Car Dealer Magazine: Issue 181

FOUNDER

James Baggott james@thebaize.com

Twitter: @CarDealerEd

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

James Batchelor james.batchelor@blackballmedia.co.uk

Twitter: @JRRBatchelor

CHIEF SUB-EDITOR

John Bowman john@blackballmedia.co.uk

STAFF WRITER

Jack Williams jack.williams@blackballmedia.co.uk

Twitter: @JournoJack25

MULTIMEDIA MANAGER

Jon Reay jon@blackballmedia.co.uk

Twitter: @JonReay

HEAD OF DESIGN

Graeme Windell graeme@blackballmedia.co.uk

Twitter: @graemewindell

Becca Chaplin, Jack

Nigel Swan, Ted Welford

WELCOME.

The thrill of putting on a live event never gets old. Meeting our readers and talking to the leaders in our field was one of many things we’ve missed over the past three years of Covid lockdowns and so on and so on, etcetera, etcetera, but it’s true. Live events really are the best and the pandemic did its best to disrupt that.

FINANCE MANAGER

Kate Gordon kate@blackballmedia.co.uk

Car Dealer Live started during the very early days of the first lockdown. They were regular video interviews, filmed live through Zoom, and were designed to give dealers and anyone else in the motor industry a morale boost – it’s easy to forget now, but those days in late March and April 2020 really were bewildering and unsettling. Quickly, our interviews drew an audience; small at first, but it soon grew and grew.

SALES MANAGER

Kevin Day kev@blackballmedia.co.uk

ACCOUNT MANAGER

Michelle Searle michelle@blackballmedia.co.uk

Twitter: @cardealermich

Since then, Car Dealer Live has become a major part of our operation here at Blackball Media. So, when a live show with a real audience was mooted, it was the obvious next move.

This year’s conference – The Future of the Car Dealer – took a lot of planning and hard work. So you can imagine the sense of trepidation when the Car Dealer team slowly drove through the snow to the British Motor Museum – this wasn’t part of the plan.

Knowing that our audience was coming from all over the country, we opened the doors not knowing who would arrive. But they came in their hordes – over 200 in the room and more than 100 watching at home via the live stream.

I’ve hosted my fair share of live events but this year’s Car Dealer Live was something different. There was a palpable sense of audience interest in our speaker panels, thoughtful questions asked, happy faces when cake was served, and selfies on social media. To say we were blown away by the response is an understatement.

You can read some of the highlights and key news stories inside this magazine, but for more coverage head over to our main Car Dealer website To watch it all again and to buy an early bird ticket for next year’s event, please go to cardealerlive.co.uk. Oh yes, Car Dealer Live will be back next year on March 7! In the meantime, join us online for our video shows, too.

I hope you enjoy the issue.

JAMES BATCHELOR Associate editor

Knowing that our audience was coming from all over the country, we opened the doors not knowing who would arrive. But they came in their hordes.

CONFERENCE

SHINING THE SPOTLIGHT ON WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR CAR DEALERS

We put Car Dealer Live – The Future of the Car Dealer on at a time of immense change for the automotive industry.

Agency sales are proliferating and fluctuating new car supply continues to present challenges, while the used car market dominates headlines thanks to crashing EV prices and online disruptors that are struggling to disrupt.

Meanwhile, UK car dealerships are becoming increasingly attractive as targets for overseas investors.

At the same time, car dealers are looking to the future and thinking about the changes they’ll need to make to take advantage of omnichannel sales and a fast-paced shift to electric vehicles.

But what do consumers really want from car dealers when it comes to buying online? Will agency sales work or could they simply be a flash in the pan? And how will electric car makers from China and elsewhere disrupt the status quo?

These were all topics discussed by a distinguished panel of experts, industry bosses and, of course, car dealers at our conference, sponsored by Auto Trader and held at the British Motor Museum. It was a huge success that far exceeded our expectations, and we received masses of positive feedback, which made all the effort that we put into it so worthwhile.

Over the next few pages, we bring you highlights from the event. For more information and to book tickets for next year’s conference, visit cardealerlive.co.uk

Headline partner

James Baggott interviews Mark Lavery

Car Dealer founder James Baggott addresses the conference delegates

Car Dealer Live reporting team: James Baggott Jack Williams

Rebecca Chaplin Photography by Kevin Bennett

KEYNOTE INTERVIEW

There will be no publicly listed dealer groups by end of year

Cambria Automobiles boss Mark Lavery doesn’t believe there will be any publicly listed dealer groups in the UK by the end of the year.

In a wide-ranging keynote interview at our inaugural Car Dealer Live conference, he backed the likes of Vertu, Lookers and Pendragon to follow his firm into private ownership.

Lavery told interviewer James Baggott that profitable UK dealer groups represented ‘extraordinary value’ to investors.

He said some outfits currently floated on the London Stock Exchange were trading at massive discounts when compared with their net assets.

‘I am on record as saying I don’t think there will be any public companies by the end of December this year,’ he said.

‘I think there are some exceptional businesses –Lookers, Vertu and Pendragon are all trading at a massive discount to net assets.

‘That’s frankly the position we [at Cambria Automobiles] found ourselves in.

‘When you look at what’s happened to the value of sterling post-Brexit and what’s happened to the value of the dollar post-interest rates going up, we represent extraordinary value to external investors.

‘Would I speculate on each of the three [Lookers, Vertu or Pendragon]? No, that would be unfair because I don’t have enough knowledge, but I do think that none of them will be in the public domain by the end of December this year.’

The last word on agency sales will

go to consumers

The Car Dealer Live audience was also asked which of the three main listed car dealer groups they thought would be snapped up first.

Some 38 per cent said they thought Vertu Motors would be next, followed by Pendragon with 33 per cent and Lookers with 29 per cent.

Lavery, who was the first speaker during a jampacked day, told delegates at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon that the investment community ‘does not understand automotive retail’.

He led a management buyout of Cambria for £82.5m, and at the conference, sponsored by Auto Trader, he said: ‘The investment community in the UK doesn’t really understand automotive retail.

‘I think there’s an argument to suggest that the investment community globally doesn’t understand automotive full stop.’

Asked what the advantages of going private had been, Lavery declared: ‘Freedom. We have taken back control.

‘We don’t have to spend the amount of time on shareholder relations, which those people in the room who have worked for public companies will understand. The quantums are just extraordinary.

‘I think we’re in a better place, we’re excited about the future and we believe we’re a lot more happy as a business now than when we were public.’

Watch the session on video, and the rest of the day’s sessions, with a Watch Online ticket

Consumers will decide whether agency sales succeed or fail, a top executive has said.

Cambria Automobiles CEO Mark Lavery told conference delegates that customers held the power when it came to a change in business model.

He said the concept of agency sales was ‘curious’, and questioned whether it could bring ‘long-term sustainability and longevity’.

Lavery commented: ‘I think that agency is a really curious concept. Frankly, I don’t think we’ll decide as retailers and I don’t think the OEMs in the room – without causing any offence – will decide either. I think the person that will decide will be the consumer.’

Our panel of franchised dealers also discussed the agency issue, with John O’Hanlon, CEO of Waylands Automotive, describing the model as a ‘fundamental change’ to how retailers operate.

He also questioned whether the systems needed to ease the change would be able to cope.

Snows Group boss Neil McCue, meanwhile, questioned how the model will actually work in practice. He urged OEMs to ensure dealers continue to be properly rewarded for the cars they sell.

Paul Hendy, boss of south coastbased Hendy Group, added: ‘The long and short of it is we don’t know. There’s a lot of shadow boxing and that makes business planning incredibly difficult.’

TURN

OVER PAGE FOR MORE COVERAGE FROM CAR DEALER LIVE

MARK LAVERY CAMBRIA AUTOMOBILES CEO

Neil McCue, left, Paul Hendy, centre, and John O’Hanlon

Auto Trader identifies the three biggest forces of change facing car dealers

Auto Trader has identified three forces of change that will alter the shape of car dealer businesses in the coming years.

The Car Dealer Live headline sponsor’s chief operating officer, Catherine Faiers, unveiled the exclusive research at our conference on March 9.

She told co-host James Baggott that Auto Trader believes supply, EVs and changing consumer behaviour have the potential to cause dealers the biggest disruption.

Faiers told dealers they will need to ‘get real’ in 2023 as they face up to these changing forces.

Her thoughts were echoed by our independent and franchised car dealer panellists, who identified supply constraints as a particular cause for concern.

Faiers told the audience at the British Motor Museum: ‘The most immediate challenge has to be supply. We are now, in the used car market, seeing the effect of those years of weak new car registrations play out.

‘When we look at the data and quite what that means, when you look at the size of the used car parc and look at that car parc of sub-five-yearold vehicles, going back to 2019 we would have expected there to be around 11.5m cars in those age cohorts.

‘This year, as long as new car supply continues on the trend we’ve seen for the last few months, this year will be the toughest year. There will be just over eight million cars in that cohort.’

Automotive industry professionals watching in the audience voted on which of Auto Trader’s forces of change they thought would be the biggest. Some 44 per cent of attendees thought supply, 35 per cent said EVs and 21 per cent chose changing consumer behaviour.

Moving on to how EVs would change the industry, Faiers said they were already having a profound impact on car dealers and consumers.

She explained: ‘EVs are changing the brands we see, the product we drive and the way we buy.

‘The brands consumers are seeing are changing massively and the product is changing.’

Her message was that dealers need to face up to the fact that consumers want electric vehicles and they will continue to occupy an increasing share of the market.

As for changing consumer behaviour, Auto Trader said car dealers needed to be ready to take car buying to where consumers wanted it – and increasingly that is an omnichannel experience that blends elements online with offline.

Auto Trader added, though, that full end-to-end online retailing had ‘stalled’, with the appeal to buying a car completely online ‘plateauing’.

Its exclusive research paper prepared for Car Dealer Live is now available for anyone to download. If you’d like to watch back the session on video, and the rest of the day’s sessions, you can do so with a Watch Online ticket that will let you replay the whole event.

It may have been wintry outside but there were plenty of hot topics at our sold-out conference

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FULL AUTO TRADER FORCES OF CHANGE

Catherine Faiers on stage with James Baggott

Close Brothers explores what the future looks like for alternative fuel vehicles

Close Brothers Motor Finance has produced a special report examining the future outlook for alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs).

Seán Kemple, the firm’s UK and Ireland CEO, unveiled the exclusive research at our Car Dealer Live conference, sponsored by Auto Trader.

He told co-host James Batchelor that Close Brothers believes the upcoming wave of new Chinese EVs is likely to reduce the cost of buying a new electric vehicle in the coming years.

Kemple also told the conference delegates that data collected in January showed that dealers who had already transitioned to selling AFVs had experienced significantly higher demand than retailers who were still only selling ICE cars.

Close Brothers’ exclusive research paper prepared for Car Dealer Live is now available to download for anyone

Kemple told the audience: ‘We saw a big volume of AFVs coming through in 2022 and they’re going to hit the used car forecourts in the next couple of years.

‘There was a significant increase in batteryelectric vehicles. Sixty-two per cent of dealers say that AFVs are more popular than petrol or diesel when they stock them, and you can see that demand right up there for AFVs.

‘Then you’ve got 66 per cent selling more AFVs than they were previously. Profitability is a key thing there as well. Because that demand has

been so high, the profit has been higher on used AFVs than it has been on petrol and diesel.’

Kemple also said a survey conducted as part of its White Paper found that just nine per cent of dealers didn’t ever see themselves selling AFVs.

Meanwhile, automotive industry professionals in the audience didn’t think the government’s 2030 ban on new ICE vehicles was realistic.

Overall, 66 per cent of respondents didn’t think the ban would be implemented in line with its current timetable.

Among the main topics discussed by Kemple was how the job of a dealer has changed in recent years. Along with the rise of AFVs has come an increased reliance on data, which has fundamentally altered how the industry works.

He told the audience: ‘For me, I suppose the customer is king and has been for quite some time. Dealers have become more and more in tune to using data and insight and the information around them, certainly more than what we saw a number of years ago.

‘Dealers are starting to adapt to that based on what they are seeing coming through from EVs.’

He added: ‘The consumer is using desktop, they’re using desktop and mobile. That has taken a while for that shift to happen, but that transition has been really, really important.’

Watch the session on video, and the rest of the day’s sessions, with a Watch Online ticket

WHITE PAPER SESSION

The audience pays rapt attention to what Seán Kemple is saying

Seán Kemple, right, is interviewed by James Batchelor

Conference co-host James Batchelor

WHITE PAPER SESSION

Cox Automotive research investigates car dealers’ omnichannel sales future

Cox Automotive has produced a special report examining whether new and used car dealers are adequately set up for an omnichannel future.

The research has been laid out by Philip Nothard, Cox’s insight and strategy director, in a detailed eight-page research paper prepared especially for Car Dealer Live.

Nothard had been due to appear at our inaugural conference but was unable to do so because heavy snowfall prevented him from getting to the British Motor Museum venue.

