Car Dealer Magazine: Issue 141

Issue 141 | December 2019 | CarDealerMag.co.uk | £5

INSIDE STORY: THE LOOKERS REVELATIONS THAT SHOCKED THE INDUSTRY

BANGERS4BEN: FUNDRAISERS EMBARK ON AN EPIC FRENCH ADVENTURE

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TESLA MODEL 3

TOYOTA SUPRA

FORD FOCUS ST

The UK’s Best Used Car Warranty

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Editorial PRODUCTION EDITOR Dave Brown dave@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @CarDealerDave

HEAD OF DESIGN Graeme Windell

graeme@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @graemewindell

CHIEF SUB-EDITOR John Bowman

john@blackballmedia.co.uk

HEAD OF CONTENT Jack Evans

jack@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @jackrober

STAFF WRITERS Darren Cassey Ryan Hirons Jack Healy Ted Welford Oliver Young

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Welcome.

THE judging process is complete, the table plan has been drawn up and the guests are (hopefully) looking forward to their evening with us. Yes, by the time you read this, the Used Car Awards will be just around the corner!

If you’re a regular reader of Car Dealer, you’ll know that this is one of our biggest nights of the year and it’s always a genuine pleasure to hand trophies and certificates over to the top performers in a sector of the motor trade that’s never been more important.

After all, and as we report on pages 70-71, new car sales continue to launguish in the doldrums so used cars are more crucial than ever to many dealerships’ operations.

It’s great that our awards shine a light on the great work that goes on in the used car arena. Full results from a wonderful night of celebrations will be on our website on the morning of November 26 and contained within the pages of issue 142 of Car Dealer, out in mid-December.

If you’re going to be at The Brewery on Monday, November 25, I’ll see you there! And good luck to all those who have been nominated – you can find out who’s in the running for a gong online at bit.ly/UCA-noms PICTURE PERFECT EACH edition of Car Dealer Magazine must contain tens of thousands of words. News stories, comment pieces, special features, expert analysis... we do our best every month to keep you up to date with what’s going on in the automotive world.

Photography plays an important part too, however, and never more so than in our annual Road Test of the Year edition. A little shout-out if I may, then, to Darren Cassey and Jon Reay, who were behind the lens during a rather wet week in the Brecon Beacons recently, when we put this year’s crop of very special cars through their paces. As ever,

the team had the difficult job of picking a winner from the assembled machinery – seldom an easy task. In actual fact, they spend as much time deliberating as they do driving. Find out what they thought of this year’s selection of cars from pages 30-49 – and thanks again to Darren and Jon for some great shots.

HOOKED ON CLASSICS THERE’S never a dull moment here at Blackball Media, and as well as working on the monthly editions of Car Dealer Magazine, we frequently have other projects on the go.

Over the past 18 months or so, we’ve been delighted to work with our good friend Mike Brewer on three ‘bookazines’. The first two looked at the worlds of used cars and supercars – and the third one focuses on classics.

With perfect timing (for once!), copies arrived at our offices from the printers to be transported up to Birmingham for November’s Classic Car Show, where they sold like hot cakes. And within the bookazine’s pages, Mike makes a very interesting observation... It’s well known that modern motors are cleaner and greener than ever before – but have you ever thought that by keeping a classic car on the road you’re doing your bit for the environment?

‘We live in a world where everything is disposable, but every time I go and see a classic car and put it back on the road, I’m recycling,’ Mike says. ‘The classic car world is doing a lot of good by recycling cars and keeping them on roads for generations to come.’

It’s a very good point. Find out how to get your own copy of Mike Brewer’s Ultimate Guide to Classic Cars on page 21.

Enjoy the issue.

Dave Brown Production Editor CarDealerMag.co.uk | 03

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The Tokyo Motor Show We bring you six of the best that were on display at The Big Sight

Stockton saw top go-karting action

ISSUE 141 I DECEMBER 2019

Dashboard.

The Big Story: Turmoil at Lookers Auto Trader’s £131m profits Around the UK Tokyo Motor Show FCA and Groupe PSA to merge New Go-karting Challenge starts Big Mike Feedback Around the World Finance

06 11 12 15 16 18 21 22 24 26

Data File.

Trade-to-trade remarketing Car Dealer Clinic The Statistics Fully Loaded Car Dealer Club Auctions Taking Stock Extra Cover Key Notes with Traka Market Insight Recruitment

Features.

Road Test of the Year 2019 Bangers4Ben 2019

30 51

Suppliers Guide Long-termers James Baggott

55 68 70 72 76 78 79 80 82 83 85 86 88 90

Fun and frolics on our madcap Bangers4Ben rally!

EV has gone home.

Would James buy one?

Our events...

As voted for by you, Car Dealer Power is unique. To find out who won what following this year’s industry-wide survey, go online to bit.ly/cdpower19

This year’s Used Car Awards, sponsored by Black Horse, take place on November 25. A full report with pictures will feature in the next edition of the magazine.

Car Dealer’s must-attend automotive trade expo features the Live Stage, workshops and more. The 2019 event was held at Farnborough – and we’re returning there on April 28, 2020!

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 05

Dashboard.

WAYLANDS

Defibrillators readily available to save lives

A DEALER group is proud to consider itself a real lifesaver within the local community.

The Waylands Group has defibrillators installed on all its sites, and is offering their use to neighbouring businesses and residents.

John O’Hanlon, CEO of Waylands, said: ‘We place strong emphasis on ensuring the first aid training provided to our team members is up to date.

‘In addition, we want to show our commitment to ensuring anyone in our local vicinity has access to essential first aid and lifesaving equipment, too.

‘If any businesses or residents near one of our sites in Oxford, Reading, Swindon or Newbury should ever find themselves in a situation when defibrillators are needed, we’d remind them that ours are readily available.’

Pictured above are Waylands first-aiders.

TIE-UP

Modix partners with InstaVid COX Automotive’s digital marketing arm Modix has announced a new partnership with InstaVid that will allow it to offer new video and image capabilities to dealers.

Modix 360 customers will now be able to use a single app to create a full range of imagery. As well as fully interactive 360° interior and exterior images, the tool creates personalised and branded videos, and features a guided photography module.

06 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

THE BIG STORY

Lookers pair leave as company reports challenging trading High-profile departures, network reductions and an ongoing FCA probe – it all adds up to a turbulent end to the year for well-known dealer group.

T

he chief executive and chief operating officer of Lookers have been shown the door as the dealership chain warned the challenging car market was continuing to hit business. It had already issued a profit warning in July, and said trading since mid-September had ‘been much more challenging than expected’.

CEO Andy Bruce, who has been with Lookers since 2000, taking the top seat in 2014, and COO Nigel McMinn stepped down and a search for their replacements is under way.

Chairman Phil White said: ‘It is disappointing to report this downturn in trading, but we have taken action to drive the future financial performance of the group. The board is resolute in its determination to restore the group’s fortunes with market-leading practices in the sector.’

Bruce said: ‘After nearly two decades with Lookers, it is now time for me to move on to new ventures and allow new leadership to take the business into its next chapter.’

McMinn, who joined the group

as a director in 2013, becoming chief operating officer in 2017, added: ‘I have enjoyed helping to build the business at Lookers and working with a great team of people.’

Management said it now expected underlying pre-tax profits for the full year to hit just £20m, compared with £67.3m in 2018.

Lookers blamed the poor performance at its 150 showrooms on ‘ongoing weakness in consumer confidence in the light of political and economic uncertainty, pressure on used car margins and retail cost inflation’.

It added that because of the ongoing Lookers’ VW challenges, dealership in the board had Battersea accelerated the sale of non-core assets, or ‘portfolio consolidation’, to improve the company – although site closures are

expected to cost £8m this year. The group said it had identified 15 dealerships for closure and relocation or consolidation into existing dealerships, with 13 of them expected to be shut by the end of the year.

Lookers has refused to confirm which dealerships will be affected.

A spokesman said that some had already been earmarked but others would be consolidated.

‘We will not reveal at this point which brands are affected,’ he told Car Dealer. In the three months to the end of September, like-for-like

Departure of such highly respected individuals was THE chairman of dealer profitability specialist ASE Automotive Solutions paid tribute to Lookers bosses Andy Bruce and Nigel McMinn.

Mike Jones, pictured, told Car Dealer Magazine that Bruce and McMinn were ‘two hugely respected individuals’. He said: ‘The announcement from Lookers came as a shock to the market. Whilst

I was expecting a potential profit downgrade, the announcement shows a significant drop in expected profit for the year to £20m.’

Lookers also announced it would be shutting 15 sites, and Jones said: ‘The reduction in the number of operating sites is not unexpected, given the continued rationalisation of the industry’s representation

points, particularly in the volume sector.’ He added: ‘The most surprising news was the immediate departure of Andy Bruce and Nigel McMinn – two hugely respected individuals within the industry.

‘Whilst the results are poor, we will have to see whether the results of the impending FCA review also produced a need for a wholesale

How we sabotaged Secret Santa.

Confessions, p87

PRODUCTION

All-electric Mercedes-Benz G-Class on way

‘After nearly two decades with Lookers, it is now time for me to move on to new ventures.’

‘I have enjoyed helping to build the business at Lookers and working with a great team of people.’

Andy Bruce

Nigel McMinn

sales of new cars fell 3.2 per cent, compared with a fall of 1.2 per cent in the first half-year.

The used car market was more stable, with like-for-like unit sales up 2.6 per cent compared with a rise of two per cent for the first half-year.

But it wasn’t enough to save Bruce and McMinn, who both left with immediate effect on November 1.

White took over as executive chairman and non-executive director Richard Walker also took on a parttime executive role, the company said.

The car market has been struggling recently, with environmental

concerns and Brexit playing a part, especially with families putting bigticket purchases on hold during the uncertainty. Lookers is also under investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) over the way it sold car loans between January 1, 2016 and June 13 this year.

It was announced in June that the FCA would be carrying out an investigation into legacy sales processes at Lookers, and in its statement, the group said: ‘That investigation has now commenced and is in its initial planning and factfinding phase.’

The company said it continued to ‘fully support’ the FCA, but added: ‘We are unable to predict what, if any, impact the outcome of the investigation may have.’

Independent analyst Nick Bubb said of the announcement: ‘It would be easy for Lookers to blame “Brexit uncertainty” for the profit warning, but the fact that the veteran CEO has stepped down implies that the problems are company-specific.’

Shares in Lookers fell 22 per cent to 41.26p shortly after the news broke, and stood at 48.7p as Car Dealer went to press.

surprising, says ASE’s Mike Jones change at the top of the business, with the finance director recently moving on as well.’

In July, it was announced that Robin Gregson would be relinquishing the role after 10 years, with Mark Raban replacing him.

And in a reference to similarly troubled motor retail group Pendragon, Jones said: ‘We now

have two of the largest dealer groups in the UK with interim leadership – clearly an unsettling time for the sector.’

Pendragon appointed Bill Berman as interim chairman to replace Chris Chambers, who stepped down on October 1. Its search for a new permanent chairman and new chief executive continues.

ASE chairman Mike Jones

MERCEDES-BENZ has confirmed that an all-electric version of its G-Class off-roader will be heading into production.

The news follows rumours that the model would have to be killed off because of concerns about the ability to electrify it.

However, the announcement was made on Twitter by Daimler’s head of digital transformation, Sascha Pallenberg, who quoted Daimler chief executive Ola Källenius as saying: ‘There will be a zero-emission EV version of the Mercedes-Benz G-Class. In the past there were discussions whether we should eliminate the model.

The way I see things now I’d say the last Mercedes to be built will be a G-Class.’

Although Mercedes has yet to announce what the car will officially be called, it has filed a copyright for the ‘EQG’ nameplate.

STATISTICS

Scots ‘take more purchase risks’ DRIVERS in some of Scotland’s largest cities are the least likely to check whether cars they are looking to buy have shady histories, new figures from the RAC indicate.

Glasgow is joined by Edinburgh and Perth as the top three locations where drivers are most prepared to ‘risk it’ by not checking the history of a vehicle they’re interested in, followed by Sunderland and Newcastle upon Tyne in the north-east of England.

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MANHEIM

Dashboard.

OPPORTUNITIES

Partnership will help find car buyers

O

nline publisher HonestJohn.co.uk and customer acquisition specialist The Lead Agency (TLA) have formed an exclusive partnership that will allow automotive brands to reach more in-market car buyers as they research their next vehicle.

Consumers browse HonestJohn’s range of impartial and quality reviews and guides to inform their future purchase.

TLA’s custom-built, relevant and timely engagement tools will capture their interest and showcase the options available to them.

The agreement will give TLA clients access to more in-market consumers earlier in the buying funnel, while enriching the HonestJohn visitor experience. Research shows that 80 per cent of consumers visit a third-party website during the research phase of a purchase, with 65 per cent using one to start their journey.

HonestJohn fits that criterion as one of the UK’s most popular websites for car buyers and enthusiasts, and was winner of the Newspress Website of the Year accolade for an unprecedented three consecutive years (2016, 2017 and 2018).

TLA, meanwhile, has 18 years’ experience in the automotive sector, connecting audiences with brands such as BMW, VW Group, Ford and Mercedes-Benz to provide a source of incremental sales. Its blockchain-based, GDPR-compliant tech platform and FCA permissions allow the business to simplify and accelerate a consumer’s car buying journey. HonestJohn. co.uk’s managing editor, Dan Powell, said: ‘TLA’s industry experience and specialist tools complement our existing content to enrich the visitor experience and help consumers make the most informed decision when it comes to choosing their next car.

‘This exciting partnership will bring significant benefits to HonestJohn’s visitors as well as TLA and its clients.’

TLA CEO Anton Hanley added: ‘We’re proud to have formed this partnership with HonestJohn.

‘Its website is a trusted source of high-quality information for car buyers and enthusiasts throughout the country.

‘Combining their excellent content and extensive audience with our technology and processes will allow us to create even more quality opportunities for our clients to connect with hard-to-reach consumers and increase sales.’

As part of the partnership, TLA will take responsibility for lead generation from HonestJohn’s social channels, representing an opportunity to combine a powerful consumer-focused brand with engagement, validation and qualification technology.

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Dashboard.

Praise for a winning team.

Auctions, p78

FINANCIAL RESULTS

PLATFORM

Amazon holding detailed talks to sell cars online

Auto Trader makes £131m profit in six months – on a margin of 70 per cent A uto Trader has operated with a profit margin of 70 per cent for much of this year, it has revealed. It’s a figure that will surely catch the eye of a lot of the new and used car dealerships that use its services, many of whom work to margins as low as one or two per cent.

Reporting its financial results for the six months to September 30, the UK’s largest digital automotive marketplace revealed that revenue had increased to £186.7m.

The equivalent figure for the same period last year was £176.8m.

by DAVE BROWN @CarDealerDave

It reported that its operating profit was up nine per cent to £131.4m (H1 2019: £120.6m) with the aforementioned profit margin increasing to a whopping 70 per cent from 68 per cent last time round.

Profit before tax up was up 12 per cent to £127.7m (H1 2019: £114.5m).

Cash generated from operations was up three per cent to £132.7m and £69.8m was returned to shareholders via £27.2m of share buy-backs and

dividends of £42.6m. Trevor Mather, pictured above, chief executive of Auto Trader Group, said: ‘We have had a good first half and have seen an even greater number of car retailers opting to partner with Auto Trader.

‘We continue to be the clear market leader in used cars and have extended this into new cars, with over 30,000 brand-new cars on Auto Trader being viewed by 1.6 million people in September alone.

‘Despite ongoing market uncertainty, the board is confident of meeting its growth expectations for the year.’

‘Encouraging’ rise in used car market at last THE UK’S used car market rose by nearly one per cent in the third quarter of 2019 after nine straight quarters of decline, according to latest figures from the SMMT. Data obtained by the industry body from the DVLA shows that 2,076,382 transactions took place between July and September – 18,925 more than the same period in 2018, making a rise of 0.9 per cent. Demand for diesel models was up 1.4 per cent in the quarter with 858,442 changing hands,

while petrol sales were flat with a slight drop of 0.2 per cent. Plug-in electric and hybrid models showed a solid increase of 13 per cent, totalling 37,589 units and increasing their share of sales to 1.8 per cent from 1.6 per cent in 2018’s third quarter.

Superminis remained the most popular segment, reflecting the trend in the new car market, with 684,929 changing hands and accounting for 33 per cent of transactions. The lower-medium and upper-medium

segments were the next most popular, with 27 per cent and 11.7 per cent shares respectively. Meanwhile, the dual-purpose segment showed the largest percentage growth (15.2 per cent) with an 11.6 per cent market share. The stronger thirdquarter performance wasn’t, however, quite enough to offset declines in the previous two quarters, with 51,785 fewer transactions in the first nine months of the year and the market down 0.8 per cent.

AMAZON is in advanced talks with UK car manufacturers to sell vehicles directly to the public via its website.

Manufacturers have confirmed to Car Dealer Magazine that discussions with the tech titan are ongoing about offering cars for sale on its platform.

It is believed Amazon wants to bypass dealers and fulfil the sales process entirely online – delivering cars straight to the doors of consumers.

Renault UK boss Vincent Tourette told Car Dealer Magazine his firm had been ‘in discussions’ with Amazon, but that it had been ruled out because he ‘did not believe in bypassing dealers’.

Groupe PSA – which owns Peugeot, Citroen, DS and Vauxhall – also confirmed that it has had talks with Amazon.

Amazon told Car Dealer Magazine that it would ‘not comment on rumour or speculation’.

FCA-PSA merger, p16

ASE

Bounce ‘not as big as expected’ DEALERS saw a slight rise in profitability in September, according to latest figures from ASE Automotive Solutions.

The average year-onyear profit increased from £60,000 to £63,000, and chairman Mike Jones said: ‘I was expecting an improvement. However, it was not as big a bounce as expected.’

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 11

Dashboard.

News from around

What’s been hitting the headlines on the home front? Here’s a BELFAST

Diners make bolt for NY-style restaurant!

NORTHERN Ireland’s largest car retailer, Charles Hurst Group, is opening a new 80-seat café and restaurant at its Boucher Road site in Belfast after a £300,000 investment. The New York-style eaterie will cater for customers and visitors as well as the hundreds of Charles Hurst staff on site.

Called ‘Bolt’, it will be run by Hospitality Belfast and 30 jobs are being created. Charles Hurst Group operations director Colin McNab said the new café-restaurant offered an ‘outstanding, high-quality hospitality experience’.

ROCHDALE

New Cartime branch beats early sales forecasts CARTIME’S second branch has reported double its expected number of sales within just two months of opening in Rochdale.

The company, whose first site in Bury was established more than seven years ago, invested £2.6m in the Rochdale dealership with the intention of offering ‘a new way to buy a used car’.

YEOVIL

ROTHERHAM

Nissan and Kia site will be eco-friendly

Japanese pairing out, Renault and Dacia in

MULTI-franchise dealer group F J Chalke is just weeks away from opening a new eco-friendly Kia and Nissan showroom in Yeovil.

The site will generate electricity via solar panels and collect rain water to be used on-site, while also offering electric-vehicle drivers a place to charge.

The family-run business began in 1929, opening its doors in Mere, Wiltshire. Now with sites also in Yeovil, Wincanton and Gillingham, the company said it worked hard to reduce its environmental impact.

A LANDMARK dealership in Rotherham is ditching its Honda and Mitsubishi franchises in favour of Renault and Dacia.

Stoneacre Motor Group’s ‘Mushroom Garage’ – famous for displaying cars on its roof – is having a £1m refurb, due to be completed in 2020, with the French and Romanian brands moving in and sales of the Japanese marques covered by the sites in Sheffield and Chesterfield. Honda and Mitsubishi aftersales will still be handled at the Doncaster Road showroom.

12 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Its high-tech facilities and state-of-the-art showroom give access to one of the largest selections of prestige vehicles in the north-west.

Cartime managing director Matt Kay said: ‘With our Rochdale site, we’ve taken our highly successful, unique Cartime car-buying experience and made it even better with the latest technology and services.’

Best-selling new cars in October October 2019

Source: SMMT

5,138

Ford Fiesta Nissan Qashqai

4,084

Volkswagen Golf

3,976

Mercedes-Benz A-Class 3,630 Ford Focus

3,585

Ford Kuga

3,041

Kia Sportage

2,588

Volkswagen Tiguan

2,547

Volkswagen Polo

2,191

Range Rover Evoque

2,134

The statistics, p70

BRADFORD

£2.4m refurbishment of Land Rover outlet

WORK has started on a £2.4 million refurbishment of Farnell Land Rover Bradford that will see the retailer renovated and extended.

Once completed, the King’s Road dealership will boast a nine-car showroom, designed in line with the Jaguar Land Rover Arch concept, that is expected to create a number of jobs in the coming years.

The new-look showroom is scheduled to open next April. It will be fully air-conditioned and will have more electric charging points plus an 11-bay technician workshop.

Eastern promise uncovered.

Tokyo Motor Show, p15

the UK

Special 19-page feature

RTOTY19 A stunning selection of cars put to the test

round-up of stories

Coverage starts on page 30

LEEDS

DONCASTER

DERBYSHIRE

Lamborghini opens 11th UK showroom

CarShop celebrates decade in business

Ilkeston Nissan scores for young footballers

LAMBORGHINI has opened a showroom in Leeds – its 11th in the United Kingdom.

The dealership is a new-build that meets the manufacturer’s comprehensive corporate identity guidelines and creates a luxurious and informal environment for owners and prospective customers.

Owned and operated by Park’s Motor Group, which has more than 60 dealerships in Scotland and the north of England, it is the first Lamborghini franchise for the privately owned company.

CARSHOP Doncaster has celebrated its 10th birthday.

It was the first CarShop store in Yorkshire, with its opening event on November 7, 2009 headlined by X Factor competitors Ruth Lorenzo and Austin Drage.

Since then, it has sold 33,522 cars and evolved, creating more than 600 local jobs. Liane Scott, brand experience manager at CarShop Doncaster, said: ‘We’re so proud to say that CarShop Doncaster has been open for a full decade and has achieved so much over that time.’

‘Vehicle pricing, whether that be on a cash purchase or monthly rental basis, needs to be consistent and as uniform as competition law will allow.’

James Litton, p86

ILKESTON Nissan has lent its support to Heanor Juniors Under11s Titans with a two-year shirt sponsorship package.

The dealership has also provided training jackets plus Man of the Match and monthly award trophies.

Sales manager James Ashley said: ‘Heanor Juniors is a fantastic community football club with a hard-working committee of volunteers. We couldn’t think of a better organisation to support and we’ll be cheering them on throughout the season.’

MIDDLESBROUGH

Fun for the family at Ford Store’s festival

LOOKERS Ford Middlesbrough staged a special family festival to celebrate its recent transformation.

There was something for everybody at the event, which celebrated all things Ford and featured a display of classic models, including heritage Mustangs and a WRC Ford Fiesta rally car.

Attendees also got to see a breathtaking display by stunt driver Paul Swift and there was face painting, an animal corner plus a balloon artist. The site’s £3m upgrade has transformed it into Teesside’s first Ford Store.

STIRLING

Excitement at imminent opening of Volvo outlet WORK has started on a new showroom for Volvo retailer Arnold Clark Stirling. The premises will showcase eight Volvo vehicles, alongside 100 more on the forecourt, and boast a lounge area with Scandinavian furniture, free wifi and coffee.

Located in Kerse Road, about half a mile from the current site, it is due to be completed in December.

Exterior and interior glazing will let customers see

what’s going on in the new workshop. During the construction period, the current showroom, also in Kerse Road, will remain open.

Ewan Hutcheson, retailer principal at Arnold Clark Stirling, said: ‘The team and I are very excited that construction work has begun on our new showroom.

‘It has been designed to make our customers feel even more relaxed and at ease.’

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 13

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14 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Dashboard.

What else has been happening globally?

Around the World, p24

Nissan Ariya

Nissan Kei Concept

This outlines Nissan’s future for its C-segment crossovers and its design language as a whole.

Built on an EV platform, there’s loads of space and a flat floor, while the two electric motors mean it has ‘sports car’-level performance.

This probably won’t reach Europe but it’s likely to do well in Japan. As a Nissan exec explained, petrol Keis are limited by their nature – they’re noisy, underpowered and unrefined. A near-silent electric one should be a revelation then.

NEW MODELS

Eastern promise – six of the best uncovered The theme of the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show was ‘Open Future’ and our very own Jon Reay was at the press preview for the big reveals.

