Car Dealer Magazine: Issue 104

66-PLATE: INSIDE STORY BEHIND BIGGEST SEPTEMBER NEW REG EVER

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Issue 104 | November 2016 | CarDealerMag.co.uk | £3.50

STARS OF THE FRENCH SHOW & INTERVIEWS WITH TOP UK BOSSES PLUS: BUT COULD THIS BE THE LAST ONE?

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UPSELLING

HOW TO MAKE MORE MONEY OUT OF EVERY SINGLE CAR YOU SELL

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DA’S WE LAP ICELAND IN MAZ ICONIC MX-5 ROADSTER

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IGNITION.

EDITORIAL HEAD OF NEWS AND FEATURES Rebecca Chaplin

rebecca@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @Believebecca

HEAD OF DESIGN Graeme Windell

graeme@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @graemewindell

PRODUCTION EDITOR Dave Brown

dave@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @CarDealerDave

NEWS EDITOR Jack Evans

jack@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @jackrober

SENIOR STAFF WRITER Andrew Evans

andrew@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @snavEwerdnA

STAFF WRITER Laura Thomson

laura@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @lauramayrafiki

ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER Jon Hickey

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

ACCOUNT MANAGER Michelle Searle

michelle@blackballmedia.co.uk

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

MANAGING DIRECTOR BLACKBALL MEDIA Andy Entwistle andy@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @CarDealerAndy Contributors Tim Naylor, Nick King, Nigel Swan, Jon Reay, Jonny Fleetwood, John Bowman, Ben Garside, Big Mike, Jack Healy, Chris Jervis, Darren Cassey, James Litton, Simon Davis

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you believe that WELCOME. WOULD the bumper month of September is over already? Incredibly, it seems like only days since we were watching tweets roll in about your midnight handovers.

Up and down the country, we saw dealerships welcoming customers with open arms to collect their cars, while industry observers kept a watchful eye to see if business levels had been affected by June’s Brexit vote.

While it is probably still too early to work out what our long-term future will be like outside the EU, the SMMT September figures are in and it seems as though car buyers are still in a pretty positive mood about the general economic picture, as they have continued to splash their cash on new metal.

It is always reassuring when the sales figures continue to climb and we can all breathe a sigh of relief over the recordbreaking new car registrations last month.

AS I write this, it’s the beginning of October. I’m as organised as ever and currently sitting in a hotel room, booked at the last minute, on the eve of this year’s Bangers4BEN charity rally.

Don’t get too excited – the reports and pictures from the event won’t be with you until the next issue of Car Dealer!

By the time we return to the UK, this edition of the magazine will just be arriving at our printers.

Bangers4BEN took place just a week after the Car Dealer team embarked on another cross-Channel trip – very easily with no need for a visa, I might add – to the Paris Motor Show. The event occurs every two years and this time again showcased the latest releases you can expect in your showrooms in the not-too-distant future.

The variety on offer this year featured something for everyone, from Renault’s eccentric Trezor concept to the highly practical Citroen C3 and Nissan Micra, which have both gone through serious regeneration.

That only touches the surface though. Head to p28 to

read 19 pages of coverage from our talented team of writers.

We spent time speaking to top industry bods to find out what’s important at their brands right now and what’s coming up that you should be excited about.

Not everyone was as impressed with the show though, and if we’re honest, a lot more pain than pleasure goes into covering a motor show than you might think.

Especially if, like myself, you decide to wear heels, when most of it is walking, talking and missing meals to get to the next unveil. Now the expert, thanks to his tremendous input into CDX over the years, James Baggott has given his opinions on exactly what is wrong with the Paris Motor Show at the back of the magazine. Turn to p98 to see where he thinks the problems lie.

ALSO this month in Car Dealer, Simon Davis has been driving around Iceland in a Mazda MX-5, above.

Route 1 in Iceland is one of the best in the world to drive and we’ve got to admit that everyone in the office has been struggling to hide their jealousy.

We didn’t just send Simon so the rest of us could be jawdroppingly envious, though, but actually so he could roadtest the extremely exclusive Icon edition. Unfortunately for Mazda, they don’t sell a lot of MX-5s over in Iceland, and after reading the feature you’ll be scratching your head as to why Icelanders wouldn’t want to get their hands on this car.

Mazda has been reinvigorating its range recently and we’ve got its UK MD, Jeremy Thomson, to tell us why the brand is riding high at the moment and well prepared for any economic bumps in the road that might be ahead.

There’s no escaping thoughts about Brexit, it seems.

Enjoy the issue.

Rebecca Chaplin Head of News and Features

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 03

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INSIDE. ISSUE 104 I NOVEMBER 2016

Dashboard Feedback A new-look for Lamborghini

58

Around the UK ‘1000 Voices’ latest Trade Plates TV

James Fossdyke delivers his verdict on a ‘thoroughly modern, if relatively simple’ family hatchback

22

Used Car Awards Perrys refinances to expand Paris Motor Show Around the World Finance Big Mike

80

Who were the winners and losers in plate-change month?

97

Farewell to a stalwart of our long-termer fleet

Forecourt

Just a few days left to nominate in this year’s Used Car Awards!

‘‘

Fiat Tipo Renault Scenic

What options does someone like me have to start a franchised business? None.

James Litton

Features Icelandic Adventure

90 Data File Car Dealer Club The Statistics Taking Stock Auctions Market Insight

28

Suppliers’ Guide Key Notes with Traka Money Talks Long-termers Nineteen pages of brilliant Paris Motor Show coverage kick off with a round-up of the star exhibits – including the Ferrari LaFerrari Aperta

James Baggott

06 08 12 14 16 22 24 28 49 52 57

58 59

60

78 80 83 84 87 90 92 93 95 98

OUR EVENTS...

As voted for by dealers, the Car Dealer Power Awards are unique.

This year’s ceremony took place on July 28. Find out who won by going online to bit.ly/CDP2016

The Car Dealer Used Car Awards, sponsored by Black Horse, celebrate the used car industry.

Turn to page 22 to find out more details and get involved.

If you missed it, you missed out!

CDX16 took place on May 24 – and we’re already making plans for next year’s event. We’ve set the date! It will take place on May 23, 2017.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 05

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The white cars that fly out of the doors WHITE is the new black, or at least it seems okay to buy a white car these days. If it’s a ‘prestige’ or performance car then it seems white has to also include ‘drug dealer rims’ and ‘gangsta glass’. But, are older cars still a struggle to sell in white? I remember a story from a few years back when I had a couple over to view a car. The wife liked my blue car but the husband preferred something he’d seen elsewhere, obviously white.

They had a row and she said, “I’m not driving around in a f***ing fridge!” I’m guessing times have changed? metcars I took a 1995 M-reg Nissan Micra 1.0 with 30k miles in part-exchange the other day, finished in ‘Hotpoint’ white. It had no power steering and I thought I would actually have to convert it into a fridge, as nobody would want it! In fact, I sold it the very next day, in less than 24 hours. Not sure if this was the sort of feedback you were looking for though! I always have issues with green cars.

Annoyingly, they are always the ones with low mileage and perfect service history, with a nice National Trust sticker in the window. I do love a National Trust sticker.

Ocsltd White cars can look smart as long as all the trim is colour-coded. White cars with loads of black trim look poverty-spec. But, yes, white cars are highly desirable. I just sold a white Alfa Mito, and the chap drove down to me from 80 miles away because it had to be white.

Tom I pay more for them and they certainly sell for more in a lot of models. White BMWs and Audis are a good bet, as are most cars I find.

Rory RSC Same here. White flies out the door, especially if it’s a car targeted at younger drivers (under 45).

However, I often find OAPs don’t like them. White cars are generally more expensive to purchase, but fetch more also. Black is still a safe colour and preferred by the vast majority. Worst colour in my opinion is green, followed by navy, followed by wine/red.

Scooby who

Tweets of the month #FactFriday: You could order a Land Rover with tank treads in the 50s from the Rover factory!

Should they bring this back?

Harwoods Group @HarwoodsGroup Who’s excited about the #Audi #Q2?

Coming to a Swansway Audi showroom soon!

Swansway Group @swanswaygroup Every day on the way to work I pass a Porsche dealer. Today, I saw a car that had a price tag equivalent to that of a small house.

Craig Prater @CraigPrater 06 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Picture of the month THERE’S always plenty of work to do at Car Dealer Towers – so Laura Thomson and Jon Reay definitely aren’t taking it easy here! They’re actually reclining on a length of material they obtained to decorate their car for this year’s Bangers4BEN charity rally. Don’t miss full coverage of the event in next month’s Car Dealer.

An Audi R8 can easily ‘carry off’ white but can a Vauxhall Zafira? metcars I remember in my early days having an Escort Finesse colour-coded in white and I couldn’t give it away. How times change. It’s almost getting to the point where you could buy a car in underpants blue, respray or wrap it white and still have profit in it. sparky

Manuals or automatics?

How are we finding customer resistance to automatics nowadays? There was a time when the auto boxes in small cars were made of chocolate, but times are changing. There was also a time when autos were for old people and never on a sports car, but with true motorsport cars adopting auto boxes and of course the ‘PlayStation’ generation, times are changing! metcars I still find older people want autos. Low-priced autos are in high demand. I’ve never had an issue with an auto but no auto box is 100 per cent safe what with their own ECUs and internal clutch packs etc.

