DAVE BROWN @CarDealerDave run race against colleagues Paul Gair and John Catterson, who came second and third respectively.

Peacock added: ‘I think I can attribute the award to introducing our new products, especially MAP and MAF sensors, to my customers while also achieving good spark plug sales.’

Mark Hallam, marketing manager for NGK Spark Plugs (UK), said: ‘It is a great achievement by Mark to once again be named Salesman of the Year. He thoroughly deserved retaining the award for his efforts over the past 12 months.

‘NGK never stands still, and Mark is part of a very experienced and conscientious sales team who have been instrumental to the successful launch of a number of new products we have introduced to our customers over recent months.’

Before joining NGK, Peacock, whose sales area covers Shropshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire as well as South Wales, worked as a sales rep for automotive distributor FPS in Nottingham and Sheffield.

Married to Gayle and with two sons, Sam and Josh, he is a keen sports fan who supports Birmingham City FC and is a music enthusiast who regularly attends concerts.

IGA highlights pitfalls of work-providing websites THE Independent Garage Association has published its latest report into consumer-facing websites that provide work to independent garages.

The 2019 Garage Work Provider Report, which builds on the detail established in the 2018 report and features significantly more feedback and testimonials from independent garages, investigates the wide variety of business models, fees, terms and conditions that consumer work-provision websites use.

IGA director Stuart James said: ‘These third-party disruptors have a significant detrimental impact on the sector by placing themselves between the customer and garage, “skimming” a fee from the garage, the customer, or both, with the potential to damage the brand identity of the garage. We consider it our responsibility to ensure garages are given the right information before they decide whether or not to engage with these third-party organisations.’

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 61

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

Caught up in wrangle over legal title Q

I have had a letter to say that we have no legal title to a car that we bought and we must hand it back or pay thousands of pounds (again) for it. Where do we stand?

‘No legal title’ is a way of saying ‘you don’t own the vehicle’. It sometimes happens when a person comes in and wants work done on a car. It gets done but the car is never collected and seemingly abandoned.

Eventually, the repairing garage gets contacted by a finance company and is told it wants its car back and it won’t be paying for the repairs either.

Or, you might buy a car in part-exchange where there is no HPI record of any legal interest with a finance company, only to again get a letter demanding its return. The general principles are: l You cannot give title to another that you don’t have yourself. l You cannot claim storage charges against the finance company. l There is no legal obligation for a finance

A

company to register its interest with HPI. There are always exceptions, and Lawgistics is well positioned to advise clients accordingly.

Recently, three of our clients purchased a car from a person who we can perhaps best describe as ‘purporting to be a car dealer’.

That ‘dealer’ won 21 vehicles from an auction house – which released the cars to her – but she never paid for them.

She then went on to sell each car, seemingly keeping the proceeds of sale.

The ‘dealer’ was sued but simply said that she had no money!

The auction house, however, managed to obtain a court order allowing: a) The DVLA to disclose the names and addresses of the 21 keepers. b) The auction house to write to them demanding the return of each vehicle. c) Access to collect the cars if not returned. d) Prevention of the vehicles being resold or otherwise disposed of.

ADVICE

This was granted on the basis that the winning bidder (the ‘dealer’) had no legal title/ownership in any of the cars because she had not paid for them and therefore no-one else who bought or thereafter sold the cars had legal title either.

Somewhat unfortunately, the auction house failed to place any ‘markers’ with HPI that would have probably prevented the cars being purchased from the ‘dealer’ in the first place.

As you can imagine, the court was swamped with objections – by the current keepers and those who had purchased the vehicles from the ‘dealer’ and subsequently sold them.

Two Lawgistics members were represented in court on May 8, 2019, which made a subsequent order to remove the provisions of the earlier order (a-d) above.

The auction house was also ordered to pay our clients’ legal and court costs, and in addition the court ruled that our clients’ customers did not have to return their vehicles or have them taken from them.

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As the digital dealership experts in an industry in which inertia has been a long-standing problem for forward thinking, Click Dealer has continued to innovate to stay ahead of its competitors and provide products and services for used vehicle dealers before

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62 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

A free telephone consultation and other great benefits, too n A free telephone consultation worth £100. n Lawgistics’ Basic package worth £95. n Twenty-five per cent off the ‘pay-on-use’ legal helpline and casework service. n Up to 25 per cent off any stationery or warranty products. n Upgrade the Basic package and receive £100 off the Small Business package or £250 off the Professional package.

Buy and sell trade stock quickly and profitably Cartotrade.com is the new online trade-to-trade platform set up by the ex-management team of Autotrade-mail. Cartotrade’s focus is on the integrity, security and accessibility of stock, complemented by a simple yet innovative platform that allows its members to buy and sell trade stock quickly and profitably. To see the benefits, Car Dealer Club members can have an extended, no-obligation, four-week free trial*. If, after the free trial, a Car Dealer Club member wishes to subscribe, they then get their next month completely free, without contracts and never a price increase. * Subject to vetting

A matter of time

Q

We disagreed with a customer who told us of a fault with a vehicle for which she said we were liable. Following some emails, she sent us a letter stating her intention to take us to court if we did not provide a satisfactory response within 30 days. Just over two weeks later we offered to collect the car from her chosen garage but she informed us she had already instructed them to repair it and expected us to cover the cost.

As we had responded within her given time frame of 30 days will this go against her in court?

You told her prior to her letter you didn’t accept liability. The Civil Procedure Rules consider 14 days to be a ‘reasonable’ time to respond in a straightforward case. She asked you to respond within 30 days and in the event didn’t wait that time to receive your response.

The court will take into account non-compliance when giving directions for the management of proceedings. If it decides there has been a failure of compliance by either party it can apply sanctions that may include an award at a lower rate than would otherwise be given.

A

WANT TO UPGRADE?

WHY I LOVE LAWGISTICS

‘It’s like having your own aftersales customer complaints department’ SK Direct Limited is a relatively new customer of Lawgistics but has benefited hugely from its legal services already.

The independent High Wycombe-based business deals with cars ranging from £500 to £30,000 and covers a broad number of brands – typically housing around 50 cars on its forecourt.

Sanj Krishnasamy, director at the dealership, loves that Lawgistics can take full control of a situation from beginning to end.

‘Having Lawgistics to fight your corner just brings a level of professionalism to any issues, which you don’t have when dealing with complaints on your own.

‘I can just hand over the situation to Lawgistics, who then take full control of the issue from start to finish.

‘It’s honestly like having your own aftersales customer complaints department.’

Krishnasamy also admires the fact that Lawgistics doesn’t always side with his dealership.