Honda Jazz

Suzuki Waku

One of the few production cars unveiled here that we’ll see in the UK, the Fit will make it to Britain as the new Jazz. We’ve had a quick sit inside and it’s very impressive, although expect the ‘Basic’ and ‘Ness’ trim levels to receive more sensible names before it goes on sale here.

Another tiny concept car with a bizarre name, the Waku is an unashamedly retro-looking coupe – until it’s not. Flip a switch and the Waku turns itself into an estate, thanks to a folding rear section that looks not dissimilar to that of the Nissan EXA of the 1980s.

Daihatsu Wai Wai

Subaru WRX STI EJ20 Final Edition

Silly name aside, this six-seater concept wouldn’t look out of place in showrooms today, although there’s more than a hint of VW Bus in the design.

Sadly, Daihatsu is no longer with us in the UK, so it looks like we’ll be missing out on whatever production model the Wai Wai morphs into.

We Europeans haven’t been able to buy this 2.0-litre turbo since 2005 but it’s been soldiering on in Japan – where tax is based on engine size rather than emissions – for 30 years. There’s no real need for tears, though, as Subaru has a whole new Boxer engine family to rely on these days.

INTERVIEW

‘We should use more of our Japanese heritage’ NISSAN needs to play more on its ‘Japanese DNA’ to stand out, according to top executive Roel de Vries.

Speaking to us on Nissan’s vast Tokyo Motor Show stand, the senior vice-president of global marketing, customer experience and brand strategy at Nissan Motor Corporation suggested that against rivals like Toyota and Honda, Nissan wasn’t doing enough to highlight its Asian roots.

‘One thing I think we can use more is our overall Japanese heritage,’ he told us. ‘If you compare us to some of the other Japanese makes [operating in western Europe], we have tried to be more European than the others.’ This, he argues, has been no bad thing for the brand in terms of sales – the Qashqai and Juke, both designed and built in the UK, have been runaway successes for Nissan.

However, de Vries, pictured, reckons that there’s much to be gained by highlighting Nissan’s Far Eastern origins too.

‘I think with that comes a bit of an opportunity, because the image and credibility of being a Japanese manufacturer – in terms of technology, innovation, reliability, precision – I think it’s something really powerful,’ he told us.

‘Alfonso [Albaisa, Nissan’s senior vicepresident of global design] and I share the same view: we need to use it in our design.

‘He is definitely pushing that on his side, and on my side – on the brand and strategy of the company – we are really trying to push this Japanese DNA in terms of precision, technology and innovation.

‘We’re very credible in that field, and I think we should use it.’

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 15

Dashboard.

Driving in Europe after a possible no-deal Brexit.

Extra Cover with Gallagher, p80

FEARS FOR PLANTS

Fiat Chrysler and Groupe PSA boards approve merger

T

he boards of Fiat Chrysler and Groupe PSA have approved merging the two companies in a move that will create the world’s fourth-largest vehicle maker with combined revenues of 170bn euros – equivalent to some £146bn – the companies have announced.

The 50-50 merger is expected to see costs cut by 3.7bn euros (circa £3.2bn) without any factory closures, stated the firms.

However, Professor David Bailey of Birmingham Business School said PSA’s plants in Ellesmere Port and Luton may not be immediately closed but they remained under threat. He told the PA news agency that the Italian government would want to preserve factories at Fiat in Italy, while the French government – a part-shareholder in Peugeot owner Groupe PSA – would be keen to maintain jobs in France.

‘Luton and Ellesmere Port are both very efficient plants. They’ve competed to win contracts very successfully despite the Brexit uncertainty. But I think given the merger of these two giants, there will be pressure to take capacity out, and British plants will be vulnerable.’

PSA announced in June that it planned to build the next generation of the Astra at the Ellesmere Port factory, but it warned that this was conditional on the final terms of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. Vauxhall employs 3,000 people in the UK. Trade union Unite’s national officer, Des Quinn, said merger talks combined with Brexit uncertainty were ‘deeply unsettling for Vauxhall’s UK workforce’.

by JOHN BOWMAN john@blackballmedia.co.uk

He added that if PSA wanted to sell Vauxhallbranded cars and vans in the UK ‘then it has to make them here’, and said the union was seeking urgent meetings with Groupe PSA management.

The merger will create the world’s fourth largest car company, behind Toyota, Volkswagen and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance.

A combined Fiat Chrysler-Groupe PSA would have a market value of around $50bn (circa £43bn) and produce 8.7 million cars a year.

Once the deal is finalised, Groupe PSA chief executive Carlos Tavares will be chief executive of the new company, with Fiat Chrysler chairman John Elkann taking the role of chairman.

Fiat Chrysler chief executive Mike Manley will have a senior executive role, working closely with Tavares.

‘This convergence brings significant value to all the stakeholders and opens a bright future for the combined entity,’ said Tavares in a statement.

Manley called it ‘an industry-changing combination’ and noted the long history of co-operation with Groupe PSA in the industrial

‘This convergence brings significant value to all the stakeholders and opens a bright future for the combined entity.’

Carlos Tavares

Dealerships ‘could be granted digital extension’ SOME dealerships could be eligible for an extension to certain Making Tax Digital requirements, according to a specialist firm.

The HMRC initiative aims to end the tax return and bring in a transformed tax system by 2020, making tax administration more effective, more efficient and simpler for taxpayers.

Most VAT-registered organisations with a taxable turnover exceeding £85,000 and a non16 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

vehicle sector in Europe. The 11-member board will be made up of five members from each company plus Tavares, who is locked in as chief executive for five years.

Both companies said the new outfit would be able to meet the challenges of powertrain electrification, connectivity and autonomous driving ‘with speed and capital efficiency’.

The combined business will be able to share the cost of developing those technologies with their ‘strong global R&D footprint’, they said.

They will also save on investments in vehicle platforms and save money with greater purchasing power.

Both companies ‘share the conviction that there is compelling logic for a bold and decisive move that would create an industry leader with the scale, capabilities and resources to capture successfully the opportunities and manage effectively the challenges in the new era in mobility’, the statement said.

The merger decision comes about five months after a similar deal involving FCA and Renault fell apart.

complex IT system must introduce digital links in their first VAT return starting on or after April 1, 2020 or October 1, 2020 depending on their setup. But audit, tax and consulting specialist RSM is highlighting the fact that HMRC has announced that some organisations with complex or legacy IT systems – including dealerships – can apply for an extension to the one-year ‘soft’ landing period to maintain digital links.

New Maserati showroom offers luxury in Dubai MASERATI has officially opened a new showroom in Dubai, featuring the largest display area of any Maserati dealership in the world. With 3,644 square metres dedicated to the brand, Al Tayer Motors Maserati has been designed to provide an inviting and luxurious atmosphere.

Join the Go-Karting Challenge

Car Dealer Magazine and Close Brothers Motor Finance have teamed up to host the 2019/2020 Go-Karting Challenge.

5 regional qualifying rounds

(Stockton, Manchester, Reading, Harlow and Cardiff)

Free to enter – either as an individual, or as a group of up to four people Food and refreshments also available 90 minutes endurance race Top two teams go through to the final in Leicester in March 2020

Please visit cardealermagazine.co.uk to register your interest for the Harlow event which takes place on Thursday 16 January.

Harlow: TeamSport, Unit E, Rier Way, Harlow, CM20 2DP

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 17

Dashboard.

ROUND 1 – STOCKTON-ON-TEES

Slippin’ and slidin’ – latest challenge is off to a super start!

A new track for a new season of our go-karting contest – Andy Entwistle was there for the action

Teams battle it out at Stockton

I

t’s back! The great Car Dealer Magazine Go-karting Challenge was such a success last time around that we’re doing it all again!

Once again we’re delighted to have the support of Close Brothers Motor Finance and some exciting racing has already taken place.

Twelve teams battled to be the winners in this season’s first qualifier in Stockton and the warm-up session was littered with yellow flags and spinning karts as the drivers got to grips with the slippery surface. While this was a challenge for the drivers, it made for some great spectator viewing – particularly on the lower level, where the change in surface to concrete made it more akin to driving on ice!

The race was a 90-minute endurance event comprising teams of four and each team driver had to take to the kart at least once.

Representatives from the north-east automotive industry included teams from Redgate Lodge, BV Vehicles, Blackshaws and Tees Valley Mitsubishi, all supported by the Close Brothers Motor Finance team. However, in among the famous names from the car sales world, the Blackshaws team brought along a bit of a ringer, Paul Swift, plus me.

It’s all a bit of fun, right? Wrong… Within a few minutes of practice, teams were seen huddled together and talking strategy. We opted to put me in first, leaving our star players – Will Blackshaw

The teams are given a pre-race briefing

and stunt driver Paul Swift – until the end.

However, the random nature of allocating karts on the start grid threw up a stroke of luck: we were on pole!

Immediately, heads were thrown back together… We decided to make the most of the situation and put Paul on first.

Lights off and he flew off the line, pulling away from the pack. However, two spins on the slippery surface from DS Motors/Redpath & McLean and MMC Specialist Cars saw the yellow flags come out.

Paul then started to pull out a healthy lead, but the rest of the pack wasn’t giving up and Tees Valley Mitsubishi started to work their way through in hot pursuit.

After 25 minutes, Paul had a terrific lead, having lapped all but two cars, with team badges 18 and 14 in hot pursuit. The pit was now busy

with driver changes and it was time for me to take over from Paul.

We executed a great changeover and I managed to retain position for the team, which I was pretty chuffed about. We were now one lap up on all other karts, with Mountsett Garage/Owlet Car Sales (18) hot on our heels.

I came in for the driver change at the same time as them, and luckily we effected a pretty good changeover, coming out in front of a fastimproving Tees Valley, who split us from kart 18.

The latest round of changes saw very quick drives from Tees Valley Mitsubishi (11) and G3 Vehicle Auctions (10), who started to hunt down our driver, Gordon Saunders.

He eventually handed over to Will Blackshaw for the last 30 minutes and we still had a healthy lead of 1½ laps, which Will just needed to maintain. But this being Will, he was having none

Feel the need for speed? Then sign up for a chance to be part of this great 18 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

PHOTOGRAPHY: ANDY ENTWISTLE

Paul Swift, left, and Gordon Saunders of Team Blackshaws

The latest from our fleet.

Long-termers, p88

See pictures from the inaugural challenge at bit.ly/cardealeralbums

Karting Q&A What time does the racing start?

Teams need to arrive at the venue before 7pm.

Free parking is available. Before the race begins at 8pm, there’s a mandatory drivers’ briefing plus a 15-minute practice session, which will get you used to the layout, kart and pit stops.

Who can drive?

Every driver in your team needs to be in the motor trade – no professional racing drivers will be allowed to race, nor any non-motor traders.

If you’re unable to put together a team of four from your staff, you can combine with other local dealers. As long as they work in the motor trade, they can be part of your team.

The Stocktonon-Tees qualifier podium winners of it, heading out and battling with Team MMC Specialist Cars who, despite four visits to the pits, were still battling to improve their position.

The fight kept disappearing downstairs and leaving the team holding their breath to see who would come up the ramp in front.

However, with our team looking like certain winners, shenanigans started, with another team wandering up and asking us if we had team 6’s board. They intended to call Will in for a phantom stop to try to scupper our chances. A few seconds of panic later, we found our board, which Paul had actually grabbed and stood on so no-one would pinch it!

Team Blackshaws crossed the line first for a great win, followed by Mountsett Garage/Owlet Car Sales. Both are now through to the final in March. G3 Vehicle Auctions made a credible third, with Tees Valley Mitsubishi putting in a very impressive and amazing fastest lap of 52.785 against a best venue lap of 44.3. The night was great fun for everyone, with pizza and drinks provided for the teams.

Dates and tracks

Will I need any gear?

Qualifiers Wednesday, October 16

Stockton-on-Tees

Thursday, October 17 Wednesday, November 13

Manchester Reading

Thursday, January 16, 2020

Harlow

Thursday, February 6

Cardiff

Are there prizes?

Yes! There will be a podium ceremony at each regional round and a trophy for the winning finalist.

How do I sign up?

Final Wednesday, March 4

No. TeamSport provides helmets, race suits and gloves at each track, so there’s no need to buy any gear you don’t have.

Leicester

The second qualifier took place the following evening at TeamSport Karting’s Manchester Trafford Park, and a full report will appear in the next edition of Car Dealer Magazine.

event at karting@cardealermagazine.co.uk

Any dealership in the relevant region can apply to enter the qualifiers by emailing us at karting@cardealermagazine.co.uk Applications will be drawn out of a hat and you’ll be informed if your entry has been successful.

What’s the entry fee?

Nothing! Thanks to Close Brothers, it’s free.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 19

20 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

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

Hindsight is a wonderful thing – I just need a time-travelling DeLorean now

I

’ve just spent a very enjoyable weekend at the NEC, if that’s not the very definition of an oxymoron.

I was at the big classic car show, and as a vintage thoroughbred myself, it’s one of the highlights of my calendar. While there, I spent a good half-hour setting the world to rights with TV’s Mike Brewer, who has a splendid new book out. And no, I’m not Mike Brewer, as a few people have previously suggested. I’m older and fatter than him for starters, and he’s no racing snake or spring chicken himself.

He is, however, one of us – a proper car dealer.

He once delivered a car to a customer in Surrey and bought a Morris Ital for a tenner at the nearest auction to drive home in. If that’s not proper car dealer behaviour, I don’t know what is.

One of the things we got chatting about was ‘the ones that got away’ – the motors we flogged when they were worth the square root of Fanny Adams yet today cost a small fortune. If I had a DeLorean (and goodness knows how time travel is possible with that horrid Renault V6 that has the performance of a non-turbo diesel and needs to stop for fuel every 20 minutes), I’d go back and not sell every single Mk 2 Ford Escort that’s ever passed through my hands.

Given that crusty examples fetch upwards of five grand these days and excellent ones are worth the same as a two-up, two-down in Acocks Green, I’d have rented every council lock-up in the central outskirts of Birmingham and squirrelled them away, before jumping back into my DeLorean, hoping it wouldn’t succumb to the usual and tiresome warm starting problems those Douvrin V6s had, and head straight back to 2019 to unearth them all as ‘barn finds’.

But what if I couldn’t get the DeLorean started and was stuck in 1979? Well, it’s easy. I’d get Mr Brewer to give me a push-start, as he’d be there with me buying up Jensen Interceptors and Jaguar E-Types. Unless the Sabbath were playing at Barbarella’s that night, of course, in which case he’d be hitching a lift and I’d be supping Banks’s at 29p a pint. Birmingham in 1979 wasn’t the best place to be, but it had its high points.

Alas, time travel is about as likely as a DeLorean firing up first time on a hot engine or beating a milk float away from the traffic lights, so instead I’m writing this from the dining room of a modest semi-detached, with the closest thing to a DeLorean nearby being a T-plate Renault Safrane V6 that I took in part-ex about five years ago and which has been going quietly mouldy under my car port ever since.

It makes me wonder, though, what the next Escort Mk 2 is going

to be. The everyday car that suddenly becomes a must-have classic, despite once being part of the nation’s suburban street furniture.

Somehow, I can’t imagine there being a flurry of bidding excitement at the discovery of a rust-free Nissan Qashqai in the garage of a probate sale bungalow, nor can I see buyers queuing up at the auction house window to register for bidding paddles on a low-mileage Audi Q3.

Nostalgia, though, is a funny thing. Just recently, a Nissan Bluebird changed hands at one of the auctions for more than five and a half grand. Admittedly, it was a Turbo ZX model, but to my mind it’s still little more than a glorified minicab, and I very much doubt that when my son is my age, he’ll look back wistfully at all the times he was ferried back from Broad Street in an Uber-branded Toyota Prius.

In fairness, he probably doesn’t even remember most of those journeys now, given the state that I’ve found him in on his post-payday excursions, but we were all young once.

For me, that misspent youth involved cheap beer, Geezer Butler and Ozzy Osbourne, and a bosting night down at Barbarella’s, followed by a lift home in a Mk 2 Escort ‘borrowed’ by Fingers O’Flaherty from the council estate up the road, in exchange for a couple of packets of fags and Dave’s sister’s phone number.

So, nostalgia breeds all sorts of misty-eyed memories, in which cars become part of the social commentary.

And with that, I’m off to call the council to see if they’ve got a lock-up in which I can stash a battered white 2008 Prius with a broken flux capacitor...

‘Nostalgia breeds all sorts of misty-eyed memories, in which cars become part of the social commentary.’

Order your copy of Mike Brewer’s Ultimate Guide to Classic Cars at bit.ly/breweroffer

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 | 21

Feedback.

Comment via email to dave@blackballmedia.co.uk Forum: CarDealerMagazine.co.uk/forum

Is diesel ban just a revenue raiser?

BRISTOL City Council has approved a ban on diesel cars in a central zone during the daytime, which is set to come into effect in 2021. The proposal is now going to Whitehall and there will be a public consultation with residents and businesses. What do we all think?

John Bowman

I also don’t want customers rejecting a car to the finance company five months down the line (should this be a genuine concern?) and I didn’t like the idea of doing business with people who need finance on what is a cheap, old car.

I don’t want people with no money who are barely keeping up with repayments ringing me moaning – eg, it needs a new tyre – a few months later either. One obvious plus point is that I might sell more cars and get some commission (can’t imagine much on a £3k car though). Is it worth offering finance at such a low price point?

BIGNIT

Picture of the month

IMO diesels will die slowly. But I live in London, and we’re always ahead of the curve! metcars That’s what you get when you get a council under Labour control with heavy support from Lib Dems and Greens – I see the Green Party are a strong fourth in Bristol. Anyhow, if Corbyn or Swinson get voted in, Bristol banning a few compression ignition cars will be the least of this country’s worries. Allegedly Bristol has a death toll of 300pa due to air pollution! I’d love to see how the council arrived at that figure. I suspect a liberal, lefty, cock-eyed equation to suit their case.

BHM You beat me to it. Labour has ruined every city it has touched.

TangoVictor32 They basically made that 300 figure up, not one single person has actually died from diesel fumes.

J.T Ah, just noticed that commercial vehicles can enter the town if they pay a charge. A cynic could argue that it’s okay to ‘pollute/kill people’ as long as the council earns from it. tradex My initial thoughts are that if a city successfully bans diesel cars, it will cause a fall in diesel sales as the public will lose confidence in the values on a national basis in case the ban spreads to other cities. As it is only early stages, I would expect it will turn out to be pre Euro 6 or similar, or

They say you can’t have your cake and eat it – but at Car Dealer magazine it’s a trick we manage to pull off on a regular basis thanks to the baking skills of several members of the team. Jack Healy and Ryan Hirons have treated us to some delicious home-made fare recently, and Ted Welford, above, supplied a plate of tasty chocolate brownies. Definitely worth a Paul Hollywood handshake!

I’d say you’d get more finance props at that price point than the £7k-£10k range. MOT failures, firsttime buyers, additional family cars etc.

EPV I don’t believe finance has got me any more sales (as people can get bank loans, credit cards etc).

Don’t think it will revolutionise your unit sales, it won’t. Yes, people ask all the time but often they can’t get it or will source elsewhere.

Mark101

just end up operating as a revenue-raising daily charge for non-complying vehicles as there will be lots of key workers commuting into the city who can’t afford to upgrade their cars.

Contracts Funny how if you pay money to the council it’s ok to drive vans in the city isn’t it? Either diesels are bad or they aren’t. What it really wants is for no-one to drive into Bristol or anywhere else that bans cars. It would only take a week and they would change instantly.

David Horgan

A question of finance I mainly stock cars between a £2,000 and £4,000 price point. I never offered finance as I rightly or wrongly always thought it would be a hassle (with declines, extra paperwork etc).

I think the fear of someone returning a car to a finance company for no valid reason is misplaced.

Yes, people reject cars and yes, they involve the finance company. But lenders are only too aware of the CRA and don’t just bend over when someone complains that a tyre has blown or a set of pads needs replacing. If you’re happy to sell a car and stand by it under the law (as I’m sure we all are), then selling it on finance doesn’t make any difference.

EPV In answer to the original question: Do you like making more money per sale? Do you like putting fewer obstacles in front of customers? Do you like making it easier for people to buy when they want to buy from you?

Rory RSC

Top tweets We’re beyond chuffed for all our dealers who will be joining us at the Used Car Awards. Congratulations to all, we’re really proud to see 27 of Click’s dealers represented in 15 award categories, with a total of 42 nominations between them!

Click Dealer @ClickDealerLTD This time last year I was single and doing a job I didn’t enjoy. I’m now in love with Caroline and have the best job ever. Thank you @vertumotors.

Neil Paul Harmer @neilPaulHarmer (left) Neil, it is an honour to have you in the Group and we are in debt to your contribution to our freedom

alongside your comrades. #democracy #freedom Robert Forrester @vertumotors At Peoples Ford we are home to a fantastic range of used commercial vehicles, from the trusty Transit to adventurous Ranger – we have something for you.

Peoples Ford @PeoplesFord #Audi plans to launch four new plug-in hybrid models; the A6, A7 Sportback, A8 and Q5! The new range of hybrids will use a turbocharged petrol engine and carry the TFSI e badging, with variants offering different performance and equipment!

Caffyns Audi @caffynsaudi

Join the debate! Sign up to our forum at CarDealerMagazine.co.uk/forum

22 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 23

Dashboard.

Around the world Dealer news from somewhere other than here

NORWAY

SWEDISH electric performance brand Polestar has opened its first European ‘Space’ in Oslo, changing the face of the traditional automotive retail model. The Space demonstrates the brand’s new retail concept, combining minimalist design with seamless digital interactivity. Consumers will be able to define the entire customer journey from initial inquiry through, if they wish, to the delivery of their chosen model. Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar CEO, said: ‘The Space in Oslo is extremely special.’

CANADA

IN common with the UK, sales of new cars are somewhat in the doldrums in Canada right now – but there are exceptions, among them the South Korean pairing of Hyundai and Kia, both of which recorded sales increases in September.

Dave Sargent, vicepresident of Global Automotive at JD Power, said consumers were increasingly being attracted to the brands because their infotainment systems were straightforward and easy to use.

ROMANIA

JAPAN

NISSAN plans to open an interactive venue near its global headquarters where people can experience the company’s products, technology and vision for the future of mobility. Set to open early next summer in Yokohama, the Nissan Pavilion will be an all-new destination appealing not just to locals but also to visitors to Japan, who are projected to surge in numbers next year. In addition to highlighting Nissan’s innovations, products, technologies and stories, the Nissan Pavilion will also host global new-vehicle announcements.

AUSTRALIA

VOLUME production of the innovative and electrified new Ford Puma is under way at the Blue Oval’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Craiova. Offered with advanced Ford EcoBoost Hybrid 48-volt electrified powertrain technology, Ford’s new SUV-inspired compact crossover is the first hybrid vehicle to be manufactured in Romania.

A QUEENSLAND car dealership had to pay almost $30,000 (£16,000) to buy back a car after selling it to a fraudster. The crook, 32-year-old Timothy Albert Cuthbertson, paid for the car using a cheque which bounced. He sold it on to a vehicle pawnbroker – and the defrauded dealership bought it back from them. Cuthbertson was jailed for three-and-a-half years.

The only viable key management solution for automotive dealerships Traka Automotive creates hundreds of opportunities every day to: • Reduce costs • Be more productive • Sell more cars • Improve customer satisfaction • Know more about how your business is performing

Email automotive@traka.com or call 0845 225 2910 traka-automotive.com 24 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

traka-auto IMI half-pg.indd 1

15/12/2016 10:04

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 25

Finance.

JBR CAPITAL

Staff praised as £500m loans milestone is reached H igh-end vehicle financier JBR Capital is celebrating reaching the key milestone of £500m in loan pay-outs by launching the JBR500 virtual garage.

Featuring some of the most desired cars of our time, from a Ferrari Enzo Ferrari, pictured, and Pagani Huayra to a Lamborghini Aventador, JBR500 showcases a selection of the most interesting and historically significant cars that have formed part of JBR’s first £500 million.

In just four and a half years, the London-based business has paid out the total in loans against supercars, classic cars, prestige vehicles and even race cars, such as the McLaren F1 GTR. Darren Selig, executive chairman at JBR Capital, said: ‘Surpassing £500m paid-out loans is an incredible milestone, achieved by the will and determination of all the 50-plus amazing staff we now have at JBR. ‘For me, the Ferrari Enzo Ferrari stands out as being one of the most iconic cars in the JBR500. I have a deep affinity with this timeless work of art having personally arranged finance on

12 of the 399 over the last 15 years.’

Chief executive Shalom Benaim added: ‘Our first £500 million is a real celebration for us, so now on to the first billion! We are an incredibly strong organisation and have overcome many challenges along the way. Our JBR500 garage demonstrates the variety of spectacular cars we deal with, but it’s the Aston Martin V8 Vantage which is my top choice.’