Tom

A fresh approach to reviews How do you approach obtaining customer reviews? Do you openly request or ask for them?

I think I need to adopt a fresh approach as the number of customers who say they use them to influence their buying decision and say it was our reviews that swung it for them stresses their importance. Would it be too pushy to have an iPad in the office and ask customers to leave a review whilst we do the paperwork? They could tell us how they have found the buying experience and one review a month could win maybe £100 in vouchers.

Rory RSC It would be pushy, I reckon. Give them a chance to actually drive the car home and use it for a while. I give my customers a document pack in a smart wallet with a leaflet inside asking them to leave a review should they wish to.

Tom We use feefo and find it works well. Quick, simple and becoming well known. Not a massive cost.

Also, your score can be linked to your Google search. But if you want quick and easy, a simple ‘please review us on Facebook’ is possible. williamblackshaw I think, as Tom says, you need the customer to have the car for some time to make sure they are fully happy before asking. Doing it on the spot I feel is too much pressure! I have a customer feedback form they post back, plus asking them to review on carbuyingadvisor.co.uk. Give me a shout if you need any further help, Rory. umesh AutoTrader were advising me it’s best practice to get the customer to leave a review whilst sat in office at point of sale. Make of that what you will.

I would feel exceptionally awkward doing that and I can see I am not alone.

Rory RSC

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CarDealerMag.co.uk | 07

DASHBOARD. MANAGEMENT

Nissan appoints Alex Smith as its new GB MD

The Ford Galaxy was the fastest-selling used car in September. bit.ly/fastest-104

‘We want to involve more people in our brand – and reach 600 UK sales a year’ Bristol outlet is first to get Lamborghini’s new corporate identity

NISSAN Europe has named Alex Smith as the managing director of Nissan Motor (GB) Ltd. Smith, pictured above, who was previously the director at Volkswagen UK, has taken over from James Wright, who has been made the vice-president of Nissan Europe East, overseeing Russia, Ukraine, central eastern Europe (Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia), and the Datsun business unit in Russia, among other important entities.

Both of them will report to Guillaume Cartier, the senior vice-president for sales and marketing in Nissan Europe. Cartier said: ‘I am delighted to welcome Alex to the Nissan team.

‘With more than 20 years’ experience in the UK automotive industry and a solid track record, Alex will be a tremendous asset to our business.’

Before joining Volkswagen UK in 2007, Smith worked at Kia Motors, GM, Daewoo and Ford.

REPLICA

Special McLaren P1 is child’s play!

MCLAREN has unveiled its latest product – its most lightweight car yet – and it’s pure electric.

For the first time, the P1 has lost its roof and it’s been given a central driving position, as seen in the iconic F1. The only downside is it’s only really designed for those under the age of six.

Attention to detail in the tiny replica is incredible. The miniature P1 includes many of the stylistic elements you would expect to see in the actual car.

08 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Natural materials such as suede and stone feature in the new showroom

L

amborghini Bristol has become the first showroom in the world to receive the brand’s new corporate identity. The dealership, which is part of Rybrook Specialist Cars, opened officially on September 22 and takes the number of Lamborghini outlets in the UK to eight.

Lamborghini is going through a transitional period. Traditionally the brand has only made supercars with little consideration for practicality. The business is now in the late stages of developing its performance SUV. Lamborghini commercial director Federico Foschini, who attended the Bristol branch’s launch event, told Car Dealer: ‘We decided a couple of years ago that now was the time to change, to create an identity that made it easier to involve people in the Lamborghini brand.

We’re moving to a purer, more cutting-edge and visionary design.

‘This is something we’d like to have in

by REBECCA CHAPLIN @BelieveBecca

order to involve as many people as possible in Lamborghini.

‘The next model evolution will be the SUV. In terms of body type, it’s a car that should appeal to a larger customer base. It’s a car that’s not only beautiful but a car for daily use, a car that gives you a lot of emotion but can be used with a family or for a daily job. With this we really want to enlarge our customer base.’

The look of Lamborghini’s outlets now has a softer and more welcoming appeal. Designers have still included angular lines, but have moved away from bright colours and used natural materials.

‘Lamborghini itself is very exclusive, but the brand should reach as many people as possible,’ Foschini added. ‘We

Federico Foschini

want to have children and young people inside the showroom, we want them to have fun. It’s about having a brand that’s inclusive and inviting.’

Lamborghini Bristol was chosen as the first to receive this new look partly because of timing, as one of the latest dealerships to open, but also because of the importance of the UK market to the supercar brand.

‘The UK is one of the most important markets to us,’ Foschini explained. ‘Last year we did 253 cars, this year to August we have already done 256. At least eight per cent of the market will be covered by the UK this year and we’re going to hit 3,400 cars.

The UK is between the third and fourth [biggest] market for us.’

With the Italian brand enjoying more demand than output, it’s not too worried about the effect of Britain leaving the European Union in the short term. But it is looking to capitalise on it as it aims to increase its sales here.

Foschini explained: ‘I think 600 cars would be the number [in five years’ time]. We want to double the production and sales capacity. We are at 3,200 to 3,400 this year, I think the aim is to reach 7,000 cars. Six hundred cars should be the market share of the UK.’

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CarDealerMag.co.uk | 09

DASHBOARD.

The worst car ever? Probe under way over faulty Aygo Manufacturer apologises for disappointment as Motor Codes investigates

A

frustrated couple dumped their Toyota Aygo outside the dealership they bought it from, dubbing it the ‘worst car ever’.

Megan Dixon and boyfriend Daniel Mason had bought the Aygo from RRG Toyota Macclesfield in December 2013 and claim to have endured three years of reliability woes with the vehicle. After leaving their car outside the garage with ‘worst car ever’ spelled out in electrical tape, the couple has left a list of the faults taped to the window.

This includes two engines, three clutches, replacement seats, lights and an exhaust, in just 22,000 miles from new. Dixon, who works as a theatre nurse at the Christie Hospital in Manchester, claims to have reached breaking point after the car has spent

10 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

10 weeks in the garage this year alone.

Dixon said: ‘Whenever I get a call, I have to be at work within half an hour. Because of the car, I’m terrified that one day I will break down and not make it. All the stress that brings with it is horrible.

‘I don’t want to gain anything. I don’t want money or a better car. I just want the one I have to work, or a like-for-like replacement.’

The note in the Aygo also stresses that the couple have no quarrel with

the dealership, rather the brand itself.

Dixon added: ‘Toyota talk about complete customer satisfaction, but I’m not satisfied at all.

‘It’s under a five-year warranty but each time I get it back they’re giving me a car with faulty parts that doesn’t remotely live up to expectations.’

A Toyota spokesperson said: ‘We apologise for any disappointment and inconvenience that Ms Dixon has been caused.

‘We are committed to standing by the terms of the warranty cover and address any manufacturing defect that occurs with the warranty period of five years or 100,000 miles (whichever comes sooner).

‘As this matter has been referred to Motor Codes, we are aware they are investigating further and we will await their response.’

MOTORS.CO.UK

Brexit hasn’t put off buyers BRITAIN’S decision to leave the EU has not affected when car buyers will purchase their next vehicle, according to research from Motors.co.uk.

Only three per cent of UK consumers surveyed in the website’s Car Buyer Survey said they had been discouraged from buying a car because of Brexit.

The survey also found 10 per cent believe the referendum result has affected when they will buy their next car.

However, only four per cent said they were worried about making their car finance payments following the result.

Director of marketing and business intelligence at Motors.co.uk, Dermot Kelleher, said: ‘We are delighted to see that the prospect of Britain leaving the EU has not hindered the nation’s attitude to buying cars.’

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 11

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LANCASHIRE: Vantage Toyota Preston, part of Vantage Motor Group, has partnered with a local school to fund the construction of a community garden and growing area. Vantage is donating £2,000 through the ‘Toyota Fund for a Better Tomorrow’ initiative that allows dealers to apply for a grant to support community projects which focus on education, road safety and the environment. Pupils and teachers will redevelop a 40 square metre area at the front of Leyland Methodist Junior School to create a safe and secure learning environment for pupils and a pleasant green space for the wider community to use.

Toyota dealership backs garden project

GLASGOW: An inflatable yellow duck that was tethered outside a Peter Vardy CarStore dealership in Glasgow came free as Scotland was hit by high-speed winds. The mascot then rolled into the road outside the showroom, hitting some of the vehicles, but no-one was hurt. At the time, Western Scotland had – appropriately – been given a yellow weather warning by the Met Office for rain and high winds, and the bad weather caused the duck to break free. Several people filmed and pictured the incident as the inflatable bird was blown into the Hillington Road dual carriageway.

What the duck is that in the road?

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

MIDDLESBROUGH: A motorsport enthusiast has won a dream prize, thanks to Jennings Seat. The prize came about when Joanne Boots, 40, who has been a British Touring Car Championship enthusiast for 21 years, filled in her details at Jennings Seat’s promotional stand at a race earlier this year. She has donated the prize to her partner, Andrew Mitchell. She said: ‘I couldn’t believe it when I found out I had won the driving experience voucher. I knew straight away that I would be giving it to Andrew.’ A presentation took place at Jennings Seat’s Cargo Fleet Lane dealership in Middlesbrough.