However, he was ably replaced by David James, the firm’s director for strategic partnerships, who presented the findings.

Setting out the scope of the report, Nothard said in the research paper: ‘Automotive retail is changing. From the agency model and onlineonly retailers with disruptive visions (and budgets!), to the rise of EV and the imminent demise of some of the nation’s best-selling models, and on to a revolution in consumer behaviours and expectations fuelled by technological and cultural change.

‘These are busy – and fascinating – times for everyone involved in the motor trade. In this report, we consider just one of these factors: digital retail.

‘Digital retail isn’t new of course, but in automotive it’s fair to say we’ve experienced a faster pace of change in the last four years than we have in the previous 40.

‘The influence of digital channels and tools on how consumers find and choose cars, and how retailers interact with their customers, is undeniable. But just how important do consumers regard digital? And how are retailers meeting their needs? How connected is the buyer journey today? Is omnichannel just a buzzword or is it something tangible that’s already happening?

‘To find out, we surveyed over 3,000 carowning consumers and used car dealers.’

He added: ‘We asked consumers (over threequarters of whom have recent experience buying a used car) what they want when it comes to researching and buying a used car.

‘Our panel of used car dealers was made up of franchised dealers (53% of the sample) and independents (47%).

‘We’ll be diving deeper into the data and considering what we can learn from the sentiment shared (and asking some further questions) over the coming weeks and months.’ Watch the session on video, and the rest of the day’s sessions, with a Watch Online ticket.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD COX AUTOMOTIVE’S EXCLUSIVE WHITE PAPER RESEARCH

David James, right, is interviewed by James Batchelor

In

automotive it’s fair to say we’ve experienced a faster pace of change in the last four years than we have in the previous 40.

Philip

Nothard

Cox

Automotive report

From left: James Batchelor, David James, Stephanie Muzzall (digital project manager, consumer digital at Volvo Car UK) and Michael Bell (Available Car CEO)

used car dealer Cazoo was ‘naive’ and ‘got what it deserved’

INDEPENDENT DEALER PANEL

SPONSORED BY

Apanel of leading independent dealers have slammed the ‘arrogance’ of Cazoo and other online disruptors who ‘don’t know what they’re doing’.

Speaking at Car Dealer Live, Jamie Caple said the Alex Chesterman-led outfit had been ‘naive’ about the challenges of the used car industry.

The Car Quay boss also said the firm ‘deserved’ its recent tough spell as its share price continues to tumble.

Speaking to co-host James Baggott, he insisted that independent dealers didn’t fear the disruptors and were capable of matching them when it comes to selling cars online.

‘I thought they were very naive and they thought they could come in and change things,’ he said. ‘Coming in and saying “You guys are rubbish, you don’t know what you’re doing and we’re going to come in and change everything” has just come back to bite them, hasn’t it?

‘We don’t fear them. Online selling is part of the business now, but I have to say that the human being in the processes is the most important part.

‘I don’t want anyone to lose their jobs or anything like that, but these guys don’t know what they’re doing and their share price is collapsing.

‘You do just think “You kind of deserve that a little bit” without being bitter and twisted!’

Also on the panel was Urban Car Company boss Stuart Saunders, who likened recent online

disruptors to previous start-ups that tried and failed to conquer the used car market.

‘The word that comes to mind is “arrogance”. It’s arrogance coming into the market and thinking we don’t have a clue about how to run a business, how to deal with customers, and that they can come in and just change the world,’ he said.

‘We’ve seen disruptors before. I remember Tesco at one stage came in and tried to do something, Richard Branson did something with Virgin, and there have been other disruptors.

‘I think they’ve all come in with a “We can change the world” attitude looking at the business from afar, but the used car business is very unique.’

Nigel Hurley, CEO of CarShop, conceded that the likes of Cinch and Cazoo had changed the way the used car industry operates.

However, he said they failed to capitalise on the pandemic and allowed traditional retailers to develop their own online sales models.

Hurley added that the new wave of online retailers had ‘underestimated’ car dealers’ resilience. ‘I think what actually happened is the retailers adapted very quickly. As a consequence of that, we became good at what we now call omnichannel retailing.

‘They became a catalyst for us to adapt, and I think what they’ve underestimated is probably the resilience of the people that work in the industry.’

‘Arrogant’

David Trigg makes a point at our Car Dealer Live conference

From left: James Baggott, Nigel Hurley, Jamie Caple, Stuart Saunders and Premier GT CEO David Trigg

I thought they were very naive and they thought they could come in and change things.

Jamie Caple Car Quay

Senior MG exec warns that ‘arrogance’ of manufacturers will cause agency failures

CAR MANUFACTURER PANEL

Senior MG exec Guy Pigounakis believes many agency models will fail because of manufacturer arrogance.

The commercial director said at our conference: ‘I do think it’s a margin grab and I don’t think manufacturers realise the depth of job and commitment dealers have, especially in the aftersales arena. I think as long as manufacturers are arrogant enough to think that way, the agency models I’ve seen by and large will fail.’

Suzuki UK boss Dale Wyatt agreed and said he’d be out of a job and should be replaced by Daksh Gupta if agency sales were the future.

‘As [Suzuki is] an established manufacturer, if I’m serious about agency then I need to fire my management team. Fire me and hire Daksh Gupta – because I’m not a retailer,’ he told delegates.

‘I’ve got to change all of my processes. I’ve got a huge investment in IT and a cultural change to oversee, with the punishing implications of taking on all of the stock. It’s not for me.’

Franchised dealers at the conference, held at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon and sponsored by Auto Trader, had commented in an earlier session that there were so many different types of deal that purported to be agency.

Pigounakis credited agency as a reason why many dealers had joined MG, and said that it ‘had a number of partners who are genuinely scared by what agency could do to them’.

However, Wyatt and Pigounakis both agreed that the only one they could see working was the model of Polestar UK and fellow panellist Jonathan Goodman.

Polestar CEO Goodman said: ‘Agency is a word that our friends in the media glibly use to label a whole range of agreements. We set up our business as a service provider agreement rather than an agency agreement.

‘There are two key tenets. One was that our partners make money, and that was fundamental.

‘Secondly, that we as a new brand control the relationship with the customer but it is a partnership, and I think everyone keeps trying to paint this as black or white.’

He added: ‘The advantage it gives me as a manufacturer is that if something goes wrong I hear about it straight away.

‘But we’re a smaller brand and I fully accept that. We will expand, though, as we grow the volume.

‘I think we’ve got the balance absolutely right, but I don’t wholesale the dealers with stock. I don’t issue them with a sales target.’

Wyatt admitted that as a new entrant he would ‘support Goodman’s view’ but as an established franchise he couldn’t see it working.

Pigounakis also agreed with the Polestar view and said its model wasn’t the ‘agency agreement being banded around in general’.

Dale Wyatt makes a point during the car manufacturer panel session

From left: James Batchelor, James Baggott, Dale Wyatt, Jonathan Goodman and Guy Pigounakis

Agency is a word that our friends in the media glibly use to label a whole range of agreements.

SPONSORED BY

Jonathan Goodman

Polestar CEO

James Batchelor, left, and James Baggott listen carefully to what’s being said by the panel at the Car Dealer Live conference

CAR DEALER LIVE WILL BE BACK AT GAYDON ON MARCH 7, 2024

Early bird tickets available at cardealerlive.co.uk

Google senior industry manager Ben Gault was the second of our two keynote interviewees

GENESIS REVEALS PLAN TO CREATE UK DEALER NETWORK

• Genesis Europe boss lays out plans to Car Dealer

• Dealer network to be operational from early 2024

• Premium carmaker is in discussions with wide variety of potential dealers

• Decision to switch from purely online car sales is not a U-turn, says chief

by James Batchelor @JRRBatchelor

Genesis has revealed plans to build a dealer network as it seeks to boost sales and brand awareness in the UK.

Since launching in the UK in 2021, the South Korean premium brand has only operated experience centres – called ‘Studios’ – in shopping centres and sold cars purely online.

But now the company has revealed that it’s on the hunt for potential dealer partners to create a retail network, due to be operational from early next year.

Speaking to Car Dealer, Genesis Europe managing director Lawrence Hamilton said the decision to create showrooms was part of the next stage of the brand’s expansion.

He said: ‘Phase one was about coming to Europe and establishing a luxury car brand –we came with some very strong ideas about customer experience and a product portfolio direction, and wanted to see how it was received. And the answer so far is that it’s been very well received.

‘Phase two is where we really roll out Genesis by recruiting retail partners to help us expand the footprint of the brand.’

Genesis already has ‘Studios’ in London’s Westfield shopping centre and Battersea Power Station, with another in Edinburgh due to open soon.

However, Hamilton said the company wants to ‘supplement’ these ‘high street’ facilities with dealer-run showrooms that give ‘operational capacity in a more traditional way’.

The new sites will be relatively small, featuring a showroom that can display around five cars as well as offering aftersales and used car operations.

Genesis has begun consultations with potential dealers to partner with – they’re a mixture of large PLCs and smaller operations with a proven track record.

‘Large dealer groups are definitely on the list but we have to have a balance,’ he said.

‘We’ve started by looking at our Hyundai dealer network and the investors they have. We

that have the scale and a good track record on customer experience –that’s the key thing.’

Lawrence Hamilton Genesis Europe managing director

AGENCY SALES?

WHEN asked if Genesis would be creating agency agreements with dealers for the new showrooms, Lawrence Hamilton was coy.

‘We’re designing a commercial arrangement around what we need to deliver as a brand – so I wouldn’t label it at this stage as an agency agreement in the way that I think other people may look at it,’ he said.

He added: ‘It’s bespoke to what we require, and what we require is something that will deliver on our customer experience promises and the areas that we have already tested, namely the ability to operate remotely, to deliver omnichannel and serving the customer in any way they want.’

Hamilton explained: ‘There are three stakeholders and everything has to be in balance, otherwise it won’t work.

‘Stakeholder one is the customer – they have to know [when they come to a showroom] they are going to have a great experience and that we are going to deliver consistently on what we promised them, because they are coming to us because

they want a better experience and for the product portfolio we have.

‘The second stakeholder is the retail partner. They have to be making a good return and understand that the investment is balanced, understand the direction of the brand and be willing to operate and deliver on it because the return is there for them.

‘If they have the return they’re going to be able to invest in providing the customer experience, which of course brings the return because there’s no return without the customer.

‘And thirdly, us as the OEM – it’s critical for us that we get something out of this arrangement.

‘If we’ve got good retail partners, we then have a consistent brand position to build brand value and loyalty.

‘If all these three things are in balance, we’ve got a winning business.

‘So, it’s not an off-the-shelf agency model discussion but built purely around how do we get this balance into this equation?’

have a number of them that we’ve started a conversation with, and we’re going to go and have a chat about this new business model.

‘We’re only talking to people that have the scale and a good track record on customer experience – that’s the key thing.’

He added: ‘We could find people who will quickly build a showroom, but the question is are they focused on doing it in the way that we need?’

Genesis launched in 2021 with a pledge to offer personalised customer service, transparent pricing and online car sales.

It’s these services which the company feels makes it different from other premium car brands.

Last year, it sold 1,000 cars in the UK.

LAWRENCE Hamilton refuted the idea that the change from being a purely online brand to a company that is now investing in physical locations is a U-turn.

‘I would argue we are making it better,’ he said.

‘We’re not backing away from online sales – they are here to stay.

‘The fact that the vehicle may well be ordered and delivered to the customer with the help of a retail partner doesn’t change the fact that the online customer experience is still there.

‘The retail partner is an essential part of the logistics and last-mile experience. We are using retail partners to improve the process.’

Hamilton added: ‘We recently launched our Battersea Power Station Studio and the facility is attracting an enormous amount of interest. We are capitalising on thousands of people every week who have never heard of Genesis before.

‘Strategically placed Studios have a fundamental tool in our marketing box. Their role will continue to be very important, very pivotal, so I wouldn’t rule out more Studios at some point.

‘So I’ll refute your cynicism slightly, but with a big smile on my face and say: “Actually, I think we are building.”

‘We wanted to come in carefully, we wanted a proof of concept, and we wanted to know whether we were doing the right thing.

‘It’s time to make Genesis more visible and more accessible.’

Large dealer groups are definitely on the list but we have to have a balance.

NO U-TURN –IT’S THE NEXT STEP

It’s boring but it’s also brilliant. And that’s what a VW should be

Volkswagen revealed a concept this month of what an entry-level electric car might look like. You may have seen it; although on the other hand, you may not.

You see, as electric cars that cause you to stop-what-you’re-doingand-pay-attention go, the Volkswagen ID. 2all might be considered...

ummmm... a bit yawn-inducing.

There’s none of the futuristic styling that other ID models have had, such as the ID.3 and ID.4, nor is there any of the whimsical look of the retro ID. Buzz. The ID. 2all concept is, let’s face it, just ordinary – and I think that’s brilliant. It’s an important concept car, for it shows Volkswagen is paying attention to what’s going to be a critical battleground in the next few years – the sub-£25,000 electric car market. At the moment, this area is painfully under-appreciated; partly because it’s utility and that ain’t sexy, but mostly because it’s hard for carmakers to generate a profit. Electric cars are still expensive to make and they will be for quite some time yet.