Meanwhile, chief operating officer Stephen Halstead said: ‘Originally, we set out to become a market leader in high-end vehicle finance and prestige cars and we have certainly achieved that. From the JBR500, I would pick the Maserati MC12 Coupe. Maserati is such an evocative and emotive brand.

It is such a rare and exclusive car, and just captures my imagination in terms of style, performance and speed.’

LOMBARD

Digital service will give instant yes or no on funds NATWEST asset finance arm Lombard has launched a digital service that lets businesses receive instant agreement to fund cars and vans as well as machinery and technology up to a maximum of £250,000.

Available through Lombard’s website and thought to be the first of its kind in the asset finance market, it allows customers to create a personalised quote across any one of 40 asset classes, with an instant decision provided at the end of a

26 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

quick and simple application process.

Where other providers give indicative quotes, Lombard’s new service is the first to provide a personalised quote and an instant credit decision across such an extensive range of assets.

Businesses can use any device to access the new service and Lombard will supplement the option with one-to-one webchat and telephone support provided by its team of relationship managers.

Craig Leyland, head of asset finance, product and propositions at Lombard, said: ‘Our customers now have the ability to originate, fulfil and manage their asset finance requirements through the channel of their choice, and feedback continues to be positive.’

He added: ‘This is a great example of how we are accelerating our digital agenda to make it easier for our customers to do business with us in a safe and secure way.’

STARTLINE

Report ‘shows dynamic sector working hard’

A MAJOR new report looking at changing dealer and car buyer attitudes to motor finance has been launched by Startline.

The Future of Used Car Finance is based on surveys of 300 consumers and 57 motor retailers and runs to more than 70 pages.

The research – carried out for Startline by APD Global – found that 39.6 per cent of consumers placed motor finance a long way or slightly ahead of other retail sectors – and almost half of car buyers expected to use finance provided by the dealer. ln addition, almost 60 per cent of car buyers would be confident or very confident that finance recommended to them by a dealer would meet their needs.

Paul Burgess, pictured, chief executive at Startline, said: ‘We believe the motor finance sector has probably never been more in flux than at this point in time.

‘The report shows a dynamic sector that is working hard to use new technology and new thinking to meet changing customer needs in an effective manner – but also reveals that there are a lot of unknowns about the future that are of concern.’

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Time is money BEN GARSIDE

A monthly look at the world of automotive finance and marketing

You really can succeed in the face of doubting Thomases and Thomasinas

H

aving recently discussed digital transformation and the mindset of consumers being in a state of always wanting more and better, I thought I’d give some insight into where First Response is now and how we’ve been developing our products to give much more and a far greater service than we ever have before.

Over the past few years, First Response Finance has been on a voyage to simplify its products and services. We started with our agreements, removing fees, so no more arrangement/ document fees and no option-to-purchase fee. Now we just have an APR, which makes things easier for your customers to assess.

Then we started work on the way you interact with us by improving our dealer portal, and last month we rolled out the final piece of the jigsaw puzzle… Dealer Self Quote!

Dealer Self Quote has been a large development for us, especially being in the near and sub-prime marketplace. It’s been well received by dealer partners during beta testing and since opening it up to all dealers we’ve seen great movements.

Dealers and customers can now process the whole application online, meaning you can input an application and get a decision in seconds. You’ll then know that the customer has been auto-accepted with a credit limit or referred and passed to an underwriter to gain more information (in a non-prime market this gives us the flexibility to get more customers a deal or get them a good outcome based on their circumstances) or, unfortunately, the customer may have been turned down.

Once you have your decision you can then add and manage

vehicles. Alongside this, you are able to edit the details. This process is simple and just requires you to add a registration number, which then automatically runs a vehicle check and valuation. At this point you can move on to our quote page, where you and the customer can pick the best payment over the most appropriate term.

Dealers and customers can then upload proofs directly to the application, fulfilling any requirements and moving the applications along quickly and more efficiently.

If there are no outstanding actions, missing proofs, etc, and the customer has had a test drive, you can then move on to e-sign.

Our electronic signature is simple and straightforward and once done we will then pay you by Faster Payments so the money will be in your account in about 15 minutes.

Obviously, for ease, all of these areas are achievable while our offices are closed and from your mobile, or even the customer’s mobile.

We developed these changes based on dealer feedback and with the end goal of providing you with a more efficient process and slicker turnaround!

I know I have just sold us non-stop, but I’m proud of what we have achieved recently, especially when people said that we would not be able to do it well in a non-prime market.

If you haven’t used First Response Finance before, or you haven’t used us in a long time, it would most definitely be worthwhile getting in touch with us.

For those dealers who are using us already, I would love to get your views on what you like and dislike about our dealer portal and how we can improve to meet your needs.

‘I’m proud of what we have achieved recently, especially when people said that we would not be able to do it well.’

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 | 27

Dealfinder.

Finance.

YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO PERFORMANCE CROSSOVERS

Volkswagen T-Roc R

BMW X2 M35i

FEATURING a turbocharged 296bhp 2.0-litre petrol engine, the T-Roc R can accelerate from 0-60mph in an impressive 4.6 seconds. It also comes with a sporty bodykit and interior to give it further performance appeal.

It has only just arrived in Volkswagen showrooms, but the firm is already offering a £1,250 deposit contribution, which is joined by the customer’s deposit of £5,500. After this, the buyer makes 35 monthly payments of £502.76, which means that at the end of the three-year contract they will have spent £23,096.60.

If they decide to buy their T-Roc, a final payment of £17,625.60 can be made, which, along with the £10 option-to-purchase fee, takes the total amount payable to £40,732.20. Even with the deposit contribution, a 4.9 per cent APR rate means that this offer works out at £2,282.20 more than the £38,450 cash price.

ALSO boasting a turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol engine, the M35i produces 302bhp and can manage the sprint to 60mph in 4.7 seconds. It’s pricier than the other two cars here, although you’ll find yourself in a classier interior making use of higher-quality materials.

BMW is offering a generous £3,034 deposit contribution, to which the customer adds a further £6,100.

This is then followed by payments of £565.32 per month for 35 months – meaning that at the end of the contract, the customer will have paid £25,886.20.

If they then decide to buy their X2, a final payment of £19,242.25 can be made – making a final total of £45,128,45.

The deposit contribution and 4.9 per cent APR mean the M35i is £893.45 more expensive than the £44,235 cash price.

FCA

Crackdown could see interest-linked commission banned B ritain’s financial watchdog has launched a crackdown on car financing that could see car retailers and brokers banned from charging commission linked to the interest rate that customers pay on loans to buy motors.

The Financial Conduct Authority said brokers can increase the interest rate charged to boost their commission, which ‘creates an incentive for brokers to act against customers’ interests’.

It said it believed scrapping this discretionary commission would remove this potential conflict of interest and give lenders more control over the prices customers pay for their motor finance, which would save drivers around £165m a year.

Christopher Woolard, executive director of strategy and competition at the FCA, said: ‘We

28 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

by DAVE BROWN @CarDealerDave

have seen evidence that customers are losing out due to the way in which some lenders are rewarding those who sell motor finance.’

The conduct regulator will be consulting on the plans until January 15, with final rules set to be published later in 2020. It launched its review of the motor finance market in 2017 amid concerns over some practices in the booming sector.

Mike Jones, pictured, chairman of dealer profitability specialists ASE Automotive Solutions, told Car Dealer Magazine: ‘The majority of retailers have already moved away from the discretionary element, with higher interest only

being charged where there is higher risk.

‘The other part of the consultation, which could cause some consternation, are the proposals to inform customers that they are earning a commission for arranging the finance.

‘Whilst stopping short of requiring disclosure of the amount of the commission unless the customer requests it, the mere fact that we will now see the prominent display of the fact that the dealer is earning commission will make many nervous.’ However, he added that if handled properly, it could increase trust with the customer, which in turn could lead to more finance sales.

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DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU CAN PROPOSE TO US

Cupra Ateca THIS Cupra uses the same 2.0-litre engine as the Volkswagen T-Roc (and similarly sized Audi SQ2 for that matter) but the Ateca is a slightly larger car, so the 0-60mph increases marginally to five seconds. We’ve chosen one with the ‘Design’ pack, which adds 19-inch machined copper alloy wheels, Brembo brakes and a black styling kit.

Cupra is offering a £1,750 deposit contribution, to which the customer adds £5,600. After this, they must make 35 monthly payments of £486.27, which will mean that at the end of the three-year contract they will have spent £22,619.45.

An optional final payment of £18,865.80 can be made if they decide to buy their Ateca outright, along with a £10 fee, which makes the total amount £41,495.25. Despite the deposit contribution, this is still £1,920.25 more expensive than the £39,575 cash price. A 4.9 per cent APR applies on this deal.

RELOCATION

COMMITMENTS

Creditplus finalises £2m investment in new HQ as customer base grows

£1bn of funding confidence in Blue Motor Finance

CREDITPLUS has ploughed £2m into buying and refitting a new head office in Dorset.

The car finance broker plans to move from the Fleetsbridge complex in Poole to a 12,000 sq ft unit in the Holes Bay area.

Co-founder Shaun Armstrong said: ‘Our new office reinforces the business’s commitment to Poole and will provide the expansion room needed to support our growing customer base looking for a complete car-buying experience.

‘We’re proud to call Poole our home and will continue to support its thriving digital economy through our accelerated recruitment programme.’

Spanning three floors, the building will accommodate 200 workstations and have a training facility plus dining area.

Creditplus, which was founded in 2004, intends to move in early next year.

IN the last few months, Blue Motor Finance has secured nearly £1bn of funding commitment from five internationally renowned finance providers.

Most recently, Blue secured an increase to its current warehouse facility provided by Citigroup.

This follows the extension of an existing forward flow commitment with Sculptor Capital Management (previously Och-Ziff Capital Management), completion of a new corporate loan facility with Goldman Sachs and two whole loan sales to funds managed by East Lodge Capital Partners LLP with senior financing provided by a large European investment bank. This funding commitment is a remarkable achievement in this turbulent political environment.

Tiku Patel, CEO of Blue Motor Finance, said ‘We are delighted to be partnering with five such highly regarded financial institutions.’

ONLINE? SAY YES TO A

PROCESS THAT IS: QUICK EASY EFFICIENT

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 29

Feature.

Introduction: JAMES BAGGOTT Photography: JON REAY & DARREN CASSEY Location: SOUTH WALES

PORSCHE 911 CARRERA S PAGE 38

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF GTI TCR PAGE 36

TOYOTA SUPRA PAGE 44

‘We’ve crossed Welsh valleys, mountains high and rivers deep on the road.’

30 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

I

t’s lashing down. Forward vision is partly achievable thanks to the faint glow of the tail-lights on the cars in front that I’m following. Sheep are hiding in ditches to escape horizontal precipitation; they’re doubling as handy edge-of-road markers for where I don’t want to be driving. Even crows are crouching behind the verges to escape the downpour – this is not road-testing weather and it’s certainly not McLaren 600LT Spider weather.

I’ve been in this Road Test of the Year convoy to our first day’s photoshoot location for about half an hour. We’ve crossed Welsh valleys, mountains high and rivers deep on the road, and the sheer power of this British-built sports

car has been impossible to access. The last time I drove the McLaren was in Arizona earlier this year. Back then, a freak storm had covered the roads in snow – something that hadn’t happened in the area for years.

It’s somewhat irritating then that here we are, many months later and thousands of miles away, and I’m experiencing exactly the same sense of frustration knowing that there’s 592bhp to play with and absolutely no chance of getting any of it down on the road. I make the mistake once of being ever so slightly exuberant with the throttle in third on one particularly sodden stretch and spin the wheels at speeds wheels really shouldn’t be spun.

I don’t make the same mistake again.

TESLA MODEL 3 PAGE 42

Luckily, there are four whole days in which to pray that the rain eases and some dry tarmac time is an option in the McLaren. I’ll have my work cut out getting hold of the keys again, though. With me in south Wales are four other eager road testers all up for our favourite argument of the year. With them are six more of our favourite cars launched this year – and we’ve never seen a more eclectic mix.

You might be wondering how they get an invitation to our pinnacle test of the year.

Well, mostly it starts with a list. A long one.

One where the entire Blackball Media team submit their favourite cars of the year following many different drives in many different countries. From that

FORD FOCUS ST PAGE 46 MORGAN PLUS SIX PAGE 34

McLAREN 600LT SPIDER PAGE 40

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 31

Feature. we whittle them down with a good old-fashioned argument. There’s some reasoning, but mostly it’s whoever shouts the loudest. The opinions of the northern members of the team don’t count because we can’t understand them. Then we move on to the next stage – the Call The Press Offices And See Who Answers The Phone stage.

At this point, BMW is always eliminated.

Those that made it through included the visually startling Toyota Supra. Launched this year, the BMW Z4-based model has won many fans, much of the Car Dealer team included.

Wales was my first chance to get behind the wheel of the Japanese sports car, and the first thing to strike me is the fact they appear to have fitted the centre console the wrong way around.

It wraps away from the driver, a strange barrier between you and the controls. I suspected a quirk of left- to right-hand drive, then remembered the Japanese drive on the right, so there’s really no excuse.

That ignored, the Supra shocked me with its turn of speed, poise and excitement. It was easily my favourite to drive here and won me over in minutes. But as is always the case with RTOTY, one person’s opinion isn’t what matters.

A scientific scoring system, marking everything from styling to practicality and everything in between, sorts the winners from the losers. And with the Car Dealer testers liking very different things, the top dog is always hard to call.

Two hot hatches join the contenders. Ford’s accomplished Focus ST is back this year, faster and more rounded and grown-up than ever before. I’ve been a fan of the ST for years, having bought a Mk 2 model back when the 2.5-litre turbo engine was still draining fuel stations. I’d yet to have the pleasure of this new model but couldn’t wait for some proper driving time.

In a similar vein and at a similar price point is Volkswagen’s Golf GTI TCR – as if one abbreviation wasn’t enough. This one comes with weird door tattoos that are there for no reason whatsoever.

Strange stickers aside, this is one very serious Golf that at one point was changing hands for a premium at dealers. That ship may have sailed, but on sodden Welsh roads, its grip and years of refinement stand it in very good stead.

Straight out of left field and fresh from a container ship is Tesla’s amazing Model 3. I’ve been desperate to drive a Model 3 all year, and now they’ve been dumped into the UK en masse (it was actually August’s third best-selling car), the press have finally been given the chance to get behind the wheel.

My first spin came late on day one after tester Darren Cassey had spent many hours waiting for it at Tesla’s Heathrow dealership. I immediately jumped in for a spin and was staggered at the huge centre screen that displays all the car’s information, the strange but exhilarating turn of speed and the terrible steering feel. But it’s not like any other car here – this is a gadget, or a new phone. It looks and feels like new technology and is incredibly exciting. You’ve got to hand it to Tesla – whether you like its strange 32 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

The Morgan, Porsche and McLaren are let loose on rural – not to mention damp – Welsh roads

Meanwhile, the Tesla and Ford are unleashed at a somewhat drier spot

‘It’s hard to argue with a 911, but then I’m sure some of my colleagues will try.’ megalomaniac boss or not, what he’s achieved with Tesla in such a short space of time should be applauded. Just imagine what it’ll be like when it gets bought by a real car company…

Elsewhere, we’re joined by a car Jack Evans insisted on bringing – Morgan’s Plus Six. Effectively a Toyota Supra, he says. With a prettier body, he says. He’s wrong of course. Yes, it may have the Supra and BMW engine and gearbox combo, but it all feels very wrong. Like putting bi-folding doors on a church, it’s a mating of

‘Quick, take the picture, we’re f-f-freezing!’

old and new that simply doesn’t go. He loves it, and others here do too, but I struggle to get to grips with the terrible chassis and leaky roof. Maybe a few days with it will change my opinion. But I doubt it.

And finally, there’s Porsche’s incredible new 992 iteration of the 911. I first saw this a year ago at the LA Motor Show and was smacked in the face by its detail, proportions and overall sense of class. It’s hard to argue with a 911, but then I’m sure some of my colleagues will try.

Also along for the ride is my car/van of the year – Volkswagen’s amazing California campervan. With the rain mostly lying everywhere we looked for four days of shooting and the Welsh microclimate taking a positively Antarctic turn, the ability to make a cup of tea, bacon sandwich and warm up while the weather huffed and puffed outside was a godsend.

If I had my way, it’d be walking home with the RTOTY crown right now, but then these days I don’t get my way, democracy does, so we’ll have to let the electorate decide… and we all know how well that goes.

Let polling commence.

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CarDealerMag.co.uk | 33

Feature.

M

r Baggott has already been quite forthcoming about the Morgan Plus Six. He says a Morgan using a BMW platform is like putting ‘bi-folding doors on a church’ and that it’s a ‘mating of new and old that simply doesn’t go’.

Well, everyone’s entitled to their opinion of course. Sadly, though, I believe the boss is wrong on this one.

We all know that the BMW Z4 underpins both the Supra and the Morgan, but the ways the latter two present their origins are, in my view, quite different.

You see, the Toyota Supra – which also graces these pages – is a BMW. You get in it and you’re met with a BMW screen and BMW pedals. It even smells like one of Munich’s creations.

You might call me mad, but sit in one and I’m sure you’ll agree.

However, hop in the Morgan and there’s not too much indication of BMW’s meddling. Yes, the gearshifter is, regrettably, the same as one you’ll get in a 5 Series – and it’s something all of us commented on when the Plus Six was released 34 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

at this year’s Geneva show – but save for that, it’s solid-gold Malvern. The leather on the seats is soft and supple, while the rotary controls for the heating and ventilation are robust and wieldy.

I’d like to think that if Brunel sat in the driving seat he’d approve.

But where old Isambard may not agree is about what’s under the bonnet. The 3.0-litre turbo straight-six engine is straight-up German and, of course, it’s the same one you’ll find under the BMW Z4 as well as – that’s right – the Supra. But whereas the Supra hulks around a lardy 1,570kg, the Morgan comes in at a featherweight 1,075kg, which – and I’m no maths expert – is a lot less.

It means that when you do find the opportunity to exploit the Plus Six’s throttle pedal, you’re met with far more ferocity than you’d expect given its arguably retro exterior. All 335bhp unleashes to get you from 0 to 60mph in four seconds dead, and it’s all done with such

a meteoric racket from the exhaust that it feels akin to being strapped to a locomotive. Or what I imagine that’s like, anyway.

I’ll admit, however, that when our Welsh test routes got – shock horror – a little damp, the Plus Six became a handful in a way that even Ben Stokes might deem a little testy. One occasion saw the rear of the car stepping out in a big way after an amount of throttle was applied that wouldn’t usually see such an elaborate pendulum effect. Entertaining, of course, but unexpected. To drive the Morgan quickly, you need an up-to-date prescription of brave pills, that’s for sure.

And while the others here attempt to draw glances with wings, edges and jazzy paint colours, the Morgan gets its styling done in a classically British way. And guess what? Most people naturally gravitated towards the Plus Six wherever our convoy stopped up. It’s nice to see that classy styling still goes the distance.

I think the reason that the Morgan is a car worth being here is because it’s honest. Whereas the Supra feels like a BMW Z4 wearing one of those lively Kappa tracksuits, the Plus Six takes the key ingredients available and combines them

The knowledge: Morgan Plus Six

‘I’d like to think that if Brunel sat in the driving seat he’d approve.’ into a blend that is both new-age yet true to what people love about Morgan. Like a roast dinner in a focaccia roll, perhaps.

It may have a fiddly roof and, yes, there isn’t a 20-inch million-colour, my-I-can-play-a-game-I-gotbored-of-back-in-2001 touchscreen like the Tesla, but it has character – and that’s hard to come by with cars in 2019. It’s more refined than you’d expect too, and although the ride has a sharp edge to it that can make around-town driving a bit uncomfortable, once you’re up to speed it settles down. It even has heated seats.

But the overarching thing you get with the Morgan is that performance. In the Supra, it feels somewhat blunted – still quick, mind you – but in the Plus Six, you feel you’re getting the full-fat experience rather than the semi-skimmed one.

The eight-speed ZF gearbox is another high point; effortless in full auto and quick to shift in manual mode. It’s just a shame that Morgan fitted shift paddles that aren’t all that pleasant to use or located quite where you want them. It’s something you notice immediately, and I just wish it had been changed.

So, while the Morgan Plus Six may start to

Price (as tested): £77,995 Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged straight-six Power: 335bhp Torque: 500Nm Max speed: 166mph 0-60mph: 4.0 seconds MPG: 38.2 Emissions: Not available

falter when it comes to conventional parameters, it goes above and beyond in terms of outright experience. It’s an occasion, and given that our Road Test of the Year event is all about celebrating our very favourite cars from 2019, it’s an occasion that feels well worth celebrating.

Jack Evans @jackrober CarDealerMag.co.uk | 35

Feature.

R

ight, I’d better get something off my chest – I’ve never been the biggest fan of the Volkswagen Golf GTI. I haven’t driven the iconic Mk 1 or Mk 2, so I can’t speak for the originals, but the more recent incarnations have left me a little cold inside. They’re effective, that’s for sure, but I’ve never felt any sparkle or charisma from one.

So, when I saw the Golf GTI TCR, I wasn’t brimming with confidence in its ability to perform at this year’s RTOTY. From the outside, it looks – save for some stickers – like an ordinary GTI, and the same can be said for the inside.

Out on the road, it was the car that blended into the background the most out of our convoy. In truth, when you take cars such as the McLaren 600LT and Toyota Supra out on the public highway, few people are going to naturally gravitate towards a red Golf instead, but you’d like to think it would be a little more noticeable. It just doesn’t look that special.

However, if someone had gone up to the VW, they’d probably have found me grinning like an idiot behind the wheel. Because look past the subdued exterior and you’ll find a car that’s a riot to drive. It’s a last-gasp special this – a swansong, if you will – before the next-generation Golf GTI arrives next year. The TCR takes inspiration from the firm’s involvement in motorsport, and although you won’t find ultra-boxy arches or a sequential gearbox, it means that the engine and suspension have been tweaked ever so slightly compared with the standard GTI Performance.

It also means there’s grip – boy, is there grip – and although there may be more of a tendency to push into understeer than you get with the Focus ST, it’s a car that can take as much as you can throw at it. Damp, slippery hairpins? No bother.

Twisty, gravel-edged lanes? Come on, is that the best you’ve got?

The McLaren may have F1-style traction control and more power at its disposal than a Lancaster

The knowledge: Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR Price: £38,289 Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol Power: 286bhp Torque: 380Nm Max speed: 155mph 0-60mph: 5.4 seconds MPG: 36.7 Emissions: 151g/km CO2 36 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

bomber, but put it on a damp, twisty road and it won’t know which way the Golf went. The TCR is an excellent car in which to gather up some rhythm, sewing together corners one after the other into a tarmacced symphony. It’s just such an easy car to exploit.

When things dried up – and somewhat amazingly they did, for a short period – the Golf became even sharper. I’d argue that it’s actually one of the few cars from our group that thrived in the rain, but a lack of dampness on the road helped the TCR become even more effective in the corners.

Then, because it’s a Golf, when you dial things back, it’s a great car to live with and drive slowly.

The gearbox is smooth and efficient, and the steering is light enough around town that you don’t feel like you’re piloting an HGV. Heck, it even rides well – for a hot hatch, at least.

You’ve also got a decent boot, space for five people and heated seats – that last one being a welcome feature when the temperatures dropped during our time in Wales. The cabin quality is excellent, and the infotainment system puts the McLaren’s to shame, which, given the £120,000 price difference, shows how much work Woking needs to put in with its in-car tech. The TCR does all the things you’d expect a Golf to do, then.

I’d like there to be a little more flamboyance to the exterior, but a GTI is meant to be understated, after all. It isn’t meant to shout; more get the job done discreetly and efficiently. A Honda Civic Type R it certainly ain’t.

I was behind the wheel of the Golf during a memorable drive with Darren Cassey in the Focus. We wove through the lanes to our base camp in the pitch dark, the lights of the Ford bobbing around behind me as we gained momentum. The TCR just ate it up – like I said earlier, it’s a car that goads you into going quicker.

It was one of the drives I’ll never forget and it’s because of the Golf that it was so special.

And I guess that’s what this model achieves so well. Whereas other GTIs tend to leave you a little chilly, the TCR has a rare knack of getting under your skin in a way others can’t. It may not be as sharp dynamically as others here, but the way it combines road-shredding performance and outright usability has to be admired.