Sales controller Mike Scurr, centre, presented the voucher to Joanne and Andrew.

A dream prize for motorsport-mad pair

STIRLING: Peugeot is helping tennis players in Scotland improve their skills by giving its backing to the ‘Tennis on the Road’ programme run by Judy Murray, the mother of current Wimbledon champion Andy. Judy was presented with a Peugeot 508 at Hardie Motor Group Stirling which she will use as part of the initiative. Working in partnership with Peugeot UK, she has already visited more than 40 schools and tennis clubs around Scotland as Tennis on the Road looks to increase participation in the game across the country. Judy is visiting seven locations across Scotland this year in her new car.

Dealership’s help for ‘Tennis on the Road’

News from around the UK DASHBOARD.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 13

Brentford Kia dealership is Europe’s biggest BRENTFORD: Kia has opened its biggest dealership in Europe alongside the elevated M4 in the London district of Brentford. The flagship showroom operates on four levels, including a 15-bay workshop one level below ground, while the massive glass frontage faces directly on to the A4 at ground level where the new range is displayed. The top floor alongside the elevated section of the M4 is a brand showcase, featuring a large display screen designed to enhance the often painfully slow commute of the tens of thousands of commuters who pass the showroom daily.

New assistant manager at Poole Audi

Aston Martin and Dick Lovett in partnership

BRISTOL: Aston Martin has opened its latest new showroom in the UK in Bristol – and it’s the first Aston Martin dealership for partner Dick Lovett. The purposebuilt state-of-the-art facility on Cribbs Causeway features a luxurious 25-car showroom for new and pre-owned Aston Martin sports cars and a separate lounge where customers can tailor their new car to the exact specification of their choosing using ‘Q by Aston Martin’ elements. The dealership also has a dedicated aftersales team and a 10-bay workshop staffed by world-class Gaydon-trained technicians.

Vouchers delight for engineering firm boss

GLOUCESTER: The owner of a Gloucester engineering company has won £1,066-worth of vouchers in a competition to mark the arrival of the new 66-registration plate at CCR Mitsubishi. Everyone who took a test drive at one of CCR Mitsubishi’s eight dealerships during the final weekend in August was entered into the prize draw to win the Love2Shop vouchers. Jeremy Avent, managing director of Avent Extrusion Steels, based in Chancel Close, off Eastern Avenue, was the winner after test-driving an L200 with the group’s Cheltenham and Gloucester dealership.

Danny ‘very proud of wonderful accolade’

NEWPORT: A business development manager at an award-winning car dealership in Newport has recently become an ambassador for an organisation based in the area. Danny O’Donovan, above, from Wessex Garages has been selected by Introbiz to become one of its ambassadors. He said: ‘This is a wonderful accolade and I am very proud of it. The title and role is in recognition of my activity and involvement with the business community here in Newport and it’s a real accomplishment.’ Introbiz is a Welsh networking company that was founded in January 2009.

DORSET: Poole Audi has appointed a new assistant manager: Danny Turley, 37, left, who has been with the company for more than 12 years. Danny, who lives in Branksome, started at Poole Audi as a sales executive in 2004, and moved up to used car sales manager in 2008. His new role allows him to stay in touch with his customers, and further to that he can now work with the 16-strong Poole Audi sales team, in both new and used car sales. Turley’s internal promotion has coincided with the business’s move into the brand new £14.5m Audi Centre on Old Wareham Road.

OXFORDSHIRE: It’s back to the future for MG – because the manufacturer’s latest dealership has opened in the brand’s historic birthplace. Lodge Hill Garage in Abingdon is just a stone’s throw away from the site of the original MG factory where cars were built from 1929 to 1980. The Abingdon dealership joins one of the fastest-growing brands in Britain. Lodge Hill’s principal, Nigel Murrin, said: ‘We’ve had a huge response from people wishing us well and saying how glad they are to see the MG name back. It’s just a reminder of how much passion there is for the brand.’

‘There’s so much pride in the MG brand’

CHELTENHAM: BAC has announced that leading luxury dealer group HR Owen is to become an agent for the single-seat Mono supercar. BAC sells the Mono worldwide, but the addition of HR Owen to its UK operation is a leap forward in terms of ensuring Mono reaches the right audience and generates countrywide visibility. Mono is now available to be viewed at HR Owen’s Ecurie in Cheltenham – the group’s first dedicated non-franchised showroom – but the car will also be offered to the entire HR Owen client database, who will be able to sample it at client track and showroom events.

Getting Mono in front of the right audience

DASHBOARD.

Dealers given first details of new ‘1000 Voices’ scheme All money received will be reinvested in the programme, says AutoVolo

C

ar classifieds website AutoVolo has shared early details of its partnership scheme 1000 Voices.

A small number of independent dealerships were invited to two presentations about the investment opportunity, which gives dealers the chance to own part of a 20 per cent stake in the company.

Stuart Askey, sales director at AutoVolo, explained to the first of the two assembled group that those who sign up to the 1000 Voices partnership scheme will have to pay £499 per month for two years as an ‘investment fee’ in exchange for 20 stocks.

There will also be a monthly

14 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

advertising fee based on the number of cars a dealer posts on the site, which is given at a heavily discounted rate compared with non-members.

After the initial 24-month period, the investment fee stops and dealers will simply continue to pay the advertising fee.

Askey was keen to point out that there was no up-front investment, and that the advertising fee will be frozen for members for two years.

AutoVolo says that all of the money it receives from 1000 Voices members will be put back into the scheme, to be spent on Google search advertising, improving offline marketing and other programmes designed to generate more leads and inquiries.

The company’s projections – based on 1,000 dealerships signing up to the investment scheme – see it making £1.3 million of its profit available to 1000 Voice shareholders after a year, representing a return of £1,300 each.

Askey believes that over the first five years, a total of £13 million will be shared between members.

Another benefit of being a member includes a refund of the £150 release fee on finance deals – a subject AutoVolo chief executive and cofounder Stefan Voloseniuc, left, spoke passionately about. He said: ‘I want to go to the City with 1,000 dealerships behind me and say to the boss of Barclays, ‘‘I have 120,000 finance deals per year, do us a deal.” And they will.’

Any dealerships interested in getting involved with 1000 Voices can do so via AutoVolo’s website.

HONOURS

Trio grab Nissan global awards THREE Nissan dealerships in the UK have been presented with the carmaker’s highest worldwide honour – a Nissan Global Award.

Glyn Hopkin Nissan in Chelmsford; Hammond Nissan in Halesworth, Suffolk; and Chorley Nissan in Chorley, Lancashire were among just 160 dealerships worldwide to receive the honour in 2016.

In the case of Glyn Hopkin Chelmsford it was the dealership’s third Nissan Global Award in successive years – a feat believed to be a world first.

Bestowed by the brand’s global chairman and CEO, Carlos Ghosn, the awards recognise the dealerships’ outstanding sales and aftersales performance, particularly in terms of new car sales and customer satisfaction.

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0808 164 1429 | www.cargurus.co.uk/signup/cardealer-nov16 CarDealerMag.co.uk | 15

DASHBOARD.

Adam’s simply the finger lickin’ best!

Capped commission structure at BMW was the final push needed to set up own business – and it’s grown and grown

B

ig Cars Ltd owner Adam Stott has taken his business from a standing start to a £40m turnover in only eight years, he told Trade Plates TV. Interviewed at the company’s Witham headquarters, he said on the show that his business had seen 80 per cent growth each year.

Still only in his 30s, Stott made the decision when he was 25 to move from a BMW-franchised dealership and set up on his own.

‘When I started the business I was working at BMW and I felt a bit limited by what I could do and how much I could grow,’ he explained.

‘I’d always been interested in growing my own business and when they capped my commission structure it worked out that I couldn’t out-earn what I’d been earning. So I decided to make the leap. We’ve had some very fast growth – on average, we grow about 80 per cent year-on-year.

‘We’ve now got 75 staff, five sites and we sell near on 3,000 cars a year. It’s been a great journey, something I’ve really enjoyed.’

Stott said that even in the early days he was sure that he could make the business a success.

‘I was confident. People have said I’ve never really had much of a problem with confidence, but in all the jobs I’d done, I’d been successful.

‘I worked my way up at BMW to being top salesman, then I worked at Ford and I worked

my way up to being the top salesman. I worked at Powerhouse, which was a retail thing, and I won an award out of all the branches for most commission per hour.

‘And previously I worked at KFC and I was the best at cooking chicken!’

Stott added: ‘I was confident in my own ability

that I could do something, but what I didn’t realise is how challenging it would be.

‘When you’re in a working environment, you have a lot of support from different people that you maybe don’t realise. When you go out on your own, you are actually out on your own, but I loved that because I love a challenge.’

DISTANCE-SELLING DANGER IF DEALERS don’t take the correct precautions when distance-selling they could run the risk of giving customers one year and 14 days to reject the car, says Lawgistics.