‘Lawgistics looks at the whole picture as an independent legal

representative and if we have done something wrong as a dealer it will advise us about it and point us in the right direction.

‘It is independent, not only for us but also for the consumer, which is an asset to our trade, and it means that we can come to a conclusion that works best for both parties.’

Krishnasamy added: ‘The motor trade is quite a specialist industry, with lots of rules, terms and conditions that you have to adhere to to become a trader.

‘I find it excellent that Lawgistics has this specialism in the motor industry, and it’s great to have a company on board that knows the industry inside and out.

‘Lawgistics’ knowledge and what it does is superb. The money we pay for its services is worth its weight in gold.

‘If you’re a one-man dealer and don’t have a legal entity like Lawgistics to speak with, you should certainly consider signing up. It frees up so much time and means that you can get on with running your business.’

Ted Welford

JUST £49.99 Exclusive 10 per cent discount on your tailormade trade insurance

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At Unicom, we’ve been safeguarding our clients with the best protection policies for more than 20 years – so, no matter what role your business plays in the motor trade, we can have you covered for every possible risk. From road risks to legal cover, your motor trade insurance can be tailored to suit your individual needs. It’s our job to make sure that you get the best price for the cover that you want.

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.

Dragon2000

Get 10 per cent off App Creatives’ development costs for your exclusive app Want to create your own mobile app but don’t know where to start? Then work with the app development company that has created Car Dealer Magazine’s successful apps. App Creatives is an expert in app design and development, and the good news for Car Dealer Club members is that they get an exclusive 10 per cent discount on App Creatives’ services, including creating an app that’s perfectly tailored to their requirements by the firm’s experts.

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.

There really is a package for everyone with Lawgistics.

To join go to cardealerclub.com or call 023 9252 2434 and speak to one of the Car Dealer team Fifty per cent off your first video shoot or PR package Video has become a must-have for dealers, with branded, broadcastquality video for corporate messaging and social media outlets now the industry standard.

Automotive PR and video expert On Cue Comms, which works with the likes of Glyn Hopkin, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Skoda and Motors.co.uk, is offering club members 50 per cent off their first video shoot or PR package. For more information, please call 023 9252 2434.

ON CUE .

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CarDealerMag.co.uk | 63

Auctions.

Don’t get swamped if the heavens open.

Extra Cover, p68

Pearson

AUCTION STATIONS

Dealer Pro will improve even further with regular updates

B

Vauxhall Finance has been welcomed to the Aston Barclay family

DISPOSALS

Vauxhall Finance awards contract to Aston Barclay

V

auxhall Finance has signed a remarketing contract with Aston Barclay to manage its end-ofcontract disposals.

Aston Barclay will manage up to 5,000 used cars each year, which are a mix of contract hire and PCP returns, as well as voluntary terminations and repossessions.

On arrival at an Aston Barclay auction, each car is appraised, images taken, uploaded online and then sold as part of a fortnightly fleet sale programme.

Vauxhall Finance remarketing manager Dafydd Ryder-Owen said: ‘Our contract

returns require sensitive management.

‘We recognise that Aston Barclay is at the forefront of revolutionising the remarketing sector, so we look forward to exploring how its range of digital solutions can help us increase bids and improve conversion rates.’

Neil Hodson, Aston Barclay’s group CEO, said: ‘We are pleased to welcome Vauxhall Finance to the Aston Barclay family. They have an extensive range of cars that we know from our buyer base are in demand.

‘We look forward to playing an integral part in their remarketing strategy.’

BCA hosts largest ever single dealer sale BCA and Jardine teamed up for the biggest single dealer sale ever staged at BCA, as 405 vehicles were sold, generating sale proceeds of £2.7million at BCA Bedford.

The widely-promoted event attracted more than 200 buyers to BCA Bedford with hundreds more participating via BCA Live Online. The event kicked off a week of Jardine Super Sales with subsequent auctions at BCA London, BCA Blackbushe and BCA Manchester.

Richard Hollis,new headstrip of used ad car Revised Car dealer development at Jardine Motors Group,

said: ‘BCA delivered massive buying power for this special, record-breaking sale with hundreds of buyers participating throughout the event. We are delighted to be breaking more records with BCA and the demand from buyers at the Bedford Super Sale was exceptional.’

BCA’s major account manager, Suzanne Spencer, added: ‘Jardine is an innovative dealer that works in a true partnership with BCA to achieve strong results all year round.

This 12:01 was a record-breaking sale 4/4/18 Page 1 event for the BCA and Jardine partnership.’

Fixed cost buyers premium User friendly website & stock locator. On-line bidding

Professional Vehicle Auctions for Professional Vendors & Buyers

64 | 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 to manage their part-exchange processes and is integral to many manufacturers’ used car and online retailing programmes.

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 into the app to enable dealers to finance a part-exchange instantly on the forecourt.

BCA is working on a series of integrations with leading technology providers including Dealerweb, enquiryMAX, Pinewood, Fastrack and CDK to remove the need for rekeying and improve data accuracy. BCA Dealer Pro also has an ongoing Agile development programme in place, working closely with existing customers to drive through regular upgrades and improvements.

BCA Dealer Pro 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 a digital or physical auction.

It creates a unique stock management solution for the market. The Dealer Pro platform enables dealers to monitor stock levels, refresh valuations and decide which vehicles to remarket through BCA, while BCA Partner Finance offers dealers secure funding to purchase used cars at BCA and through part-exchange. Together, Dealer Pro and Partner Finance create a stock management solution that is flexible and scalable, allowing dealers to react quickly to market conditions and make the most of any profit opportunities that arise.

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.

Market feels the pressure amid the springtime bank holidays Buyers have been particularly cautious with values shifting on an almost weekly basis, notes Stuart Pearson, chief operating officer for BCA’s UK remarketing operation.

A

s expected, used car values came under pressure in April due to a number of seasonal factors.

Despite this, year-on-year values continued to climb for fleet & lease, dealer part-exchange and nearly-new vehicles.

As predicted last month, the seasonal run of public holidays over the Easter period and into May has put pressure on the market at a time when supply is typically plentiful.

As ever, our advice is for vendors to be disciplined around the remarketing process with enhanced preparation, accurate descriptions, comprehensive documentation and, most importantly, realistic reserve setting ensuring that buyers remain actively engaged.

Buyers have been particularly cautious as we’ve

seen values shifting on an almost weekly basis since the start of April. Based on the sustained increase in values over many months, some realignment is therefore not unexpected and isn’t unusual for this time of year. Customers who use real-time market intelligence and act decisively continue to attract the best following, as retail conditions remain in line with expectations for the current climate.