I came away believing that – if I had the means – it would be one of the cars I’d drive away from the dealer. When that happens, you know you’ve got something special.

Jack Evans @jackrober

‘I’d like there to be a little more flamboyance to the exterior, but a GTI is meant to be understated, after all.’

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 37

Feature.

W

henever Porsche brings out a new 911, it’s destined to feature in the motoring media’s big group tests for that year. It’s not really surprising though, as for decades this has been the benchmark against which every sports car is marked – by manufacturers and critics alike.

Which is exactly why we have the latest iteration here: the all-new ‘992’ Porsche 911.

Not that you can tell by glancing at it – unless, that is, you look over the engine cover, where you’ll see nine slits either side of two reflective strips. (And you can thank Jack Evans for that pub-chat knowledge.)

It’s a cliché that the established German looks the same every time, and, well, it pretty much does. What you’re looking at here, though, is a much-overhauled version of the classic formula, even if aesthetics wouldn’t suggest so.

To be more precise, this is a Carrera S – the notquite-base-but-near-enough version of the car.

That means its now-turbocharged flat-six engine kicks 444bhp out to the back wheels that it hangs over. Which, of course, makes it the perfect car for me to have started a very damp RTOTY week with.

A drive from our middle-of-nowhere rented hub out to the shoot location didn’t leave me initially convinced this would really be a 38 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

contender for the crowning glory of the week, though.

I found myself in convoy chasing Darren piloting the Golf, which looked to be a perfect fit for the tight, damp back roads on offer en route. My efforts to keep up proved somewhat naive, with the 911 very keen to spin its wheels up coming out of tight exits, seeming a little too light on its feet to properly take on corners and its deceptive width proving very problematic at one particular ancient bridge.

Consider this a public apology to the nice man in a Ford Transit held up behind me as I tried not to scrape those glorious gold wheels.

It’s fair to say that initial impressions hadn’t been great. But I had a sneaking suspicion that once the roads opened up and dried out a touch, I’d get to experience what reviewers before me have banged on about for decades with the 911.

I’m happy to report that’s very much the case.

Given the right amount of road and a calculated application of the throttle, the flat-six motor suddenly bursts into a heavy metal concert, rocketing the Carrera S into the next corner with real theatre coming from the twinexhaust exit. It may get left in the dust by the McLaren we have here, but the level of drama isn’t all that far behind.

Throw it into said corner and the grip on offer suddenly becomes monumental under heavy loads. There’s no sense the car is about swing

The knowledge: Porsche 911 Carrera S Price: £109,187 Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged flat-six Power: 444bhp Torque: 530Nm Max speed: 191mph 0-60mph: 3.2 seconds MPG: 31.7 Emissions: 205g/km CO2 its rear-biased self out into the fields and/or off the cliffs nearby – delivering an experience akin to putting an extra magnet into a Scalextric car, slotting it in and holding the trigger down until the motor burns itself out.

I’m told this particular generation of the 911 has lost some of the drama and finesse of the older car, but that’s not something I concerned myself with while behind the wheel.

If anything, the knowledge that Porsche can and will do so much with this already impressive base in future iterations is something to get properly excited about.

Here is a car that, given the right conditions, will deliver an insanely clinical drive. There are faster cars, there are more exciting cars and there

‘Here is a car that, given the right conditions, will deliver an insanely clinical drive.’

are more fun cars. But now I understood what makes the base Porsche 911 the go-to comparison for sports cars. This is a car that puts the driver firmly in control and one that’s easy to get the hang of but requires a degree of expertise to master – with approaching that latter phase an extremely rewarding experience.

Better still, this retains the luxuries lost in more hard-core and focused variants, with all of the creature comforts you could desire, in a car that feels akin to driving a heat-seeking missile locked on to a target. Adaptive cruise control? Check.

Heated seats? Covered. Reversing camera? Even better – it can predict the path of the car too.

All this considered, though, it’s hard to pick the Porsche 911 as the stand-out winner from the company that it’s in. It’ll never turn a head the way a McLaren 600LT can or act as a conversation piece like the Supra. People won’t happily let you out of junctions like they may if you’re in the Morgan, or try to race you at every traffic light, as experienced in either hot hatch.

If I were to take any of these home to live with every day though, this may be the car I’d choose.

Near-supercar performance in something that you won’t climb out of after 400 miles with your back twisted in three places? Sign me up.

Ryan Hirons @RyHirons CarDealerMag.co.uk | 39

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ook, I know I should be excited about driving a McLaren 600LT Spider. And in principle, I am.

I mean, 592bhp, 620Nm of torque, 0-60mph in 2.8 seconds and a top speed of 201mph are the kind of figures to make any petrolhead go weak at the knees.

However, as I stand atop the Brecon Beacons with the keys to this rear-wheel-drive trackfocused weapon in my hand, I can’t help but be apprehensive. It’s currently raining sideways, with rivers that’d put some of the Thames’s tributaries to shame forging a path along the road I’d planned to get to know Woking’s finest on.

‘Have you seen the tyres?’

My colleagues, keen to do nothing to dispel this apprehension, invite me to run my fingers across the almost-slick rubber, which probably has all the water-dispelling properties of a sponge.

With the rain abating, I decide to take my chances. Approaching the car, I drink in its features. The lime-green paint is a bit garish for my tastes, but McLaren has nailed styling cars with aggressive curves, while the splitters that hover millimetres above the ground give it a purposeful stance.

The twin top-exit exhausts that spit flames at full chat are just the icing on the cake.

40 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Even getting in is pure theatre. Glide your fingers beneath the fins that hug the side of the car, push the release button and lift the door towards the sky.

But despite those glamorous aspects, ingress and egress aren’t elegant affairs, with the seat sunk low to the floor and the long windscreen really requiring a ‘mind your head’ sticker.

However, once you’re in, you’re really in.

The cabin cocoons around you and the driving position is spot-on. My lanky frame can never truly get comfortable in cars, but McLaren just gets it. You’re on the floor, leaning back slightly with legs outstretched, the expanse of glass around you making visibility surprisingly good for a supercar.

I thumb the start button and the 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 barks into life, the whole car reverberating around me. As I pull on to the road, rivers streaming towards me, I decide to throw caution to the wind and give it a bit too much throttle – you know, just to see what happens.

What happens is not in the least bit surprising, as the traction control system makes a brief intervention before realising containing all that torque in the wet would be about as successful as holding back a train with a rubber band. The near-slick tyres kick to the side, revs flare and I clench everything.

I give what people who think they’re good at driving often refer to as ‘a dab of oppo’ and ease off the throttle, pretending my lightning-fast counter-steering saved the day and it wasn’t just luck that saw this £200,000 carbon-fibre warhead stay on the road.

The next 10 minutes are spent waiting for the adrenalin in my veins to dilute, with the Spider in its gentlest settings. The term ‘gentle’ is relative of course, but McLaren has made a habit of creating suspension that’s taut when you need it to be but supple when you don’t.

If I wasn’t sitting on thin carbon-fibre seats with apologetic padding placed on top, I’d almost call it comfortable.

Then I discover micro-climates are a wonderful thing. Because as I crest another mountain, I find a deserted and twisty section of road that’s at worst mildly moist. Time to swallow a brave pill and see what this thing is made of.

‘For purity of performance and for the pure experience of driving this car, it’s got everything here licked.’

The knowledge: McLaren 600LT Spider Price: £201,500 Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 Power: 592bhp Torque: 620Nm Top speed: 201mph 0-60mph: 2.8 seconds MPG: 23.2 Emissions: 276g/km CO2 I daren’t flick the switches to Track mode just yet, instead opting for Sport, which tightens everything with a little more urgency. Exercising a little more restraint this time, I charge on with the twin-turbo V8 spooling up without hesitation

and with a deep, angry soundtrack bellowing behind my head.

With the rain gone, the tyres can grip, and the urgency of the steering becomes immediately apparent, seemingly reacting to every twitch of your bicep. Knowing I might not get another chance to experience this thing in the dry, I flick to Track mode and go again.

Sport mode is all you need in reality, but once you experience the 600LT in attack mode, it’s hard to ever go back. It somehow finds even more responsiveness, with throttle inputs now equating to genuine violence from the engine.

You’re aware of the car’s brain minutely managing power output as the tyres skip under hard acceleration, but there’s no perceptible delay in forward motion.

Your brain, meanwhile, goes into survival mode, your muscles tightening your grip on the wheel, your eyes out on stalks reading the

road ahead, trying not to be distracted by the cacophony of explosions that accompanies your blitz on the horizon.

It’s an all-encompassing experience – one that requires every inch of concentration, and drains you physically and mentally.

This sort of car will always struggle in our Road Test of the Year because it lacks comfort and practicality – and it suffers on the technology front, too, because the infotainment system is rubbish, while our car binged and bonged about non-existent tyre pressure issues.

But for purity of performance and for the pure experience of driving this car, it’s got everything here licked.

Darren Cassey @darrencassey CarDealerMag.co.uk | 41

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ew cars are as crucial to a car company’s success as the Model 3 is to Tesla’s. Elon Musk’s full-bore assault on the automotive world has been aggressive and persistent, but it has drained cash from the firm like a shotgun hole to an oil sump.

Musk had his fortune riding on the success of the Model 3, and while orders came in thick and fast – faster, in fact, than any other car before it – the battle to build them then began. And that was no small challenge, with Musk eventually ending up sleeping on the factory floor as he struggled to get the project running on time.

But it seems those gargantuan efforts are finally beginning to bear fruit. While America enjoyed the first waves of production, Europe is now starting to see its own, and this box-fresh white Standard Range Plus edition was one of the first to find its way on to the press fleet following the car making number three in the best-selling car chart in August.

Road tester Darren Cassey had been dispatched early on day one to collect the car from Tesla’s Heathrow dealership. Tesla doesn’t ‘do’ deliveries to the press – it’s just one more trait that marks it out as different. If you want one of our cars, you come to us, they say – much like their approach to zero advertising.

But when Darren arrived in the Brecon Beacons late in the afternoon, after battling with horrendous weather and the associated traffic that dictates, he was still smiling.

I jumped in the driver’s seat alongside him and could soon see why. The Model 3 is quite simply like nothing else on the road. This is one of the cheapest in the range but it still comes with trick things such as doors that are opened via your mobile phone, flush handles and that muchtalked-about single-screen set-up. Darren and I excitedly chatted about all the cool tech for the next 30 minutes before we even began to think about what it was like to drive.

But before I get to that, let’s discuss that whopping screen. Firstly, it’s very easy to get used to, and while for the initial few miles the fact you haven’t got your speed displayed in front of you is a little disconcerting, that’s very quickly forgotten.

The single screen has everything on it, from heating controls to your music. It’s a massive 15inch display, mounted horizontally, and it’s easy to see why people rave about it. It’s connected via 4G to the internet for live updates too, with even the car’s software updated over the air. In fact, it updated overnight during our test, giving us access to a new game to play while we sat in a lay-by waiting for the photographers to do their 42 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

‘Build-quality issues seem to be much improved, although still not up to the standard of other premium rivals.’ thing. Not that we played it much, as we were too busy watching Netflix – another thing also available on that giant screen.

Everything about the Model 3 has been thoroughly thought through. Like an iPhone user experience, it’s crisp, quick and intelligent – and above all, cool. Everything from the fonts to the graphics have been superbly designed.

Let’s face it, this is a gadget, not a car – it’s as far removed from the clunky-by-comparison user interfaces in the likes of BMW or Mercedes as you can get, and another place where Tesla has stolen a march on its rivals.

So what’s it like to drive? Well, even though this isn’t the Performance model it’s still rapid, hitting 60mph in 5.3 seconds and with a top speed of 140mph. The steering does feel a bit too light, even in the various different options, but it handles flatly and is wonderfully composed.

It’s no dynamic challenger to the likes of Porsche or McLaren here, but then did you ever expect it to be?

Build-quality issues seem to be much improved, although still not up to the standard of other premium rivals. I still loved it after

four hours of driving, but it was frustrating that this car’s lumbar support was stuck in its most aggressive setting, like having a kid permanently pushing their feet into the back of your seat on a long flight.

Range-wise, this specific Model 3 has 254 miles at its disposal. Charging it via the Tesla charging network dotted across the UK is easy, too. It’s quick and simple to get going and, cleverly, the car tells you where you’ll need to stop along your journey and how busy those charging points are

The knowledge: Tesla Model 3 Price: £39,490 Engine: Electric motor Power: 252bhp Torque: 375Nm 0-60mph: 5.3 seconds Max speed: 140mph Range: 254 miles Emissions: 0g/km CO2

as you approach them. Tesla really does win here with its infrastructure-first approach.

Looks-wise, the Tesla isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I love the shrunken Model S design.

My crueller colleagues nicknamed it ‘The Refrigerator’, but I told the Model 3 to ignore the jibes. The 18-inch Aero wheels were included in the £39,490 price, as was the Pearl White paintwork. Our test model also had the famous Autopilot function fitted, which worked well, even on the Welsh back roads.

What’s hard to get past with Tesla is the cult mentality that owners suddenly seem to adopt.

It’s almost Scientological in its ferocity. But then I can sort of see why it happens. A Tesla isn’t just a new car, it’s a movement. Tesla makes you feel like that by giving you access to an exclusive charging network, by making buying one an experience on its website and delivering it to your home. It’s changed the way people think about cars like no other firm arguably has since modern motoring began.

For that reason alone, I can’t see why this affordable version of its range shouldn’t be handed the title of our Road Test of the Year winner. But sadly, I don’t get to make that call, democracy does, and as well as letting us down for three years in Parliament, so too does it here...

James Baggott @CarDealerEd CarDealerMag.co.uk | 43

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his year has been littered with great comebacks. Take Liverpool’s heroic effort to clinch European victory by overturning a 3-0 deficit against the might of Barcelona for example, or the sell-out tour return of the Spice Girls. Vinyl records seem to be doing pretty well, too.

Aiming to be among those is the long-awaited return of the Toyota Supra – a car that you’re probably familiar with now if you haven’t been living under a rock for the past year or two.

Long before it was revealed, teaser images, willthey-won’t-they speculation and leak after leak came out about the car.

Eventually, it was showcased at the start of 2019 – and to a mixed reception.

For doubters, there was one big fixation for the new Supra and this was its BMW connection.

Here was the return of an icon that hadn’t seen action since 2002, the car that was meant to showcase the best that Toyota’s engineers can do – and yet, it was unashamedly German underneath.

Its styling may be incredibly Japanese but hop inside the cabin and you could be forgiven for 44 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

thinking you’ve accidentally fallen into a 3 Series.

BMW’s function over form but very well-puttogether interior is here – and the connection goes well beyond that.

Sitting underneath that long bonnet is a 3.0-litre six-cylinder engine found in the German firm’s ‘40i’-denoted models. Its 335bhp is sent to the back through a BMW gearbox and managed by suspension components from them too. Oh, and those brakes stopping it are German as well.

The thing is, though, once you sink into its huggy half-bucket seat and fire it up, none of that matters. Its in-line engine lets out a growl the second you press the start button and its infotainment screen flashes up an animation to remind you that yes, this is a Toyota Supra.

It feels ready to excite from the moment you turn the wheel – even if that’s just pulling out of a gravel car park buried off the side of a damp Welsh road. That’s due in part to the ‘golden ratio’ the car’s engineers will happily chat about

– in non-marketing speak, that’s referring to its almost-square-like wheelbase and track width, which results in an impressive level of agility.

Press on further, taking on said Welsh road, and that’s where the Supra really comes alive. Its silky engine sings through the revs, delivering power at a rate that’s by no means uncontrollable but will grab your stomach and catapult it into your spine.

Each bump and lump in the road is impressively communicated through the chassis too, with imperfections felt at the tip of your fingers and underneath your backside. It’s hardly the most precise or delicate of cars through corners, but the sensation of its body leaning into curves running through to the driver makes it one of the most engaging cars you’ll find today.

A previous bit of experience on track finds this car is quite keen to get tail-happy if you try, although I wouldn’t recommend giving it a go on public roads if you like keeping your rear tyres – or your driving licence, for that matter.

It’s not just the driving experience alone that makes the Toyota Supra stand out for me, though. When it comes to turning heads, it’s a seriously hard car to beat – even when there’s a

The knowledge: Toyota Supra Price: £52,695 Engine: 3.0-litre straight-six Power: 335bhp Torque: 500Nm Max speed: 155mph 0-60mph: 4.1 seconds MPG: 34.5 Emissions: 170g/km CO2

‘Each bump and lump in the road is impressively communicated through the chassis.’

bright-green McLaren 600LT around. Our trips into Brecon commonly resulted in a stranger or two looking round the Japanese-German car, and almost everyone who drove by us out in the country slowed down for a quick glance.

It was summed up nicely by passers-by (sans the thick Welsh accent) remarking: ‘It looks like a bloody spaceship, doesn’t it?’

Which brings me back to the BMW connection.

Yes, for the enthusiast this may not be a proper Toyota Supra – although really the old cars gained their reputation for their aftermarket

capabilities rather than their factory-fresh performance – but your typical buyer isn’t going to care about any of that nonsense.

For them, this is going to be a talking point with strangers; something to attract the interest of both the car-loving nation and those who couldn’t tell a Ford Fiesta from a Hotpoint washing machine – and what will make them interesting at house parties, rather than discussing their job in digital marketing.

There may be a German soul at the heart of this reborn Japanese legend but it’s one that

shines through into a sublime driving experience, and the Far Eastern country’s ability to produce some crazy-looking designs is evident here, too.

A great modern comeback? To me, that title can be firmly affixed to the new Toyota Supra.

It remains to be seen, though, if the rest of the world will see such sense, too.

Ryan Hirons @RyHirons CarDealerMag.co.uk | 45

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’ll admit to being a little nervous about bringing the new Ford Focus ST to Wales for this gathering of 2019’s greatest hits.

Why? Because I was the one who attended the launch of this new model shortly before we got together to discuss this year’s contenders. Therefore, it was I who championed its inclusion.

That day I’d been charging along the Route Napoleon in the south of France, chucking this eager hot hatch up a picturesque mountain pass and treating its tyres with complete disdain.

It was quickly clear that Ford wasn’t joking about the Focus ST being a serious bit of kit this time around. From a sunny mountain soaked in Mediterranean sun, I now found myself on another mountain, this time in Wales and soaked in H2O. The heavens had opened en route to our test location deep within the Brecon Beacons, making dual-carriageway progress slow as I squinted through the spray kicked up by the cars around me.

It did give me time to contemplate the Focus’s vital statistics, though. The engine is a 2.3-litre turbocharged four-cylinder unit, similar to the old-gen Focus RS but closer in construction to the Mustang’s EcoBoost option, Ford reckons.

The figures are 276bhp and 420Nm of torque feeding the front wheels. Our test car was fitted with the six-speed manual but a seven-speed auto is also available. The 0-60mph sprint takes under six seconds and its top speed is 155mph.

All bang-on for the segment.

We also have drive modes for the first time in this model for sportiness in spirited driving and a more chilled experience around town, a new suspension set-up, plus comfy and supportive Recaro seats.

The big news, though, is the limited-slip differential (LSD) – a clever bit of kit that’s essential for modern hot hatches. To massively over-simplify, front-wheel-drive cars struggle to put power down, making the driver fight with the

The knowledge: Ford Focus ST Price: £31,995 Engine: 2.3-litre four-cylinder turbo Power: 276bhp Torque: 420Nm Max speed: 155mph 0-60mph: 5.5 seconds MPG: 35.7 Emissions: 179g/km CO2 46 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

wheel to keep the car straight or manage throttle inputs to stop it running wide at the exit of the corner. An LSD works to fix that.

The old Focus ST didn’t have one. It had an electronic system that used the brakes to mimic an LSD’s effects, but it never really worked.

Throttle down hard in a low gear and the car would make a beeline for the nearest hedge.

However, in Ford’s efforts to make this Focus ST a serious contender, its engineers have fitted one. At the launch in France it worked well, but could it cut it on a cold, rainy morning in Wales?

With dual carriageways a distant memory, the roads narrow and hedgerows eventually open on to the endless brushland of the Beacons.

It’s time to figure out the reality of those numbers and initials.

I prod the sport button on the steering wheel to prime the car, shift down to third and plant my foot. The engine comes alive with a gruff growl, the revs surging towards the red line with surprising urgency. Third gear is long and where you’ll spend most of your time – I don’t think I ever took fourth while hooning around.

That said, the first corner on this particular stretch is fast approaching: a tight left-hand hairpin with a sharp incline on the inside that kicks the car on to three wheels. As I hit the brakes – which could do with being a bit beefier, to be honest – I notice that while the rain has stopped, remnants of a downpour further up the mountain are now streaming across the road.

Grip should be non-existent, but with plenty of lock and second gear engaged, I plant my foot mid-corner. The wheels scrabble at the road and fight valiantly to cut through to the black stuff, the LSD doing a grand job of containing matters.

The ST takes this all in its stride, the engine punching its torque into the sodden tarmac and catapulting me towards the clouds that linger ahead like a thick fog.

After a day of jumping in and out of cars, dodging downpours and taking more photographs than an Instagram influencer, night falls. And it’s then that I have what I’m calling ‘The Drive’. The one that makes me go from merely appreciating the Focus’s talents to genuinely falling for the thing.

Out in the sticks, on a narrow road lit only by headlights, I find myself following a colleague in the VW Golf GTI TCR – a direct rival for the Ford. He knows the road well so I stick close behind, driving at speeds I wouldn’t dare in more expensive, sporty machinery, all the while grinning like a Cheshire cat. The headlights of the more expensive, more powerful Toyota Supra behind me quickly fade into the distance.

The hard-core hatchback changes direction

‘It darts left and right as hedges blur past at warp speed. It’s utterly fantastic fun.’ with urgency, never feeling like it’s got anything other than monumental grip, and has an engine that loves nothing more than full-throttle charges.

It darts left and right as hedges blur past at warp speed. It’s utterly fantastic fun.

I’m not going to pretend it’s perfect. For a start, the steering is frustratingly heavy when you’re driving around town, while some would argue it doesn’t look special enough for the price.

But for any car enthusiast who grew up idolising fast Fords and who tends to do their spirited driving on tight, broken British tarmac, there can be few cars better suited to the task.

Before driving it, the substantial price hike north of £30k might seem like a lot to stomach, but you certainly get what you pay for.

After a few years as an outsider in the hothatch segment, the Ford Focus ST is finally a contender for the podium.

Darren Cassey @darrencassey

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 47

Feature.

WET weather gear well and truly wrung out, we decamp to Wetherspoon’s for a Thursday night curry and to warm our toes. This year’s RTOTY has pitched the new world order James versus the traditionalists, hot Baggott hatches against supercars, but even sitting around the pub table we can’t agree on a winner.

I’m a huge fan of the Tesla – as you’ve already read – and it top-scores in my judging table. But that doesn’t matter here. Jack, Darren, Jon and I spend far too long poring over our notes and translating opinions to award scores out of 10 in nine key categories. (Ryan didn’t take part in the voting as he didn’t drive all the cars.)

It’s up to the tester what constitutes a 10.

Darren and I are pretty generous with our scoring, both of us handing out the maximum in a number of categories for different cars.

Jack and Jon are far tighter, giving one 10-point score alone each. I then crunch them together in a master table to work out our overall winner.

The Morgan scores a flat last place out of the seven cars – despite Jack’s best attempts to push it further up the chart. It’s not great to drive, crashes over the merest pebbles in the road, the roof leaks and the doors don’t shut properly. Couple that with mirrors that are impossible to see out of and a tech system that appears to have used the

internals of a Casio watch and it becomes hard to describe its faults as ‘character’. The engine is the best bit – and that’s not even Morgan’s. Yes, it might be interesting to look at, but that’s about all it’s got going for it.

Sixth place goes to the Golf TCR. £38k is a ridiculous amount of money for a Golf, no matter how good it is to drive. It scores highly in the practicality and comfort stakes but gets the lowest marks for styling. I enjoyed driving it, but it never set my world alight – I simply couldn’t get over the fact it was a very expensive hatchback.

In fifth place – and one I’m incredibly surprised at – is the Porsche 911. It’s beautiful to look at, has some jewel-like details and is rapid.

I love the sound, the steering, the technology and above all else the styling. Colleagues labelled it as ‘boring’, with Darren saying it ‘simply doesn’t do anything for me’. I’d say that’ll come with time for them, and by time I mean age, but for now it finishes fifth.

‘The Focus is an entertaining, lively and accomplished hot hatch.’