Legal adviser Nona Bowkis explained: ‘If you don’t give them the paperwork, and don’t tell them they have 14 days to change their mind, that 14-day window extends by a year.’

Although it wouldn’t be considered distanceselling if you are delivering a car as a one-off or as a favour, if it becomes more regular you may need to implement some changes.

‘A lot of people have got websites, a lot of people are buying through websites, ringing up to say “I’ll have that car” and doing the deal over the phone,’ said Bowkis.

‘You are going to run the risk that this is going to be distance-selling and if it is a distance sale

Rebecca (left) chats with (next to her from left) Lawgistics legal advisers Howard Tilney, Nona Bowkis and Jason Williams plus sales manager Ian Gardner there are rules about paperwork that you have to give to the client. You have to give them a cancellation form – the buyer doesn’t have to use the cancellation form to cancel the order, but you do have to give it to them.

‘You have to tell them that they have cancellation rights, and those are that they have 14 days to change their mind. That can be for

Twitter: @tradeplatestv 16 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Facebook: Trade Plates TV

any or no reason.’ Bowkis was joined on the Trade Plates TV panel by legal advisers Howard Tilney and Jason Williams, as well as Lawgistics sales manager Ian Gardner. The panel also discussed the advertising mistakes that dealers often make, such as misdescribed adverts, and explained how to avoid getting caught up in trademark infringements.

Website: tradeplates.tv

Are things here as bad as they seem to our continental cousins?

A

British PR man told me while at the Paris Motor Show that one of his German counterparts had asked him ‘How bad are things in the UK at the moment?’

He explained that the the assumption was we’re having an awful time over here post-Brexit vote, but the reality seems to be something different.

The fact that this was at the event held to celebrate manufacturing in the UK would indicate that this guy must have thought we were having an Animal Farm-style party to show the world we really are all right, honest.

I’m not saying it’s all roses as I glance out of the window at what is a particularly grey October day, but the story I’ve heard from dealers is September has been great – and the results back that up.

And let’s not assume that this is the way every continental European feels about Britain right now, but it got to me just a tiny bit that they had this impression of us. I’m foolish even to comment on something like this in print, not only because you should never rant about politics in a forum where you can be called up on your comments at a later date, but as by the time I’ve finished the situation will more than likely have changed again.

However, I’ve been told again and again that September has been great but things have dropped off into October.

Almost like you would expect from a normal year.

We’ve just broken the two million cars mark in new car sales, for heaven’s sake.

So, it’s fair to say I was pretty shocked that that’s the impression people over the Channel have of the UK right now. We might have voted to leave the European Union and now declared we are actually leaving, but so far life has carried on as normal.

I can only write what I’ve heard and seen, I’m not out there selling cars every day. So unless you’re all screaming silently behind your desks with the doors closed, I’d say things don’t seem too bad – yet.

Interestingly, we’ve been told by global trade credit insurer Euler Hermes that car sales are going to take a hit.

It’s predicting car sales are going to drop by 205,000 in 2017. That’s lower than in 2015 but not by much, and 2016 will be another recordbreaking year.

Rebecca

That seems pretty much backed up by what the IMF is saying, too. Although things seem bright at the moment, and the UK is expected to be the fastest-growing G7 country this year, next year things are set to decline. But that hasn’t happened yet. In fact, we haven’t really had a sniff of the bad times.

So my question to you is, is it fair that manufacturers are already hiking up their prices?

It’s been reported across the media that a few brands have pushed up new car prices, and I’m sure this is sweet music to used car dealers, but couldn’t it have waited until something actually happened?

In my eyes, that’s not particularly loyal to the businesses that do everything for you. I mean, how are these companies selling any cars without your premises, investment and staff?

Well, they wouldn’t have any way of selling them at all

Chaplin ‘Maybe we should all THE VIEW FROM BEHIND THE SCENES

start battening down the hatches.’ (until they work out a way to easily sell the cars on their websites, then you’re all screwed). Some have said targets will remain high, although from conversations I’ve had it sounds like some manufacturers have also responded by being more realistic about new car sales. But in difficult times isn’t it better to, in the words of Tammy Wynette, stand by your man (or franchisee)?

These big companies usually know far more than we, or particularly I, do – so maybe they’re on to something. Maybe we should all start battening down the hatches and bracing ourselves for the disaster that will be 2017.

I’m not suggesting we stick our fingers in our ears and hum the EastEnders theme tune until the storm passes, but a little positivity never hurt.

Sorry, I should have warned you at the beginning there’s nothing funny or feminist in this one. But do remember that motor show girls posing by cars are bad, OK?

Who is Rebecca Chaplin?

Rebecca is head of news and features at Blackball Media and presents news programmes and features on its online video channel Trade Plates TV

Go to TradePlates.tv now to see our latest videos CarDealerMag.co.uk | 17

DASHBOARD.

Fisker’s back with a pledge to disrupt the EV market ‘New vehicle will be the most innovative and cutting-edge electric car’

E

ntrepreneur and automotive designer Henrik Fisker has announced his return to the industry – vowing to ‘disrupt the electric vehicle market and change the world’.

He has relaunched his company and is developing a new, all-electric premium vehicle.

His previous company – Fisker Automotive – was founded in 2007 and in 2011 the Fisker Karma was launched – a petrol-electric plug-in hybrid that was the world’s first premium electric car.

However, a series of battery problems and fires the following year sparked recalls and the company also found itself in legal fights with the battery manufacturer A123 as well as the insurer XL Insurance, the latter over compensation for hundreds of

Karma models destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

Fisker, who had positioned himself as a rival to Tesla, left Fisker Automotive in 2013, citing ‘several major disagreements with the executive management on the business strategy’ and the company filed for bankruptcy in 2013, with US taxpayers owed $139m – equivalent to £109m at today’s exchange rate – and its assets, excluding the Fisker brand, were sold to the China-based Wanxiang Group in February 2014.

Now, though, he has launched Fisker Inc – effectively relaunching his rivalry with Tesla – and it is planning to showcase its first premium, allelectric vehicle, a spiritual successor to

the Fisker Karma, in the second half of 2017. It is also developing a massmarket, affordable electric vehicle that it says will sell for less than its competitors but will feature a longer electric range.

Fisker, 53, left, who is both chairman and chief executive of the new company, said: ‘Fisker Inc will spearhead a revolution in electric cars that will disrupt the electric vehicle market and change the world.

‘Both the technology and the market are more mature now than when we first started out as pioneers in the electric vehicle industry, and our new vehicle will be the most innovative and cutting-edge electric car ever created.’

VOLKSWAGEN

Golf Cabriolet production over VOLKSWAGEN has axed the Golf Cabriolet a year after the 2016 version was launched.

According to Volkswagen, the model has come to the end of its lifecycle and production at the company’s Wolfsburg factory has ceased.

The manufacturer has said this decision ensures that the plant has enough production capacity to keep up with demand for the new Tiguan.

It seems unlikely that a replacement will be coming any time soon, as VW has suggested that customers looking for a four-seat convertible will be pointed in the direction of the Beetle Cabriolet. However, a spokesman for VW in Germany would not rule out the possibility that a soft-top variant may be offered again when the eighth-generation Golf arrives in 2018.

www.desperateseller.co.uk | www.facebook.com/desperateseller.co.uk | twitter.com/despseller

18 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

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DASHBOARD.

Sadness as old-established dealership ceases trading Rise of internet sales has seriously affected trade and margins, says MD

O

ne of Scotland’s oldest car dealerships James Haugh (Castle Douglas) Ltd has gone into liquidation and is seeking a buyer.

The independent garage, based in Castle Douglas, announced recently that it would be going into liquidation. The business has ceased trading and 11 employees have lost their jobs.

Its main business was both new and used Vauxhalls, but it also sold other used vehicles. It offered servicing, fleet contract work, mobility servicing, repairs and MOTs too.

Managing director Jim Haugh told The Daily Record: ‘It’s just a sad day. We took the decision as I didn’t want to be in a position at the end of a month where I had to say to the staff that I couldn’t

pay them. We felt it was the best option and at least this way the staff will get a redundancy payment.’

Founded in 1890 to hire out horse-drawn carriages, in 1909 the company was one of the first to offer a petrol-driven car for public hire. Six generations of the family have since managed the business, which has been an approved Vauxhall Service Centre since 1962 and had a turnover of around £1 million.

Provisional liquidator Blair

Milne, restructuring partner with accountants Campbell Dallas, is looking to sell the business and assets. He is urging the motoring trade, entrepreneurs or property developers to make contact quickly.

‘James Haugh (Castle Douglas) Ltd is a prominent and much-valued car dealership and service centre that has served the south of Scotland for well over a century. Unfortunately, in recent years the rise of internet sales has seriously affected trade and margins, and the business was not sustainable,’ explained Milne.

‘We are marketing the business and extensive assets for sale with immediate effect, with the hope that if a deal can be secured swiftly, a buyer has the opportunity to start trading again.’

TECHNOLOGY

‘Apple deal not on the cards’ THE McLaren Technology Group has quashed rumours that it may be bought by Apple. A Financial Times article claimed that Apple was engaged in talks to take over McLaren, which had been valued at up to £1.5bn.