Fleet & lease values averaged £11,406 at BCA in April – ahead by £269 (2.4 per cent) compared with a year ago.

The retained value against original MRP (manufacturer’s retail price) was down a percentage point at 43.1 per cent when

Average fleet & lease value :

£11,406

compared with 2018. Average age at time of sale has risen to 39.8 months, while the average mileage of 38,916 was down against a year ago.

Dealer part-exchange values continued to rise at BCA, with April showing a £150 increase yearon-year, equivalent to a three per cent uplift.

The improved quality of product on offer in this sector is helping to keep values firm, with average age and mileage decreasing compared with the same month in 2018.

Demand continues for nearly-new vehicles at BCA into April, with values at £22,557 – up by £3,387 (17.6 per cent) compared with a year ago.

Model mix has a significant effect in this low-volume sector, with brand-specific winners and losers.

Nearly-new values:

£22,557

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 65

Market Insight.

...in association with ASE-global.com

Lookers lost more than 10 per cent of its value during the month of April

April proves a tough month for automotive retail stocks Vast majority gave up some of the gains made earlier in the year, reports Mike Jones.

A

pril proved a tough month for the automotive retail stocks, with the vast majority giving up some of the gains made earlier in the year and suffering a fall in share price. The average of the UK motor retail stocks was down 4.2 per cent in the month, giving back half of 2019’s gains, with both Lookers and Pendragon losing over 10 per cent of their value in the month.

This contrasts markedly against the support service stocks, which were all ahead.

The star of the month and the current year to date is Auto Trader, which is now up over 24 per cent on the year.

Share price performance April proved a relatively uncertain month for the UK motor retail stocks, with many suffering falls during the month.

There were limited financial announcements to drive this from the retailers, with the market digesting the registration statistics for March alongside the fact that the UK had not left the EU, with the associated new car tariffs that could have resulted. Somewhat surprisingly, this did not produce a price bounce, with the continued level of uncertainty and wider retail doom reflecting on the sector.

Financial performance After the raft of financial announcements during March, April proved much quieter on the news front. Pendragon published an interim management statement for the first quarter, hot on the heels of the annual results published a month earlier.

There were rises in turnover but drops in gross profits in new cars, used cars and aftersales alongside a rise in operating costs, producing an underlying loss before tax of £2.8m – £10m behind expectations.

In light of the results and the arrival of a new chief executive and chief financial officer, it has announced a review of the operational and financial prospects of the group, which will be communicated during June.

Other announcements The changing composition of Pendragon’s board continued during April, with Gillian Kent standing down as a non-executive director, after the notice for the AGM containing a motion for her re-election had been circulated.

The board has been strengthened by the appointment of Bill Berman, previously president and chief operating officer of AutoNation, the

Share price movement since the start of 2019

Pendragon

-12.9%

8.4%

Vertu

-8.3%

-8.4%

Lookers

-10.4%

-2.1%

Inchcape

7.6%

11.4%

Cambria

-3.3%

9.2%

Caffyns

0%

5.3%

Marshall

-2.4%

6.5%

Motorpoint

2.2%

-8.8%

BCA

4.4%

-6.3%

Auto Trader

8.4%

24.3%

largest automotive retailer in the USA, as a non-executive.

Auto Trader announced that chief executive Trevor Mather has said he will retire in March 2020. The current chief operating officer and chief financial officer, Nathan Coe, will step into his shoes, with other internal promotions filling the COO and CFO roles.

Mike Jones is chairman of dealer profitability specialist ASE plc. You can read his column here every month.

66 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Share price movement during April 2019

On Your Side.

...in association with Legalsolutions4u

Received a bad review online?

You can do something about it!

If you want to discuss issues around the feedback your dealership has been given, call Legalsolutions4U.

O

ver the past two years, we have seen a revolutionary change in the way car dealerships deal with reviews about them. Reviews now form an integral part of a car dealership’s sales and form the basis of most customers’ initial impression of their business.

All dealerships are looking for the best reviews in order to attract future potential customers.

On the odd occasion, you will get a customer who will write a bad review. The question is, ‘what can be done?’ The feedback may contain false statements or may include a number of negative comments about your garage.

Under common law, to constitute defamation a claim must generally be false and must have been made to someone other than the person defamed. Some common law jurisdictions also distinguish between spoken defamation, called slander, and defamation in other media, such as printed words or images, called libel.

If the post does give rise to a potential defamation claim against the customer, the comments may also constitute harassment against the garage. Ultimately, the garage may be entitled to pursue damages from the customer and potentially gain an injunction against them to prevent a similar incident from occurring in future.

You have probably all seen comments like this online at some point... l Cowboy motor company – avoid at all costs! l Wouldn’t give me a refund, conmen! l Joke of a company, avoid!

These are all typical examples of what we come across and may be classed as defamatory.

If you feel that you have any reviews like this, then here at LegalSolutions4U we can have

a look at the reviews for you and advise if they can be removed.

If it is a customer who has purchased the vehicle from you who has posted the bad review this can be challenged in two ways.

Firstly, you can contact the hosting review site (eg, Google) and make an application to have the review removed on grounds of defamation.

The advantage of this route is that if the review is defamatory, it is generally removed within seven days. However, sometimes the hosting website may not agree that the post is defamatory – for example, where a review states ‘the customer service was terrible and the dealer never returned my telephone calls’.

In order to deal with such a situation, you may contact the customer direct and explain

to them that their posting of the version of events is false and as such is defamatory and needs to be removed. You may still have a claim for defamation. We do generally find that the customer will remove it when advised about the legalities of defamation and that if it is not removed that the garage could pursue them for damages to their business.

If you believe that somebody has simply posted a malicious review and you have had no dealings with the person who left the review, then you can contact the website which is hosting the review and explain the situation and again request that the review is removed.

If you feel you may have any issues that you would like to discuss, please call one of our specialist legal advisers for a free discussion.

For more information on how to protect your dealership and increase your profitability, call 0191 481 3992

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 67

Extra Cover.

...in association with Gallagher

Don’t let your workshop get swamped if the heavens open Leon Bosch explains how the correct policy can help to protect your business in the event of a flood.

S

torm water is heavy: each cubic foot weighs around 63lb, and it’s fast, running at anything between six and 12 miles per hour. In full spate, it is relentlessly destructive and unpredictable. At rest, it is often an unpleasant pollutant that’s expensive to clean up.

Storm water damage can strike suddenly – snow melt, burst pipes, rapid thawing and summer flash-flooding create serious risk issues for a dealership or vehicle workshop business.