48 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

It’s fourth place for the blisteringly fast McLaren. It’s quite simply the fastest thing I have ever driven on the road. Hitting 60mph in 2.8 seconds is motorbike-quick – it’s shocking the speeds it can achieve in so little time. I’m amazed it top-scored in five categories out of nine here – fun, desirability, styling, performance and handling – but still finished fourth.

Understandably, it got the worst score for practicality, but that’s a slightly unfair category for the 600LT. What’s more disappointing, though, is the technology score, mostly levelled at the woeful entertainment system. For driving thrills the McLaren is hard to beat, but in this democratic scoring system it misses out on a podium place.

In third is the car I’d have given first place to. Love or loathe Tesla – and there’s a lot about the boss’s mad online rants that makes the firm rankle with many – what they have achieved is still nothing short of remarkable.

Not only have they created a huge charging infrastructure that even the big car companies have yet to realise is the key to electric car success, but with the Model 3 they’ve made a cool electric car for the masses. I like the looks, absolutely love the cool one-screen set-up, and even though the driving experience isn’t perfect, it’s still interesting and different enough to make you smile. It’s a cracking car and its top scores for comfort and technology are testament to that.

In a narrow second place was the Supra. Now this was a car I was convinced would win the second I got out of it. It offers huge entertainment for the money, has unique looks and scored solid marks across the board. Overall, it achieved slightly lower scores in terms of comfort, practicality, handling and fun, compared with the Focus, that saw it miss out on the win.

Which leaves the refreshed Focus ST on top of the pile. Hot hatches are well placed to win our annual test as they offer a great combination of performance, comfort and practicality. But the fact the Golf is at the other end of this year’s

line-up shows that’s not the be-all and end-all of winning our testers’ hearts. The Focus is an entertaining, lively and accomplished hot hatch.

At £32k, I’d argue it’s a little pricey, and I’m not quite sure if the looks are outrageous enough, but I won’t hold that against it.

Our RTOTY battles are often close, but with just one point separating second and third, and just six between first and second, our testers had a tough job to call it this year. But the Focus ST reigns supreme – a fast Ford back on top, and rightly crowned the winner of this year’s test. All hail the new king of Dagenham! [CD]

Y

32

39

34

20

Porsche 911

28

30

29

28

31

Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR

28

24

21

28

Morgan Plus Six

24

23

24

28

Lowest score

CO M

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FU

Highest score

LI N

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39

TO TA

32

29

27

268

25

31

29

262

30

28

35

261

12

24

23

255

27

23

24

29

249

28

28

29

26

26

238

21

16

12

18

13

179

30

32

Tesla Model 3

LO GY

McLaren 600LT Spider

MO

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30

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27

25

TE CH

29

27

FO R

30

24

VA LU E

30

32

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31

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32

Toyota GT Supra

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James Baggott ‘I like the looks, absolutely love the cool one-screen set-up, and even though the driving experience isn’t perfect, it’s still a car to make you smile.’

And the winner is...

Ford Focus ST

Our testers’ favourites were...

Jack Evans

Morgan Plus Six ‘The Morgan Plus Six is a proper occasion to drive. Not as sharp as others here, but it counters with a huge amount of character that few cars can match.’

Darren Cassey

Ford Focus ST ‘I love a hot hatch and I love a fast Ford, so I’m delighted the new Focus ST is brilliant. It was close with the McLaren, but for pure value the Ford gets it for me.’

Jon Reay

Morgan Plus Six ‘I can’t believe I’m saying this – the Morgan is my winner. It’s daft, impractical and largely infuriating to drive, but has a character and a heart like nothing else here.’

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 49

Car Dealer Magazine Paint Protection Provider of the Year 5 years in a row.

You can’t argue with that.

T: 01243 376 426 W: www.gardx.co.uk E: product@gardx.co.uk 50 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Feature.

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Our annual event in aid of the automotive charity Ben is renowned for the tasteful, dignified and restrained approach by everyone involved. Jon Reay saw it all unfold...

t’s terrifying to think that more than a decade has passed since our insane charity rally first took to the streets. That’s right – we’re now at Bangers4Ben’s 11th anniversary trip, and didn’t the years go quickly? There have been a few changes over the years, but the winning formula has remained: 50 or so people making a – probably ill-advised – marathon journey in cheap cars for the benefit of automotive good cause Ben. This year, having let Car Dealer’s MD Andy wave around his European A to Z once again, our teams set off on a ‘Wine and Cheese Tour’, finishing up in France’s quintessentially alcoholic city of Bordeaux. Naturally, I was more than

Calais, here we come...

happy to take one for the team and come along for the wine. I mean, ride.

As a bit of a last-minute addition this year, and rather than inflict another fur-clad Ford Ka upon the world, we elected to slot me into another team’s car instead.

The kind pair to accommodate me were Rebecca Chaplin (previously of this parish) and sister Abi in their unashamedly ’90s – and Barbiethemed – VW Golf Cabrio.

Also in the running was Car Dealer Andy’s very own team vehicle: a cabbie’s favourite LTI TXII, decorated in a, let’s call it ‘brave’, fashion.

Adorned with enough Union Jacks to make even Nigel Farage wince, Andy’s choice of design could be interpreted as a post-modern commentary on the socio-political factors affecting the transient future of our island nation.

That or vinyl flags were half-price on eBay at the time – we have literally no way of knowing.

Before we had the chance to upset our closest neighbour however, disaster struck one of our teams, with Promotive’s Mini One diesel bowing out the night before the rally had even begun.

No matter though – the Star Wars-themed pair soldiered on in an emergency replacement: an appropriately Darth Vader-like BMW 520D.

Day 1 As morning arrived in Dover, we hit our next speed bump. Keen to heed the warnings about late arrival at the docks, a handful of our teams were so prompt at the check-in gates that eager P&O employees gestured them on to an earlier ferry – before we’d even had the chance to hand over their directions for the day.

Luckily, a swift regrouping just south of Calais saw everyone back together in one place, also giving us the opportunity to check out each other’s decorative handiwork.

Bangers4Ben is always a fantastic showcase of what can be achieved with a little imagination and (probably more than) a little budget for materials, but this year things went one step beyond.

A trio of Mario Kart-themed cars – iVendi’s Saab 9-3, Your Best Car’s Audi TT and, most prominently, Car Quay’s PA system-equipped Mazda MX-5 – were stealing admiring glances and photos wherever they went.

If you thought Jamie and Craig’s MX-5 was the most imposing Mazda though, Emerald House of Cars would like a word.

Wrapped in a mirror-like shade of – you guessed it – green, and with widened CarDealerMag.co.uk | 51

Feature. arches plus engine and drivetrain modifications, their slightly newer model was just as visually – and audibly – arresting.

Culture vultures as we are at Car Dealer Towers, it was also hard to ignore the pair of Peaky Blinders-themed bangers on the trip: Autofinity’s Honda Civic and DMN Logistics’ beautifully painted Saab 9-3.

There are far too many to mention in one and a half pages, but needless to say every one of our teams put in huge amounts of effort in the decoration stakes.

With the eyeing up done and time ticking away, we put pedals to the metal and set sail for our first destination: the city of Le Mans.

Perhaps most famous to Brits for its 24-hour endurance race, it almost seems appropriate that the journey here would prove too much for at least one of our teams’ cars.

This time it was the turn of Team Lawgistics.

Pretty in pink, Joel and Ian’s Peugeot 206CC decided to repatriate itself to its native France after just a few hours on the autoroutes.

The diagnosis? A snapped cam belt. Prognosis?

C’est terminal.

Later that evening at our luxurious Novotel, a plan was hatched: with sympathy at a high point, we’d collect enough cash to get The Judge and LawJaw an alternative form of transport.

Unfortunately for the pair from The Fens, somewhere along the way – and probably after some of the €0.99 vin rouge from the day’s challenge had been tested – Andy and serial rubbish car buyer Craig Cheetham’s plan seemed to have moved from ‘hire them a car’ to ‘buy them something terrible’. Likely candidates were revealed to be a dented Renault 21, a Fiat Punto convertible or a 1.1-litre Rover 100.

Day 2 The next morning – with Andy and Craig surprisingly un-murdered – the Chaplins and I were prepping the good ship Barbie for departure when we received an unwelcome visitor: the Stuffed Garfield of Doom.

For those outside the Bangers circle, Garfield represents a game of hot potato: find him in your car at the end of the day and you’ll be subjected to a forfeit – namely, having to model an exceptionally hideous nurse’s outfit for the evening.

Rather than deal with the situation there and then, though, we elected to get a shift on towards Bordeaux and rehome our furry ‘friend’ later.

Thankfully, France’s motorways didn’t claim any more victims on day two – unless you count

Andy’s propaganda wagon loses its voice

52 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

British engineering at its finest. And on the right, Craig Cheetham’s Rover 200...

E-nspiration struck in Bordeaux the Brexit taxi’s wiper blades, which mysteriously tied themselves into a knot during a particularly heavy downpour.

In fact, the ordeal had left Andy, Piers and PJ so stressed that we couldn’t bring ourselves to try to sneak the lasagne-loving cat into their cabin.

That left us with just one choice: lob it into Car Quay’s MX-5 as they arrived at the hotel and immediately run away. Sorry not sorry.

Next came the wine tasting: a genteel affair at a wine bar buried in Bordeaux’s charming city centre. Or it was until we all turned up, anyway.

I won’t go into details (what happens in Bordeaux, etc etc) but several bottles of sauvignon blanc plus the questionable hiring of an electric scooter later and we may not be allowed to return.

Still, totally worth it.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Andy and Craig’s quest to replace the Lawgistics banger fell at the first hurdle: French Sunday trading laws.

With no-one on France’s equivalent of Auto Trader keen to negotiate with the pair, it looked like Joel and Ian would make a lucky escape from driving home a left-hand-drive Mini Metro after all.

Quattro reigns supreme sur la plage...

Day 3 As day three dawned, it’s fair to say that our teams were very much nursing their hangovers – and oddly the cars seemed similarly poorly.

Before we’d even left the hotel, Team Gallagher’s Freelander developed a mystery issue which, oddly, cured itself before the AA could get involved. Targa Florio weren’t so lucky, though, with their Mitsubishi FTO eating its auxiliary belt in the middle of Bordeaux’s morning traffic and creating some 1980s music video-style smoke in the process.

As the first part of our return leg, however, there were many miles to cover, so we elected to get a shift on rather than check on either of our stricken comrades.

Following the lead of the MHG and the two Your Best Car teams, we went straight for the coast: first dropping in at Royan for a spot of déjeuner, then heading on to the picturesque island of Île de Ré for no particular reason other than to drive over a large bridge.

Now traditionally on Bangers, aside from half an hour at the docks in Dover, we don’t see a lot

PHOTOGRAPHY: JON REAY

See more pictures from this year’s B4B rally at bit.ly/B4B19pics

Winners Each year Car Dealer awards three prizes for the best car, tweet and costumes. However, thanks to the team at AX who fitted trackers to all of the cars, this time we were also able to give gongs for driving performance...

Best overall

The first rule of Cabrio Club is... roofs down

Car Quay Jamie Caple and Craig Vladimirovs excelled in not one or two but every aspect of this year’s Bangers4Ben with their incredible Mario Kart MX-5.

Well, one of us is going to have to change

Best car

Best fancy dress

DMN Logistics Gary Xuereb and Sandeep Rajput’s stunning Saab was painted with a Peaky Blinders mural.

Emerald House of Cars PJ Quinn and Chad Owen won for the brilliant emerald theme of their costumes.

Best social media

Best drivers

GardX Stephen Waldron and Andrei Mogosila won top honours with their Baywatch-themed posts.

Autofinity Adam Wheeler and Andrew Whitehair broke the fewest road rules, according to their AX tracker!

Shortest drive

Least likely to make it but did

iVendi The iVendi banger driven by Philip Harding and Andrew Grant was the fastest to all points.

Lawgistics The tragic breakdown of the Peugeot didn't deter Team Lawgistics in the slightest!

...while Barbie’s Banger flounders of seaside, so when we spotted Royan’s sandy beaches and an unattended slipway, there was only one way things were going to go...

YBC’s Garrett sampled the sand first, with the four-wheel-drive Mario Kart TT gliding across the surface like it was no big deal.

Unsurprisingly, Team MHG’s identical Audi didn’t struggle either – Martin even taking the opportunity for a few sand-based power slides.

Our heavy, winter tyre-clad Golf? Not so much. It got 3ft from the slipway before becoming stuck.

Back at the typically bizarre hotel, complete with its own indoor rainforest for some reason, it was time for prize giving. I won’t spoil the results for you – they’re in the panel on the right.

That just left us with our uneventful return journey home. Aside from nearly freezing to death in the back seat of the topless Golf somewhere around Rouen, it was a swift trip back to Calais for Team Barbie and me.

We’re still awaiting the final figure from our banger sales, but the cars will be heading to auction as this magazine lands on your doorstep.

Tune in soon to see how much our teams raised for Ben. [CD]

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 53

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54 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Focus on.

Trade-to-trade remarketing platforms

Buy right, trade right and sell right – and reap the rewards

Featured suppliers Dealer Auction It’s the platform that has the widest choice of stock, the most active buyers and more live auctions than any other!

P56

Multi-award-winning platform is heading for an exciting new era

I

t’s one of the perennial challenges for any car dealer – and it’s important to get it right. We’re talking, of course, about finding stock for your forecourt – paying the correct amount for it in the first place, marketing it effectively and selling it profitably and within a sensible timeframe.

One of the best ways to get hold of the cars you need is by using the services of an online tradeto-trade remarketing platform – and we feature two leading companies on the following pages.

We kick off with Dealer-Auction.com, which has seen double-digit growth this year while delivering consistently high levels of customer satisfaction and unrivalled market insight.

It is soon to become Dealerauction.co.uk and will be able to claim that it’s one of the bestknown and most highly regarded online auctions out there. After all, in its current guise, it was voted Trade to Trade Remarketer of the Year in Car Dealer Power this year and has won the accolade many times before.

Dealer-Auction.com is the UK’s largest tradeonly online auction offering more than 10,000 part-exchange and trade cars each month.

The new Dealerauction.co.uk platform is powered by two of the biggest names in the automotive world – Auto Trader and Cox Automotive.

We caught up with chief executive Le Etta Pearce recently who told us the company had had a busy and successful year – and explained the philosophy at the heart of the operation.

‘Simplistically, retailers want to sell their cars as easily, quickly and as profitably as possible,’ Le Etta told us. ‘And equally, that applies to the wholesale market – there are good synergies between the two.

‘If you’re a vendor, the platform allows you to list your cars very intuitively.

The speed of sale on trade stock is significantly improved, so that stock is turned quicker. The use

Cartotrade.com

by DAVE BROWN @CarDealerDave

of an online channel means vendors get higher returns, too. Retailers can sell faster, buy smarter and, of course, make more profit. Those are the core messages.’

Looking to the future, there are exciting times ahead for Dealer Auction users, as their advertising in this issue of Car Dealer indicates.

‘We’ve been busy building our new platform which will be launching in January,’ Le Etta said.

‘We’ve combined the model and the success of Dealer-Auction.com, taking all the great things about that business, and added improved technical capability and unrivalled insight.

‘For a buyer, our technology will prove incredibly useful. Dealers get intelligent alerting so they never miss the right car. The stock finds the dealer, in essence, which makes utilisation of the Dealerauction.co.uk platform nice and easy.

‘Buyers and vendors will be provided with more choice overlaid with the consumer market intelligence that we receive through one of our parent companies, Auto Trader. This means our customers can be confident they’re making the right decisions. We’re really excited about 2020.’

Since the new car market has remained in the doldrums lately, is there more of an opportunity around used cars at the moment?

‘The used car market represents a huge opportunity,’ said Le Etta. ‘The outlook for new car sales feels as though it will remain challenging.

‘The used car market is much more stable.

Retailers can win in

A simple approach that works so well – get involved with the team that links proper cars to proper people.

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Other suppliers Dealer Trade dealertrade.co.uk 02476 996248 Autorola Marketplace autorola.co.uk 01625 507000

the used car market and I think it’s going to be the retailers who work hard at getting it right that will take the best advantage of it.’

Buying right, trading right and selling right are the three key ways dealers can achieve success, says Le Etta. ‘The profit potential on a car is pretty much determined when a car is bought, not sold,’ she explained. ‘Retailers should be confident that they are buying the right stock for their forecourt.

Our intelligence can help retailers understand what consumers are demanding in their area.

‘Many franchised dealers plan to only break even on their trade-ins. But if they can find the right buyers who are alerted to that stock, they will absolutely see better returns and sell them quicker. Don’t just settle for breaking even. Make your trade stock work harder for you.

‘And price to market from day one. If you do that and simplify the buying journey for consumers, you will be giving yourself the best chance of success.’

‘We’ve been busy building our new platform which will be launching in January.’

Le Etta Pearce CarDealerMag.co.uk | 55

Sell faster.

Buy smarter.

Coming soon DealerAuction.co.uk 01162 301444 56 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Our platform has the widest choice of stock, the most active buyers and more live auctions than anywhere online.

Powered by comprehensive market data and best-in-class technology, Dealer Auction is the UKs smartest online marketplace for wholesale used vehicles.

More choice.

Better insight.

Greater margin.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 57

Focus on.

Trade-to-trade remarketing platforms

A simple approach that works so well CARTOTRADE

D

espite an ever-changing market, there are still some core basics that apply in the motor industry, one of them being that dealers will always need to buy and sell quality trade stock. In addition, dealers want to be sure they’re dealing with other professional dealers who know what they’re talking about and are good for their word.

Cartotrade has built its success on letting only quality professional motor traders onto their platform, vetting each and every one and turning many away at the point of application.

Talking about this vetting process, co-founder Laura Cannon said: ‘We would be nothing without the high quality of our existing members and we will continue to vet any new members in the same way to maintain and protect the integrity of our service.

‘There are not many businesses that would turn away potential prospects at the door when they’re willing to pay, but if they are not quite right for us we do – we believe it is one of the reasons we’re still here and continue to grow so strongly.’

There are some aspects of the industry that Cartotrade recognise do need to change in these times, one of these being the supply lines of stock. Case in point, a couple of Cartotrade members are using the platform to successfully broker deals sourced directly from the general public. This is something that would never have been seen historically on such a platform but is largely acceptable now when so many

Call for your FREE trial – 01243 772200 other traditional routes have severely dried up.

Kevin Watson, fellow co-founder, said of the change: ‘The entry of the likes of WBAC onto the scene has amplified the shortage of quality dealer part-exchange vehicles that traditionally fed the used car market.

‘Now many of what would have been dealer px cars end up being privately sourced and sent directly to auction where dealers can expect to pay a hefty buyer’s fee on top of already eyewatering prices. We’re trying to alleviate some of that cost for dealers by having some of the more professional privately sourced vehicles directly available on our platform.’

Other sources of stock are always being explored to further benefit the Cartotrade offering for its valued members.

Cartotrade is independently owned and noncorporate so can be quick to adapt and make changes where necessary, many of the changes coming about as a direct result of dealer feedback. Watson continued: ‘We don’t force anything onto our dealers.

There’s always a choice with anything we

‘There are not many businesses that would turn away potential prospects at the door when they’re willing to pay, but if they are not quite right for us we do.’

Laura Cannon 58 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

‘We don’t force anything onto our dealers. There’s always a choice with anything we introduce and we would never use any new feature as an excuse to charge more.’

Kevin Watson introduce and we would never use any new feature as an excuse to charge more – a dealer’s monthly subscription fee is guaranteed for the life of their membership!’

It’s a simple approach, but one that’s seemingly working for Cartotrade and their many members.

[CD]

“I have sold a great many cars through Cartotrade.com and often they are sold within minutes!

I am very happy to have joined, it is a very simple business tool to use which gives great results.”

Martin Johnson, City Leasing (Sunderland) Ltd September 2019

• Proper cars • Proper dealers • No contracts • Quick & easy The UK’s fastest growing independent online “real-time” trading network

• Buy & Sell within minutes • Only £40 per month • No other buying or selling fees • Real-time dealing

Call for your FREE trial - 01243 772200 CarDealerMag.co.uk | 59

60 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Focus on.

Bluesky Interactive

The future is here – are you ready to sell your cars online?

BLUESKY INTERACTIVE

T: 01926 651000

W: blueskyinteractive.co.uk

S

ome of the biggest forces in the automotive world are putting their chips on ecommerce. With decades of combined experience, powerhouses like Rockar, Volvo and Tesla are all embracing the wealth of opportunities that online purchase has to offer – and, here at Bluesky Interactive, we believe that the used car market is poised to follow this trend.

The stats support the argument. Digital Dealer reports that 83 per cent of consumers would like to complete one or more steps of the purchase process online – and a staggering 42 per cent are even willing to buy without a test drive!

Younger generations are moving towards ecommerce car purchase at an even faster rate, with 49 per cent of 16- to 35-year-olds saying they’d be willing to buy a used car entirely online.

However, until now, your website has only been able to function as a shop window – delivering leads, not fully formed sales. Now’s the time to take advantage of intelligent new technology which will allow you to make the essential transition to ecommerce as smoothly and effectively as possible.

Thankfully, Bluesky Interactive is launching AutoTransact, the most advanced end-to-end used vehicle purchase platform in the industry.

Covering all aspects of the vehicle purchase process, from reservations, PX and valuations right through to financing and cash purchase, this is a tailored solution that allows dealers to get down to the serious business of selling their stock online. Even better, it’s a modular system: dealers can ‘dip their toes in’ with the reservation functionality, for example, before expanding to additional ecommerce features once their business is ready to take the next step.

The problem with many existing solutions is that they require all dealers to work in the same way – but we know that individual dealer groups (and even individual locations within these

networks) are all completely unique. This is why AutoTransact has been built to offer complete flexibility, including different settings and rules for individual locations, specific vehicle types and much, much more.

Sixty per cent of car buyers purchase when they get bored of looking, so you need to have a solution ready and waiting to enable your website visitors to take action as soon as they reach this point. AutoTransact allows you to offer your customers a quick, convenient, haggle-free option to buy the car they’re interested in.

And if they’re not quite ready to buy in full, then the technology allows them to reserve instead – for a highly flexible reservation fee which you control. You can even let your customers move cars between dealerships of your choosing, with all the appropriate additional fees.

Perhaps most importantly, Bluesky Interactive doesn’t believe in punishing you for your success – which is why we don’t charge transaction fees

The AutoTransact product provides a true ecommerce solution, including: • Sophisticated reservation capabilities • Part-exchange, including downtrading if desired • Multi-location set-up, including completion at alternative dealerships • Finance integration • Add-ons and warranties

for the AutoTransact solution. The industry is moving towards ecommerce – and if you don’t embrace it now, you run the risk of being left behind. Do you have a solution for end-to-end vehicle purchase that puts your business’s needs first?

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 61

62 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Focus on.

67 Degrees

Join us and you’ll soon be achieving online success 67 DEGREES

T: 01273 007855

W: 67degrees.co.uk

I

n 2019, knowing where to focus your efforts for your business online can be difficult. What works for your business may not work for another and the same goes for your customers.

Cutting through the noise and identifying what marketing methods you should be utilising right now is essential.

At 67 Degrees, we work closely with our customers to help them achieve online success.

Whether that’s through award-winning website design, pay-per-click advertising, social media management, search engine optimisation or content writing, we develop successful marketing strategies alongside our customers whilst also being on hand to offer support and hands-on training. Here we take a look at four marketing areas where your dealership can be making strides right now.

Website best practice When it comes to running a digital campaign, arguably the goal will be to get a customer to your website. After investing time and spend into your marketing, your website needs to deliver.

It’s the ultimate online shop window and should provide your visitors with all the information they need to make an informed decision. It is important to consider the user journey to ensure that your customer’s experience is effortless on a range of devices.

Today, mobile website browsing leads the way so with this in mind, your website should be responsive across both mobile and desktop devices and should also sit on a secure domain (an https prefix rather than http).

Customers are time-poor so it’s essential your online offering is well presented.

Consider your content and ensure that it is as up-to-date as possible. If you are promoting products or services, critique your images and consider video if possible.

Social media and Facebook Pixel You cannot avoid social media. Your customers will be on it and it’s important for you to consider

these platforms in your marketing strategy.

One of the most popular sites is Facebook.

Traditionally the most effective social platform for car dealers, this internet giant has large influence and it’s becoming hard to ignore that Facebook is rapidly becoming a pay-to-play platform.

Whilst this requires time and financial investment, the good news is that the return on investment on Facebook is high and you have a range of targeting options.

One of the most potent of these is Facebook Pixel. A powerful line of code for your website, Facebook Pixel is used for advert retargeting. In essence, it tracks users on your website.