It was widely believed that this would see the American multi-national’s bid to produce an autonomous electric car take a major step forward, following speculation that it had abandoned its own project after laying off dozens of staff members involved.

However, a spokesman for Surrey-based conglomerate McLaren has since stated: ‘McLaren is not in discussion with Apple in respect of any potential investment.’

Apple shareholders have previously been said to have wanted the business to acquire Tesla.

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It’s time to get nominating! ++ LAST FEW D AYS ++ Deadline for nominations a nd entries: Octobe r 31

The top reasons why you should enter the Car Dealer Used Car Awards 2016

When is it?

The awards night takes place on Monday, November 28 and will be hosted by TV’s Mr Wheeler Dealer himself, Mike Brewer.

The prestige: The Car Dealer Used Car Awards are sponsored by Black Horse and have become THE awards ceremony for the second-hand car sector. Winning one of our trophies can give your business a terrific boost because customers will know for sure that they’ll be getting a high quality of service from you.

It’s priceless: But it doesn’t cost you a bean to enter the awards.

It’s quick and easy: You can enter online.

The variety: There are 20 categories in which you can vote, covering the whole industry.

The glamour: The event is held at The Brewery in London – an amazing venue in a great location that’s both small enough to give an intimate feel to the evening and large enough to host a fantastic celebration.

Networking: The awards ceremony gives you the opportunity to rub shoulders with fellow motoring professionals and to make top contacts with people from across the industry.

Entertainment: With food, drink, cocktails and a disco all part of the package, the awards night is also the ideal excuse for a Christmas party to put on expenses!

Simply go to carawards.co.uk to fill in the online nomination form – you can enter as many categories as you like. Make sure that you give plenty of detail, though, to help our judges decide who should go on the shortlists, which will be drawn up by our judging panel, headed by Brewer. The closing date for nominations is Monday, October 31.

You can also buy tickets for the glitzy event via the site, and we’ve got a great range of packages to suit all budgets.

Alternatively, you can book tickets by calling the Car Dealer team on 023 9252 2434.

So, what are you waiting for? Get your entries in and those tickets booked!

We look forward to seeing you at The Brewery on November 28…

Go to carawards.co.uk to fill in the online nomination form 22 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

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DASHBOARD. SUPPORT

Motor industry charity Ben has a new identity

AUTOMOTIVE industry charity Ben has unveiled a new brand identity.

It includes a new-look website that has extra features to provide easier access to important support and care services.

The not-for-profit organisation, which is based in Ascot, says these changes help fulfil its vision to be an integral partner to the automotive industry, adding value by improving the health and well-being of the workforce, reducing absence, improving productivity and raising morale.

The new look is aimed at helping Ben achieve its ambition of assisting even more individuals and their families as well as supporting businesses and the industry.

Chief executive Zara Ross said: ‘Ben has gone through a significant period of change, including how we partner with the industry and the development of a new range of support services, so the launch of our new brand identity was the next important step.’

Ben provides support for life to people in the industry and their families.

PREDICTION

Car sales ‘set for nine per cent fall’

CAR sales in the UK are set to fall by nine per cent in 2017 because of a drop in household confidence and purchasing power, according to global trade credit insurer Euler Hermes.

The company predicts that the UK will witness a sharp contraction in the number of new vehicles sold in 2017 by 205,000 to 2.4m units, representing a nine per cent drop after a peak this year of around 2.7 million.

24 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Arnold Clark says growth in 2015 was down to increased used car sales. bit.ly/clark104

Perrys secures £39m refinancing to expand A FRANCHISED car dealership group has secured a £39million refinancing package from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking to support the acquisition of seven new sites across the East Midlands and build two new dealerships.

Perrys Group operates 52 sites across 32 locations in the UK, selling a variety of new and used cars representing a variety of popular car brands.

The company wanted to enhance its presence in the East Midlands, and securing the funding package from Lloyds Bank has enabled it to buy five Ford dealerships in Chesterfield, Mansfield, Worksop, Alfreton and Retford, a Kia franchise in Worksop and a Mazda site in Mansfield.

The funding has also supported the building of two new dealerships in Chesterfield and Preston.

Perrys Group is headquartered in Northampton, has an annual turnover of £700million and employs 1,900 people across its dealerships.

Ken Savage, the chairman of Perrys Group, said: ‘We’ve seen an increased demand for cars across the UK, and this series of acquisitions in the East Midlands has allowed us to add seven successful dealerships to our portfolio that can help customers with their motoring needs.

‘We first dealt with the team at

Ken Savage: ‘We’ve seen an increased demand for cars across the UK’ Lloyds Bank after they helped us complete a management buyout in 2001, and they clearly understand the direction we want to take the business in. We look forward to working with them again as our business continues to grow across the UK.’ Steve Lyon, relationship director at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: ‘UK car sales hit a new record

last year resulting in a hotspot of opportunities for dealerships like Perrys Motor Sales.

‘We’re committed to supporting ambitious mid-market businesses like Perrys Motor Sales that are looking to deliver long-term sustainable growth, by providing them with tailored solutions and lending options to help them realise their growth ambitions.’

Coventry-based car dealer told: trade fairly or go to jail Trading Standards says it ‘will continue to monitor this business’

T

he owner of Coventry’s Prestige Auto Lounge has been told that he must trade fairly or he may face a spell in prison. Trading standards officers received a number of complaints about the business, and as a result the company’s director, David Nwachukwu Ilukwe, was brought before Coventry County Court on September 29.

In court he signed an undertaking to trade fairly, both on his own behalf and for the two companies for which he holds a directorship – Prestige Autohaus Ltd and Prestige Motoring World Ltd (trading as Coventry Car Mart, Coventry Auto Lounge and Prestige Auto Lounge).

The undertaking states that Ilukwe and the two companies must not deny consumers their statutory rights

by ANDREW EVANS @snavEwerdnA

under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, sell vehicles in an unroadworthy condition, falsely describe vehicles as having full service histories when they do not, make false statements as to the specification of a motor vehicle and fail to respond in a timely fashion to telephone calls, emails or other correspondence from consumers regarding faulty vehicles.

Ilukwe agreed to publish the undertaking on his website and to send all his staff on a training course approved by Warwickshire Trading Standards.

A breach of the undertaking would be classified as a contempt of court

and could lead to a prison sentence for Ilukwe and a fine for the companies.

Trading Standards says it will continue to monitor the business and its director.

John Horner, Warwickshire county councillor and portfolio holder for community safety, said: ‘Warwickshire Trading Standards receives more complaints about faulty vehicles than about anything else and is constantly working with car dealers to help them comply with the law. However, there are cases where advice and support is not heeded and enforcement action has to be taken to protect consumers.

‘Trading Standards will continue to monitor this business to ensure that it is complying with the law and will not hesitate to take action if they breach the undertaking.’

?

Ask Auto Trader

Have a question, or a suggestion for next month’s topic?

I’d love to hear from you: marc.thornborough@ autotrader.co.uk

Why video is worth more than a thousand words Auto Trader is delighted to launch the hosting of video adverts for its customers. The research reveals why consumers not only value video adverts but how it can help drive sales. Here are your key questions and the answers that reveal why video can really work for you.

I have great pictures on my advert so why should I carry video adverts?

Having well-taken, clear pictures that show off the car strongly is a great starting point, but research shows that 90% of online shoppers found video helpful in making purchase decisions.

Indeed, 73 of the top 100 retailing websites use vehicle video to promote their products which helps engage consumers, build trust and aid in the shopping experience. So a video really adds extra value that consumers not only appreciate but also engage with.

Do consumers really want video adverts and what are the benefits?

As we’ve seen, consumers appreciate video to help them make informed purchasing decisions and are increasingly expecting to see it. During our extensive trials our research revealed that those potential customers who view video are more engaged, spending 13% longer per visit looking for their next purchase. What’s more, 57% of all videos tested on site were rated very or extremely useful by consumers.

Isn’t it time consuming and expensive creating video adverts?

It’s worth investing in good quality videos as it’s a virtual walk around of your car so it pays to make sure it’s as clean, clear and as helpful to a potential car buyer as possible. Think of it in the same way as you would show a customer around a car in person – it’s all part of the virtual forecourt experience.

When we trialled video on our website, we found that on average, the sale rate of vehicles

with video was 10% higher than adverts without, so think of it as an investment in your business to drive sales. Video is a great advertisement for your business plus it provides another level of transparency that really helps build trust with a potential customer. The more they trust your business, the more confidence they have in dealing with you and buying a car.

It’s really important that you can upload your videos quickly and easily. We have partnered with three third party video players: YouTube, CitNOW and AutosOnShow.TV to provide a consistent and quality experience.

On which devices will video adverts work and which vehicles can I create video ads for?

There are several systems in place to help prevent abuse or inappropriate use of video adverts. By using YouTube, we benefit from their moderation, and CitNOW and AutosOnShow.TV content is directly sourced from each individual dealer.

The video adverts are designed to work across both desktop and mobile, and retailers will be able to upload video ads for cars and vans.

We plan to roll out the vehicle videos onto the app in the near future and to also extend the offering for motorcycle ads.

Where can I get help in delivering the best video experience for consumers and what’s the system for uploading my video adverts?