Water risk has traditionally been unattractive to insurers: incidents are few but usually expensive, and if your premises are in a known flood zone, it may be tough to get insurance at all.

However, the correct insurance policy can help

to protect your motor trade business in the event of a flood.

If your showroom or workshop is flooded and the customer vehicles in your care are damaged as a result, where does responsibility lie when it comes to claims?

A typical commercial buildings and contents policy is generally designed to cover your workshop for all risks in the event of fire, flood and theft plus accidental or malicious damage.

Our advice is never to assume that your current policy covers you regardless.

Why? You may have specific exclusions if your business is located in a flood zone.

A good motor trade insurance policy designed for dealerships and auto workshops will not just cover you against general flood damage and your liabilities for own and customer vehicles on site, but also provide business interruption cover that can indemnify you against the inevitable disruption to your business during the clean-up.

Ask yourself the following

‘Water risk has traditionally been unattractive to insurers: incidents are few but usually expensive.’

questions – then let us check that your buildings and contents policy covers you comprehensively: •If my premises are located in a flood risk area, how close are they to watercourses and drainage sources?

•Can I move vehicles quickly and easily to higher ground in the event of a flood alert?

•Who pays out if customer vehicles suffer flood damage?

•Can I elevate critical stock or machinery and protect any basement areas?

•What are my exact policy exclusions relating to flood damage?

In short, expertise – and the right flood management insurance advice – can make all the difference to your terms, your exclusions, your premium and your business peace of mind.

•To learn more about the automotive practice and how it could help you and your business, contact the automotive team on automotive_ enquiries@ajg.com or 01582 542330.

Leon Bosch is managing director of the automotive practice at commercial insurance broker and risk management specialist Gallagher. Contact the automotive team on automotive_enquiries@ajg.com or 01582 542330.

Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered Office: Spectrum Building, 7th Floor, 55 Blythswood Street, Glasgow, G2 7AT. Registered in Scotland. Company Number: SC108909. www.ajg.com/uk

68 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Gallagher Automotive Specialist Motor Trade Insurance

Helping protect businesses across the country for over 50 years - from independent repairers and small garages to larger franchise dealerships Contact us to find out more: T:

+44 (0) 800 612 2284

E: automotive_enquiries@ajg.com

GST-225260264

ajginternational.com Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered Office: Spectrum Building, 7th Floor, 55, Blythswood Street, Glasgow, G2 7AT. Registered in Scotland.

Company Number: SC108909. FP04-2018 Exp. 04.01.2019 Š2018 Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 69

Key Notes.

...in association with Traka

Planning for the future? Why not consider Mobility as a Service?

It could help mitigate the disruption you’re experiencing as buyer behaviour changes, says Paul Smith.

T

here has been much speculation lately about whether Jaguar Land Rover will purchase taxi operator Addison Lee. During the past few years, Addison Lee has successfully repositioned itself as a digital-savvy Mobility as a Service (MaaS) provider. Furthermore, the two businesses are already working together on a government-funded autonomous vehicle research project called ServCity, which will lead to trials of driverless cars in London and the Midlands.

What could JLR achieve by buying Addison Lee? Clearly, it is a recognised taxi brand with a significant fleet of recently rebranded vehicles and service centres that could provide a springboard to leadership in the fledgling MaaS and car-sharing market.

Increasing numbers of millennials may choose not to buy (or lease) a car but instead pay a perusage or monthly subscription fee for access to or rental of vehicles. And clearly it makes sense for JLR because it can put its own models into the Addison Lee taxi and MaaS fleet.

Addison Lee is already providing a testbed for autonomous driving trials set to move ahead in the next couple of years. JLR combined with Addison Lee would seem to offer a strong UKbased challenger to other players in the shared mobility and autonomous taxi world like Uber.

But you may wonder if the multi-millionpound moves of JLR should have any implications for the wider dealer community today.

Having looked at the latest news from the MaaS community, I found details of a panEuropean study by Giuseppe Marotta, who works within the European Council for Motor Trades & Repairers (CECRA). Marotta lays out three core business models for deriving early advantage

Shared vehicles require more servicing from the MaaS revolution. He calls one of these business models the ‘Collective’.

His argument, based on a study of 89 dealers across four different northern European countries, is that smaller dealerships that are typically based in smaller cities and do not have enough financial strength to launch and run a standalone car-sharing initiative may instead partner with fellow dealers, perhaps in the next large town, to build a regionwide (and perhaps later nationwide) network that allows each of them to use the same brand of a pre-existing large car-sharing operator.

Alternatively, more ambitious dealerships could create a new network that is independent of the Ubers or Addison Lees of this world.

Either way, the Collective approach offers the potential to bring car sharing and MaaS into smaller cities and large towns. In addition, there are opportunities to become the outsourced servicing, maintenance and valeting service provider of choice for existing MaaS players.

It is becoming well known that shared vehicles, much like taxis, require more servicing.

Maintenance and repair of shared vehicles, the CECRA study found, generates on average 15

per cent higher turnover than privately owned equivalent vehicles, and one of the dealers in the CECRA study confirmed that servicing of MaaS vehicles already accounted for four per cent of that global operator’s servicing revenue.

So, if you are considering venturing into the car-sharing/MaaS market, here is a short list of areas where it should help your business’s prospects looking forward. The move will: l Ensure your company can build a stake in a market that could eventually replace car ownership – begin the journey of selling fewer and renting out more cars l Reduce your dependency on low-margin vehicle sales by adding a new revenue stream l Enable you to attract the next generation of customers more easily – they will be loyal in the future if you respond to their needs now l Create the potential for higher servicing revenue – both from the cars you are providing but also other MaaS providers (if you can win these lucrative outsourcing contracts) l Put you through the tech and operational learning curve of building and running a mobile app-based MaaS ahead of the competition l Enable early exploration of what is needed to support and service hybrid, EV and even autonomous vehicles in the future l Provide a springboard to increase brand awareness. Think about sub-branding as well, eg, ‘Zipcar servicing in this area is provided by X Service Centre’ l Offer the potential for joint venturing with other dealer groups, so that geographical expansion no longer has to mean leasing or buying physical facilities and adding significantly to fixed costs.

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 70 | CarDealerMag.co.uk traka-auto 1-6pg.indd 1

15/12/2016 09:56

89% of dealers

rate our compliance knowledge and support good or very good

We rely on the compliance expertise that Close Brothers “ Motor Finance brings to our partnership. They offer guidance on completing our Gabriel returns, feedback on our advertising, and the support they provided with the introduction of GDPR was invaluable.