If those same users have a Facebook account and then head over to the Facebook website or app, your adverts will be displayed to those users.

This is where Facebook Pixel comes into its own. By reaching out to users who have already engaged with your business, it gives you the opportunity to maximise your advertising spend.

You know that there’s already an interest there so the next task is to turn that interest into buying intent with your campaigns.

Call tracking Setting up effective advertising campaigns –

whether online or in print – can take time so you’ll want to have a strong understanding of how your campaigns are performing. Being able to attribute website visits, conversions or online events to specific adverts can help you utilise your marketing spend more effectively.

A great way of tracking response is by utilising call tracking. Call tracking is the process of tracking telephone numbers across a range of media, be that digital or physical. By being able to assign a dedicated telephone number to a campaign, you are able to accurately measure its effectiveness thanks to being able to trace which of your campaigns drove that action.

Google Analytics When it comes to website and online-based activities, Google Analytics is a powerful tool that you need to be taking advantage of.

Harnessing a wealth of data, Google Analytics measures what happens on your dealership’s website. From visitor demographics to time on site and number of pages viewed, Google Analytics provides you with in-depth details on your website traffic. It is free and should form an essential part of your marketing strategy in both long and short-term perspectives.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 63

Drive more business Accelerate your earnings with 40 years’ experience in automotive add-ons.

At Car Care Plan, we’ve got the expertise to take your business from 0 to success in seconds.

For products that lead to bigger deals, visit

www.carcareplan.com 64 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Focus on.

Car Care Plan

Boosting aftersales at your dealership with Car Care Plan CAR CARE PLAN

T: 0344 573 8000

W: carcareplan.com

‘Car Care Plan works hard to ensure that claims and call handling are professional and customeroriented.’

C

ar Care Plan is a leading provider of vehicle warranty and motor protection, with millions of products registered each year. More than 40 years of success in automotive protection have granted experience and expertise, meaning all products are high-quality from both the dealer’s and the customer’s perspective.

When embarking on the exciting journey of purchasing a new car, customers like to know they have peace of mind regarding the future of their new vehicle. Dealers have the opportunity to provide that peace of mind by offering a range of products to customers, such as a Service Plan package or Roadside Assistance to keep customers’ vehicles running smoothly.

Adding additional products to the range that dealers already offer could feel unnecessary.

However, with every customer having different needs, it pays for dealerships to have a number of options to hand so they can offer each customer exactly what they’re after.

So that dealers can provide aftersales products that suit them, Car Care Plan tailors products to a dealership’s individual needs.

Car Care Plan has a range of aftersales products that cater to a huge selection of customer needs.

There are several benefits to offering quality aftersales products, such as dealerships being painted in a favourable light after meeting customer needs. A wide range of products improves a customer’s freedom to choose the best product for their own needs, meaning sales won’t prove difficult – demonstrated through high levels of aftersales purchases along with the purchase of a vehicle. This goes a long way towards customer retention. With a pre-paid service plan in place, for example, customers have a strong incentive to return to the dealership they purchased their vehicle from, building a relationship with the dealership and contributing towards future sales.

Every product that Car Care Plan offers has been designed to help keep motorists happy.

Whether drivers are after Cosmetic Insurance, MOT Insurance, Roadside Assistance, Tyre and Alloy Insurance, Service Plans, GAP Insurance or Vehicle Warranty, Car Care Plan’s products have been created to benefit both customers and dealers.

Aftersales products undoubtedly help boost retention in dealerships and allow for greater customer satisfaction and trust.

Car Care Plan is keen to assist the dealerships it works with, with services such as marketing support, e-commerce expertise, training and auditing to ensure that dealers are properly supported.

As well as direct dealer support, dealerships can be sure that customers will receive quality products as Car Care Plan works hard to ensure that claims and call handling are professional and customer-oriented. Choose Car Care Plan for professional, hassle-free aftersales products.

Visit carcareplan.com to find out more.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 65

Let’s talk LifeShine. www.lifeshine-profits.com/cd

Carbon Shield TechnologyTM

66 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Focus on.

Autoglym

There’s no silver bullet – but we are definitely part of the solution AUTOGLYM

W: www.lifeshine-profits.com/cd

I

n an ever-changing marketplace, dealers are working harder than ever before. Not only to chase down the deals in the first place, but to make sure that when those welcome customers sign on the dotted line, there’s as much profit in there as possible.

And that’s been getting harder to achieve of late. A ‘perfect storm’ of factors, including Brexit uncertainty, a soft pound and the recent WLTP changes – allied to a group of slightly confused consumers who don’t know whether to plump for hybrid, electric, petrol or diesel, means that many potential prospects are sitting on their hands to see what happens, making those that will deal keener for a sharper price than ever.

Royal-warranted car care maestro Autoglym thinks it may have something of a riposte on that front; not only allowing dealers to prepare their used cars to the ‘no-questions’ standard that makes haggling harder for punters, but also by adding an additional profit opportunity for new and used car sales divisions in the form of its vehicle protection system, LifeShine.

While many of us think of Autoglym’s iconic white bottles adorning the shelves of our local accessory store (and perhaps even our own garage), it’s often forgotten that the firm started out as a trade solution, and that’s where its heritage lies. Back in 1965, motor trade entrepreneur Dennis Barley developed a unique system for renovating used car paintwork for pro valeters to use at dealer level. Fast forward to the present day and the Autoglym Professional range has grown somewhat from those initial 11 products into a range that covers every aspect of vehicle preparation.

For dealers looking to make additional used car profit, and perhaps to transform an averagecondition part-ex into something altogether

With its attractive cost, easy application, high durability and excellent earning potential, LifeShine is a most useful second string to the sales bow

more showroom-friendly, the Professional range offers every answer. Best of all, you shouldn’t have too much trouble convincing accounts, either. Representing the industry’s best value in terms of cost-per-use, Autoglym’s uniquely British formulation means that even if your used car stock sits outside in what passes for our weather, the polishes, dressings and treatments will stay put longer than anything else out there. That means lower re-detailing costs, and more added to your bottom line.

What about new cars though? Save from a little plastic peeling they don’t need that much prep, of course. Here, Autoglym offers its LifeShine Vehicle Protection System (VPS) to add a little sparkle, not only to the paint and trim – but also to the deal itself. With its

attractive cost, easy application, high durability and excellent earning potential, LifeShine is a most useful second string to the sales bow.

Although competition is fierce in this sector, Autoglym is finding that its manufacturer link to big automotive names like Volkswagen is making life easier, not only for sales staff looking for a reassuring and familiar ‘in’ for the customer, but also for the parts sales teams who actually get to notch each sale up against genuine parts targets, potentially lining up other latent parts bonus payments later in the year. Best of all, LifeShine can also be used as an easy upsell to your now perfectly prepared used cars, too!

There’s clearly no silver bullet for current trading conditions, but by making vehicle preparation easier and more cost-effective, as well as allowing dealers to prepare their stock to the highest possible standards while adding an additional revenue stream, Autoglym is definitely part of the solution – and maybe one that’s worth bringing into your dealership.

‘The Autoglym Professional range has grown from an initial 11 products into a range that covers every aspect of vehicle preparation.’

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 67

Ask the experts.

Six of the best: Top

News, updates and guidance from some of the companies DIGITAL MARKETING

WARRANTY

RECRUITMENT

Stay ahead by making better business decisions

Profitable and consumer friendly – a real win-win!

Why adopting an all-round approach is so important

HOW do you decide where to spend your marketing budget? Can you determine the return on investment from your marketing spend?

To understand what marketing channels are working, you need comprehensive website tracking. This can be achieved with free tools such as Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics. You can track where your online inquiries are coming from, even if the customer takes a while to buy.

With the right tracking, all channels involved in the buying process can be assigned a value based on their involvement in generating each inquiry. If you want to stay ahead, you need to make better business decisions than your competitors; you do this based on facts – the data. It’s important to ensure that every pound spent is invested in the right channels by implementing world-class website tracking.

You can then monitor your investment and the number of inquiries per channel, along with order and profit values, any rebates, and the expected lead-to-order conversion rates to work out the ROI on your marketing spend.

Then invest in the most profitable advertising platforms, improve your ROI and make more money on every car you sell.

We implement tracking on car dealership platforms, so get in touch and start making decisions based on accurate data.

HAS there ever been a better time for warranty products to be at the forefront of dealer added-value profit centres?

As 2019 draws to a close, it’s likely the UK automotive sector will take with it into 2020 a number of unclosed loops.

Brexit, stock availability and of course regulatory pressure on finance and insurance products to name three will all probably impact on dealer income streams over the coming year.

Significantly enhancing dealer incomes, limiting the impact of aftercare costs and, of course, maintaining valuable business reputations with professional, impartial customer service and support facilities – it’s clear that warranty when delivered correctly can tick a lot of boxes for any dealership.

Average warranty terms sold continue to lengthen and this points toward a more riskaverse and consumer rights-savvy customer seeking longer-term peace of mind when purchasing their next car.

Consumers actively look for warranty options as part of their research, so delivering an attractive, clear message from advert to handover is essential to satisfy this need.

Warranty First’s 4-Step sales development programme makes the process of bringing warranty to life in any dealership simple and easy to implement but, above all, very profitable yet still consumer-friendly.

TO overcome the talent shortages within the automotive sector, as an employer you need to adopt an all-round approach to recruitment, based on four key principles: 1) Permanent: Whilst offering fair salaries and benefits is beneficial, focus on improving the speed and quality of recruitment practices too. If you are employing multiple technicians across multiple sites, consider streamlining the process and work with a provider who can offer a bespoke RPO solution – which could potentially save you up to 74 per cent in annual recruitment costs.

2) Outsourcing: Empty ramps can have a negative impact on the bottom line – to the tune of £3,000 per day for some workshops.

Hire temporary technical staff to cover absences or in-house skill shortages.

3) Upskill existing workforce: Due to the fast-paced progression of vehicle technology, continuous upskilling needs to be a priority. If you invest in the ongoing training of your workforce, you are not only more likely to attract and retain talent, but also gain the competitive advantage.

4) Future talent: Work harder to attract the next generation of vehicle technicians through apprenticeships and stay open to the idea of hiring fresh-out-ofcollege talent. By spotting their potential early you can invest in their development and future-proof your business.

Phone: 0115 880 0211 Email: hello@keyprinciples.co.uk Website: www.keyprinciples.co.uk/car/

68 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Call 0330 094 5321 or go to warrantyfirst.co.uk/new-dealers

Please visit autotechrecruit.co.uk contact hello@autotechrecruit.co.uk or call 01234 240503.

Pendragon and Vertu make share price progress.

Market Insight, p83

suppliers at your service who do great work with dealerships of all shapes and sizes SPARE WHEELS

BRAKING

FINANCE

Clever Road Hero kit saves dreadful pain of a puncture

The Parts Alliance extends DriveTec braking range

Get relationship working for you and your customer

THE genuine feeling of dread you experience as you realise your vehicle has a puncture is an all-too-familiar one for many motorists. Thankfully, Road Hero has stepped up with a simple, tailored spare-wheel solution to make sure your next puncture is an inconvenience rather than a show-stopper.

Punctures are nothing new, of course.

But what is new is that the vast majority of cars sold in the UK since 2012 do not have a spare wheel fitted.

On some cars it’s a costly option, but on many you’re left with a can of foam and a great deal of hope to get you home. Fine if you’re dealing with a simple nail in the middle of the tyre, but if it’s sidewall or rim damage that’s caused your deflation, it’s the recovery service for you.

Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be this way.

Each Road Hero kit is precisely tailored for your car, specific to the model, year and body style – rather like the manufacturers themselves used to do before the regulations were changed, in fact.

Inside the smart black bags are everything you’d ever need to swap your punctured wheel and be on your way in just a few minutes.

It’s not just the spare wheel, jack and brace that you might rightly expect, though.

Also included are a warning triangle, high-vis vest, head torch, rain poncho, kneeling mat and even heavy-duty gloves.

THE Parts Alliance has enhanced its DriveTec brake friction range. The number of pads has increased 60 per cent in the past 12 months, while the range of discs has increased 50 per cent over the same period.

There’s also been an overhaul of packaging to reflect the quality of the products. ‘In addition to the range extension, there’s a phase-in of coated discs too,’ said Viral Modha, head of braking category at The Parts Alliance. ‘Discs are edge-marked and we’re upgrading to R90compliant or matching specifications.’

Besides the labour-saving coated discs, pads are being improved too. There’s a move from metal to low-noise rubber shims to exceed R90 requirements across the copper-free formulated range.

DriveTec is now available throughout The Parts Alliance’s local brands and branch network, replacing Vetech with GSF Car Parts.

DriveTec delivers exceptional value, providing a cost-effective option on volume vehicles without sacrificing quality.

Further features usually associated with premium brands include precision manufacturing processes, rigorous testing regimes and complete traceability.

The 26-month / 26,000-mile warranty reflects the strength of the DriveTec friction programme.

BREXIT uncertainty, regulation and low consumer confidence could mean the next few months are going to be tough in the motor industry.

We are already seeing instability in demand for cars, with some dealers believing that it has been their worst start to a fourth quarter in years.

One thing you can be sure of is that every dealer will be facing a dip in performance.

That’s where finance will come in.

Making the most of the leads that you receive will be key.

We are aware that a lot of dealers still don’t challenge the norm, and that’s where you need to get your sales people fully versed in what’s available.

Whoever you are using, whether they’re a lender or broker, you need to build up a good relationship and work with them to get the customer a great outcome.

Where possible, lenders and dealers need to be talking and working together to get the correct car price and aftercare, interest rates, terms, etc… and only then will you secure more customers in this current climate.

Finally, if you don’t have a non-prime lender on board, it’s time to get one, as from a dealer’s point of view, servicing non-prime customers has never been so quick and simple.

To find out more about DriveTec or to locate your nearest branch of The Parts Alliance please go online to drivetecautoparts.com/products/braking/

Contact First Response Finance on: Tel: 0115 946 6260 Email: marketing@frfl.co.uk Website: frfl.co.uk

Find out more online at road-hero.co.uk

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 69

Data file.

Thestatistics | SMMT SALES DATA | TAKING STOCK |

UNCERTAINTY

‘Surprisingly sharp’ fall in new car registrations as tough times continue

U

K new car registrations fell by 6.7 per cent in October, a ‘surprisingly sharp’ decline, according to one leading industry figure.

A total of 10,348 fewer cars were registered than in October last year, reflecting a tough environment for businesses and consumers as economic and political uncertainty continued to affect confidence.

The decline was driven by falling demand from private consumers, said the SMMT, with registrations down by 13.2 per cent. Business demand also fell, while fleet registrations remained stable at 0.3 per cent. There was a mixed picture across body types, with the popular supermini segment experiencing a substantial decline (23.4 per cent), while dual-purpose and small family car registrations grew by 7.1 per cent and 3.3 per cent respectively.

Registrations of diesel cars fell for the 31st month – down 28.3 per cent – while petrols also declined, by 3.2 per cent.

Bucking the overall trend, electrified cars continued to grow in popularity.

Hybrid-electric cars increased by a considerable 28.9 per cent, with 7,950 leaving showrooms, as battery-electric

vehicle registrations almost tripled – up 151.8 per cent to 3,162 units.

Plug-in hybrids, however, fell just short of their positive performance in the same month last year – down 1.7 per cent. Combined, alternatively fuelled vehicle registrations reached a 9.9 per cent market share in the month – the highest on record and up from 6.9 per cent last year. Year to date, the new car market remains in decline – down 2.9 per cent on the first 10 months of 2018.

The fall reflects continued uncertainty over diesel and clean air zones, stunted economic growth and Brexit uncertainty, stated the SMMT. Chief executive Mike Hawes said: ‘The growth in alternatively fuelled cars is very welcome, showing increasing buyer appetite for these new technologies.

‘The overall market remains tough, however, with October now the year’s eighth month of decline and in need of an injection of confidence.

‘Whether the general election delivers a ‘‘bounce’’ to the economy remains to be seen, but with attractive deals and an ever-greater choice of low, ultra-low and

zero-emission models arriving in the UK’s showrooms, consumers have every incentive to consider buying a new car.’

James Fairclough, CEO at AA Cars, said: ‘It is incredibly disappointing to see overall sales have gone into reverse between September and October, and to such a great extent.

‘New car sales have been under pressure for much of 2019, and hopes had been high that September’s small jump in momentum, sparked by new registration plates, would mark a turning point.

‘A 6.7 per cent fall in sales is surprisingly sharp despite dealerships’ tireless efforts to attract buyers to forecourts.’

Ian Plummer, pictured, commercial director at Auto Trader, said there were some ‘positive sub-plots beneath the headlines’. He added: ‘Transactions of EVs are up over 150 per cent as more consumers move to zero-emission vehicles. The popularity of SUVs is everincreasing too and premium brands also continue to do better in resisting the negative trend.’

Top 10 best-sellers, p12

SMMT sales data Oct/year to date

5

Top

Most-improved manufacturers in October

Porsche +391% Alpine +300% Bentley +118% Lexus +62% DS +55%

5

Bottom

Worst-performing manufacturers in October

Smart -85% Infiniti -72% Mitsubishi -59% Lotus -50% SsangYong -44%

Just four per cent of people planning a purchase soon JUST four per cent of consumers plan on buying a vehicle in the next three months, according to Deloitte – the lowest level ever recorded by the professional services network’s Consumer Tracker report.

Reacting to the October SMMT figures reported above, Michael Woodward, UK automotive lead at the audit, tax and financial advisory company, 70 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

which is one of the ‘Big Four’ accounting organisations, said: ‘Concerns about personal finances and a fall in consumer confidence in the third quarter mean many are shying away from major purchases.

‘According to Deloitte’s latest Consumer Tracker data, just four per cent plan on purchasing a vehicle in the next three months – the lowest

level recorded in the Tracker’s nine-year history.’

He added: ‘The long-term decline in overall sales, and the impact it is having on the residual values of stock, means that dealers are becoming less inclined to pre-register cars. This has been an important driver of new car sales in the past, but exposes dealers to financial risks they are no longer willing or, in some cases, able to take.’

Vauxhall

Audi

-36%

October 2019 Marque

2019

+16%

October 2018

% market share

2018

Year-to-date (YTD)

% market share

% change

2019

% market share

2018

% market share

% change

Abarth

240

0.17

324

0.21

-25.93

3,128

0.16

4,842

0.23

-35.40

Alfa Romeo

210

0.15

227

0.15

-7.49

3,015

0.15

3,654

0.18

-17.49

Alpine Audi Bentley BMW

12

0.01

3

0.00

300.00

149

0.01

128

0.01

16.41

7,577

5.29

6,487

4.22

16.80

120,831

6.02

130,588

6.33

-7.47

120

0.08

55

0.04

118.18

1,335

0.07

1,346

0.07

-0.82

12,088

8.44

11,315

7.37

6.83

143,994

7.18

147,627

7.15

-2.46 93.75

0

0.00

2

0.00

0.00

62

0.00

32

0.00

Citroen

2,513

1.75

3,281

2.14

-23.41

45,031

2.25

44,736

2.17

0.66

Dacia

1,287

0.90

1,778

1.16

-27.62

26,631

1.33

20,042

0.97

32.88

DS

269

0.19

173

0.11

55.49

3,111

0.16

4,789

0.23

-35.04

Fiat

1,582

1.10

1,963

1.28

-19.41

26,452

1.32

31,145

1.51

-15.07

Ford

16,745

11.69

16,820

10.95

-0.45

204,869

10.22

222,923

10.80

-8.10

Honda

2,229

1.56

2,771

1.80

-19.56

38,405

1.91

46,947

2.27

-18.19

Hyundai

Chevrolet

5,538

3.87

5,297

3.45

4.55

74,207

3.70

81,095

3.93

-8.49

Infiniti

6

0.00

22

0.01

-72.73

292

0.01

687

0.03

-57.50

Jaguar

2,416

1.69

3,324

2.16

-27.32

31,780

1.58

31,999

1.55

-0.68 0.27

411

0.29

376

0.24

9.31

5,289

0.26

5,275

0.26

Kia

6,160

4.30

6,312

4.11

-2.41

86,345

4.31

85,038

4.12

1.54

Land Rover

5,752

4.02

6,942

4.52

-17.14

66,465

3.31

67,246

3.26

-1.16

Lexus

1,098

0.77

674

0.44

62.91

13,924

0.69

11,322

0.55

22.98

Lotus

13

0.01

26

0.02

-50.00

209

0.01

226

0.01

-7.52

Jeep

72

0.05

99

0.06

-27.27

832

0.04

1,125

0.05

-26.04

Mazda

1,992

1.39

2,366

1.54

-15.81

35,316

1.76

35,062

1.70

0.72

Mercedes-Benz

11,319

7.90

11,716

7.63

-3.39

151,803

7.57

149,482

7.24

1.55

835

0.58

783

0.51

6.64

10,187

0.51

7,478

0.36

36.23

3,367

2.35

5,116

3.33

-34.19

54,110

2.70

54,541

2.64

-0.79

Maserati

MG MINI

776

0.54

1,933

1.26

-59.86

14,297

0.71

17,591

0.85

-18.73

Nissan

6,217

4.34

6,433

4.19

-3.36

81,224

4.05

91,633

4.44

-11.36

Peugeot

5,092

3.55

5,424

3.53

-6.12

69,628

3.47

71,010

3.44

-1.95

Porsche

1,618

1.13

329

0.21

391.79

11,618

0.58

10,962

0.53

5.98

Renault

2,942

2.05

4,072

2.65

-27.75

50,928

2.54

53,849

2.61

-5.42

Seat

4,644

3.24

4,216

2.74

10.15

59,639

2.97

54,706

2.65

9.02

Skoda

5,033

3.51

5,094

3.32

-1.20

63,603

3.17

63,199

3.06

0.64

Mitsubishi

Smart

75

0.05

533

0.35

-85.93

3,943

0.20

6,759

0.33

-41.66

SsangYong

92

0.06

166

0.11

-44.58

1,738

0.09

2,446

0.12

-28.95

Subaru

88

0.06

135

0.09

-34.81

2,132

0.11

2,803

0.14

-23.94

Suzuki

1,219

0.85

1,896

1.23

-35.71

30,950

1.54

34,246

1.66

-9.62

Toyota

7,341

5.12

7,088

4.61

3.57

94,222

4.70

92,830

4.50

1.50

Vauxhall

6,007

4.19

9,437

6.14

-36.35

143,236

7.14

153,093

7.42

-6.44

Volkswagen

13,733

9.59

13,666

8.90

0.49

170,773

8.52

171,351

8.30

-0.34

3,721

2.60

4,538

2.95

-18.00

48,069

2.40

42,044

2.04

14.33

215

0.15

210

0.14

2.38

2,393

0.12

2,500

0.12

-4.28

587

0.41

177

0.12

231.64

9,357

0.47

4,022

0.19

132.65

143,251

100

153,599

100

-6.74

2,005,522

100

2,064,419

100

-2.85

Volvo Other British Other imports Total

Figures supplied by SMMT

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 71

LCV news.

Fullyloaded

| LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLES | FLEET | REVIEWS |

RAC DEALER NETWORK

INVESTMENT

Used van sector leading the way on warranties

Wren Kitchens flying high with Citroen fleet

by JOHN BOWMAN john@blackballmedia.co.uk

USED van dealers are now leading their car counterparts when it comes to offering longer standard warranties, according to the RAC Dealer Network.

Many used light commercial vehicles are today being provided with a 12-month warranty while the car market is still in the process of moving towards six months, reported Sean Kent, RAC sales director at Assurant, the Fortune 500 company that partners with the RAC in providing and administering warranties and related services.

Kent, pictured above, said: ‘The used vehicle sector as a whole has been moving towards providing longer warranties as standard for many years.

‘However – and certainly within the 1,400 members of our dealer network – we have shifted over the last couple of years into a situation where van dealers are taking the initiative. This is being done to meet the specific requirements and expectations of LCV buyers.

‘These people very much see their vehicle as a tool, something that they rely on every day. A longer warranty being offered as standard by the dealer is a vote of confidence in the reliability and overall quality of the vehicle.’

The RAC Dealer Network recently launched a new RAC Approved Dealer standard for used vans and other light commercial vehicles.

72 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

A

leading UK kitchen retailer has invested in a 134-strong fleet of multi-award-winning Citroen Berlingo vans. Ordered in either high-specification ‘Enterprise’ or ‘Driver’ trim, the new fleet will be used by Wren Kitchens staff to visit customers in their homes.

Manufacturing, designing and delivering more than 2,000 kitchens per week and with 84 showrooms across the UK, Humber-based Wren Kitchens said it was looking forward to benefiting from the comfort and efficiency that have long been synonymous with Citroen.