We’ve created a series of guidelines to support retailers in the making of the best possible videos for their business. What’s more, Nick King, Auto Trader Insight Director, has spent a lot of time looking at what makes the best possible video. He has put his findings into a video so that retailers can quickly and easily find out how to create a really engaging video.

Visit trade.autotrader.co.uk/auto-tradervideo to learn more.

I’m worried that someone could post a misleading video. What are you doing to try to prevent that?

Each video advert will carry a ‘Report this Advert’ link that will enable users to flag inappropriate or offensive content. Any ads reported for this will be investigated promptly and dealt with appropriately.

Video can really have an impact on your overall response and ultimately sales. To access the best practice guides and watch Nick King’s video please visit trade.autotrader.co.uk/ auto-trader-video

For more information and support please visit trade.autotrader.co.uk/auto-trader-video For the latest news, views and insight for the automotive retail community, follow @ATInsight on Twitter CarDealerMag.co.uk | 25

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DASHBOARD. Charging ahead, the manufacturers keen on electric motoring

Citroen C3

A popular mainstay of the city car sector, Citroen’s C3 gets a fairly vivid reinvention at the show. The characteristic Citroen ‘Airbumps’ so far only seen on the novel C4 Cactus make an appearance here, and Citroen says that the car will appeal to those who like to customise their vehicle’s appearance. See p34

by REBECCA CHAPLIN @BelieveBecca

E

lectric mobility was the theme running through this year’s Paris Motor Show. Volkswagen demonstrated its latest electric car, the I.D., while Mercedes showcased its EV Concept and Renault said its Zoe can now travel for up to 250 miles on a single charge.

The I.D. definitely didn’t look like the finished article – it would be no surprise if Volkswagen began developing that car, I don’t know, around September last year – but according to the brand it’ll go to market in 2020 with ‘a family’ of new zeroemission cars, which will be equipped with autonomous driving by 2025.

The Mercedes EV Concept also demonstrated that there is a demand for cleaner driving but that it is unwavering from what its customers want. Along with the Mercedes-owned Smart electric, there’s definitely a commitment to zeroemission motoring in all forms.

Of course, there’s no denying that the fourcylinder diesel-engined Discovery also made a splash (literally), as you’ll read in a couple of pages. It brings the final car in the manufacturer’s range into line with the brand’s current design ethos, and with it, dealers can expect a new showroom design.

Paris is an important show for the French brands. Citroen, Renault, Peugeot and DS all took the opportunity to show off at this event with their latest important releases too, of course, and all will be revealed over the next 19 pages. I hope you enjoy our coverage.

Kia Rio

The Rio is Kia’s global best-seller, accounting for 16 per cent of the manufacturer’s sales in 2015, so the debut of this fourth-generation model is a significant moment. Kia promises it will be the first vehicle in the sector to feature autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection. See p42

Best in show Nineteen pages of brilliant Paris coverage start here with a round-up of some of the most eye-catching models on display

THIS TIME IT’S PERSONALISED Why SsangYong Tivoli buyers don’t mind a long wait. p35 28 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Land Rover Discovery

There are few cars likely to be as important as the all-new Land Rover Discovery and it was one of the best-attended exhibits at the whole show.

The brand is having something of a renaissance at the moment, with other new models attracting industry awards. The new design gives it more of a family face alongside the Discovery Sport and Evoque, and the updated interior should be the essence of a premium model. See p30-33

MITSUBISHI’S MISSION PHEVs, EVs and SUVs are what we’re all about. p43

Nissan Micra

The Micra name, like the car itself, has withstood decades on sale and Nissan is keeping the car going with a new iteration. Taking design cues from the Sway concept car shown previously, the new Micra should feature new technology and engines to bring the car back to the fore. See p36

Mercedes-Benz EV concept

Mercedes wants to show its green credentials with an all-new electric car concept. From what we’ve seen of the car so far, it will be a futuristiclooking crossover – so it may not be one that reaches the roads, rather one that indicates the direction of future Mercedes models.

Peugeot 3008

Peugeot has some form with MPVs and showed off new versions of the 3008 and 5008 people carriers. The 3008 adds the latest version of Peugeot’s i-Cockpit system, which aims to soothe the driver with relaxing sounds, ambient light, massage and even smells. Alongside the road cars, the 3008 DKR endurance rally car was unveiled. See p46

Renault Trezor

Sadly not a vehicle that’s going to make an appearance in production, the Trezor exists to show off new technologies and styling cues for future Renault vehicles. The 1,080mm-tall concept car totes a 350hp electric powertrain, in a nod to Renault’s Formula E activities.

Volkswagen I.D. concept

Unsurprisingly, Volkswagen has been investing in electric technology recently. This new electric car concept is, like the Mercedes, unlikely to become a production model but acts as an indication of the company’s future design and technology direction, as it seeks to put Dieselgate behind it. See p38

Honda Civic Type R Prototype A sneak preview of the next generation of Honda Civic Type R, this one-off car is based on the new tenth-generation Civic Hatchback.

The production model will be unveiled next year and will, for the first time, be exported from Honda’s Swindon base to the USA. See p40

Ferrari LaFerrari Aperta

Ferrari took the opportunity to unveil two high-performance cars, with both the LaFerrari convertible – officially named ‘Aperta’ (Italian for ‘open’) – and the GTC4Lusso T, which uses a turbocharged V8 for the first time in a Ferrari of this type.

MINI’S GROWING UP But there’s still scope for fun and excitement. p44

RIGHT ON SO MANY LEVELS Why autonomous tech fits so well with the BMW brand p45 CarDealerMag.co.uk | 29

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We’re offering more of the same… but better!

JLR: Managing says Line-up of director new models the biggestattracts challenge his brand at Geneva plenty of faces is attracting customers attention and orders after who shop elsewhere goodcurrently sales in January

by DARREN CASSEY @DCassey

T

he new Land Rover Discovery made its public debut at the Paris Motor Show, one day after its global reveal took place in the UK. The newest addition to the iconic 4x4 family caused quite a stir. An impressive feat, considering it was vying for attention among exotic supercars, prototype racers and some gamechanging EV tech from the Germans.

A few days prior to this grand unveiling, we spoke to Jaguar Land Rover’s managing director Jeremy Hicks, who explained the approach his team took to reinventing a classic: ‘The brief from the design team was to maintain what we’ve got, but make it better.

‘If we start with Land Rover customers, we say ‘what do you want us to change?’ and they say ‘‘nothing’’. If we listened to the customer purely, we’d still be selling Discovery One!’ To help keep existing Discovery fans happy, the new car has design nods to previous models such as a stepped roof and offset rear number plate.

However, the rest of the car has been overhauled to bring its styling into line with the rest of the company’s range.

While Hicks acknowledges that Land Rover could easily sit on its hands and still sell cars to its faithful followers, he says the biggest challenge the team encountered was appealing to customers currently shopping elsewhere.

‘We’re very good at speaking to our own congregation,’ he said, ‘but we need to be better at speaking to a broader congregation. So creating something that’s true to the values of Discovery but also has a broader appeal.

‘And it does. People who drive the usual German suspects such as the [BMW] X5, [Audi] Q7 and also the [Volvo] XC90, so the Swedes as well – those customers have all reacted very favourably to the car.’

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‘People who drive the usual German suspects such as the X5 and Q7 have all reacted very favourably to the car.’

While he wouldn’t be drawn on projected sales figures – ‘we have them, we’re just not going to share them!’ – Hicks did say that because of the wider appeal of the car and the fact that the sector ‘has grown by 20 per cent this year’, he’s confident the new Discovery will do ‘at least as well as the old car’.

With Jaguar Land Rover investing heavily in retail spaces and posting a record first quarter this year, you’d have to be brave to bet against the new Discovery being anything but a sales success.

‘We’re creating a common look for both brands’

TURN OVER PAGE TO SEE THE DISCOVERY IN DETAIL

The new Land Rover Discovery in Paris

JAGUAR Land Rover’s investment in its dealer network is necessary to bring both manufacturers under one cohesive brand image, says Jeremy Hicks, below.

The Coventry-based manufacturer is investing £1bn into retail spaces and wants to see 86 per cent of its dealerships renovated by 2020.

‘We’re really focusing on building both the Jaguar and the Land Rover brands,’ Hicks said. ‘We are launching a stream of great new cars and it’s absolutely right that the showroom environment works with the products and the brand.

‘If you look at the traditional Jaguar and the typical Land Rover dealer, they look completely different. There is no family feel in the architecture, so we’ve had to and wanted to create a common look and feel for both brands.’

He said that one of the main inspirations for the new-look dealerships came from outside of the automotive world.

‘People talk about what Apple did on the high street. How they refocused on excellent products, beautifully packaged and sold from exceptionally good, brand-dedicated stores.

‘And in the automotive world it’s no different.’

But it’s not just about changing what customers see when they turn up, it’s about rethinking the whole car shopping experience.

With that in mind, Hicks says he is encouraging the use of non-commission-based salaries for sales staff.

He says it’s better for everyone, giving employees more security and relieving customers from feeling pressured into a purchase.