There’s a reason why we Brits buy Polos in our droves – they have a pretty sophisticated, classless look about them, but more importantly, it’s an ordinary hatchback that just gets on with the job. The fact that you can’t get a decent Polo for under £20,000 is an argument for another day, but here is a hatchback with a VW badge on the nose and which ticks the boxes.

That’s what this new concept car is like. It’ll spawn the ID.2 and has dimensions that are pretty much identical to the Polo, and it’s got that same classy, assured design that people love.

While the ID.3 and ID.4 are certainly popular on UK roads, to many Brits the look and feel has been confusing. They don’t look like Volkswagens, the technology on board doesn’t feel like a Volkswagen and they certainly don’t have the sensory feeling of quality that VWs have had since the Mk4 Golf.

With so many new EVs flooding the market, particularly from the Far East, brand identity or values – call it what you will – will be crucial. Just think about it – what’s going to make someone buy a Volkswagen over an MG?

The ID. 2all looks a bit Polo-ish from some angles and a bit Mk2 Golf from others. The point is, that air of boring is familiar while the ID.3 and ID.4 simply aren’t. I would guess the ID.2 will convince far more Up!, Polo and Golf owners to at least consider sticking with the German motherbrand and go electric.

But while the design is certainly on-point, there’s a question mark over the physical bits – the things that the customer uses on a daily basis. Volkswagen really dropped the ball when it came to quality with the current crop of ID models. From plasticky surfaces to frustrating infotainment systems and illogical electric window switches, the ID.3 and ID.4 haven’t felt like Volkswagens.

It would seem Volkswagen has been listening, though. The facelifted ID.3 is being rushed through to the market to address these concerns, but more happily, the ID. 2all concept appears to have physical buttons and knobs. Now buttons and knobs might not be cool these days, but there’s at least a nod to the simplicity and logicality of the previous VWs. This matters, I think.

I am famously wrong when it comes to predictions, but I think Volkswagen’s key to unlocking electric car mass adoption might lie with this ID.2.

I would guess the ID.2 will convince far more Up!, Polo and Golf owners to at least consider sticking with the German motherbrand and go electric.

Big Mike

COMMENT

For want of a proper service and decent tyre a Jag sale was lost

First impressions are massively important, especially when you’re selling cars. Indeed, I’d wager that the very first impression someone has of a car is the single most critical thing when it comes to selling one, which is why I procure most of my stock these days from private sales. The auction houses have cottoned on to the fact that most used cars perform better on the market when they’re clean and well presented (even when sold in the trade) and in recent years they’ve invested in in-house cleaning teams that take the scruffiest of part-exchanges and – at the very minimum – make them appear half-presentable before they’re run through the block.

Facebook Marketplace sellers, on the other hand, think a photograph of half a car protruding from behind a wheelie bin with an interior full of discarded McDonald’s wrappers is sufficient enough to draw in an audience of suitors, all of whom will be clamouring to get their hands on a 100,000-mile Vauxhall Insignia with an overflowing ashtray.

OUR MAN ON THE INSIDE SHARES HIS THOUGHTS ON THE CAR BUSINESS

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.

This, of course, is not the case, and as a result I quite often end up with a veritable bargain and Henry the Hoover ends up with a clogged filter, but with the right level of effort it can be worthwhile. Indeed, it’s why I’m never open on Mondays, as I tend to spend the day trudging the mean streets of Birmingham’s less salubrious suburbs seeking out the wheelie bins that are guarding the best of the city’s automotive secrets. I buy, on average, about one out of every five I see. The rest are often fit only for the wheelie bin they’re hiding behind, but I digress.

I’ve always said that if you want to be a success at anything in life, then the very first thing you need to do is make an effort. Effort pays off almost as much as first impressions.

And on that note, here’s a cautionary tale...

I’ve made no secret in these pages of the fact that I love an old Jaguar. I’ve been waxing lyrical about them in this column for a good number of years, and back when I first started penning this waffle, you could pick up a really nice XJ8, or even better an XJR, for an embarrassingly small investment – one that was almost insulting to the magnificent car your £1,500 or so bought you.

Alas, that’s no longer the case, so I decided recently that I would actually treat myself to a genuinely good one while they’re still out there.

Unlike my usual acquisitions, I was prepared to spend good money. This was essentially to be a private purchase. A modern-ish classic for me to own and cherish, not my usual part-exchange beater with a big engine and an equally substantial mileage that I’d run until the MOT expired and then send over the bridge.

Indeed, I was even more than happy to break with tradition and buy it for retail value by visiting a specialist dealership. After all, if you want the best, then you need to be prepared to pay for the best, and having committed many a big old Jaguar to the banger racing boys over the three

I quite often end up with a veritable bargain and Henry the Hoover ends up with a clogged filter.

decades in which I’ve been self-employed, I feel it’s almost my duty to invest in preserving at least one.

After a couple of months of searching, I came across a possible candidate: a smart black XJR with less than 90k on the clock, the perfect specification, two previous owners and an MOT history that showed it had managed to avoid any close encounters thus far with the welder’s sparky stick. It was £8,000 – which is reasonable money for a nice XJR V8 these days – and only a 250-mile drive away from home.

So, rather than spend a Monday sniffing out stock from behind smelly wheelie bins, I decided to take a drive out in my current part-ex smoker (a Range Rover L322 with rusty rear arches, which is going straight to my local used parts specialist when either the MOT or the gearbox expires, which is currently looking like a close-run contest) to take a look.

And here’s where the first impressions come into play. When I rolled up, accompanied by the groans of a failing electric handbrake, my first impression was favourable. The car was clean, straight and well presented. But it didn’t last. One of the very first things I do is take a good look at the tyres on a potential purchase, as they can tell you a lot. The XJR had three lovely matching Pirelli P-Zeroes on it, but the one I call the ‘island’ tyre (for those of you not from the Midlands, that means ‘roundabout’) – the tyre on the nearside front that always wears out first due to enthusiastic urban cornering – was badged as a ‘Ling Long Goodride’.

I looked a bit deeper, and although the XJR had seen regular specialist maintenance until about three years ago, the most recent service (which was supposed to have been a big one) was apparently carried out by one ‘Frank’s Auto Repairs’, which I’ve never heard of, despite being in the motor trade in the Midlands all my life.

The stamp had no postcode or address on it, and when I pointed both this and the tyre out to the vendor, he replied with ‘Look, do you want it or not?’

I chose not. And here’s the thing. For a modest investment in one more Pirelli and a £300 service from a respected Jaguar specialist (of which there are many in the Midlands, most of whom do a very fair trade-to-trade rate), he’d have had a car that was still highly desirable. First impressions and effort. They mean a lot more than so many people in our trade will ever realise. That’s why those of us who are doing okay remain successful and why I’ll die on that hill.

The tyre on the nearside front that always wears out first due to enthusiastic urban cornering was badged as a ‘Ling Long Goodride’.

CAR NEWS ROUND-UP DASHBOARD

DACIA

Updated 508’s design inspired by Inception concept

PEUGEOT has revealed an updated version of its flagship 508, adopting a new design inspired by the recent Inception concept car.

The basic silhouette is the same, but Peugeot has refreshed the front and rear to bring it further in line with the newer models. There’s a new frameless grille, while a three-claw lighting signature is adopted – a trait seen on

the Peugeot Inception concept car revealed at January’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The new ‘lion’ logo is also now used but the back has new ‘PEUGEOT’ lettering in the black strip between the lights, replacing the emblem. There are also new LED rear lights, mirroring those on the new 408 fastback. Matrix LED headlights are now on all models as well.

VOLKSWAGEN

Latest Touareg enters its last testing stages

DACIA has introduced a new wheelchair-accessible version of its Jogger MPV, making it the only new ‘car’ with the conversion.

Most wheelchair-accessible vehicles are based on larger vans. However, the Jogger aims to be a more compact model but still with space for up to six people, including a wheelchair passenger.

Converted by Sirus Automotive, the firm said its engineers ‘found a platform that allowed them to deliver favourable levels of interior space for a car of this size that are usually reserved for vanbased conversions’.

A lightweight ramp gives access, while a lowered boot floor ensures plenty of headroom. Various wheelchair-restraint systems, including automated locking and winch-assisting loading, are also available.

Kona Electric will give up to 304 miles from Long Range EV

HYUNDAI has revealed more details about its radical new Kona Electric, which gains a longer range and new technology.

Like its predecessor, the second-generation crossover will be offered as an EV, as well as with hybrid and regular combustion engines. However, unlike the previous car, this new Kona has been designed first and foremost for the Electric version.

Key styling details include a full LED light bar across the width of the bonnet, while technical innovations include a large 12-inch head-up display. Hyundai also promises 304 miles from the 65.4kWh battery on the Long Range model.

VOLKSWAGEN has been pushing its upcoming Touareg to the limit ahead of the SUV’s full premiere this summer.

The four-wheel-drive –which will be the largest SUV in VW’s European range – is being put through the final stages of winter testing in Lapland. Manufacturers test cars in colder temperatures to ensure all components can cope with sub-zero conditions.

Some styling features can be gleaned from the pictures, such as VW’s IQ.Light HD matrix headlight tech.

PEUGEOT

Manufacturers have been refining their models and producing new ones. We look at some of the results...

Jogger now offers easy access for wheelchair-users

HYUNDAI

VOLKSWAGEN

ID.3 given fresh look and upgraded cabin

Final Edition marks end of road for TT after 25 years

Style and tech updates for i10

HYUNDAI has announced a series of styling and technology updates for its junior i10 city car.

The latest, third-generation i10 reached showrooms in early 2020, and while many car firms have abandoned this small car segment as it’s harder to make money, Hyundai is sticking with it.

As part of the update, it’s given the model new LED rear lights, while the daytime running lights in the front grille use a new signature. Lumen Grey and Meta Blue are two new colours joining the range.

VOLKSWAGEN has unveiled its refreshed ID.3, bringing a range of enhancements to the compact electric car.

Changes have been made to the exterior, interior and on-board technology.

They include new air intakes to help optimise the movement of air over the front wheels.

Inside, the doors have been remodelled to include larger handrests and everything is animal-free. A new augmented reality head-up display is featured and UK versions will be getting a 12.4-inch display.

X5 and X6 performance hits new level with M Competition

BMW has unveiled its X5 and X6 M Competition performance SUVs, using mild-hybrid technology for the best pace possible.

They have a 4.4-litre V8 engine coupled with 48-volt mildhybrid technology, which combined give 616bhp and 750Nm of torque, equating to a 0-60mph time of 3.7 seconds. Flat out, both will manage an electronically limited 155mph.

Priced from £123,350 for the X5 M Competition and £126,050 for the X6, the SUVs use an eight-speed automatic transmission as standard, while M xDrive all-wheel-drive helps to improve traction on wet and slippery roads.

AUDI is calling time on its TT sports car after 25 years of sales with a Final Edition that aims to celebrate the model’s success. The TT has been on sale since 1998 and is now in its third generation, but Audi wants to focus its efforts on more electrified models instead, with no replacement planned. This Final Edition is marked out by its black styling pack, including black Audi logos and badging plus darkened door mirrors. A black rear spoiler is fitted too, while Roadster models get rollover hoops and a wind deflector in the colour.

Electric Countryman is heading this way

3008 and 5008 get hybrid models

MINI will be creating a fully electric version of its Countryman SUV.

Due to be built entirely in Germany, the electric Countryman – set to enter production this year – will be made at BMW’s Leipzig plant alongside the 2 Series Active Tourer and 1 Series.

Previously, the Countryman has been available with both petrol and plug-in hybrid power, but it’s expected that this new version will ditch the latter in favour of the fully electric setup.

PEUGEOT has continued on its electrification journey with regular hybrid versions of its 3008 and 5008.

Sitting alongside existing hybrid and electric Peugeot models, the new 3008 and 5008 are equipped with a petrol engine and six-speed dual-clutch gearbox, the latter of which incorporates an electric motor to help reduce fuel consumption by 15 per cent, according to the French brand. It also means the entire Peugeot range now has some form of electrified powertrain.

PEUGEOT

HISTORY OF THE AUDI TT: PAGE 34

BMW

HERE ARE TASTERS OF STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED

Jaguar dealers ‘to be cut to under 20’

NEWS DIGEST

CLICK ON THE PICTURES FOR THE FULL STORY

JAGUAR Land Rover dealers are facing the prospect of booking multi-million-pound impairment charges as a result of losing their Jaguar franchises.

Senior motor trade accountants and auditors have warned JLR dealers may have to write down the values of their dealerships as a result of drastic changes to the network. Car Dealer earlier revealed that Jaguar dealer numbers could be cut from more than 80 today to fewer than 20 in just two years.