The company’s transport and logistics director, Lee Holmes, said: ‘Customers are always at the heart of our business and these vehicles offer maximum efficiency and reliability to ensure we adhere to our high level of service.

‘We are delighted with our new fleet. They offer top spec, comfort and the very best technology.’

Marc Samuel, director of B2B at Pendragon Vehicle Management, which supplied and will manage the fleet, said: ‘We were very happy to facilitate the relationship between

Kinga Pronko, left, fleet co-ordinator for Wren Kitchens, with Mike Telford, right, customer relationship manager for Pendragon Vehicle Management, and Richard Watson, corporate sales manager for Peugeot, Citroen and DS Wren and Citroen. The strong presence of the Berlingo van along with the technical innovations and adaptive comfort on offer were a natural fit with the hard-working Wren Kitchens fleet.’

Martin Gurney, Groupe PSA fleet director for the UK, added: ‘Wren Kitchens has extensive expertise in the design, manufacture and installation of innovative kitchens, with heritage dating back to the Hygena brand in the 1970s.

‘Citroen’s history of innovation makes our vehicles a perfect fit for this conquest deal and we are exceptionally pleased to have won this business.’

Finished in the distinctive Wren Kitchens brand colours, the new Berlingo fleet features livery supplied by Vinyl FX of Hull, with all vehicles delivered via Evans Halshaw Citroen York. Pendragon Vehicle Management was the finance provider for the deal.

Top-selling LCVs in October Vauxhall Vivaro 3,041 Ford Transit Custom 2,450 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 1,972 Volkswagen Transporter 1,323 Ford Transit 1,292

Source: SMMT

Ford Transit Connect Citroen Berlingo Ford Ranger Peugeot Partner Peugeot Boxer

1,214 1,096 1,014 984 671

LCV registrations, p74

‘We need to reverse this trend, getting more of the latest models on to our roads.’

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes comments on the October registration figures for LCVs, p74

Sliding doors WITH CRAIG CHEETHAM

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

The car-derived van may have gone.. but long live the van-derived car!

B

ack in the 1990s, buyers were spoilt for choice when it came to car-derived vans, with a commercial vehicle spinoff of most manufacturers’ estate cars and hatchbacks competing for what was once a strong area of the market.

But in 2019, just one car-derived van remains – the Ford Fiesta Van. So what has changed?

Back in the mid-’90s, the choice was vast. From the Ford Sierraderived P100 pick-up truck to the budget Seat Terra, based on the Marbella supermini but with a cubic-metre box on the back, the market was huge. The best-sellers were the Ford Courier, Vauxhall Combo and Astravan.

Their appeal was to deliver car-like road manners and van-like practicality, which was perfect for fleets that required their drivers to cover high mileages. Couriers, for example, loved them.

So why, then, has a staple of the UK’s van market all but died out?

Well, first up, the genre was largely a British one and wasn’t popular elsewhere in Europe. Indeed, in the UK, Citroen launched the Xsara Enterprise as a British-only model, based on the Xsara estate and – unlike its Astravan rival – retaining its back doors.

It was a cheap and simple modification carried out at the port of entry to help PSA’s fleet folk compete with Vauxhall – something it no longer needs to do as they’re now part of the same company.

And that, in a nutshell, is one of the reasons. If the vehicle industry is to keep making money, it needs to rely on economies of scale. Mergers and synergies are the order of the day, as proved by the recent announcement that PSA is to join forces with FiatChrysler to form the world’s fourth-largest motor company, behind Toyota, VW Group and General Motors, the latter of which has pretty much given up on Europe altogether. For now…

Yet back in the 2000s, I worked for GM and was part of a team behind the launch of the last-generation Astravan, which was introduced in 2006.

It was the company’s last wholly car-

derived van to use a unique bodyshell (the Corsavan was essentially a three-door Corsa with the back windows blanked out).

It took a huge amount of convincing back then to get GM’s senior management to agree to produce the Astravan, based on the Astra ‘H’ estate, of which 85 per cent of sales were in the UK and Ireland.

Indeed, were it not for the manufacturing plant at Ellesmere Port reducing a large amount of the cost, it may never have made it across the line, but those of us behind the project worked tirelessly to convince the General that the business case was worth pursuing.

In hindsight, that passion may have been misguided. Yes, we got our Astravan and yes, it sold in quite strong numbers, especially to fleets. But our colleagues in Europe, who had promised to get behind it, didn’t do as they were bid.

To them, the Astravan was a misnomer. Neither a van nor an Astra, their home markets couldn’t compute the relevance of what was a surprisingly desirable vehicle over here. So much so, in fact, that we even launched a retail-special Sportive variant, with 18-inch alloys and an ‘XP’ body kit stolen from the Astra SRi estate.

But while the UK’s plumbers and sparkies were lapping them up, GM’s senior management weren’t. And while we put together a similar business case for an Astravan based on the 2009 Astra ‘J’, the idea was pooh-poohed pretty quickly and the Astravan was no more.

In retrospect, though, while car-derived LCVs were always fascinating (Proton Jumbuck, anyone?), they have been rendered largely superfluous by the quality and driveability of modern vans rather than any seismic change in market demands.

After all, when a purpose-built van drives so well and is fitted with all the latest tech, why on earth would you want a van that was compromised by its car-derived structure?

You wouldn’t. But things have come full circle and today the van-derived car is a thing instead – the Vauxhall Combo Life, Citroen Berlingo, Fiat Qubo and others of their ilk are all the proof you need…

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 | 73

LCV news.

Our popular Aftersales section will return in a future edition.

LATEST FIGURES

Van market falls in October in second monthly drop UK new light commercial vehicle registrations fell by 11.0 per cent in October – the second consecutive monthly decline – according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

Some 3,121 fewer models were registered in the month, as uncertainty and regulatory changes

continued to affect the market, it said. Despite the negative performance, though, year-to-date registrations remain up 3.1 per cent, with 311,989 new vans joining UK roads so far in 2019.

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: ‘A second consecutive month of decline gives cause for concern, as uncertainty continues to have a

negative impact on the purchasing of big-ticket items. We need to reverse this trend, getting more of the latest models on to our roads to help improve air quality, especially in urban areas.

‘Crucial to this will be restoring economic and political stability to the UK, giving businesses the confidence to invest in their fleets.’

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

2019

October 2018

% market share

2018

Figures supplied by SMMT

Year-to-date (YTD)

% market share

% change

2019

% market share

2018

% market share

% change

Ford

6,425

25.32

9,241

32.43

-30.47

101,443

32.51

107,660

35.56

-5.77

Vauxhall

4,067

16.03

3,009

10.56

35.16

28,719

9.21

23,755

7.85

20.90

Volkswagen

3,249

12.80

3,321

11.66

-2.17

35,029

11.23

35,832

11.84

-2.24

Mercedes

2,520

9.93

3,842

13.48

-34.41

31,382

10.06

24,159

7.98

29.90 -4.90

Peugeot

2,303

9.08

2,325

8.16

-0.95

28,007

8.98

29,451

9.73

Citroen

2,294

9.04

1,633

5.73

40.48

24,771

7.94

22,174

7.32

11.71

Toyota

884

3.48

613

2.15

44.21

7,033

2.25

8,498

2.81

-17.24

Nissan

747

2.94

968

3.40

-22.83

10,777

3.45

11,493

3.80

-6.23

Mitsubishi

561

2.21

590

2.07

-4.92

9,427

3.02

8,768

2.90

7.52

Renault

532

2.10

1,394

4.89

-61.84

15,613

5.00

12,707

4.20

22.87

Fiat

451

1.78

575

2.02

-21.57

7,703

2.47

7,330

2.42

5.09

MAN

295

1.16

85

0.30

247.06

1,345

0.43

528

0.17

154.73

Y

Iveco

226

0.89

176

0.62

28.41

2,220

0.71

2,408

0.80

-7.81

CM

MY

Isuzu

221

0.87

282

0.99

-21.63

3,947

1.27

4,079

1.35

-3.24

Land Rover

219

0.86

129

0.45

69.77

1,285

0.41

1,144

0.38

12.33

Renault Trucks

147

0.58

112

0.39

31.25

1,203

0.39

1,210

0.40

-0.58

LDV

121

0.48

61

0.21

98.36

586

0.19

410

0.14

42.93

Isuzu Trucks

69

0.27

50

0.18

38.00

719

0.23

535

0.18

34.39

SsangYong

26

0.10

74

0.26

-64.86

536

0.17

351

0.12

52.71

Fuso

12

0.05

13

0.05

-7.69

163

0.05

131

0.04

24.43

Hyundai

4

0.02

1

0.00

300.00

81

0.03

35

0.01

131.43

Dacia

0

0.00

0

0.00

0.00

0

0.00

79

0.03

0.00

0

0.00

0

0.00

0.00

0

0.00

4

0.00

0.00

25,373

100.00

28,494

100.00

-10.95

311,989

100.00

302,741

100.00

3.05

Great Wall Total light CV

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

2019

Peugeot

October 2018

% market share

253

2018

Figures supplied by SMMT

Year-to-date (YTD)

% market share

28.08

176

24.04

% change 43.75

2019

% market share

2018

% market share

% change

2,097

30.40

2,363

30.34

-11.26 -59.83

Ford

214

23.75

313

42.76

-31.63

778

11.28

1,937

24.87

Mercedes

203

22.53

87

11.89

133.33

1,484

21.51

1,382

17.75

7.38

Fiat

123

13.65

88

12.02

39.77

1,578

22.87

1,491

19.14

5.84

Iveco

46

5.11

35

4.78

31.43

410

5.94

294

3.78

39.46

Citroen

42

4.66

16

2.19

162.50

213

3.09

104

1.34

104.81

Volkswagen

19

2.11

4

0.55

375.00

79

1.15

55

0.71

43.64

MAN

1

0.11

4

0.55

-75.00

64

0.93

21

0.27

204.76

Vauxhall

0

0.00

0

0.00

0.00

123

1.78

62

0.80

98.39

Renault

0

0.00

5

0.68

0.00

53

0.77

64

0.82

-17.19

Isuzu Trucks

0

0.00

3

0.41

0.00

13

0.19

12

0.15

8.33

Renault Trucks

0

0.00

0

0.00

0.00

5

0.07

2

0.03

150.00

Nissan

0

0.00

1

0.14

0.00

2

0.03

1

0.01

100.00

901

100.00

732

100.00

23.09

6,899

100.00

7,788

100.00

-11.41

Total heavy CV

74 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

C

M

CY

CMY

K

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 75

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

How can we stop men behaving in outdated,

Q

We have received information from an associate about what they said was the sexist and misogynistic behaviour of one of our senior executives at a recent awards event. Our associate was offended by the treatment of the event hostesses, and said they felt the type of behaviour displayed was outdated and inappropriate. How can we ensure that our senior executives don’t behave in this manner either in the workplace or at these events?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past two years, and it sounds as if your senior executive has, the #MeToo movement will have come to your attention. Starting as a Twitter hashtag in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein harassment and abuse allegations, it spread virally across social media, gathering momentum at a pace and bringing attention to the disturbing reality that the majority of women have, at some point in their lives, been subjected to sexual harassment,

abuse or violence. The upshot has been a profound and rapid change in attitudes towards the type of behaviour you describe happened at the event, to the extent that misogynistic, sexist behaviour is quickly becoming as socially unacceptable as drinking and driving.

Unfortunately, there are still certain men who have yet to catch on, and some industries are lagging behind others because of the continuing dominance of an old boys’ network. This arguably applies to the car industry, which is decidedly male-dominated.

A recent investigation into the British Medical Association after allegations of sexual harassment and sexism found that women were undermined, excluded, patronised, ignored and often harassed.

The investigation reported that an ‘excessive consumption of alcohol’ at conferences was said to trigger incidents of sexual harassment.

The report went on to say: ‘This includes being touched inappropriately; lewd and inappropriate

ADVICE

A

sexual remarks directed to, or made about, women; invitations or even instructions to accompany a male doctor to his hotel room; staring at a woman’s breasts, inappropriate comments about a woman’s appearance, and being kissed or hugged.’

Sexual harassment in the workplace is prohibited conduct amounting to discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 and an employer can be held responsible. It is an employer’s duty to ensure their staff do not engage in such conduct, and this includes harassment against agency workers, for example, at a conference or event.

Much has been written about the behaviour of employees at events where they are representing their company, especially where there is alcohol involved, and issues arising from such behaviour have been the subject of numerous tribunal hearings. It has been reported that following #MeToo and the removal of employment tribunal fees, there has been a 69 per cent increase in sex discrimination claims. It is important, therefore,

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WHY I LOVE LAWGISTICS

They helped save our firm!

sexist ways? that employers ensure employees are fully informed on what is not acceptable behaviour.

It can be a defence for a business if they can show they took all reasonable steps to prevent the behaviour that instigated the complaint. Steps could be: training for those who haven’t done any equality training in a while; an updated, clear workplace policy on alcohol consumption; a clear policy on expected levels of behaviour, and the fostering of a culture of ‘calling out’ sexism and misogyny when it happens.

Aim to create a work environment where the message is that such behaviour is no longer being ignored, both by the women it happens to and by those who witness it.

The days of sweeping the sexist treatment of women under the carpet are numbered, and an organisation that can’t keep up with the times will have trouble in recruiting and retaining talented people if it can’t foster an environment where women want to work.

THE car trade is proving difficult for many dealers at the moment, with profit margins consistently squeezed and rising overheads not helping.

That can mean breaking point for companies, and that was very nearly the case for MGL Car Sales, based near Irvinestown in Northern Ireland.

Ongoing cases from customers were making owner and director Mark Leonard contemplate closing the business because of the ‘significant money’ involved.

‘We got to the point where we had four cases on the go, and because of the solicitors we dealt with and their limited knowledge in this field, before you knew it, it could have involved six or seven visits to the solicitor, and after that, you can’t afford to get out,’ he said.

After the vast expense of some of these cases, Leonard signed up to Lawgistics and has now been with the legal experts for three years.

He said: ‘We ended up losing three of these cases that Lawgistics would have sorted without a shadow of a doubt. Because of the costs, I was contemplating closing the business, but now with Lawgistics I open up every morning with confidence and I am very happy to know that a law firm like Lawgistics is always behind me.

‘The car trade at the moment is rubbish – we’re just not selling – but renewing our package with Lawgistics is the first thing we do each year.

‘They have that knowledge, they tell me the facts and they get things sorted.’

He added: ‘You would be absolutely foolish to not sign up to Lawgistics, because the modern car dealer needs something to protect them.

‘The car trade is now so centred around the customer and they’re led to believe so much is on their side and against the dealer, but Lawgistics is absolutely brilliant.’

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Dragon2000’s dealer management system is one of the most versatile and easy-to-use products on the market. The software can help manage supplier and customer details, help you keep on top of your costs, and ensure that your business is running as smoothly and as profitably as possible. Car Dealer Club members are eligible for a 10 per cent discount on their first year of a Dragon2000 software subscription – and they get the free Vehicle Health Check app too.

WMS Group are one of the UK’s leading business-to-business car warranty suppliers, providing extended warranty cover and other motoring protection to more than 3,500 dealerships across the UK. Club members who sign up to our flagship used car scheme Safe and Sound (endorsed by former Stig and Hollywood stunt driver Ben Collins) will receive a promotional warranty video, starring Ben and tailored round your dealer’s needs, at zero cost.

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WANT TO UPGRADE? 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.

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CarDealerMag.co.uk | 77

Auctions.

Motorpoint’s youngest general manager ever.

Recruitment, p85

BCA LOGISTICS

Well done, team! Customer service levels are praised

Jones

AUCTION STATIONS

Daily valuation intelligence for the remarketing sector

B Pictured are the team receiving their commendation. From the left are Kasim Sheikh, Wahid Anwar, Kasim Ahmed, Victoria Gould (BCA Logistics quality manager), Amy Pepper, Di Smith from SGS and James Peardon, BCA customer solutions director

T

he Motability customer services team at BCA Logistics have been awarded certification under a nationally recognised excellence scheme.

The whole team, from senior management and operations personnel through to frontline staff, came in for praise for their excellent levels of customer service. The assessment by inspection, verification, testing and certification company SGS highlighted robust processes to identify customers’ needs and requirements, and cited examples of innovative client and supplier communications.

The assessment report noted: ‘There is a corporate commitment [from BCA] to putting the customer at the heart of your service delivery. Leaders in your organisation actively support this and advocate for customers.’

The team work exclusively with Motability, offering a full range of singlevehicle movement services to support Car dealer new strip ad Revised customers through the process of vehicle

delivery, handover, damage appraisal and collection. This includes dealer-todealer vehicle movements in addition to the delivery and collection of Motability vehicles for customers. Team members work closely with 1,900 BCA Logisticsplated drivers under the guidance of customer solutions director James Peardon.

Di Smith, SGS customer service excellence lead assessor, said: ‘The approach of the BCA Logistics Motability team to customer service is impressive.

‘A key reason for their success is that they are ‘‘driven’’ to put people before process. The whole team take ownership of the customer service experience.

‘Both strategic and operational focus is on the customer.’

Dean Hulse, managing director at BCA Logistics, commented: ‘The BCA Motability customer services team continually champion best-in-class customer service and can now celebrate achieving this nationally customer 4/4/18 recognised 12:01 Page 1 service excellence standard.’

Fixed cost buyers premium User friendly website & stock locator. On-line bidding

Professional Vehicle Auctions for Professional Vendors & Buyers

78 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

‘Pricing relationships re-evaluated every night.’

Excellent variety of weekly stock from premium sources

The Fleet Auction Group

www.fleetauctiongroup.com

CA has introduced daily valuation intelligence to ensure buyers and sellers are fully informed and in tune with the actual market conditions.

BCA Valuations predicts the final hammer price on vehicles sold at BCA and uses fully automated machinelearning algorithms to calculate fair and unbiased valuations, based on 200 distinct data points across five million real transactions.

With the used sector providing the best profit opportunities for retail dealers and the steady rise of 24/7/365 trading in used vehicles, monthly price adjustments no longer meet the needs of our customers.

BCA Valuations is the only service that reflects remarketing sale values in real time using a range of insights, including cosmetic and mechanical condition, colour and equipment.

When market conditions are changing quickly, it is not enough to be making overall headline adjustments to prices, as the relationships between different vehicles can change daily.

Therefore, all our pricing relationships are re-evaluated every night. We use sophisticated machine-learning techniques to reduce fluctuations resulting from one-off transactions, which means BCA valuations are robust and based on real-time market conditions.

Consumers are pushing dealers to be more transparent in the sales process. More often than not, a car buyer arrives on the forecourt with a valuation for their own vehicle and a target price for the car they wish to purchase.

This makes the ability to value used cars accurately even more critical to trading profitably. BCA Valuations is gamechanging for the remarketing sector and means both buyers and sellers are aligned ‚ Dene Jones is BCA s chief marketing and data officer. Visit bca.co.uk or call 0345 600 6644.

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.

Wholesale market values hit record levels after the summer Stuart Pearson, chief operating officer for BCA’s UK remarketing operation, looks back on a month of strong trading, confident bidding and higher-than-ever prices.

A

verage used car values at BCA rose to record levels in September 2019, as buyer demand surged after the summer holiday period and we experienced a strong trading month, both in-lane and online.

Average used car values rose by a significant £823 (8.7 per cent) compared with August 2019 to reach £10,230 – the highest value recorded since BCA Pulse began reporting in 2005. Year-on-year values rose by £349, a 3.5 per cent rise over the 12-month period.

All sectors saw values increase in September, with fleet/lease product rising by over £1,000 month on month to reach a record value of £12,160.

Dealer part-exchange values rose by £160 over the month, while nearly-new values reached record levels, rising by £3,438 in September to average over £27,000 for the first time.

We saw strong levels of trading, confident bidding and record-breaking price performance

across all selling channels. High levels of demand and competitive bidding across the range of used stock available at BCA pushed average values for fleet & contract hire and nearlynew vehicles to record levels.

Physical buyer attendance was complemented by significant bidder interest on BCA’s Live Online platform, with increasing numbers of customers now bidding via the BCA Buyer app.

The strong used car market continued as we entered October, and BCA continued to win and retain business and enhanced its selling programmes through all channels.

Fleet & lease values averaged £12,160 at BCA in September 2019, the highest average value on record for fleet stock and representing a rise of £1,044 (9.4 per cent) month on month.

Year-on-year values were up by £289 (2.4 per

Average used car value :

£10,230

cent) despite both average age and mileage rising. The retained value against original MRP (manufacturer’s retail price) improved by nearly two percentage points to 43.1 per cent over the month, but was down by 2.3 percentage points year on year.

Dealer part-exchange values improved for the second month running, rising by £160 (3.2 per cent) during the month to reach £5,203, the joint second-highest value this year.

Average values for part-exchange vehicles rose by £72 (1.4 per cent) compared with the same month last year, with stock showing a similar profile of age and mileage.

Values for nearly-new vehicles at BCA rose to their highest point on record, climbing by £3,438 in September to average £27,306.

Year-on-year values were up by £1,995 (7.9 per cent).

Model mix has a significant effect in this sector, as we always take care to point out, with brand-specific winners and losers.

Dealer part-exchange values:

£5,203

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 79

Extra Cover.

...in association with Gallagher

Driving in Europe: what’s the deal if we crash out of the EU? Motorists will have to plan ahead with a bit more care when Brexit eventually happens. Gallagher is on hand with some expert advice.

W

as there ever a time before Brexit was a topic of conversation? We’re now into our fourth year of discussing it and in many ways we’re still none the wiser.

One aspect certain to affect many thousands of Britons is – what will motorists from the UK driving on mainland Europe have to do if we crash out with no deal? In the absence of further guidance on the subject, UK motorists will need to ensure they obtain and carry a Green Card to drive in the European Economic Area (EEA) as well as Andorra, Serbia and Switzerland (collectively referred to as the ‘countries in scope’).

This may include: l Those driving across the Northern Ireland/ Republic of Ireland border. l Anyone planning to take their vehicle to any country in scope. Any freight company planning to transport goods into any country in scope after Brexit. Anyone travelling into any country in scope before but returning after Brexit. l All commercial trailers weighing over 750kg and non-commercial trailers weighing over 3,500kg must be registered with the DVLA before travel to or through any country in scope and a separate Green Card will be required for these. l As the following countries are not part of the EEA, they will still require drivers to carry a physical copy of a Green Card: Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Israel, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Russia, Tunisia, Turkey and Ukraine.

Drivers with a UK driving licence travelling in any country in scope also need to obtain an IDP (International Driving Permit) depending on length of stay and the countries being visited.

The countries they’re driving in, and whether a photocard or paper driving licence is held, will determine whether more than one International Driving Permit is required.

What’s a Green Card and who needs one?

A Green Card is an international certificate of insurance issued by UK insurance providers.

It guarantees drivers third-party motor insurance cover for driving in mainland Europe. Currently, UK drivers travelling to mainland Europe with their own vehicle are not required to carry a Green Card. However, in the case of a no-deal Brexit, and in the absence of any further guidance, a physical copy of the Green Card will be required. An electronic copy will not suffice.

If a PDF copy is sent electronically, it must be printed on green paper prior to departure.

A Green Card will be needed for any motor vehicle and to validate all forms of motor insurance including private, commercial, motor trade and motor fleet policies. A Green Card is required to cover the registration number of the individual vehicle, so a Green Card will be needed to cover each vehicle insured under one policy when being driven in any country in scope.

If a driver is taking a vehicle to any country in scope for less than 12 months, the following registration documents should be carried: l Vehicle log book (V5C) if they have one; l A VE103 to show they’re allowed to use the hired or leased vehicle abroad.

The 4th Motor Insurance Directive and the impact post-Brexit When the UK leaves the EU, whether with a deal or not, it will very likely be withdrawn from the Protection of Visitors scheme introduced by the 4th Motor Insurance Directive.

This arrangement is, in effect, a mirror image of the Green Card system whereby the Green Card is mainly designed to protect a victim suffering damage in his or her own country caused by a foreign vehicle. The Protection of Visitors scheme aims to protect the victim of a road traffic accident in a member state other than the one in which he or she resides.

The Directive was put in place to ensure that claims would be easier to manage for an EU driver whilst abroad in another country in scope by allowing claims to be pursued in their own country of residence, thereby simplifying the

route to compensation. It requires each insurer to nominate a representative in each territory. That representative is responsible for settling claims in that territory on behalf of the foreign insurer who appointed it.