Hicks said: ‘I want us to employ in our network people who do the job because they’re passionate about doing the right thing all the time.

‘We will attract a far higher quality of people to come and have a career looking after customers.’

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SHOWSTOPPER IN DETAIL

Land Rover Discovery Reinventing an icon isn’t easy, but that was exactly the task faced by Land Rover when it came to build the fifth-generation Discovery. The updated version of the venerable 4x4 made its public debut at the Paris Motor Show. Darren Cassey checked it out.

The new Discovery is 480kg lighter than before. It’s 85 per cent aluminium – 43 per cent of which is from recycled materials. There’s more extensive use of aluminium in the crash structure, while the suspension is mounted to steel front and rear subframes.

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Land Rover knows the Discovery has to be ridiculously capable off road. It has Terrain Response 2, which automatically adjusts settings based on the surface type, while the low-range gears and a locked differential improve its ability to ascend and descend slopes.

Fuel economy and emissions figures are more impressive than ever. The lightweight body has helped, as have improvements to the 3.0-litre diesel engine. The big news is the 2.0-litre diesel, which offers 44.8mpg and CO2 emissions of 165g/km.

To celebrate the launch of the new Discovery, Land Rover is building 2,400 First Edition models, with just 600 coming to the UK. Buyers get the choice of three exclusive colours, aluminium interior trim and unique 21-inch alloy wheels.

It’ll cost a hefty £68,295 to get one, though.

The new Discovery is a proper sevenseater as, apparently, 95 per cent of adults can fit into every seat – yes, even the third row in the back. Each seat gets access to a USB port and all rows are heated. The seats can fold in six different combinations for versatile storage and can even be controlled via a smartphone app.

Capability is key for the Discovery.

That’s why it comes with some impressive stats such as a 900mm wading depth, up to 2,500 litres of storage space and a 3.5-tonne towing capability.

It also comes with a tow assist that takes the pressure out of reversing a trailer.

Buyers have plenty of choice to make their Discovery their own. There are 18 exterior colours, 14 alloy wheel designs in four different sizes and a variety of exterior design packs. Inside there’s a choice of material finishes and colour combinations.

Land Rover subjected the new Discovery to a gruelling testing and development regime, and it was the first of its cars to undergo a full virtual test before physical development began. The car travelled to more than 20 countries, covered more than a million miles, and encountered temperatures between -35°C and +50°C. CarDealerMag.co.uk | 33

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Design, comfort and useful technology are our three pillars CITROEN: Brand is ready to adapt as the market changes, with a new design process being applied to all models

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n home soil in Paris, French manufacturer Citroen was keen to showcase its all-new C3 hatch, as well as giving insights into the brand’s future direction.

Taking visual elements from the C4 Cactus crossover, it marks a new product offensive by the car maker. It is this strategy that Citroen’s global CEO Linda Jackson was eager to discuss, as well as a completely new design process: ‘Every model that we bring out from now on will reflect the idea of design, comfort and useful technology.

‘We used the experience of C4 Cactus – of course this car had already been developed before I came into this current role – but we took the spirit of this design, a design that was a little bit different from everyone else.’

The Cactus took the motoring world by surprise, with its quirky design and ‘Airbump’ side panels splitting opinions. It’s why a similar design philosophy is now being applied to the C3, as well as other cars coming in the range. One thing is for sure, customers appear to appreciate sitting comfortably in Citroen cars, something which Jackson wanted to address in all of the brand’s cars moving forward: ‘We’ve been asking customers what they do in their cars and they’ve

Citroen C3 takes visual elements from the C4 Cactus

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We want an SUV introduced in 2018 CITROEN is looking to introduce an allnew SUV in 2018. Keen to be a part of the ever-flourishing market, the French brand is looking to get the car into showrooms as quickly as possible. Jackson explains: ‘We have to have an SUV line-up, which is why we’ve accelerated as much as we can the development of the car that we want to introduce in 2018, and which will be available worldwide.’

by JACK EVANS @jackrober

turned to us and said – ‘‘inside our cars, it’s our life’’ and therefore we want cars to be comfortable because they spend so much time in them.’

Citroen’s new strategy sits around three main pillars: design, comfort and useful technology.

How will they affect its cars? Jackson explains: ‘We’ve taken design, comfort and useful technology and in our product plan, which covers small vehicles all the way through to large vehicles – including SUVs – and applied them to all cars. They can be slightly different, of course.’

This isn’t going to come at the expense of a signature brand style, as Jackson puts it: ‘We want to have a coherence.

‘That’s what we’ve done with the C3.’

These changes include a more recognisable style – ‘we wanted to emphasise the lighting signature’ – as well as a more comfortable ride.

Citroen has always been known for its softlysprung cars – though it was Jackson who got rid of the company’s famous hydraulic suspension system – ‘I cancelled it for something that was

much more efficient and available to everyone.’

It’s why the company is currently developing an all-new suspension system, which makes changes to everything from the springs up – even the seats. This is due to be applied to cars coming through soon: ‘We’ve got a demonstrator suspension set-up that is currently in a C4 Cactus, and the difference between that and standard cars is incredible.

‘We’ve worked on the suspension and we’ve worked on the seats – even the type of material that the seats are made of. We will introduce that as we introduce new models.’

How does a company like Citroen keep up with the market? Jackson explains: ‘We have to evolve, but right now we’ve tried to address what our customers want today.

‘The life of a vehicle can be five or six years, but it will evolve with whatever is going on with the market – that’s why we have midlife refreshes.

‘The whole market changes so quickly that you have to adapt – and we will adapt.’

SsangYong’s Liv2 Concept

How SsangYong got it wrong with their Tivoli predictions SSANGYONG: Dealers have a ‘nice, balanced portfolio’ of cars to sell which proves brand is not a one-trick pony

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here’s no denying Tivoli has been a game changer for SsangYong but who could have predicted, as MD of SsangYong UK Paul Williams told Car Dealer at the Paris Motor Show, that customers would be prepared to wait three months to get hold of one?

‘We got it completely wrong when it came to predicting what spec levels people would buy,’ said Williams. ‘Nearly 70 per cent were top spec, which is fantastic.’

Williams mentioned the ‘My Tivoli’ programme in which people can customise their car with a roof of their choosing and ‘fancy wheels’ and he added: ‘This is unheard of, but people are actually ordering a SsangYong and are prepared to wait 12 weeks.

‘That’s because they want a white one with a black roof and a red interior. We don’t build those for stock.’

Williams added: ‘We set out with a plan to sell 3,000 Tivoli this year. We’re on plan to do that. What has

by REBECCA CHAPLIN @BelieveBecca

been really encouraging about the car, though, is that we set out to sell 10 per cent base car, 30 per cent top spec car and then the middle ground.’

The SsangYong boss will freely admit that the brand wasn’t particularly well-known until fairly recently, but recognition is steadily increasing.

‘Obviously SsangYong is still a growing brand.

We’re not that well known yet but we’re getting bigger and bigger. Every year, I say this is our best ever year. So 2016 will be our best ever year, 2017 will be our best ever year. This car will obviously help, and we expect to sell a lot more of the new Rexton than the current one.

‘Particularly as we think we’re going to have space in the market, as this is a car with a separate chassis. Sort of old style, but that helps us to have a great towing capability,

New Rexton to be delivered in a year THE Liv2 Concept, as on display at the Paris Motor Show, is soon to become the next Rexton. It’s the second most popular car in SsangYong’s range but that doesn’t mean all your customers will have heard of it.

Williams admitted: ‘It’s a very thinly disguised concept if I’m honest. I’ve seen the finished article and I can say, hand on heart, it is very close to what you’ll see at Geneva next year when we’ll launch the production-ready version.

‘Production will start in June of next year so we’ll be delivering the first cars this time next year.’ great off-road and a very, very attractive price point.’

Tivoli is making up the largest portion of SsangYong’s product mix, but that doesn’t mean other models are being left behind.

‘We’re trying to improve and grow our dealer network and it’s been great news for them, because they’ve all sold more.

‘What we said when we launched Tivoli, is we wanted to sell more of every product and our mix is quite balanced. We’re selling 50 per cent Tivoli, 25 per cent Korando and the other three models make up the other 25 per cent.

‘It’s a nice balanced portfolio in terms of sales mix for the dealers. So we’re not a one-trick pony.’

If the UK needed more Tivolis, SsangYong UK is in a good position, as Williams explained.

‘We’re in a relatively fortunate position that we’re the third biggest market in the world for SsangYongs, we’re the biggest in Europe.

‘So, we’ve got a fairly good share, voice and amount of airtime with the factory.

‘If we want more, we can get them.’

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Next conquest success NISSAN: The fourth-generation Micra wasn’t quite the ticket, but this is a car that’s going to go great guns, predicts Japanese manufacturer

by REBECCA CHAPLIN @BelieveBecca

N

issan is focusing on the crucial B-segment once again with the Micra Gen5 and James Wright, now vice-president of Nissan Europe East, is predicting the new model will be another fantastic conquest car for the brand.

‘It’s the biggest retail segment in the marketplace. It’s something that historically, up until the current car, Nissan has always been really strong in,’ he explained.

‘More importantly, I think this car will bring a lot of new people into the franchise. We’re expecting a high level of conquest.