EXCLUSIVE APPOINTMENT

Stock image

Dunkley joining Cazoo as COO

HAT-TRICK

Ray Chapman Motors Malton scoops Volvo UK’s national retailer title for the third year running

The team consistently surpassed all targets in spite of the tough trading conditions caused by the costof-living crisis, said the manufacturer.

It added that their tireless focus on customer service and satisfaction had enabled the dealership to build a sterling local reputation, setting the standard for the rest of the UK.

EXPANSION INTERVIEW

WR Davies adds Nissan to portfolio

CAZOO has appointed former CarShop CEO Jonathan Dunkley as its new chief operating officer.

The ex-boss of the used car supermarket group has more than 20 years’ experience of the used car business and worked for Sytner after the dealer group took over his operation.

He will join Cazoo at the end of March, said founder Alex Chesterman, adding that Dunkley had been working as a strategic adviser to Cazoo for the past 18 months. Dunkley will be replacing Paul Whitehead.

WR Davies Motor Group is to expand its Rhyl site to include Nissan.

The Car Dealer Top 100 firm said the showroom for the Japanese manufacturer will open in September 2023, joining Ford, which is currently there.

It’ll be business as usual for the Ford showroom but its workshop will double in capacity. WR Davies said it’ll bring Nissan to an area where it hasn’t been available from a main dealer for a long time.

Cinch’s ‘record’ start to 2023 is revealed

SECRETIVE Constellation Automotive Group has revealed that its online used car dealer Cinch had a ‘record’ start to 2023.

The boss of the used car dealer – which clocked up a £149m pre-tax loss last year – told The Sunday Times that Cinch and its car-buying platform WeBuyAnyCar were on a roll. CEO Avril Palmer-Baunack, who rarely talks to the press, said: ‘Since January, we’ve had record days at WeBuyAnyCar and at Cinch.’

RAY Chapman Motors Malton is celebrating after being named Volvo Car UK’s top retailer for the third year running.

Volkswagen really dropped the ball when it came to quality with the current crop of ID models. The ID.3 and ID.4 haven’t felt like Volkswagens.

James Batchelor p17

Lithia Motors buys Jardine for £300m

45GB of data could now be on dark web

THREE directors from US giant Lithia have been appointed to the board of Jardine Motors following a £300m takeover deal.

The acquisition was agreed after months of talks, with sources saying Lithia Motors paid between £300m and £400m for the British supercar dealer. Jardine directors Anthony Hawkins and Adam Kenswick have left, replaced by Lithia CFO Tina Miller, company vice-president and general counsel Edward Impert, plus COO Chris Holzshu.

Marshall loses third director after buyout

LAWYERS acting for victims of the Arnold Clark cyber hack believe that an additional 30GB of personal data has been leaked on to the dark web. Speaking exclusively to Car Dealer, Keller Postman UK said that as much as 45GB of personal data may now have got out.

And lawyer Bill Singer claimed it was still a tiny percentage of the total data alleged to have been seized by hackers collective Play.

We reported earlier this year that 15GB had been posted online.

AUCTION

£235k Ferrari F8 sets new record

PODCAST

USED car marketplace Motorway has sold its most expensive car – a Ferrari F8 that went for more than £235,000.

Finished in Rosso Corsa and with just 2,950 miles on the clock, the 22-reg Tributo sent dealers wild, with 47 of them bidding on it and the hammer eventually falling at £235,383. Motorway said it had seen record numbers of all types of cars going into its daily online sales, with volumes exceeding 1,000 vehicles a day.

Pendragon named as main launch partner

THE TEAM FROM CAR DEALER TALK ABOUT THE LATEST NEWS AND INTERVIEWS IN THIS REGULAR PODCAST

CLICKHERE

MARSHALL Motor Group has lost its third senior director in just nine months following the takeover of the business by Constellation Automotive Group.

Stephen Jones, the company’s group counsel and company secretary, left on March 10.

Daksh Gupta quit abruptly as CEO last May just a few weeks after the takeover. Chief financial officer Richard Blumberger then left at the end of December.

PENDRAGON has been named the leading launch partner of BYD as the Chinese carmaker releases its Atto 3 EV.

It opened the first of its BYD sites in Birmingham and Milton Keynes under its Stratstone brand, making them Pendragon’s first showrooms entirely dedicated to EVs. They’ll be followed by Stratstone BYD Mayfair later in the year, which Pendragon said will be BYD’s UK flagship showroom, plus five more in 2023.

TO LISTEN TO PAST EPISODES OF THE CAR PODCASTSDEALER

Driven by

I’ve always said that if you want to be a success at anything in life, then the very first thing you need to do is make an effort. Big Mike p18

‘If you have the money, you’ll be rewarded with one of the most well-rounded cars available.’

Forecourt: p26

WORLD RECORD

1987 Cossie goes for almost £600k

HERE

NEWS DIGEST

CLICK ON THE PICTURES FOR THE FULL STORY

A 1987 Ford Sierra Cosworth sold for nearly £600,000 at auction, setting a new world record and smashing the previous one.

The specially upgraded RS500, with just 5,192 miles on the clock, went for a jawdropping £596,250 at the Silverstone Auctions sale –almost four times its guide price of £150,000 to £180,000 at the Race Retro sale.

The auction house had described it as ‘Perhaps the finest example of Ford’s most desired Cosworth ever’.

FOOTBALL

Snows scores with fan’s mascot thrill

TIES CUT

F1 ace Nigel Mansell drops Mitsubishi and Hyundai franchises after Covid struggles and loss of sales

F1 legend Nigel Mansell has parted ways with Mitsubishi and Hyundai after almost nine years.

The 1992 F1 World Champion had been running car sales and aftersales operations from The Mansell Collection dealership in St Helier on Jersey. But the company says the car side of the business will close.

It cited Covid struggles, loss of sales and Mitsubishi’s departure, which it said had a knock-on effect with Hyundai. Mansell and elder son Leo, seen here at Mitsubishi’s Cirencester HQ, took on the franchise for the Japanese brand in late 2014. The motorbike side of things will continue and grow. Picture: Niels van Gijn

Brindley to spend £2m on Kia site

YOUNG footie fan Daniel Cook was given an unforgettable experience courtesy of Snows Toyota Plymouth when bosses arranged for him to be a mascot.

The 11-year-old’s big day came about because the dealership supports the Argyle Community Trust – the official charity partner of Plymouth Argyle FC.

Daniel is a keen member of the Fit and Fed scheme, of which the trust is a key partner, and as an enthusiastic Argyle fan he was selected to carry out mascot duties at the club’s stadium.

BRINDLEY Group is to plough £2m into an eco-conscious redevelopment of its Kia showroom in Wolverhampton.

It’ll be demolishing the existing Penn Road showroom and replacing it with a state-of-the-art dealership.

The showroom will remain while the work – which started in March – is carried out. It’s expected to take about 10 months to complete. A temporary sales office will be on site, as will aftersales departments.

Alan Day group gains Carbon AAA rating

VOLKSWAGEN and Skoda franchised dealership Alan Day Motor Group has gained a Carbon AAA rating.

The London retailer says the accreditation by Future Net Zero will help it steal a march on rivals in its quest to become the first carbonneutral dealership.

Initiatives have included bringing in green tech and offsetting unavoidable emissions, as well as investing £100,000 in a fully electric mobile service van.

ARE TASTERS OF STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED

1995

The year Audi presented a concept version of the TT at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

History of the Audi TT p34

The latest cool products to phone home about

Feature p33

EXPANSION RESCUE

Big Motoring World opening sixth site

USED car supermarket Big Motoring World is set to open its sixth site at the former Manheim auction centre in Wimbledon.

The 6.7-acre store is due to open on June 1 after being redeveloped.

Boss Peter Waddell said: ‘The south-west of London is untouched by volume dealers and is a great opportunity for Big Motoring World.

‘We are expecting Wimbledon to replicate the sales volume of our Enfield car supermarket of at least 1,000 units a month.’

EXCLUSIVE

Take a drone video tour round Audi site

PLANS

Ford to cut dealer network

in

Europe

FORD is set to slash its European dealer network as the Blue Oval puts the finishing touches to its plans for agency sales.

We reported before Christmas that it was looking to change to a directto-customer approach to establish a ‘long-term relationship’ with drivers, but very few details were made available. Ford of Europe boss Martin Sander has now told Autocar the first agency site will open in the Netherlands in March, with the rest of Europe to follow at some point.

REFURB

Lookers ploughs £1m into site renovation

Start-up takes over failed Britishvolt

BITE-SIZE

Click on the text box for the full story

FAILED EV battery firm Britishvolt has been taken over by Australian outfit Recharge Industries.

Car Dealer reported in January that the troubled company had collapsed after failing to secure funding, making hundreds redundant. Recharge was announced as the preferred bidder at the start of February, and the start-up’s boss says a deal has now been reached. Chief executive David Collard said: ‘What we are bringing is validated technology.’

APPOINTMENT

Motorpoint gives Kal senior executive role

UP: Volkswagen is predicting that group revenue for 2023 will increase by as much as 15 per cent to €331bn – circa £293.5bn – as a supply chain improvement boosts sales. Deliveries are poised to go up by 14 per cent to some 9.5m vehicles.

CHANGE: Suzuki has appointed a new MD in the UK and Ireland after Nobuo Suyama, who had held the post since 2014, announced his intention to step down. He has been replaced by Takanori Suzuki, whose second stint it is in the role.

AGENCY: Mercedes is gearing up to bring agency sales to its home market of Germany. It follows the launch of the sales model in the UK at the beginning of this year. It wants to sell more than half of its cars via the agency model by the end of this year.

FANCY paying Europe’s largest Audi dealer a flying visit? Well, now you can – thanks to an amazing drone video shared exclusively with us!

Sytner’s Audi West London team commissioned a special video of its seven-storey dealership to give customers a unique insight of what to expect when they visit the site.

The drone weighs under 250g, which makes it safe to fly around people in tight spaces, said videographer Nico Turner.

LOOKERS is investing £1m in transforming its Nissan dealership in Gateshead.

It’s creating an ultra-modern showroom with a full interior makeover to showcase all 12 Nissan models and follows investments of £750,000 in Lookers’ Chester and Carlisle Nissan dealerships.

The renovation is expected to be complete and officially unveiled in April, but it’ll be business as usual while the work takes place.

MOTORPOINT has appointed Kalwant Singh as its new chief operating officer.

He has joined the used car supermarket and listed car dealer from bed retailer Dreams where he spent three years in the same role.

CEO Mark Carpenter said: ‘We are absolutely delighted to welcome Kal, and are thrilled to have someone of his talent and calibre and with such a keen commitment to operational excellence join our team.’

POWER: A total of 2,400 new charging points are to be installed, says the Department for Transport. As part of £56m in public and industry funding, they will be in locations such as Cumbria, Norfolk, Oxfordshire and West Sussex.

EXEMPT: The UK’s small sports car manufacturers have had a welcome boost after the EU said they’ll be exempt from its 2035 ban on new petrol and diesel vehicles. Car makers that register fewer than 1,000 a year won’t have to comply.

BMW M3 TOURING

Power

The 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged straight-six petrol pumps out 503bhp and gives the M3 a 0-60mph time of 3.4 seconds.

After a long wait, the new M3 Touring is finally here, so Jack Evans grabbed some keys...

WHAT IS IT?

It’s the car that enthusiasts the world over have been waiting for. For decades, BMW has refrained from creating an estate – or ‘Touring’ – version of its famous M3. Finally, though, we have a proper estate model of the M3.

WHAT’S NEW?

The biggest thing to notice here is, of course, that extended rear end. It means the M3 can offer 500 litres of boot space as standard or 1,510 litres with the rear seats down, and the Touring’s wider opening and split-tailgate mean that loading larger, bulkier items in there is a whole lot easier than in the regular M3.

WHAT’S UNDER THE BONNET?

The 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged straight-six engine’s power is sent through to all four wheels via BMW’s xDrive all-wheel-drive system and an eight-speed automatic transmission. It’s worth noting that in the UK we’ll only be getting the xDrive all-wheeldrive version, while Competition specification is the sole powertrain choice too, but it brings the most power.

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO DRIVE?

It may be around 85kg heavier than the saloon but the M3 Touring feels no less capable or any less exciting to drive. In fact, the real joy here comes in being able to extract massive performance easily and – with a moment’s notice – the xDrive system really does manage the power impressively well. The M3 Touring also performs beautifully as a ‘normal’ car. It’s very refined on a motorway cruise and the cabin remains quiet and comfortable at speed. The low-speed ride is a touch fidgety, but this is an issue we’ve also found with the saloon. Once you gain a bit of speed, it settles down.

HOW DOES IT LOOK?

It’s hard to describe why the M3 Touring looks so ‘right’. It might be something about being able to blend performance and practicality, but there are few other estate cars that manage to generate quite so much of a buzz around them as the M3 Touring. It’s longer, wider and more aggressive than the standard M340i Touring – the next most-powerful 3 Series model – with the blistered arches that we’ve come to expect from BMW’s full-fat M models.‘Our’

THE KNOWLEDGE

BMW M3 Competition

Touring xDrive

Price (as tested): £100,150

Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged straight-six petrol

Power: 503bhp

Torque: 650Nm

Max speed: 174mph

O-60mph: 3.4 seconds

MPG (combined): 27.2-28mpg

Emissions: 231g/km CO2

test car also came in a brilliant ‘Isle of Man’ green shade that only helped it to stand out even more. The front-end design still gets plenty of people talking, but we don’t find it all that bad in the metal.