It also requires the member state to put in place a compensation body and information centre – the MIB fulfils these roles in the UK. The compensation body would step in, in the event that the foreign insurer hasn’t appointed a representative, the representative has failed to respond within three months, or that the information centre is unable to identify the third-party vehicle (an uninsured driver).

What happens after Brexit?

The UK will probably withdraw from the Directive, so the MIB has asked the other countries in scope to sign a Bilateral Protection of Visitors Agreement (BPoVA) to facilitate the continuation of the current arrangements.

Most countries have agreed to the BPoVA. However, there are a handful that have yet to sign. An important non-signatory is France.

Should a driver be involved in an accident there, it is expected that the insurers would still pursue a claim but would have to do so in France. Any uninsured expenses would have to be pursued by the claimant via the French legal system.

Talk to us Green Cards are supplied by the insurer and can be obtained by submitting a request to us as early as possible before travelling abroad. In the event of a no-deal Brexit, those who travel without one may be in breach of the law.

Get in touch with your usual Gallagher contact as soon as possible so we can understand your requirements and help you make the necessary arrangements in plenty of time.

The managing director of the automotive practice at commercial insurance broker and risk management specialist Gallagher is Leon Bosch. 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

80 | 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 | 81

Key Notes.

...in association with Traka

Prove to your customers that you are open and transparent Paul Smith, director of Traka Automotive, says you can turn the FCA’s recent findings to your advantage.

I

t came as no surprise that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced recently that car dealers and motor finance brokers will be banned from receiving commission linked to interest paid by the consumer. What was more surprising is that the move could save customers up to £165 million per year.

The regulator has been investigating the car finance market for over two years, originally outlining a plan to review the automotive market in its business plan of 2017/18. According to the Financial Times, ‘the FCA’s action comes after car finance agreements in the UK increased from 1.2m to 2.3m in 2016, enabling British customers to borrow a record £31bn’. The near doubling of the mostly PCP contracts underpinning new car purchases in a single year was bound to attract the attention of the regulator.

The FCA’s interim report published in March 2018 uncovered widespread use of commission models that link brokers’ commission to the interest rate charged to the customer and also high incidences of firms not complying with existing rules and guidance on the information they should disclose to customers.

Since then, the FCA has concentrated on developing new rules designed to regulate the motor finance market. Christopher Woolard, executive director of strategy and competition at the FCA, said: ‘We have seen evidence that customers are losing out due to the way in which some lenders are rewarding those who sell motor finance. By banning this type of commission, we believe we will see increased competition in the market which will save customers money.’

The FCA is now consulting on plans to ban commission models that give motor finance

brokers/dealers an incentive to raise customers’ interest rates. This consultation will take place until January 15, 2020, with the final rules to be published later next year.

So, what does all this mean for your car dealership? Well, certainly, change is coming.

A good starting point is to familiarise yourself with the FCA review findings that were published back in March. The key findings were: •Some customers are paying significantly more for their motor finance because of the way lenders choose to remunerate their brokers.

•A particular concern is about the widespread use of commission models, such as Difference in Charges (DiC), which link broker commission to the customer’s interest rate and allow brokers wide discretion to set that interest rate.

•DiC creates conflicts of interest and creates strong incentives for the broker to charge a higher interest rate to earn more commission.

•Mystery shopping results raised concerns in relation to disclosure of commission, and other pre-contractual disclosure and explanations.

•Firms are failing to comply with relevant regulatory requirements.

•Change is needed across the market.

•There is a need to assess the options

for policy intervention in relation to commission arrangements.

All firms acting as lenders or brokers in the motor finance sector should read the report and consider whether they need to review or amend their policies and procedures and associated systems and controls.

In reality, the FCA is basing its plans to review regulations on market research that was undertaken over two years ago. Since then, many dealerships have already made positive strides to tighten and improve their systems and processes.

Whereas DiC commissions represented half of the prime used car market back in 2017, the majority have since ditched this model.

Other sensible areas to look at include: •Review your systems and processes: are your customer-facing staff trained adequately to deal with customer questions, particularly when it comes to motor finance options?

•Ensure you ask the right questions of your customers and make sure you fully assess the creditworthiness of a potential buyer.

•Is your dealership fully transparent? Make sure you disclose full details before your customer signs any agreement and gives you a deposit.

•Use digital processes so that you can clearly track and demonstrate how deals were done.

•Revise and reframe your systems and controls between your dealership and your broker.

The FCA has shone a light on some of the shadier ways that commission is made.

Turn this into a positive for your dealership.

Prove to your customers that you are open and transparent – maybe promote a flat fee commission payment and articulate what work you are doing for that fee.

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 82 | CarDealerMag.co.uk traka-auto 1-6pg.indd 1

15/12/2016 09:56

Market Insight.

...in association with ASE Automotive Solutions

Pendragon and Vertu enjoy welcome share price progress Several of the main dealer groups hit the headlines during a busy month, as Mike Jones reports...

W

e saw a significant amount of share price movement in October.

Pendragon experienced a large bounce, with the interims not as bad as feared, and there was a nice gain at Vertu, although some of this dropped back after the month-end.

Lookers suffered a significant drop on the back of its second profit warning of the year and the departure of its chief executive and chief operating officer on November 1. We also saw BCA leave the stock market at the start of November as its acquisition by Bidco was completed.

Financial performance The big announcement for the month came from Lookers, which issued its second profit warning of the year and announced the departure of Andy Bruce and Nigel McMinn, the CEO and COO. There were significant drops in new car volumes and gross margin and the company announced the closure of 15 dealerships.

After the disappointing half-year results released during September, Pendragon issued an interim management statement covering performance for Q3.

This was more upbeat, with the group returning to underlying profit during the quarter, after performance levels steadily improved over

Share price movement during Oct 2019

Share price movement since the start of 2019

Pendragon

56.5%

-36.4%

Vertu

24.0%

17.2%

Lookers

-12.1%

-46.3%

Inchcape

2.1%

17.0%

Cambria

0.0%

4.6%

Caffyns

-2.4%

6.7%

Marshall

-4.5%

-11.3%

Motorpoint

12.9%

25.4%

Auto Trader

10.2%

23.6%

FTSE 100

1.3%

7.6%

the period. This resulted in an outperformance compared with Q3 2018. All of the 22 announced Car Store location closures were completed by the end of October and the stock profile was ‘in line with expectations at the end of September and well positioned ahead of Q4’.

Vertu announced its unaudited interim results for the six months ended in August.

These showed like-for-like revenue growth, with adjusted operating profit slightly ahead of the

prior year. We also saw a half-year trading update from Motorpoint, with results for the six months to September.

It also reported slight revenue growth, with gross margin ‘expected to be broadly in line with the prior year’, albeit the company has seen overhead growth of £2m over the period.

Other announcements Inchcape continued its pivot towards concentration on distribution businesses with the sale of Inchcape Fleet Solutions to Toyota for £100m. This transaction would appear to represent a good price for a non-core part of the business.

At Auto Trader, we saw the announcement of the acquisition of the business that powers the vehicle taxonomy dataset for the company’s website, KeeResources, for an undisclosed sum.

This acquisition makes total sense, giving Auto Trader ownership of a vital piece of its website, particularly as it works to provide back-of-house services to others.

Auto Trader announced the appointment of Sigga Sigurdardottir as an independent nonexecutive director as well.

We also saw the addition of a nonexecutive director at Marshall, with the appointment of Nicky Dulieu.

Mike Jones is chairman of dealer profitability specialist ASE Automotive Solutions. You can read his column here every month.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 83

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www.castrol.co.uk 84 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Recruitment.

A DREAM COME TRUE

BOARD APPOINTMENT

Nicky to take up non-exec director role at Marshall MARSHALL Motor Holdings has announced the appointment of Nicky Dulieu as a non-executive director and chairwoman of the remuneration committee with effect from January 1, 2020.

Dulieu is an experienced non-executive director with a long retail industry background. She trained as an accountant at Marks & Spencer and held several strategic and financial roles there over a 23-year period, including the finance directorship of the food division.

She is currently a non-executive director at both Huntsworth and Adnams, chairing the remuneration committees of each company.

Dulieu is also the chairwoman of Notcutts Group Limited.

Richard Parry-Jones, chairman of Marshall, which is one of the UK’s leading automotive retail groups, said: ‘I am delighted that Nicky will be joining the board of MMH.’ She added: ‘I am excited to be joining the board during this period of evolution for the automotive retail industry.’

Motorpoint’s youngest general manager ever!

M

otorpoint has appointed the youngest general manager in its history. Thirty-year-old Jordan Dean, who has worked for the independent car retailer for more than eight years, will oversee the running of the company’s branch in Burnley, Lancashire.

He will be supported by a fivestrong management team who will be responsible for all areas of customer service, operations and sales at the business.

Dean, who is married with a one-year-old daughter, is the first Motorpoint general manager to start as a sales trainee, and in his career with the firm to date he has worked

Jordan Dean in all areas of the business and has spent time at other branches learning best practice.

A lifelong Burnley Football Club fan, when he’s not at work he can often be found at Turf Moor watching the Clarets in the Premiership or spending quality time with his daughter.

Dean said: ‘I couldn’t be more thrilled to have been appointed the new general manager for Motorpoint Burnley.

‘I had always dreamt of running my own branch when I joined Motorpoint in my early twenties, but I never imagined for one minute it would be in my home town. I couldn’t be prouder.’

Motorpoint Burnley is open seven days a week.

The long-term supporter of Lancashire Mind is home to more than 500 low-mileage, nearly-new cars from more than 30 manufacturers, and also offers customers access to thousands of other cars in group stock backed by a price pledge.

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CarDealerMag.co.uk | 85

Data file.

James Litton

TRADER TALES

OEMs in denial over changes to consumer buying habits

I

am not sure many of us will lament the passing of 2019.

If you combine continued Brexit uncertainty with global trade wars and odd weather patterns caused by climate change, there hasn’t been much to be happy about.

For anyone working in the retail motor industry, there is probably even more cause for complaint.

It is easy to pin declining new car sales on any of the above macro-economic factors, but anyone falling into that trap is kidding themselves.

The other common complaint is that for years we have been operating in a push market and that retailer targets have been too ambitious. I am afraid I do not subscribe to this notion either.

Pendragon and Lookers do not find themselves in trouble with the City because their targets have been too high, nor are investors overly concerned with the impact of climate change. It is purely and simply a case of profit.

Retailer profitability has been under pressure for a long time now, but PLCs have largely been able to ride out too much doom and gloom off the back of their scale and diverse portfolios.

Think of climate change again.

Everyone talks about the melting polar ice caps and the fact that it is pouring down with rain for nine months of the year and melting hot for the other three, so naturally people think that yes, there probably is something going on – but as I don’t yet have to use a boat to get to work, what does it mean to me? PLCs struggling with profitability are the motor-trade equivalent of finding London under water.

I have heard nothing from any of the brands that I am familiar with to suggest that 2020 heralds anything other than more of the same, but this is a straight-out denial on the part of OEMs to acknowledge changing consumer buying habits. Dealers need to be rewarded for test drives, for positive customer experiences, with payment not contingent on outcome.

Vehicle pricing, whether that be on a cash purchase or monthly rental basis, needs to be consistent and as uniform as competition law will allow, to give consumers the confidence that their local retailer offers a competitive deal. We are seeing profit seep out of the transaction to third parties who have more control over our fate than we do: brokers, Auto Trader, BCA, Carwow.

And we see inflated franchise levies in the form of overpriced furniture, signage and workshop equipment. It has to stop.

‘Profit is seeping out to third parties who have more control over our fate than we do.’

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

86 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

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The seasonal swap that caused Christmas chaos

W

ith Christmas just around the corner, I thought I would write to you with a festive tale from my past. It was Secret Santa time at a dealership I worked at back in the ’90s and, as is always the case, we were assigned colleagues and told to spend anything up to a tenner and choose something appropriate (or otherwise) for them.

So far, so seasonal – and everything was going according to plan. Names were assigned, shopping was done and gifts acquired.

The night before the present-swapping was due to take place, me and a few of my colleagues decided to have a quick drink after work.

The dealership was close to our local town centre, so after locking up (8pm as it was a Thursday), we headed off to Wetherspoons without a care in the world.

However, and as the comedian Micky Flanagan has described, instead of going ‘out’, we ended up ‘out out’.

One thing led to another and before we knew it, it was 10.30pm, we were a bit drunk and thought we had better call it a night.

The walk home for a couple of us took us right past the dealership again and we were both desperate to use the loo.

Unlocking one of the side doors, and being just about sober enough to disable the alarm, we relieved ourselves in the gents before spotting the pile of Secret Santa presents under the Christmas tree we’d put up a few days earlier.

My pal John (not his real name) then had a brainwave.

‘Why don’t we swap the gift tags over?’ he suggested – so being somewhat inebriated, that’s what we did, without thinking through the possible consequences.

And so it came to pass that some incredibly unsuitable presents were exchanged the following lunchtime.

Wine for someone who was teetotal, Ann Summerstype underwear for our rather elderly receptionist and beard oil for someone who had been clean-shaven all his life. The best one, though, was a box that someone had devised and contained ‘the perfect night in’, which ended up being given to our MD. Those of a sensitive frame of mind should probably stop reading now but it contained a couple of cans of beer, a packet of Super Noodles and (ahem) some ‘gentlemen’s literature’.

The boss wasn’t impressed – but where those magazines went, I still don’t know to this day!

‘We spotted the Secret Santa gifts under the tree we had put up earlier’

Tell us your story

Have you something to confess? Email us on editorial@blackballmedia.co.uk or post it on our forum – cardealermagazine.co.uk/forum CarDealerMag.co.uk | 87

Long-termers.

LATEST FROM THE FLEET...

BMW i3 Our time with BMW’s baby electric car has come to an end – and it’s already being missed. But would James actually buy one...?

I

always knew that running an electric car as a long-term test vehicle would be something of an education, but I wasn’t prepared for quite how much it would change my perception of motoring.

Now, as I’ve waved goodbye to the BMW i3 after four months, I’ve had a chance to reflect on what EV ownership was really like. And do you know what? I’ve loved it.

It seems I’m not the only one who has been making the switch either – many new car buyers are currently snapping up alternatively fuelled vehicles. In the latest new car sales figures for October, battery-electric and hybrid vehicle sales accounted for one in 10 registrations for the first time ever. It appears more and more people are ditching diesel- and petrol-powered cars to switch to these new options.

So what will these new owners be looking forward to? Well, for a start they’ll soon find they are very different to drive.

The silence is the first thing that strikes you, and I very quickly grew to love the swift acceleration combined with just a little wind noise as the i3 leapt towards the horizon.

Much has been written about the silence of electric cars, but at low speeds they do actually make a very satisfying hum – the i3 sounded like a muffled Tube train leaving a station as it speeded up.

I’m a huge fan of the BMW’s turning circle too. London taxi-like in its ability to spin around, it made parking it a doddle, and now I’m back in a ‘normal’ car, I’ve struggled to adapt, often misjudging reverse parking manoeuvres by an embarrassing margin.

But what people will really want to know is how I’ve coped with the charging and range.

Let’s deal with those in order. Charging-wise, I’m amazed at how well I’ve adapted, considering I don’t have access to a home charging point.

At work, I only have a three-pin outside plug to top it up with too, which takes a full 15 hours to completely recharge the BMW from flat.

The reality, though, is this never happened.

I simply topped the car up every day while I worked, and this was pretty much enough to keep it always fully charged.

On the rare occasion I did travel further and needed a fast charge, I would use a public charging point at the local supermarket.

My favourite was a 50kW fast charger from GeniePoint at Morrisons. These chargers don’t require an app, just an account set up on a mobile web page.

That took me all of five minutes to sort the 88 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

by JAMES BAGGOTT @CarDealerEd

first time I charged, and after that it was a breeze turning the chargers on and off via the web portal and, when finished, it simply billed the card I’d stored on my account. A full charge cost me less than £10 and took around 45 minutes – but in the four months I had the car, I did that only once.

I found that simply replenishing what I used every day, so that I was always starting with a ‘full tank’, was by far the better way of running an EV. Just like my mobile phone, I’d start with a full charge, rather than running it down to the red light like I would in a traditionally powered car.

The latter was because I despise visiting petrol stations so much that I put off refuelling for as long as possible – with an electric car, you don’t have that problem.

If your customers are thinking of buying an electric car, like the i3, then they really do need a charging point at home. That way, topping it up is easy, and if they opt for a faster charging unit, I’d suggest a 7kW charger – you’ll top up far quicker.

So how about that range? Well, the best I saw on the dash was 210 miles after a full charge, the worst 160 miles. What I found quite enlightening, though, was just how much driving an electric car made you think more about the things you do in your car that can make a huge difference to the economy.

Would you ever turn the air con off in your

James frequently charged up at Morrisons...

...using a GeniePoint device at his local store diesel car to save a few mpg? I doubt it, but I found myself doing just that fairly frequently in the i3. The difference between driving with it on and off was an extra 10 miles on the range.

I also discovered the route you take has a huge impact on your range too. Take a recent trip to Farnborough from Gosport – a distance of less than 50 miles. On the way there I was fully charged with 174 miles showing on the range.

When I got to my destination, having used mostly fast A-roads and motorways for the trip, I had just 90 miles left on the range. Those 50 miles had used 84 miles of range. At the hotel, I fully

‘I’m a huge fan of the BMW’s turning circle too. London taxilike in its ability to spin around, it made parking it a doddle.’

OTHER CARS WE’RE DRIVING

Ford Focus Vignale

Honda CR-V EX

Mileage: 7,619

Mileage: 2,440

Head of video Nigel Swan took custody of EF19 YPC recently and was impressed – in particular with the quality of the interior. He also praised the car’s good visibility and light steering.

Poor weather spoiled a plan to take the dogs out for the day, but despite that, a recent trip Ryan Hirons made to Hull showed that ‘our’ Honda CR-V is a pleasant and capable companion.

The car keeps its owner updated at all times

EV owners will be surprised at how easily they adapt to emission-free motoring, says James

James cheekily uses a Tesla charging point!

charged – using a Tesla charging point, no less – and started the return journey with the same 174 miles. But for the return leg I went the back-road route, mostly B-roads with lots of roundabouts.

The energy regeneration that generated meant that when I got back after covering roughly the same distance, I had 128 miles showing on the dash. A staggering difference.

And that’s the quirk of an electric car. Driving them on motorways, where there’s little braking and no regeneration, can have a huge impact on the range. But on the plus side, using a different route can mean you actually generate more electricity than you started with. That’s completely different to a petrol or diesel car, where sitting at a steady speed on a motorway would actually be the more efficient option.

THIS MONTH’S HIGHLIGHT: Charging a BMW at a hotel’s Tesla charging point. Cheeky!

All in, I’ve loved my time with an electric car.

The i3 is definitely a car I’d buy. Yes, there were a few squeaks from the interior I wouldn’t have expected from a premium model, and those ‘suicide’ rear doors were incredibly impractical, but I’d put up with those niggles because the benefits were so great.

Anyone thinking about buying an electric car should definitely not be afraid – your customers will quickly be surprised how easily one fits into their lives. If they get a home charger, or better still have access to a free one at work, they’ll soon be converted. I’d be wary of public charging points and certainly wouldn’t rely on them, and anyone who heeds that advice will be fine – just sit back and enjoy the calming driving experience and cheaper bills it brings with it.

Mazda 3

Suzuki Swift Attitude

Skoda Kodiaq Sportline

Mileage: 2,171

Mileage: 4,996

Mileage: 2,566

The Mazda 3 is a fresh face on our fleet and it’s arrived with a cutting-edge Skyactiv-X engine.

We’ll be looking forward to seeing how it gets on over the coming months. Watch this space!

Our little Swift has become a reliable workhorse, says Jack Healy. Apart from being blown around a bit by the windy weather, it’s coped well with the difficult conditions and has been great to drive.

The Kodiaq SE L has gone, replaced by a dynamiclooking Sportline version – which has already been pressed into use as the video team’s support car.

Full report to follow in the next edition of the mag.

THE KNOWLEDGE Model: Price: Engine: Power: Torque: 0-60mph: Max speed: Range: Emissions: Mileage:

BMW i3 120Ah £40,310 Electric motor 168bhp 270Nm 7.2 seconds 99mph 223 miles 0g/km 2,876

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 89

The last word JA M E S B AG G OT T

Against our better judgment, we give our CEO the final say each month

It’s time I had my say on Brexit – an axe blow to the neck of our industry

I

tend to steer well clear of politics in this column, but these days my anger burns so deep, my rage so great, that as we all head to the polls once again, I couldn’t ignore the topic any longer. Let’s face it: Brexit has been a total and utter undeniable car crash of a disaster for the automotive industry.

Wherever you sit in the chain – be it behind a desk in a car dealership, on the production line of a factory building cars or bits for cars, or like us as a supplier – the pain of the 2016 decision to leave the EU has left a catastrophic bullet wound in the belly of the car industry. I don’t care what side of the fence you sit on – leave, remain, don’t care, whatever – it’s impossible to deny the paralysis the small majority victory that Leave achieved has caused.

It is, and will forever be remembered as, the executioner of the British car manufacturing industry – an axe blow to the neck that murdered what has long been a great part of this country.

Before the referendum, Britain was seen as an efficient gateway to Europe, a place where cars could be made profitably and exported to our garden market of continental buyers and on around the world.

Parts flowed into the country unhindered, arriving at factories just in time, and expertly built cars flowed back out. Multinational car companies chose Britain as the base for their factories, enticed not only by government promises and the odd hand-out, but knowing that the continent was just a stone’s throw away.

They brought with them thousands of jobs – and hundreds of thousands more when you factor in the myriad suppliers that feed these manufacturing monoliths.

But those days have come to an end. Tesla’s boss Elon Musk, below, has announced that he’s opted to build a Gigafactory for batteries, powertrains and vehicles in Germany rather than here, and he clearly laid the blame on the ‘uncertainty’ around Brexit for why the UK wasn’t even considered.

Other manufacturers have issued similar warnings in public, and there’s no doubt that in boardrooms across the world there are far more serious concerns being aired in private. If you were running a company that planned cars not for tomorrow but for 10 years down the road, would you invest your billions in a factory here, not knowing what Brexit will bring? Or would you do what Elon has done? Of course you’d follow him.

It’s often easy to forget just how important car manufacturing is to the UK economy. Nissan, Toyota, Vauxhall, Honda, Jaguar Land Rover – not to mention the specialists like McLaren and Aston Martin – build and export thousands of cars every

year. Planning for these firms is vital and for three years now that’s been impossible. We’ve already felt the ramifications that Brexit has caused for some of these manufacturers and it’s only going to get worse. All this comes at a time when the automotive industry is being kicked from all directions. Governments are penalising carmakers, diesel is taking a bashing and the investments required in future technologies like hybrid and pure electric are crippling.

Why, then, would they decide to invest in a country whose future is so uncertain?

The reason I’ve avoided talking about Brexit and the devastation it has caused our industry for so long is it’s become a toxic topic.

Both sides are so entrenched in their camps – so opposed to, or for, leaving – that it’s become the subject to avoid. But if I’m honest, I really don’t care whether we’re in or out – what I care about is what it means, what it really means, to us. And my biggest problem with the whole thing is that no-one can tell me what the benefits of leaving are.

Boris may have devised a deal that’s ‘great’ for this country and ‘gets Brexit done’. But I want to know what it changes. What will it improve? How will we be better off?

He can bang the Get Brexit Done drum as much as he wants, but unless he actually tells me what it means I’ll ignore him.

I like to think I’m pretty up to speed on current affairs. I watch the news, read the papers, surf social media. But despite all that, I couldn’t tell you one single thing that will be better if we leave the EU. However, I sure can tell you what would be better if we stayed put – and that’s because we know. We’re living that life now. It’s here, it’s known.

Taking a leap into the unknown is not my sort of thing. I don’t gamble, I don’t ‘just hope for the best’. I like to have some idea of what I’m getting myself into. So too does the rest of the automotive industry and, I’d hazard a guess, most of the country. We’ve become so blind to Brexit that the pros and cons of leaving and staying put aren’t even discussed any more. All we hear about is ‘respecting the will of the people’.

So how do we solve it? That’s where I’m stumped. I don’t agree with asking people again and I don’t think this election will solve anything. We haven’t moved on enough since the general election of 2017 for anything to really change, so I suspect we’ll be back to square one. I hope that’s not the case, though. I hope we can move on and get back to what this industry is good at – battling adversity and coming together to make it work.

Maybe that’s the spirit the whole country needs to adopt too.

‘Elon Musk has opted to build a Gigafactory in Germany rather than here, clearly blaming “uncertainty” around Brexit.’

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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