�

Raymond Stanex, Comber Commercial Centre

To start your journey with us

visit closemotorfinance.co.uk/compliance

Compliance

|

Finance

|

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 71 Insight | Funding

INCREASE YOUR S IN G R A M D N A S E SAL WITH WHAT CAR? G IN Y U B R A C W E N

year to research their next car ery ev r?

Ca at Wh it vis le op pe m 20 More than

Find out how you can reach these in-market buyers with the What Car? New Car Buying service.

Avoid a race to the lowest price; deals are based on What Car?’s Target Price, which represents a fair price for the consumer and the dealer

A pricing model that gives you a far more cost-effective ROI compared with other channels

For more information go to

whatcar.com/increasemysales

72 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

We encourage more leads for you by protecting consumer privacy with direct communication on our platform

Sean Speaks.

...in association with Close Brothers Motor Finance

Demand for used cars is rising so keep ahead of changing trends Consider your current stock profile and assess whether it is still relevant, advises Sean Kemple.

L

ast year was widely hailed as the Year of the Used Car but, in actual fact, demand for new cars turned out to be marginally higher than that for used vehicles. This year, however, the balance has tipped in favour of used cars.

A total of 2.4 million drivers have changed their minds about buying a new car since last year, opting for a used one instead.

Figures from the latest Britain Under the Bonnet report compiled by Close Brothers Motor Finance show that 49 per cent of drivers would opt for a used car when the time came to replace their current vehicle – up from 41 per cent a year ago. Meanwhile, 34 per cent were considering a new car as their next motor – a decrease of eight percentage points.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), having surveyed industry projections based on new car and LCV registrations in the UK, is of the opinion that new car sales will go through a gradual decline over the next two years.

This trend seems to be reflected in car production, which declined a significant 14 per cent in March, according to the SMMT. The reasons behind the current shift towards used vehicles are many and varied.

Firstly, consumer confidence has been hit as the market faces a global slowdown. Secondly, there is uncertainty about Brexit, which we now know will drag on until at least October.

Thirdly, consumers are confused about which fuel to use. Those of us in the industry are well aware that modern diesel vehicles are cleaner and greener than ever, but that hasn’t stopped the government demonising the fuel and turning people away from it.

Price is increasingly becoming a factor in the car-buying process too, with the stats suggesting that customers are looking at cheaper models.

Forty-eight per cent of drivers said Brexit had

‘Buyers of new cars have long had access to finance and now that is happening in the used space.’

had a negative impact on their plans to buy a car in the next three years, with a third of these drivers saying they were more likely to buy a used car or delay buying a car because they were concerned about the UK’s departure from the EU. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that household spending has decreased in the last year primarily due to house prices being flat.

Supply issues haven’t helped matters as far as new car sales are concerned either.

WLTP was a factor towards the end of last year and poor model availability can sometimes deter potential buyers. Some vehicles take six monthsplus to arrive.

There’s another important point, too. Buyers of new cars have long had access to finance to fund their purchase and now that is happening increasingly in the used space, with a range of different arrangements being offered.

On the business side of things, we have seen the larger dealer groups shifting their focus from new to used, and each month, auction houses announce record levels of attendance as dealers go the extra mile to snap up a bargain.

All this activity leads to increased wholesale

values for vehicles, but dealers will be wary of attempting to pass too much of that expense on to their customers, who, as we have already discussed, seem to be thinking twice before making those big-ticket purchases.

Other income streams then need to be added to the equation to support the overall profit per unit figure. One thing we have seen is that dealers are becoming more savvy on what vehicles to purchase for their forecourt.

Now to the crucial point: What should dealers be doing to address the shift in consumer preference towards used cars?

Firstly, we would advise you to consider your current stock profile and assess whether it is still relevant in today’s climate.

With most consumers completing research online, ensure your digital forecourt allows your stock to stand out.

Remember that dealers can be a source of information on any areas of confusion, and a point of reassurance.

And bear in mind that opportunities are arising across the industry, regardless of Brexit. Our most recent Britain Under The Bonnet report found that there has been growth in interest in ultra low-emission vehicles, as well as interest in other specific models.

Finally, let’s not forget that despite the fact that although we are most definitely living in interesting times, there are plenty of reasons to be cheerful.

Here are some more findings from our Britain Under The Bonnet survey that would seem to back that up: The vast majority of motor dealers (95 per cent) said they were confident about business prospects in the market for 2019 – up from 93 per cent last year.

Two-thirds of dealers (68 per cent) could point to specific opportunities for their business in the months ahead.

For nearly a quarter (24 per cent), maintaining the stability of the business was the reason to be confident about the immediate future. And one in five (19 per cent) said they had experienced an increased demand for models (up from six per cent the previous quarter).

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 | 73

RECRUIT WITH CONFIDENCE

Automotive Recruitment Agency Of The Year 2013-2018

74 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Recruitment.

WELCOME!

NEW ROLE

Mark pleased to return to dealership management AN EXPERIENCED general manager has been appointed at Bristol Street Motors Birmingham Seat.

Mark Gibson, who began his career as an apprentice technician nearly 30 years ago, has joined the dealership team.

He has worked for Bristol Street Motors for 10 years, gaining experience in both dealership and divisional roles, with a focus on aftersales.

Gibson joins the dealership at an exciting time. It has been appointed as one of only 25 Seat Cupra sites. Bristol Street Motors Birmingham Seat has benefited from a fivefigure investment to bring the dealership up to the Cupra corporate standards.

He said: ‘I have a passion for making a difference and motivating colleagues to be the best they can, which enables them to give customers the excellent customer service the company prides itself on.’

Nissan appoints new GB managing director

K

alyana Sivagnanam has been appointed managing director of Nissan Motor (GB) Ltd. Moving back to the UK from his previous role as Nissan’s regional vice-president for sales and marketing in Africa, the Middle East and India, he started his new role at the brand’s Maple Cross head office on April 15, replacing interim MD Andrew Sellars.

Alex Smith, who took up the post at Nissan in September 2016, left at the beginning of this year to rejoin VW as MD. Ken Ramirez, senior vice-president for sales and marketing in Nissan Europe, said: ‘I am delighted to welcome Kalyana to Nissan Motor (GB).

His extensive experience, both within Nissan and the wider automotive industry, will be a tremendous asset as we accelerate plans to electrify our European product range and rapidly evolve our business in the years ahead.’

Sivagnanam, who has 14 years’ previous experience of

working in the UK, said: ‘It’s a great time to be joining Nissan in Europe, thanks to established leadership in the crossover segments, exciting new model launches to come, and a clearly defined vision that will meet the needs of future customers, while delivering a profitable return for our UK dealer network.’

In a statement, the company said: ‘The appointment comes as the European automotive industry embarks on a period of unprecedented change.