WHAT’S IT LIKE INSIDE?

After options, our test car rocked in at just over £100,000, which definitely elevates what you’d expect from a vehicle’s cabin. Fortunately, the level of fit and finish is excellent, with everything feeling sturdy under closer inspection. There’s a good use of high-end materials, too, plus it has easily accessible Isofix points on the outer two rear seats, so it’s a good option for drivers with little ones in child seats as well.

WHAT’S THE SPEC LIKE?

BMW has equipped the M3 Touring with its new curved display, which pairs a 12.3-inch screen ahead of the steering wheel with a second 14.9-inch unit in the middle of the dash to create one big wide-screen setup. It’s responsive and quick, but it does feature a dizzying number of options and menus that can be quite hard to navigate by touch alone. Our car’s ‘Ultimate Pack’ came in at a hefty £11,250, but the fact that it contains a heated steering

Cabin

The interior’s fit and finish are excellent, with a good use of high-end materials. It also incorporates the new curved display.

TARGET BUYERS:

Buyers who want the most capable and practical M3 ever made.

THE RIVALS:

Audi RS4

Mercedes-AMG C63 Estate

Alfa Romeo Giulia QV

KEY SELLING POINTS:

1. Added practicality

2. Ferocious performance

3. All-wheel-drive security

DEAL CLINCHER:

There was a big wait for the M3 Touring but BMW has completely proved the hype. A car worth celebrating.

Style

the perfect blend of performance and practicality – a true ’M’ car!

wheel, full carbon bucket seats and BMW’s excellent Laserlight headlights – among other features – does make it better value than that high price tag initially suggests.

WHAT DO THE PRESS THINK?

Top Gear said: ‘The bottom line is this: the M3 Touring is eye-wateringly, cheek-pufflingly good to drive fast.’ Car said: ‘It’s a frighteningly competent all-rounder and is more than capable of carting around the family during the week and being a riot on trackdays.’

WHAT DO WE THINK?

The M3 Touring was ripe for failure. With so much hype and pressure, it could’ve been quite easy for this latest and most practical of M cars to underdeliver. Thankfully, that just isn’t the case. It steers, accelerates and performs as you’d want a performance car to, yet with a real sense of occasion that is often lacking in this area. Of course, a £100,000 estate car is hardly the most ‘everyday’ of vehicles, but the final execution of the M3 Touring means that if you have the money, you’ll be rewarded with one of the most well-rounded cars available.

It’s

The final execution of the M3 Touring means that you’ll be rewarded with one of the most well-rounded cars around.

MERCEDES-BENZ GLC

The latest GLC has been equipped with an ultraefficient plug-in hybrid setup. Jack Evans took the new SUV for a spin.

THE KNOWLEDGE

Mercedes-Benz GLC300e

AMG Line Premium Plus

Price (as tested): £72,925 Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine with electric motor and battery

Power: 320bhp

Torque: 550Nm

Max speed: 135mph

O-60mph: 6.5 seconds

MPG (combined): 565mpg (no, that’s not a misprint!)

Emissions: 12g/km CO2

Power

WHAT IS IT?

The Mercedes GLC plays a key role in the firm’s SUV line-up. Effectively its mid-size model, it’s a car that weighs in against rivals such as the Audi Q5 and BMW X3 in a segment that remains highly popular with buyers. The previous-generation GLC was itself a really big hit, so how do you go about taking things up a level? That’s where this new model comes in.

WHAT’S NEW?

Core to the new GLC is the widespread use of hybrid technology. That’s either through mildor plug-in hybrid setups – the latter of which we’re driving – bringing added efficiency and lower emissions in the process. It has an even more upmarket exterior design than before, while inside, the GLC now benefits from the latest technology Mercedes has to offer, with a super-large screen that we’ve seen used in a variety of the firm’s latest models.

WHAT’S UNDER THE BONNET?

The plug-in hybrid version we’re driving here – badged GLC300e – combines a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine with an electric motor and a large (for a plug-in hybrid) 31.2kWh battery. It’s able to deliver up to 80 miles of electric-only range, while Mercedes quotes a combined consumption figure of 565mpg. That might sound amazing, but you’ll need to be running on battery power alone for most of the time to achieve that.

Performance is more than brisk enough, too, with 0-60mph being dispatched in 6.5 seconds. Plus, it’ll take around two and a half hours to fully charge that battery at home.

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO DRIVE?

That super electric-only range is what you notice most about your first experiences with the GLC. It means you drive it largely like a full EV, and because it can be used at speeds of up to 87mph, it isn’t restricted to slower, more local roads – you can fly along in EV mode on the motorway, too. It’s all very relaxing, helped no end by a lack of any squeaks or rattles from the cabin. Self-levelling suspension comes as standard on plug-in hybrids, too, and this helps to make things feel even more refined.

When combined with electric power, that 2.0-litre engine works well, too. However, once you’re completely out of charge, the petrol engine does feel a little strained and makes its presence known when you really need to accelerate. It’s definitely best to keep the battery charged up, that’s for sure.

The GLC’s 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine and electric motor give a combined 320bhp and 550NM of torque.

Style

The AMG Line Premium Plus spec has some dynamic touches with a sportier body kit and 20-inch wheels.

HOW DOES IT LOOK?

Mercedes has sharpened up the look of the GLC nicely. You’re still able to see the lineage between this car and the one it replaces, but things have been spruced up in all the right areas. The front end appears wider and more in keeping with the rest of the Mercedes range than before, while ‘our’ test car in AMG Line Premium Plus specification brought a series of more dynamic touches, including a sportier body kit and 20-inch alloy wheels.

The electric charging port is in quite a traditional place, too, on the left-hand side where you’d expect to find the usual fuel filler cap. You’ll fill up with petrol on the opposite site.

WHAT’S IT LIKE INSIDE?

Things are dominated by the large screen in the centre of the dash, flanked by the full driver’s display ahead. When coupled with a complete package of ambient lighting, it can all get a bit distracting – more so at night – to the point where we had to switch off the interior lighting just to tone things down.

But you can’t fault the passenger space on offer, with good levels of head and legroom available. Boot space, however, is a little under what you’d expect from a car of this size. At 395 litres, it’s well under the 500 litres you’d get from the non-plug-in hybrid version, so if space is what you’re after, you might be better served by a ‘regular’ GLC.

WHAT’S THE SPEC LIKE?

Prices for the GLC range kick off from £51,855 but reach £62,210 for the plug-in hybrid we’re looking at here. AMG Line starts the hybrid’s list of specifications, bringing 19-inch alloys as standard alongside that large 11.9-inch infotainment screen and 12.3-inch instrument cluster – so even ‘base’ cars get plenty of equipment as standard. ‘Our’ AMG Line Premium Plus car added to this with 20-inch alloy wheels, a full panoramic glass sunroof, head-up display and premium Burmester 3D surround sound system. This does, however, whack the price up significantly, with the test car coming in at a hefty £72,925.

WHAT DO THE PRESS THINK?

Top Gear said: ‘The GLC is a great all-rounder that will slot painlessly into the lives of its buyers.’ Auto Express said: ‘The new Mercedes GLC – in plug-in hybrid form, at least –boasts class-leading range and efficiency.’

WHAT DO WE THINK?

The plug-in hybrid GLC feels like one of the most accomplished cars of its type on sale today, mainly because of that hugely impressive electric range. Company car buyers will no doubt be attracted by the GLC’s five per cent benefit-in-kind tax rate, but for more everyday drivers, we feel the heavily reduced boot space might prove a little too limiting. That said, the low running costs may be enough to offset this practicality drawback for many.

Inside

TARGET BUYERS:

Drivers who want a refined and relaxing driving experience with an electrified powertrain.

THE RIVALS:

Audi Q5 TFSIe

BMW X3

Alfa Romeo Stelvio

KEY SELLING POINTS:

1. Low running costs

2. Good levels of equipment

3. Decent electric-only range

DEAL CLINCHER:

The GLC feels well suited to a hybrid setup, and it backs this up with a spacious interior and loads of technology.

The cabin is packed full of technology with a large screen in the centre dash.

The plug-in hybrid GLC feels like one of the most accomplished cars of its type on sale today.

TOYOTA COROLLA

Power

The 1.8-litre petrol-hybrid engine produces 138bhp and delivers its power via a CVT automatic gearbox.

THE KNOWLEDGE

Toyota Corolla

Design 1.8 Hybrid

Price (as tested): £31,780

Engine: 1.8-litre petrol hybrid

Power: 138bhp

Torque: N/A

Max speed: 112mph

O-60mph: 8.9 seconds

MPG (combined): 61.4mpg

Emissions: 104g/km CO2

WHAT IS IT?

The family hatchback segment isn’t quite what it was, but Toyota is adamant about the Corolla’s relevance, and that’s why it’s back with a series of updates to the 12th-generation car, which has been around since 2018.

WHAT’S NEW?

On looks alone, not that much appears to have changed with the Corolla. Instead, it’s what’s under the surface that represents the main alterations. As before, it’s only sold with hybrid powertrains, but they’ve been made lighter and tweaked to improve performance and efficiency. There’s a new 12.3-inch digital dial display for the first time too, while the touchscreen is both larger and runs on new software.

WHAT’S UNDER THE BONNET?

The Corolla comes with a choice of two ‘self-charging’ petrol-hybrid powertrains – a 1.8-litre and 2.0-litre, which have both increased in power: the 1.8-litre going from 120bhp to 138bhp, while the 2.0-litre’s 193bhp output is increased by 12bhp.

Our focus here is the 1.8-litre setup, which delivers its power to the front wheels via a CVT automatic gearbox. Accelerating from 0-60mph takes 8.9 seconds – a significant 1.8 seconds quicker than its predecessor – with the Corolla able to go on to a top speed of 112mph. Efficiency has improved too, with the Corolla now returning a claimed 61.4mpg in our test car, with 104g/km CO2 emissions. We saw an easy 55mpg on our mixed test route.

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO DRIVE?

Changes to the hybrid system are particularly welcome in the 1.8-litre. Previously, this setup on the Corolla felt a bit underpowered and strained if you wanted to make fast progress.

It might not boast significantly more power on paper but it’s a lot brisker in real-world conditions, and we reckon there’s little need to upgrade to the 2.0-litre version. It can be quite noisy under hard acceleration, however, as the CVT grapples to deal with the power.

It’s impressive elsewhere on the Corolla, too. There’s plenty of adjustability behind the wheel to get into the right position, while Toyota has managed a great balance of comfort and enjoyment behind the wheel. It’s perhaps not as engaging as a Honda Civic – the class leader in the family hatchback class – but it’s close. The excellent array of driverassistance technology impresses too, and we particularly appreciate that the button to turn

Toyota has introduced a number of changes to its popular Corolla for 2023. Ted Welford tries one out.

the lane-keep assist off is handily placed on the steering wheel rather than buried within a distracting sub-menu.

HOW DOES IT LOOK?

We can’t blame Toyota too much for being very light with the updates, although a touch more adventure wouldn’t have gone amiss. Some of the few changes include new multi-LED headlights with a new signature, along with a redesigned grille and the usual refreshed choice of colours and alloy wheels.

WHAT’S IT LIKE INSIDE?

The introduction of the new 10.5-inch touchscreen is most certainly welcome, being slicker and more intuitive to use than the screen in the previous car. The new 12.3-inch digital dial display helps to modernise the cabin, too.

In terms of space, the Corolla is well placed as a family hatchback. The boot measures a useful 361 litres, although it’s noticeably smaller in the 2.0-litre model because of its larger battery beneath the boot floor. Rear space is quite average for the class, however, and taller passengers will struggle for legroom in the back.

WHAT’S THE SPEC LIKE?

All Corolla models come with a long list of equipment, with the entry-level Icon boasting keyless entry, heated front seats, a reversing camera and the digital displays we’ve already mentioned. We reckon it gives all the equipment you really need, but the mid-spec Design model brings more eye-catching 17-inch alloy wheels plus privacy glass, while the rangetopping Excel features leather upholstery, blind spot monitoring and a head-up display.

Prices for the Corolla have increased by around 10 per cent as part of this update, with it now starting from £30,210, or £31,955 for the 2.0-litre hybrid version.

That’s quite a lot of money for a family hatchback, although it does undercut the Honda Civic by a few thousand pounds.

WHAT DO THE PRESS THINK?

‘All things considered, the Corolla is a brilliant family car,’ said What Car?, while Auto Express wrote: ‘Toyota’s updates are very much worthwhile.’

WHAT DO WE THINK?

The Toyota Corolla was already an excellent family hatchback choice with its impressive safety kit, efficiency and reliability record, but this update has only enhanced it further. With its improved hybrid powertrains, it’s much brisker and more pleasant to drive than the previous model, while the plusher interior and greater in-car technology bring the Corolla right up to scratch and put it among one of the best cars in this segment.

Styling

Small tweaks to the design include new multi-LED headlights, redesigned grille and new colours.

TARGET BUYERS:

Hatchback buyers prioritising fuel efficiency but without wanting to have to plug in.

THE RIVALS:

Honda Civic

Vauxhall Astra

Volkswagen Golf

KEY SELLING POINTS:

1. Generous equipment levels

2. Efficient hybrid powertrains

3. Comfortable and easy to drive

DEAL CLINCHER:

Already an attractive hatchback made better with these upgrades.

With its improved hybrid powertrains, it’s much brisker and more pleasant to drive than the previous model.

The interior boosts a new 10.5-inch touchscreen plus a 12.3-inch digital dial display.

COOL STUFF

It feels as though spring is on the horizon and the longer days are nearly here. Of course, the UK has been blasted by some ferociously chilly air of late, but it’s nice to think of a time when you won’t have to get wrapped up to go outside. And when that time comes – hopefully soon! – there are some excellent products that could make the season even better.

Sony WH-CH720N Wireless Headphones

£130

Apple iPhone 14 and 14 Plus Yellow from £849

All right, we know. It’s just a colour. But any new addition to the iPhone range that distracts from the usual shades of black and grey is something to shout about.

Available for both 14 and 14 Plus models, the new yellow iPhone is a very pleasant newcomer, while still incorporating a range of features you’d expect, such as Ceramic Shield front cover to help protect the phone in case of accidental drops.

Both models also get a dualcamera setup, as well as a powerful A15 bionic processing chip for superfast response times.

Canyon Grizl CF SL 7 Throwback

£3,343

Canyon is going back to the old school with this latest version of its Grizl gravel bike. Limited to 250, it’s kitted out with a full 1990s-inspired colour scheme, meshing bright blue with a distinctive flash of anodised pink.

But it’s far more than just a colour scheme. The Grizl CF SL 7 Throwback has some bang-up-to-date components, including aluminium DT Swiss wheels, SRAM Rival AXS XPLR gearshifters plus powerful hydraulic disc brakes. It’s all based around a lightweight carbon frame, too.

Sony makes some of the best headphones in the business and it’s just introduced a pair of new models – the snappily titled WHCH720N over-ear and the WH-CH520 on-ear headphones. Despite sounding like a robot from Star Wars, they’re both equipped with loads of features and can deliver up to 50 hours of battery life, too.

A lightweight design means you can wear them all day without getting uncomfortable, while four colours – black, blue, white and beige – are available.

Oakley Corridor

£109

When the evenings start getting a little longer, it can feel like a good time to start heading out for a run. But you’ve got to have the right equipment of course!

Oakley has just released a new set of sunglasses that fit the bill – the Corridor. They’re designed specifically for running and, as a result, boast features angled towards spending some time at pace.

They have a special ‘Unobtanium’ nosepad to help reduce bouncing, while the special ‘earsocks’ are made from the same material to stop them sliding off.

Now there’s no reason why you can’t set a new PB!

THE HISTORY OF THE AUDI

As Audi’s iconic sports model bows out of production, Ted Welford takes a fond look back at its history.

There are some cars that offer an incredibly recognisable shape and silhouette, and one of those is the Audi TT. Across its three generations, all versions have had similar styling, and they’ve built up a loyal following since the TT was introduced in 1998, becoming one of the most iconic pieces of car design in modern history.

But the TT will soon be no more, as Audi looks to focus more on electrification, which this petrol-powered sports car just can’t be a part of. Ahead of the model being discontinued later in 2023, we take a look back at the TT’s history.

1995 The concept begins

The TT story began fully in 1995 when Audi presented a concept version of its sports car at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

There was a noticeable gap for a more affordable sporting model in the German firm’s line-up and the TT aimed to fit the bill with its cool shape and fun drive.

The TT took its name from the famous Isle of Man Tourist Trophy (TT) motorcycle race.

1998 Concept becomes reality

Concept cars are often far-fetched models that only show a tiny part of what may end up making production. Not the TT, however, as when Audi presented the production model three years later, it shared sharp similarities with the original concept car, with its cool shape and design details remaining intact. The Coupe model was presented in 1998 with a drop-top Roadster version arriving a year later.

The TT story didn’t get off to a perfect start, however, as the model was involved in several high-profile crashes, caused by stability issues at particularly fast speeds. It led Audi to issue a full recall and provide a remedy in the form of a rear spoiler and electronic stability program. The cars that escaped the recall are now the most valuable.

2003 V6 engine joins the range

The TT had been available for several years with a choice of 1.8-litre turbocharged petrol engines, as well as Audi’s famed quattro allwheel-drive system.

But in 2003, the TT gained more character in the form of a 3.2-litre petrol V6 engine, taking the power up to 247bhp. This engine came with quattro as standard.

2023 End of the road

The TT’s demise was inevitable but Audi is drawing the curtains on the model for good with a ‘Final Edition’. Introduced for 2023, it features bolstered equipment levels and unique elements, including an Alcantara steering wheel with red stitching and black styling elements.

For the TT RS, there is a highly limited ‘Iconic Edition’, of which just 11 examples will come to the UK. These will feature an Audi Exclusive interior, as well as a far sportier bodykit.

2018 Marking 20 years in style

Audi celebrated 20 years of the TT in style, with a facelifted version that brought a subtle redesign, more power and additional equipment.

It also saw the introduction of the ‘TT 20 Years’ special edition. Limited to 999 units worldwide, they featured fine Nappa leather with ‘baseball’ stitching – a hark back to an option available on the original TT.

2014

A high-tech TT makeover

By 2014 it was time for the third-generation TT to show its face, and it arrived as one of the brand’s most advanced models at the time.

2006

2005

Quattro Sport marks the end of the Mk1

Marking the end of the firstgeneration TT was the Quattro Sport special edition. Limited to 800 units in the UK, it got a power increase from its 1.8-litre petrol engine to 237bhp, along with various weightsaving measures, including the removal of the back seats.

It can be told apart by its Alcantara interior, as well as its black roof. Special Recaro Pole Position sports seats were available as an optional extra when new.

The second hit: Stick

to what you know

The second-generation Audi TT arrived in 2006, and the German firm didn’t deviate too much from the original recipe. Adopting a slightly more angular design, this TT was also sportier to drive and bigger in terms of dimensions, including being 14cm longer and 8cm wider. A new 2.0-litre petrol engine was introduced, while an adaptive ‘Magnetic’ suspension was available as an option. The TT Roadster

With a minimalist dashboard featuring no touchscreen as such, but rather a large 12.3inch digital instrument cluster, it really helped to modernise the TT. It launched with a choice of 2.0-litre petrol and diesel engines, with the TTS taking the power up to 306bhp.

The TT RS then arrived in 2016, retaining the 2.5-litre, five-cylinder engine but getting a power boost to 395bhp and reducing the 0-60mph time to just 3.5 seconds, making it by far the quickest TT ever made.

2008 Sportier TTS and TT RS models arrive

This second-generation TT became a much sportier model, thanks to the introduction of new TTS and TT RS models.

The TTS adopted a 268bhp 2.0-litre petrol engine, while the RS used a characterful 2.5-litre developing 335bhp, allowing for a 0-60mph time of just 4.4 seconds and a top speed of up to 174mph. The ‘RS’ is a real highlight.

BUSINESS NEWS

A ROUND-UP OF WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING ACROSS THE WORLD

Greggs plans 150 shops a year plus all-day site

DEBTS

Cineworld shareholders set to lose everything

CINEWORLD hopes to be back from bankruptcy protection before the middle of the year, but the debt-ridden business expects any deal with its creditors will wipe out its shareholders. The world’s second-largest cinema chain, which has a $6bn (£5bn) pile of debt, said it had been approached by ‘a number’ of potential suitors, but none were willing to pay in cash to buy the whole business. Shareholders are unlikely to get anything back after any rescue deal.

ACCOUNTS

GB News loses almost £31m in first full year

GB NEWS has amassed losses of nearly £31m in its first full year on the air, after investing in numerous presenters including Eamonn Holmes and Nigel Farage.

Figures from the channel’s company accounts showed that in the year to May 2022, it racked up a pre-tax loss of £30.7m on revenue of £3.6m. Most of its income – more than £2.9m – came from advertising.

GREGGS has revealed ambitious expansion plans after reporting record sales of £1.5bn last year.

The bakery chain told the PA news agency it aimed to open 150 new shops a year for the foreseeable future to take its total from nearly 2,330 to ‘significantly’ more than 3,000. It is also going to try out a 24-hour drive-through at an as-yetunspecified location.

Building societies to bypass members on merger

NEWCASTLE Building Society and smaller rival Manchester Building Society have been given approval by the Prudential Regulation Authority to bypass a member vote over their plans to merge. Newcastle – the UK’s eighth biggest building society – and Manchester have now agreed the terms of a deal after entering into exclusive talks last August over a tie-up. They plan to complete the merger on July 1, subject to formal approval by the watchdog.

REDUNDANCIES

BASF shedding 2,600 jobs to cut costs

CHEMICALS maker BASF plans to axe around 2,600 jobs in a cost-cutting drive spurred in part by the impact of high energy prices.

The announcement came after charges related to the exit from Russia of its gas and oil subsidiary pushed it to a loss in 2022. BASF, which is based in Ludwigshafen, Germany, said the cost-cutting would take place this year and would aim to generate annual savings of more than 500m euros (circa £441m).

Military decoy business is booming as war rages

BUSINESS is booming for a Czech company making inflatable military decoys as war rages in Europe.

Inflatech, which produces more than 30 types of decoy ranging from tanks to rocket launchers, said it saw a 30 per cent increase in business last year. It wouldn’t say if they’re being used by Ukrainian forces battling Russian invaders, but it expects growth to keep rising in double figures for at least three to five more years.

INDUSTRY VIEWS

NEWS AND THOUGHTS FROM CAR DEALER LIVE

Car Dealer Live broadcasts by

cardealermagazine.co.uk/live

Used car prices rose by one per cent in February but EVs dominated the top 10 biggest fallers list

Used car prices rose by one per cent in February as confidence grew in the second-hand car market, said trade price valuations experts Cap HPI.

In an exclusive video interview, director of valuations Derren Martin revealed that February’s used car pricing performance had been one of the strongest recorded by the firm. Cap HPI has only moved valuations up in February twice in the past 15 years – once in 2009 after the financial crash caused used values to surge, and in 2020 just before Covid hit the market.

The one per cent rise is based on the benchmark of cars aged three years old with average mileage.

One-year-old cars saw a very small increase in February of 0.1 per cent.

Three-year-old petrol cars increased by an average of 1.5 per cent and diesel cars were up by 1.1 per cent.

Electric cars, though, continued their tailspin in values, dropping by

AUTO TRADER

7.7 per cent at three years old – the equivalent of £2,150.

However, Martin said he was now more confident about the health of the used car market, notwithstanding those falls in EV prices.

He said: ‘It’s a robust market out there and used cars are a necessity purchase and people still want them.

‘Dealers didn’t overstock in December, so as the market has been strong in January and February they’ve been going out there and replenishing stock.

‘There’s been a bit of a bunfight for cars, especially at the lower end – there’s still a real shortage of cars out there so, as always, it’s down to supply-and-demand dynamics.’

Martin told us in the video interview that the strongest sectors have been city cars and superminis, followed by C-segment cars.

‘It’s relatively strong across the board,’ he added. ‘We haven’t spoken to a single dealer this month that has not done really well.’

Second-hand car values have fallen in US – but don’t expect that in the UK

While used car prices in the US have fallen steeply over the past year, car dealers in the UK shouldn’t expect to see a similar trend anytime soon.

That’s the view of Auto Trader, which believes the UK’s used car market is strengthening if anything, with prices remaining high and strong demand from buyers so far in 2023.

Rising interest rates and improved availability of new vehicles pushed prices of used ones down in the States. December 2022 saw prices crash by 14.9 per cent versus the same month in 2021 –the largest drop since the 1990s.

Prices have picked up slightly in early 2023, but the US used car market remains very volatile.

Auto Trader head of strategy Jon Davies said: ‘We need to be careful not to assume that what’s happening there is going to flow across the pond.

‘What’s been happening in the US, UK and a lot of other markets is similar enough to make comparisons. But when you look under the skin, the US is very different from the UK.’

You can watch all our

clicking here:

It’s a robust market out there and used cars are a necessity purchase and people still

CAP HPI

WE’RE AWARD-WINNING THANKS TO YOU!

This year we’ve won not one, but three awards - an achievement that we are all very proud of.

Our customers voted First Response Finance as the ‘Best Car Finance Provider’ in the Consumer Credit Awards 2022 for the second consecutive year. In addition to that, we’ve won the prestigious ‘Firm of the Year’ award!