‘Three key trends – electrification, connectivity and autonomous technologies – are set to deliver new opportunities for Nissan dealers, while transforming the way customers interact with their cars.’

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CarDealerMag.co.uk | 75

Data file.

James Litton

TRADER TALES

Cars need to be ready for a climate-conscious world

I

f I could get all sales people to enthuse about Volvo the way some people enthuse about Game of Thrones, other retailers in Poole should give up their dealerships.

I too am a fan of the hit HBO series, having watched it since the first episode aired back in 2011. The show has been a staple part of my life, encompassing an eight-year transition from owning a failing used car business to establishing one of the biggest Volvo retailers in the country.

Game of Thrones fans are probably very annoying to people with no interest in the programme, in that all aspects of everyday life are compared to what happens in the show.

So, non-fan readers of this article, I am about to annoy you.

I have written extensively about the impact of Brexit on the motor trade, but it is possibly nothing compared with the threat that climate change poses to our industry.

Game of Throners, think of it this way: Nigel Farage is like Cersei Lannister waiting in Kings Landing while everyone else fights the white walkers (climate change) in Winterfell.

Greta Thunberg is an unlikely hero, but the Swedish schoolgirl’s recent rise to fame because of her powerful climate change speech in Davos has accelerated global activism on the subject. For example, protests

by Extinction Rebellion in London have made headlines thanks to the contentious acts they carry out to raise awareness, but this is not a group comprising solely individuals living in a converted ambulance somewhere off the grid (although some might be). There are lots of academics, lawyers and entrepreneurs involved, too.

Similar movements are happening all over the world.

Brexit is a local issue; climate change is a global problem.

Some market analysts predict climate change could have the next major impact on the financial system.

The Lehman Brothers crash in 2008 was not all about mortgage securities. There was lots of bad car loan debt included in the derivatives market. While lenders have rightly become more scrupulous about lending money, vehicles’ residual values are just as important. What happens if combustion engines become outdated or even outlawed?

The impact of Brexit on British car manufacturing pales into insignificance if the cars we make are not right for a rapidly changing climate-conscious world.

Brexit is an issue largely underpinned by the emotive topic of migration, but much of that migration is caused by lack of domestic opportunities rooted in climate change.

Not all is lost though. Campaigners are not saying the world is about to end, they are saying it is time to act now before it is too late and that is the world’s responsibility.

‘Brexit is a local issue; climate change is a global problem.’

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

76 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

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Oh brother! I skipped some training to go on holiday

I

’ve been wondering about confessing to this for a while and I think the time has come. I am one of a pair of identical twins and people often confuse my brother and me – it’s not difficult to do!

A few years ago, I came across a cracking holiday deal on Teletext (that shows how long ago we’re talking here) and on the spur of the moment I decided to book it for my good lady wife and myself.

A week in Lanza-grotty, a decent three-star hotel and a very reasonable price. Lovely jubbly.

There was one problem – I hadn’t booked the time off work. And when I asked my boss if I could have the week I needed, the answer was a big fat no.

This was exceptionally annoying but I had to face facts – the whole situation was my fault really.

A few days went past and I was thinking about what to do when he had a bit of a change of heart, though.

I was told I could have the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off but I’d have to come in Monday and Tuesday to attend a training course of some kind (yawn).

Well, that led me to hatch a cunning plan – and bearing in mind what I said at the start, you can probably guess where I’m going with this.

That’s right. I asked my brother to stand in for me on the two days of training!

He knew all my colleagues anyway as he sometimes accompanied me on drunken work nights out – and it didn’t take long for me to persuade him to go along with what I was planning.

So, the departure date for our holiday arrived and we headed for the airport with my twin bro having been given his instructions on what to wear, what to say and how to behave.

Everything went according to plan but there was one hiccup. Whereas I have been happily married for five years (I’ve actually been married for 10 years but only five of them have been happy), my brother is very much single. And he almost wrecked the whole scheme by breaking cover to have a conversation with one of our service advisers – and ask her out for a drink!

She declined, as it happens, so no harm done really.

And lucky for me, she didn’t spill the beans.

I did look like a bit of an idiot when I was asked about the training on my return to work, though. Not surprisingly, I couldn’t remember a single thing about it...

‘He knew all my colleagues anyway as he accompanied me on work nights out.’

Tell us your story

Have you something to confess? Email our head of editorial (you can find her details on page three) or post it on our forum – cardealermagazine.co.uk/forum CarDealerMag.co.uk | 77

78 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Long-termers.

LATEST FROM THE FLEET...

Isuzu D-Max

with Huntsman accessory pack

Going great guns with a variant that offers secure, lockable storage and much more.

by JACK EVANS @jackrober

Y

ou may have noticed that we’ve had a variety of Isuzu D-Max models gracing these pages over recent issues. We’re sampling a new variant of the range each month, and this time we’ve switched into another one.

It’s called the Huntsman, and despite sharing its name with a rather nasty spider, this isn’t a truck you need to be scared of.

It’s actually an accessory pack, aimed directly at those who spend most of their time outdoors or – funnily enough – people who go hunting.

Around the back, you’ll find a full plastic hardtop over the bed, while inside, it’s been fitted with a full range of bespoke drawers and compartments to keep things well and truly out of sight of prying eyes.

They’re lockable too – so you can make sure everything inside is as secure as possible.

They’re designed to keep gun equipment and ammunition safe, although we’d argue that they’re equally as good for securing items such as laptops or camera gear.

But the Huntsman pack doesn’t just add those drawers. It also means you get 18-inch wheels with go-anywhere Pirelli Scorpion allterrain tyres on all four corners, and as well as helping the truck’s go-anywhere abilities they just look really good.

Bolstering the Huntsman’s appeal even further is a Pedders suspension kit, which boasts increased travel. It also makes it a touch more comfortable on a day-to-day basis. The springs, which are bright red, really stand out as well.

If this Isuzu looks a little less jazzy than the previous model, there’s a reason for that too.

The Huntsman edition does without all of the chrome accents you’ll find on other D-Max models, instead getting matt-finish door handles and front grille, which gives it a stealthy, undercover look.

So far, the Huntsman has been proving to be the ideal companion. It sat alongside rival trucks – Mitsubishi’s L200 and Nissan’s Navara, to name just two – at a recent visit to a game show, which suited the D-Max’s character down to the ground.