The second recognition came from our dealer partners who voted us ‘Finance Provider of the Year (Sub-Prime)’ in the Car Dealer Power Awards. We are honoured to have won this award 8 times!

Vans, cars, motorbikes - it doesn't matter what type of vehicle we’re financing, our award-winning service remains the same.

Firms are urged to act now to deliver new consumer duty

by John Bowman john@blackballmedia.co.uk

Firms must act now to prepare for the forthcoming new consumer duty, a boss at the City regulator has said. Sheldon Mills, executive director of competition and consumers at the Financial Conduct Authority, told firms: ‘You still have time to deliver. But you must act now.’

Speaking at an online event hosted by Deloitte marking the countdown to the consumer duty, he said: ‘A small number of firms may have seen the task as too big and adopted an avoidance tactic in the hope that it will all go away.

‘On behalf of your industry peers who have made the effort, we can confirm that the consumer duty will not go away. Their hard work has not been wasted.’

The consumer duty will set clearer and higher standards of consumer protection across financial services, requiring firms to put customers at the heart of what they do.

The rules come into force on July 31 for new and existing products or services that are open to sale or renewal, and July 31 next year for closed products or services.

Mills said: ‘Our work on the consumer duty predates the cost-of-living squeeze, but the current economic climate highlights the need for those high standards and protections.

‘We would remind firms that the duty needs to deliver good outcomes for customers in financial difficulty and that retail customers need to be offered fair value.

‘And of course, hard economic times hit those at the bottom of the financial ladder the hardest, so the duty does carry responsibility to look out for customers with vulnerabilities.’

The duty isn’t retrospective, so it won’t mean organisations will be taken to the Financial Ombudsman Service for past actions or omissions, so long as they are put right by July for products or services that are still on offer, Mills said.

FLA

New business falls and outlook for 2023 is bleak

CONSUMER car finance new business volumes fell in January by three per cent versus the same month last year, according to latest figures from the Finance & Leasing Association.

The corresponding value of new business fell by five per cent over the same period.

In the 12 months to this January, new business grew by five per cent by value and held steady by volume compared with the same period in 2022.

Geraldine Kilkelly, director of research and chief economist at the FLA, said: ‘In the first half of 2023, household expenditure is likely to remain relatively weak.’

She added: ‘The FLA’s latest research suggests that the value of consumer car finance new business is likely to contract by six per cent in 2023 to £38bn.’

The FLA told Car Dealer the figure was a rounded-down total of the values of new business for new and used cars, with the former predicted to rise by four per cent to just under £18bn but the latter forecast to fall by 12 per cent to just under £21bn.

People will always want to try before they buy cars

Online disruptors in the car sales space such as Cazoo and Cinch have been the talk of the industry over the past few years and more recently in the past few months. This is especially true after Cazoo posted huge losses, announced it was pulling back from the market and downsized its operations.

Back in 2012, Tesco tried to enter the online car market under the name Tesco Cars but closed the business after only a year of trading, citing stock availability issues and sales of only 150 cars a month!

It does seem odd that such platforms appear to be destined for failure when, as consumers, we have been buying more products online as the years have passed. The Covid-19 pandemic only further accelerated this change in consumer behaviour.

So why has this simply not caught on as much with the sale of new and used cars?

Cars are typically the most expensive purchases that most people make after buying their home. It is natural to want to physically inspect, interact with and test-drive a car before making such a significant purchase, especially with used cars. These are all aspects of the buying process that are simply not possible to replicate online.

Nothing, it seems, can emulate ‘touch and feel’.

A little over six months ago, I bought a new motorbike. I started by looking online and soon found a model that I wanted on a dealer’s website. I visited in person as I wanted to touch and feel what I wanted to buy. Their customer service and level of knowledge they had on site was fantastic, but I still needed more time to consider my options. A few nights later, at around 10pm, I simply opened the dealer’s website on my tablet and bought my new motorbike via its digital platform.

A few days later, my new motorbike was on my drive and I was being talked through all its features by the excellent delivery person who worked for the dealership. In my opinion, this was a fantastic mix of traditional bricks-and-mortar sales and a robust online digital service with finance options that was simple and easy to use.

I think the appetite for online-only sales of cars has been overestimated and ‘touch and feel’ has been underestimated by the likes of some of these ‘online disruptors’.

As younger generations who have grown up in a digital world enter the car-buying market, the trend of buying cars online will likely gradually increase. However, it’s possible that companies such as Cazoo and others may have jumped the gun in terms of timing, and a need and want to be the first to mass market with an offering the world isn’t ready for may have been a contributing factor in their downfall.

In my opinion, a balanced approach of digital and bricks-and-mortar sales will ultimately prove to be more successful now and in the future.

It’s possible that companies such as Cazoo and others may have jumped the gun in terms of timing.

THE Little Car Company showcased its scaled, electrified icons at the International Concours of Elegance in St Moritz. Each vehicle was carefully converted to be driven on the ice, from adding studded tyres to integrating limited slip differential, so people could test their racing ability, skilfully tackling an ice race circuit.

Who’s responsible if car arrives with massive windscreen chip?

I’ve just had a vehicle delivered with a massive stone chip in the windscreen, which the driver admitted happened in transit.

In the past, other companies have agreed to pay for the repair. However, this company is saying it won’t pay ‘as stone chips are out of our control’.

Am I right to assume it should be held responsible?

Was wondering if anyone has had an issue like this before and how to proceed.

We’ve teamed up with Car Sales Memes to bring you a few of their funniest captions and slogans each month. Enjoy!

samuel welwyn

I don’t think you can hold the transport company responsible simply because their driver has, in effect, failed to avoid colliding with an incoming object not visible to the naked eye!

We have used the same transport company for many years and occasionally stuff happens, but we never complain because overall they do a great job.

For instance, on the top deck of transporters, cars can be scratched by overhanging trees in the summer, but it’s not the driver’s fault.

On the other hand, they might be delayed by our vehicle not starting or being out of fuel, causing their schedule to be messed up, but we aren’t penalised. Look after your transport company and they will look after you.

trade vet

Who contracted the transport company? You or the seller?

If it was the seller, then take it up with them. If it was you, then you need to look at the transport company’s terms and conditions.

Sure, stuff happens, but damage in transit (whether at fault or not) is the day-to-day bread and butter of being in the transport business.

Halfpenny

Search for Car Sales Memes on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and give them a follow!

Picture of the month

SUPPLIER NEWS

A ROUND-UP OF WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING ACROSS THE COUNTRY

Range Rover Sport tops theft and recovery list

New auction deal inked with Big Motoring World

BIG Motoring World boss Peter Waddell has praised Manheim Auction Services after extending its partnership with the company.

The CEO of the independent used car supermarket, which has five branches plus an aftersales centre, hailed Manheim as ‘the only true partner in the remarketing space’. Manheim – part of Cox Automotive – will be pushing another 2,500 vehicles through its Colchester auction lanes after the new deal was struck with the Big Motoring World group.

AI-aided browsers ‘may change searches’

Dealers fear for future over rising energy bills

HOW customers search for cars online could be permanently altered by new browsers that make use of AI technology.

That’s according to motor retail tech company iVendi, whose CEO, James Tew, said the biggest change resulting from AI chatbots such as ChatGPT would be if searches allowed a browser to be used to effectively answer highly specific queries such as ‘Find me a 2018 Ford Fiesta within 15 miles of Cardiff’.

NEARLY two-fifths of dealers fear their business could go under without more government help over the rising cost of energy.

That’s according to the latest research from Close Brothers Motor Finance, whose poll of 77 dealers found that 38 per cent of them said their business will struggle to survive without enough government aid.

Thirty-two per cent also say high energy costs will be the biggest challenge during the next year.

THE Range Rover Sport has been named the most commonly stolen and recovered car in the UK.

Data collated by stolen vehicle recovery firm Tracker Network UK saw the model topping the list for 2022 – it also took the title in 2021.

Meanwhile, the Lexus RX 450h entered Tracker’s top 10 – the first time a Lexus has ever appeared in it. The highest-value stolen car recovered by Tracker in 2022 was a £182,000 Mercedes-Benz AMG.

Dealers are urged to enhance warranties

OVER a third – 34 per cent – of dealers say they’re stocking more economical cars as a result of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

In addition, 33 per cent are stocking cars that cost less to buy, according to February’s Startline Used Car Tracker, which polled 51 dealers. But only two per cent have enhanced their standard warranty, and CEO Paul Burgess said: ‘Increasing standard warranties could have a real impact.’

TRACKER NETWORK UK

MANHEIM

It’s possible that companies such as Cazoo and others may have jumped the gun in terms of timing.

Richard Pygott p41

THE LATEST REGISTRATION FIGURES

Easing of supply chain woes sees new car registrations jump by over 26 per cent

by James Batchelor @JRRBatchelor

The number of new cars hitting Britain’s roads jumped by more than 26 per cent in February, new figures reveal.

Latest data from the SMMT show that 74,441 cars were registered during the month – a 26.2 per cent rise on February 2022’s numbers.

It marked the seventh consecutive month of new car sales growth.

The SMMT said that despite February traditionally being a slow month ahead of the March plate-change, it was buoyed by supply chain issues ‘easing’.

February 2023 was down by just 6.5 per cent on the pre-pandemic February 2020.

Private, fleet and business sectors all saw jumps in registrations – up 5.8 per cent, 46.2 per cent and 0.7 per cent respectively – while only executive and luxury saloon car segments saw falls (15.4 per cent and 6.3 per cent respectively).

Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) jumped the most in February, recording a 40 per cent increase. Sales of petrol cars were up 35.8 per cent, with a 56.9 per cent market share, while diesel registrations fell by seven per cent.

PHEVs rose by one per cent while pure-electrics soared by 18.2 per cent.

The SMMT reiterated its call for ‘binding targets’ for charging point roll-outs, because of an estimated 488,000 plug-in cars expected to join the UK’s roads this year.

The organisation also said that the Spring Budget, which is being delivered by chancellor of the exchequer Jeremy Hunt on March 15, would be ‘an important opportunity’ to introduce a long-term plan for charging point investment, as well as aligning VAT on public charging with domestic energy use and reviewing the vehicle excise duty premium that, it said, will unfairly penalise buyers of electric vehicles in the future.

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: ‘After seven months of growth, it is no surprise that the UK automotive sector is facing the future with growing confidence.

‘It is vital, however, that the government takes every opportunity to back the market, which plays a significant role in Britain’s economy and net zero ambition.

‘As we move into “new plate month” in March, with more of the latest high-tech cars available, the upcoming Budget must deliver measures that drive this transition, increasing affordability and ease of charging for all.’

The Vauxhall Corsa returned to the top of the charts with 2,818 units registered last month. It was followed by the Vauxhall Mokka (1,805) and Ford’s Puma (1,590).

Year-to-date figures show the Corsa leading the way with 5,243 units, followed by the Volkswagen T-Roc (4,616) and the Nissan Qashqai (4,318).

Mike Hawes SMMT chief executive

It is no surprise that the UK automotive sector is facing the future with growing confidence.

COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

LESS THAN 3.5 TONNES

Best February for sales in quarter of a century

by John Bowman john@blackballmedia.co.uk

THE LCV market grew by 8.5 per cent in February with 17,540 units sold, latest figures from the SMMT show.

It was the second month in a row that the sector enjoyed an increase and the best February performance since 1998 – the year before the bi-annual plate change came in – when 18,044 vans were sold.

However, battery-electric vans suffered a massive decline, dropping by 44.5 per cent to 966 units. The SMMT said the month’s traditionally smaller volumes were exacerbated by natural fluctuations in fleet investment. LCV registrations overall for the year to date were up by 17.5 per cent on the same period in 2022.

REGISTRATIONS OF NEW COMMERCIAL VEHICLES 3.5  TONNES TO 6.0  TONNES

Figures supplied by SMMT

Figures supplied by SMMT

SUPPLIERS GUIDE

LOOKING FOR A MOTOR TRADE SUPPLIER? YOU CAN FIND THE DETAILS OF SELECTED COMPANIES HERE

Auctions & Trade-To-Trade Sales

BCA

W: bca.co.uk

T: 0344 875 3480

E: customerservices@bca.com

Info: BCA’s remarketing programmes deliver volume, choice and availability for buyers, and speed, efficiency and market-leading returns for sellers.

Automotive E-Commerce

ATG

W: atg.auto

T: 0844 264 3519

Info: Leading provider of retailing solutions, Automotive Transformation Group maximises sales for retailers, OEMs, financiers and fleet suppliers by making car buying easier for their consumers.

Data

Real World Analytics

W: realworldanalytics.com

T: 0808 1890 617

E: auto@realworldanalytics.com

Info: We are a SaaS-based data analytics solution provider for multisite dealers. Our business intelligence tools help customers make faster and better decisions.

DMS

DealerDesk

W: dealerdesk.co.uk

E: contact@dealerdesk.co.uk

Info: Modernise your stock management, advertising, communication, sales and website. DealerDesk provides you with easyto-use tools designed to simplify your dealership management.