And amidst the crackle of shotguns being fired at clays and dogs retrieving toy pheasants, the

The Huntsman pack boasts lockable compartments and drawers plus a colourful suspension kit

THE KNOWLEDGE Model: Isuzu D-Max 4x4 Double Cab Price: £25,709 + £6,250 ex-VAT for pack Engine: 1.9-litre, turbocharged four-cylinder Power: 162bhp Torque: 360Nm Max speed: 112mph MPG (combined): 42.8 Emissions (CO2): 183g/km Mileage: 8,380 THIS MONTH’S HIGHLIGHT: Not getting the interior all muddy after a trip to a game show, thanks to the rubberised floor mats.

Huntsman looked as at home as if it had put its feet up and delved into the Sunday papers. The added bonus of rubberised floors mats meant the cabin of the Huntsman wasn’t ruined with mud after we’d finished at the show, either.

It’s a manual too, and while we enjoyed the automatic ’box fitted to the previous D-Max, having a stick does make things a bit more interesting off road – although stop-start traffic is a little more tiresome of course.

It uses the same four-cylinder diesel engine that you’ll find in the rest of the D-Max line-up, and although it’s pretty agricultural on start-up (it sounds as if it would give a tractor a run for its money when cold), once warm it settles down well enough.

Fuel economy has been what you’d expect for a truck of this size, and although it’s a little down

on official figures (we reckon as a result of those chunky tyres), it doesn’t feel like anything out of the ordinary.

We’d highly recommend the Huntsman pack if you’re after a more secure way of locking items in the back of the truck. It does, however, take up quite a bit of space in the bed – so if you’re not too hung up on those lockable drawers, we’d argue that you’d be better off just sticking with the standard plastic cover over the rear section of the D-Max. CarDealerMag.co.uk | 79

Long-termers.

LATEST FROM THE FLEET...

Ford Focus Vignale The sound system is music to our ears – and there’s plenty more to like about our newest long-termer.

by DAVE BROWN @CarDealerDave

T

here can’t be a car owner in the UK who hasn’t thought about buying a Ford Focus at some time during their driving career.

And millions of people have, of course, over the 20-odd years that it has been on sale here. It simply ticks so many boxes for so many people – singletons, pensioners and families too – and always occupies a spot in lists of the UK’s best-selling new motors.

After all, what’s not to like? Great design, reasonable running costs, reliability and plenty of space for the kids and their clobber – the Focus’s appeal has always been pretty broad.

Another key draw is the famous Blue Oval badge on the bonnet – people are familiar with Ford. They know and trust the brand and it rarely, if ever, puts a foot wrong.

Which brings us to EF19 YPC, a new addition to our fleet of long-term loan cars.

A hatchback Focus in luxurious, high-end Vignale trim (estates are also available), it really is quite a sight to behold. It properly looks the business and the Ruby Red colour (a Vignale optional extra at a cost of £550) certainly enhances the car’s sleek lines. So what’s under the bonnet? Well, our new arrival comes equipped with a 1.5-litre EcoBlue diesel engine, mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission.

With a top speed of 129mph, it can get from 0-60mph in 9.1 seconds and deliver up to 51.4mpg under the new WLTP testing regime.

The eight-speed gearbox is uber-responsive and the in-cabin rotary selector is a breeze to get the hang of, incidentally. If you want to take a bit more control of your driving experience, nifty paddles almost concealed by the steering wheel enable you to do this. I’d recommend it.

I’ve already mentioned the car looks good from the outside – and it makes a seriously good impression once you’re behind the wheel too.

Ford boasts that superior styling and craftsmanship are evident in every detail of the interior – and it’s difficult to disagree. What I like in particular is that although the dominant colour of the leather upholstery and dashboard is black (or perhaps charcoal grey), the illuminated elements of the dash and central console are spot on and very easy on the eye. An almost cyan80 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

The Ruby Red paint job on our new long-termer is a Vignale optional extra at a cost of £550

THE KNOWLEDGE Model: Ford Focus Vignale 5-door Price (as tested): £31,900 Engine: 1.5-litre EcoBlue diesel engine,

eight-speed auto Power: 148bhp Torque: 370Nm Max speed: 129mph 0-60mph: 9.1 seconds MPG (combined): 51.4mph Emissions (CO2): 121g/km Mileage: 961 THIS MONTH’S HIGHLIGHT: Enjoying that wonderful B&O sound system. shaded light blue and red are used and it all looks really attractive.

So what else do you get for your money?

Quite a lot, as it turns out. Key features of the car (too many to mention in this initial report) include 18-inch ‘Liquid Aluminium’ alloy wheels, LED headlights and a unique Vignale front grille and bodystyling.

There are heated front seats, front and rear parking sensors and a very clear and nicely designed reversing camera. Cruise control, a quick-clear heated windscreen and hill start assist all combine to make the driving experience a pleasurable and stress-free one.

What distinguishes our car from a standard Focus Vignale is the aforementioned Ruby Red paint job, openable panoramic roof (£995) and active park assist (£200). A driver assistance pack including traffic sign recognition and adaptive cruise control comes in at £500.

I do have one big concern about our new fleet member, though – and that’s simply that I’m not sure I’ll be able to hang on to the keys once my colleagues realise how good it is.

OTHER CARS WE’RE DRIVING

Seat Ibiza FR Mileage: 5,503 Before taking delivery of a rather posh Ford Focus (see main report on this page), Car Dealer Dave used KY68 ZXK to collect some materials for a DIY project. It was more than up to the task.

Nissan Qashqai It’s the car that started the crossover party – but are Craig and his family impressed?

by CRAIG CHEETHAM @Chumpytweet

W

hen I was a kid, my dad had estate cars – a couple of Ford Cortinas, a Renault 18, a Vauxhall Carlton and even a Datsun Sunny.

I have many happy memories of family days out and holidays in them, and they all did the job perfectly well.

As estate cars go, though, it’s hard to find a good one now, and for the past few years my family has gone down the SUV route in terms of a workhorse motor, with three Land Rover Discos in a row. We’ve still got one of them too – it has seven seats for when the mother-in-law comes to visit – and I still have a classic estate as well.

A Mercedes-Benz W124. Estate cars don’t get any better than that.

So, what was this crossover hype? I’ve avoided them until now, but at the start of this year we decided to see what all the fuss was about.

As a 41-year-old father of three growing boys, I am, after all, the target customer for the Nissan Qashqai, and in its latest 1.7-litre dCi iteration with 148bhp, Nissan has injected a bit of sizzle into its sausage. Not so long ago, this was a hot hatch power output.

To be fair, I wasn’t expecting the Qashqai to be any great shakes to drive. I knew it was good – still quite probably the best car in its class – but that goodness, to me, was all about its versatility,

The Qashqai ticks all the family boxes and it’s a rewarding car to drive, says Craig practicality and incredible safety kit. Not once did I expect it to be a driver’s car.

Five thousand miles in and my hat is well and truly eaten, for not only does the Qashqai tick all the family boxes – even my prematurely lanky 12-year-old can find room for his clumsy feet – but it’s also a rewarding car to drive, with surprising performance, excellent handling and very little body roll. It’s clear that Nissan’s engineers worked hard on the QQ’s dynamic performance, and they’ve done an impressive job.

As an enthusiastic driver, that keeps me happy – but where family cars are concerned, it’s the other users that notice the true benefits. My wife, Tamsyn, is a huge fan – she loves the driving position, the around-view camera and the sheer all-round practicality, while we’re both fans of the Nissan’s amazing self-dipping headlights.

Not only does the car have an exceptional High Beam Assist function, which is by far one of the most effective I’ve used, but when it’s not being polite to oncoming traffic it lights the road as if under floodlights.

The car is not without its niggles, however.

One such problem is hugely over-sensitive tyre pressure monitors that are constantly warning about low PSI – I’ll take it to the garage, check the pressures and they’re fine, and no sooner have I checked them than the warning disappears.

That, unfortunately, led me to ignoring it when I got a genuine puncture on the A14, which does make me question the relevance of what’s essentially a safety aid.

Another thing that you can file under ‘first world problems’ is the design of the key. The unlock button is in the middle and the lock button on the end of the fob, meaning that ‘unlock’ isn’t the button you intuitively press.

Technically, you don’t need to – the Qashqai has keyless entry – but it’s a habit, and by constantly confusing ourselves (both Tamsyn and I), every time we approach the car it starts to flap its door mirrors like Dumbo while we try to work out if it’s open or not. That, though, really is a triviality.

So, is the Qashqai enough to convert me to crossovers and do I like it more than my cherished old Mercedes? To answer the second part of the question first, no, I don’t.

But is a crossover the right car for me? Yes, it probably is. And the Qashqai is an excellent one.

THE KNOWLEDGE

Volkswagen Caddy

Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo

Mileage: 3,754

Mileage: 6,814

Blackball Media video guy Zaak is finding life with KY68 ADV is getting easier and easier. Our particular example doesn’t have all the bells and whistles, but it’s as practical as can be.

Car Dealer writer Ted is finding KY68 WXB remarkably refined for such a small car, although he says its 94bhp 1.0-litre petrol engine needs a bit of encouragement to get up to speed.

Model: Nissan Qashqai N-Connecta+ dCi 150 Price: £27,800 Engine: 1.7-litre diesel Power: 148bhp Torque: 340Nm 0-60mph: 9.2 seconds Max speed: 120mph MPG (combined): 58 Emissions (CO2): 127g/km Mileage: 5,212 THIS MONTH’S HIGHLIGHT: Self-dipping headlights are a revelation – both Mrs C and I adore them…

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 81

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

With JLR stalling, could Tavares be the man to give brand a kick-start?

U

nless you’ve had your head buried under a rock, you could not have failed to miss the automotive rumour mill headlines: PSA – the owner of Peugeot, Citroen and Vauxhall – is said to be in advanced talks to buy Britishbased luxury car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover. What you probably didn’t realise was that story started right here.

In the past few weeks, rumours that the F-Type and Evoque maker was to fall into the hands of the acquisitive French firm have intensified. I’ve heard it from several very high-up executives that PSA chairman Carlos Tavares’ desire to add a luxury brand to his portfolio was hotting up. Then I got wind of a ‘post-sale integration document’ circulating at the firms’ head offices.

This document, for the eyes only of those who were given it, explained how savings could be made should the two businesses merge. It talked about head office ‘efficiencies’ and how PSA could bring other savings to the currently loss-making JLR. I called both firms for comment and both issued denials. Jaguar Land Rover’s came from their ultimate owner, Tata Motors. The spokesman said there was ‘no truth’ in the rumours and as a matter of policy it ‘did not comment on media speculation’. But then they would say that, wouldn’t they? If Tata Motors is in the process of negotiating a deal with the French, they were hardly likely to admit it now. A strong rebuttal is a sure-fire way of driving up the price while also keeping already stressed-out workers on side.

PSA’s comment, while easy to believe, was wide open to interpretation. Spokesman Pierre-Olivier Salmon denied the rumours, but told me PSA was ‘generating the cashflow necessary to pay for our future’.

And the line he added afterwards was more telling: ‘If an opportunity comes, like Opel (Vauxhall), we will consider it,’ he said.

Read that as you will, but I interpret it along the lines of, ‘We’re interested in JLR, but only for the right price...’

Our story – first posted on the Car Dealer website – was followed up by pretty much every national newspaper.

The Daily Telegraph ran it as the lead on its Business section the next day, The Guardian ran it as a page lead, even the Daily Mail published it on page 10.

Websites across the world – including Bloomberg – featured the news too, while the PSA share price momentarily spiked when we published the story.

I have no doubt there are very advanced talks going on behind the scenes at the two brands – talks that neither would ever freely admit.

But when you look at the synergies between the two firms, even a humble motoring journalist like me can see the huge opportunities to save money.

Their head offices are less than 30 miles apart, they both make cars in the UK – with capacity at the Vauxhall factories to take on some of the JLR output – while JLR has a great foothold in America: a continent Tavares desperately wants Peugeot to conquer.

JLR is in desperate need of help too. It’s been rocked by diesel sales dropping, battered by Brexit uncertainty and sideswiped by falling sales in China. All of which are having a devastating impact on its bottom line.

In February, JLR revealed a hefty quarterly loss of £273m in the three months to December 31, 2018, blaming Brexit and demand in China. It also wrote down the value of its plants and other assets, posting a £3.4bn loss for the quarter overall. And there’s talk this is just the beginning of its woes.

Few could argue with PSA’s ability to slash costs.

At Vauxhall, the clean-sheet approach PSA has enjoyed since snapping the brand up from GM has allowed it to turn around a business weighed down by legacy costs and expensive practices. It’s worked – Vauxhall is back in the black and looks like it’s got a bright future ahead of it.

Then there are the product tie-ups both firms could enjoy. JLR can’t go it alone in the electrification that’s needed across its line-up.

It’s made a great start with the award-winning I-Pace but it’s lagging behind elsewhere. If anyone could emulate the hugely successful VW Group model, where platforms are used over and over again, and bring the two firms together in harmony, it’s Tavares.

He’s a shrewd operator whom people believe in, like and ultimately want to work for – in the automotive world that can help firms achieve great things. Maybe this will be one of them.

‘I have no doubt there are very advanced talks going on behind the scenes.’

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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