Finance

Blue Motor Finance

W: blue.co.uk

T: 020 3005 9331

E: dealersupport@blue.co.uk

Info: Blue is transforming the car finance market, making car ownership simple and flexible and providing motor traders with access to essential finance.

Finance

Close Brothers Motor Finance

W: closemotorfinance.co.uk/

Info: Close Brothers Motor Finance are a specialist finance provider, working with over 8,000 dealer partners to offer flexible finance solutions for car, motorcycle and LCV customers.

Finance

First Response

W: firstresponsefinance.co.uk

T: 0115 946 6317

E: marketing@frfl.co.uk

Info: First Response is an awardwinning UK finance company providing simple financial solutions. Get in touch and let us help increase your profits.

Finance

Forza Finance

W: forzafinance.co.uk

T: 01245 245678

Info: Benefit from Forza Finance’s expertise, choice of products and lenders. Their personal approach will help you achieve higher levels of finance penetration and, ultimately, sell more cars.

HR & People Management

HR Manager

W: hrmanager.co.uk

T: 01480 455500

E: info@hrmanager.co.uk

Info: HR Manager is Lawgistics’ new digital compliance portal designed to assist employers in managing their legal obligations, responsibilities and duties.

Insurance

Tradesure

W: tradesureinsurance.co.uk

T: 0121 248 9313

Info: Providing motor trade insurance to full- and part-time motor traders in the UK, the Tradesure team are reliable professionals who know how to help you.

Key Control

Traka

W: traka-automotive.com

T: 0333 355 3726

E: automotive@traka.com

Info: Bespoke software and electronic key management cabinets to deliver the most effective solution to dealerships to manage their keys and vehicles.

Lead Management

GardX AD-Vantage

W: gardx.co.uk/gardx-ad-vantage

T: 01243 376426

E: goforaspin@gardx.co.uk

Info: The award-winning 360 service offers an engaging display of the vehicle while additionally presenting profitable F&I products to a consumer.

Lead Management

iVendi

W: ivendi.com

T: 0330 229 0028

E: tellmemore@ivendi.com

Info: iVendi delivers a fully connected platform that engages consumers, converts buyers and manages transactions of vehicles online and in the showroom.

Legal & Compliance

Lawgistics

W: lawgistics.co.uk

T: 01480 455500

E: sales@lawgistics.co.uk

Info: The legal experts for the motor trade, giving advice and support to our industry for over 15 years. Not anti-consumer, just pro-trader.

Marketing, PR & Video OnCue Communications

W: oncuecomms.com

T: 020 8125 3880

Info: We are a leading provider of PR, video and events services to the automotive industry. The PR team has a proven track record of securing high-value, big-impact media coverage.

Marketing, PR & Video Marketing Delivery

W: marketingdelivery.co.uk/

T: 01892 599911

E: get.in.touch@marketingdelivery.co.uk

Info: Our SocialStock helps target prospects with tailored stock remarketing and social media advertising tools, and automated lead capture for Facebook.

Oil & Lubricants

Mobil™

W: mobil.co.uk

T: 0800 0857 420

Info: Whether using Mobil 1™ or Mobil Super™, Mobil™ engine oils meet or exceed the latest standards of the oil industry and vehicle manufacturers.

Recruitment

WeRecruit Auto

W: werecruitauto.co.uk

T: 01603 550041

Info: Permanent recruitment – here to assist businesses within the automotive sector find the best fit for their company in terms of skillset, experience and culture.

Stocking Finance

STAR Stocking Finance

W: starassetfinance.com/ stocking-finance

T: 0330 202 0619

Info: STAR Stocking Finance offers simple and flexible stocking finance that enables you to cost-effectively manage the buying and selling of your forecourt stock.

Trade Bodies

Ben

W: ben.org.uk

T: 0808 131 1333

Info: Ben is a not-for-profit organisation that partners with the automotive industry to provide support for life to its people and their families.

Vehicle Photography

Dealer 360

W: dealer360.co.uk

T: 01270 780855

E: nicky.spratt@ukturntables.com

Info: UK makers of photo booths incorporating our turntables for car, van and motorcycle dealers. Our software controls turntable and cameras – a onestop solution.

Vehicle Tracking

Meta Trak

W: metatrak.co.uk

T: 020 8867 2340

E: enquiries@metatrak.co.uk

Info: Total vehicle security. Clever tracking technology, advanced immobilisation, 24/7 monitoring and an easy-to-use app. Security. Connectivity. Peace of mind.

Warranty Providers

Autoprotect

W: autoprotect.co.uk

T: 01279 406888

E: sales@autoprotect.net

Info: AutoProtect offers a full portfolio of award-winning protection products, including GAP. We lead the market with an ‘Excellent’ rating on Trustpilot.

Warranty Providers

Car Care Plan

W: carcareplan.com

T: 0344 573 8000

Info: Car Care Plan is a leading provider of motor protection products, trusted around the world to deliver quality protection with integrity and a customer-oriented outlook.

Warranty Providers

Händler Protect

W: handlerprotect.com

T: 0800 088 7889

E: sales@handlerprotect.com

Info: Händler Protect is an exclusive dealer warranty provider. Proud to partner and represent more than 1,000-plus ‘active’ independent motor dealers across the UK each month.

Warranty Providers

Warranty Administration Services

W: warrantyadmin.co.uk

T: 01522 515600

E: tellmemore@warrantyadmin.co.uk

Info: Unlock new profit and aftersales flexibility with Crystal Clear Warranty. Ideal for franchised dealers, groups and independents.

Warranty Providers

Warrantywise

W: warrantywise.co.uk/dealer

T: 0800 001 4551

E: dealers@warrantywise.co.uk

Info: Warrantywise sells over 100,000 warranties per year. Quentin Willson personally designed Warrantywise to be the UK’s best used car warranty.

Warranty Providers

WMS

W: wmsgroup.co.uk

T: 01844 293810

E: sales@wmsgroup.co.uk

Info: Open 24/7, we offer award-winning warranty products for FCA- and non-FCA-registered dealerships.

Website Design & Digital Marketing

Bluesky Interactive

W: blueskyinteractive.co.uk

T: 01926 651000

Info: Bluesky Interactive drive dealer websites and digital marketing forward thanks to game-changing innovation, the latest technology and our exceptional relationships with our clients.

Website Design & Digital Marketing

Haswent

W: haswent.com

T: 020 3920 6164

E: hello@haswent.com

Info: Composer is a next-gen automotive platform. You have extensive stock management options, and you’ll gain a brilliantly responsive new website.

AUDI RS 4

People have different ideas of what makes the perfect parentmobile – but for me the criteria are pretty clear. First, it needs to have plenty of carrying capacity, because babies come with more luggage than Paris Hilton. After that, it needs to be safe, stylish and, above all else, really rather cool.

The last one is more subjective, but there can be few people who would argue that the Audi RS 4 is anything other than jaw-achingly cool.

Take the pensioner driving a Hyundai i10 who stopped me at a fuel station the other day to ask who made it. She’d never heard of an ‘Audi’, but did tell me it was ‘jolly goodlooking’. And who was I to argue with what was clearly a very astute pensioner?

The RS 4’s incredible performance is the usual talking point when I pull up at the pumps. I’ve been stopped by Audi admirers several times now at the fuel station (a place I frequent rather too often these days). One had previously owned an RS 6 and spent 10 minutes telling me how much he missed it and just how good it was at pretty much everything.

And he hit the nail on the head. While I understand that an £85,000 estate car isn’t the most affordable family transportation out there, for those lucky enough to be able to buy one – or fortunate journalists such as myself who are lent one for a few months – it makes a compelling argument for the ultimate in family wheels.

Over the past few weeks, the RS 4 has been called upon for a variety of mundane family tasks and it’s achieved all of them with aplomb.

The boot has been packed with all sorts lately, including equipment for a forthcoming work event, a life-size dummy for man-overboard drills on the lifeboat and even 25 bags of horse manure for my vegetable patch. Nothing says ‘middle-aged man’ quite like a fondness for gardening, but I’ll move quickly on.

On the rare occasions I do get to drive the car alone, I get the chance to marvel at its incredible turn of speed. For all its practicality and usefulness, the RS 4 can still be classed as a true performance car.

The 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged engine produces 444bhp and 600Nm of torque – which makes it unbelievably rapid off the line. In fact, it’ll hit 60mph in just 4.1 seconds. That’s faster than some Porsches.

Over the past few months I’ve loved the beautiful ride quality, which is supple enough to be comfortable but firm enough to inspire confidence in the bends. The steering is perfect, and unlike any VW Group model with a diesel-auto gearbox combination, this petrol-auto match is sheer brilliance. Changes are rapid in normal mode and even quicker in sportier ‘RS’ guise.

I really find it very hard to fault the RS 4. Yes, as I’ve pointed out in previous reports, there are a few minor annoyances, but they’re nothing that would put me off.

The longer I live with the RS 4, the deeper the bond grows. It’s sublime to drive, wonderfully practical and fits perfectly with my current lifestyle.

Next up is a trip to the Alps for a little winter break, so I’ll report back soon on how it copes. (Spoiler alert: I suspect it’ll be really rather well.)

THE KNOWLEDGE

Audi RS 4

Price (as tested): £85,000

Engine: 3.0-litre twin turbo petrol

Power: 444bhp

Torque: 600Nm

Top speed: 155mph

Fuel economy: 28.5mpg (combined)

0-60mph: 4.1 seconds

Emissions: 225g/km CO2

Mileage: 3,774

This month’s highlight:

The incredible boot capacity. Life-size dummies; bags of horse manure – it’s coped with it all!

When it comes to transporting little ones and their associated equipment around, the larger the vehicle the better. But that doesn’t mean it has to be a generic SUV, reckons James Baggott.

NISSAN QASHQAI

Pets have been taking a liking to our crossover this month, reports Dave Brown.

Meet Frankie the cocker spaniel. No, he doesn’t belong to me – he’s the furry friend of a couple of pals of ours, and although my better half and I could never be described as animal-lovers, we’ve grown rather fond of him recently.

We sometimes join these friends for weekend dog walks and Frankie seems to have taken a liking to our long-term Nissan Qashqai. Whenever the boot is open at the start or end of a trek, he’s in there like a shot, surveying all around him from his chosen vantage point.

It’s quite a canine compliment to the Nissan crossover, too, as his ‘dad’ drives a rather swanky, top-of-the-range Lexus.

But I can definitely see why he’s repeatedly drawn to the charms of OV71 ULB. Since my last report, more than 1,200 miles have been added to the odometer, with trips to friends and relatives, work excursions, and even house-removal duties all keeping it (and me) busy.

The Qashqai has also been hitting the headlines since my last report – and for good reasons. too. In early January, automotive industry body the SMMT said it had been the UK’s best-selling new car for 2022, with 42,704 being registered.

The car has certainly ticked a lot of boxes as far as my family and I are concerned. Although the Qashqai is now available with Nissan’s e-Power hybrid technology, ours is equipped with a mild hybrid set-up, which delivers enhanced fuel efficiency compared with a traditional petrol engine, especially in urban areas.

The system features a lithium battery that stores energy recovered during braking. That recovered energy supports the vehicle’s electrical systems, allowing the start/stop system to activate in more situations to boost fuel efficiency.

Much of the driving I’ve been doing lately has been boring motorway stuff, and as I may have said before, I’m not sure ‘smart’ motorways are appropriately named, with constantly changing speed limits, missing hard shoulders and fairly dreadful road surfaces on many of them.

In fact, the speed limit alterations seem to cause the occasional headache for ‘our’ Qashqai too, with the dash display occasionally failing to reflect the speed I’m allowed to travel at – picking up a reduction to 50mph well enough but then not adjusting back to 70 when allowed to do so.

These motorway trips have been so long and dull that the attention alert has popped up from time to time. I careful driver – honest! – but of course it’s a good idea to make regular stops when you’re travelling from one end of the country to the other.

Some of these journeys have involved car-loads of passengers, and I haven’t received any complaints from those occupying the rear seats to date.

Comfort and spaciousness seem to be the watchwords, with the panoramic glass roof quite a talking point – it really does make the cabin nice and light. Frankie has never actually travelled anywhere in the Qashqai, but I’m sure he’d find the view far from ‘ruff’...

THE KNOWLEDGE

Nissan Qashqai N-Connecta

Price (as tested): £31,235

Engine: 1.3-litre turbocharged petrol

Power: 156bhp

Torque: 260Nm

Top speed: 128mph

Fuel economy: 44.2mpg (combined)

0-60mph: 9.3 seconds

Emissions: 144g/km CO2

Mileage: 10,545

This month’s highlight: Our long-term Nissan Qashqai seems to be as popular with pets as it is with people...

OTHER CARS WE’RE DRIVING

Mileage: 10,557

We’ve just got the keys to the Civic to see if it excels over the coming months.

Mileage: 2,750

The Enyaq has been performing admirably with ‘everyday’ tasks, from video shoots to dog transportation.

Honda Civic e:HEV

Skoda Enyaq

Services that make a difference

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