‘When we first launched Qashqai, conquest was close to 100 per cent, and we had a similar story with Juke. We expect a very high level of conquest with Micra as well because the car is so different.’

It certainly is. Lower, wider and longer than its predecessors, the car has more interior space as well as advanced new downsized turbo drivetrains, an agile chassis and a full complement of innovative safety features.

Although they’re not giving anything away with regards to sales figures, Nissan are not anticipating they will reach the heights of previous models. At least to start off with.

Wight explained: ‘If you go back a decade or so, we were selling 40,000 Micras a year. Even today, Micra is the second highest nameplate attribution of any Nissan product and until very recently it was number one.

‘Only very recently has Qashqai become the most recognised Nissan brand in consumers’ minds, but Micra is still number two.’

With the car being produced in Europe, it’ll mean a shorter lead time on cars and allows Nissan to be more flexible with the design.

‘We have a progressive roll-out of the powertrains,’ added Wright.

‘Initially we only launch with two powertrains – a 900cc petrol and a 1.5-litre diesel. What’s still to come is a lower-powered petrol and a higher-powered petrol, plus an automatic which we won’t get 36 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

The future’s orange... Nissan’s Micra Gen5 immediately. So first-year volume aspiration isn’t so high. I’m not going to tell you a number, but the second year will be higher and the third year will be higher again. If you look at the hierarchy of the quantity of cars that we’re selling, I would say by 2018 it will be Qashqai, Juke, Micra.

Whereas in 2017, it will be Qashqai, Juke, X-Trail, Micra.’

Nissan acknowledged they had to learn from mistakes made with the fourth-generation Micra when designing the latest model and Wright was prepared to admit that the fourth-generation ‘wasn’t quite right for the market’.

Four in six drivers buying Nissans come from rival brands, and the team anticipate that the majority of Micra buyers will be downsizing from more premium cars or moving from other B-segment cars, so it needs to be competitive.

There is a clear influence from the rest of the

‘It’s the biggest retail segment in the marketplace. It’s something that historically, up until the current car, Nissan has always been really strong in.’

Nissan could bring Nismo Micra to the UK NISSAN is already working on bringing a ‘hot’ version of the Nissan Micra Gen5 to the UK. The March – Japan’s version of the Micra – already has a sporty Nismo version.

When Micra product manager Martin Boutard was asked whether there was a plan to bring this to the UK, he told Car Dealer: ‘I feel it’s pretty likely it’s going to happen.’

The new Micra’s design is largely based on the Sway Concept, which was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year.

Nissan is extremely positive about sales of the new Micra, although it wouldn’t confirm exact numbers at this time.

Boutard added: ‘I think it’s going to be a lot more than we’re predicting.’

Right: Nissan’s Qashqai, top, and X-Trail

B-segment, as Nissan has created 125 ways for customers to personalise their Micra Gen5. There will be three levels of personaliation and, unlike other cars on the market, customers will have to choose from set variations. However, Nissan’s aim is that there are enough to feel individual.

Buyers will be able to choose between having a customised paint job on the exterior of their car; or customisation options both inside and outside, with special decals. Nissan anticipates the second will be the most popular choice.

Set against the rest of the B-segment, Micra is a very different offering. The hatchback will only be available with five doors and it will have

the most interior space of any of its rivals, but customisation is a critical part of its offering.

Wright said: ‘If you look at Juke, customisation is something that made it really successful. If you look at some of the other manufacturers, for example Renault with Captur, it’s also been very successful, so this is part of the same story.’

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Interactive light elements alter the look and feel, depending on the I.D.’s current mode. If all of the I.D.’s systems are shut down, the car closes its ‘eyes’ (the headlights), changing into a 360° light show when the car is woken up.

SHOWSTOPPER IN DETAIL

Volkswagen I.D. With a stated goal of selling a million electric cars a year by 2025, Volkswagen has used the Paris Motor Show to reveal its first purpose-made battery-powered car. Due to hit the roads in 2020, the I.D. is the start of the company’s march towards zero emissions, and Andrew Evans looks at the key details.

The Volkswagen I.D. is the first compact Volkswagen based on the Modular Electric Drive Kit (MEB – Modularer Elektrifizierung Baukasten).

Designed around the mobility requirements of the future, the I.D.’s underpinnings are aimed at providing space, safety and sustainability.

I.D.’s electric motor produces 125kW/168hp, giving the car performance figures of around eight seconds for the 0-60mph sprint and a top speed of 99mph in this concept model. Future versions of the I.D. could be offered with higher or lower power electric motors to give customers the option of higher performance or lower running costs.

The car features a space-saving, high-voltage flat battery located in the floor, giving a range of between 400 and 600 kilometres (250 to 375 miles) on a single battery charge. It can be charged by cable, or by parking the car over an inductive charging plate. It’s possible to reach 80 per cent charge in just 30 minutes.

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I.D. also comes with autonomous driving technology and is the first VW to support fully automated driving. In autonomous mode – I.D. Pilot – the car uses four laser scanners, ultrasonic sensors, radar and cameras. Traffic data is also constantly collected and compared with the vehicle data via the cloud.

Xxx VOLKSWAGEN: Post dieselgate, carmaker xx The steering wheel retracts into the dashboard in fully automated mode. By pressing the central Volkswagen logo for three seconds, the wheel retreats into the dash and locks in place. This mode is deactivated by pressing the brake or accelerator pedals, bringing the wheel back towards the driver.

If you need to receive a parcel when you’re out and about, the I.D. can act as a drop box. A parcel delivery agent can locate the car by GPS and, via an expiring code on the appropriate app, is given temporary access to the car’s boot. The owner is then notified through the same app or by email.

Each individual driver will be recognised by the I.D. by their own ‘Volkswagen ID’. This profile includes personal seat and air conditioning settings, favourite radio stations and songs, preferred system settings and navigation details and the user’s contact details. The I.D. can recognise the user by their smartphone and will know who’s about to get behind the wheel.

embarks on an electric, autonomous future VOLKSWAGEN has been somewhat on the back foot after the recent emissions scandal, which makes their latest concept – the all-electric I.D. – all the more important.

It was showcased alongside several other low-emission cars at this year’s show.

Electric cars not only allow for lower emissions, they also allow for greater interior space. That’s something Klauss Bischoff, head of design at Volkswagen, was eager to let us know when we chatted to him about the I.D. Explaining the new design of the striking concept, Bischoff said: ‘Really, we are shaping today a look that reaches ahead.

‘If you look at the I.D., we decided to clear out the interior space. The dashboard is moved 200mm further forward when compared to the Golf.

‘When I’m sitting in the Golf, everything is much closer to my chest. Because the engine has been removed, the air conditioning and remaining wiring has been pushed into this space, which has allowed us to move the dashboard forward.

‘The I.D. has the space of a Passat in a footprint which is smaller than the Golf.’

Rather than being a standard car, with a set seating arrangement, Bischoff predicts that future Volkswagen vehicles will be designed more like a room or lounge, giving people greater freedom in how the interior of their Volkswagen looks. ‘Things will become a lot more free because you’ll be able to discuss things such as seating positions,’ he explained.

‘You’ll be able to use the space like a room, and put your furniture where you want.’ Rather than simply adjusting your seat, drivers will be able to relax and recline. That, of course, leads on to autonomous technology once more.

However, whereas some manufacturers see autonomous cars as different on the inside, Volkswagen – and Bischoff – see exterior changes too: ‘When I am in an autonomous car, I might take a nap.

‘Along comes a pedestrian. In a nonautonomous car I’d see the pedestrian and he’d look at me and know I’d seen him.

‘With autonomous cars, the pedestrian wouldn’t make the connection. That’s where we see the potential for making an autonomous car interactive with pedestrians and the environment.’

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Demand is exceeding supply and our dealers are profiting HONDA: Carmaker’s fortunes have been transformed in an 18-month period, says UK managing director

by REBECCA CHAPLIN @BelieveBecca

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he new Honda Civic is on its way and dealers can look forward to profitable times ahead as the car is expected to sell out quickly, according to UK MD Philip Crossman.

‘As soon as it arrives in March, I’d expect it to be sold out for the back end of next year,’ said Crossman. ‘I think we can expect for our Honda dealers, their profitability will continue as it is.’

He added: ‘At the moment, the big challenge is that we have a lot of orders and not enough supply. So our dealer profitability is very good, we’re getting great showroom traffic, they’re demanding more cars from us.

‘We believe we’re going to be on for a very good year of profitability for dealers. It’s a good time to be a Honda dealer right now.

‘Jazz is sold out, for CR-V there’s an order bank, and HR-V is the same. Our business in 18 months has transformed. We’re carrying orders into next month and the month after.’

Turning his attention to the outgoing model, Crossman said: ‘The current car has been with us for nearly five-and-a-half years. Civic is such an important car to us, renewing the car now is just its normal lifestyle change. The big news though, is of course that the five-door Civic is going to America for the first time. Swindon is going to be the global hub for five-door Civics. We’re going to export to 70 countries from Swindon.

‘We think the current model will end

New Honda Civic Type R production towards the back end of this year.

So at Swindon, they’re building the current car, the new car and CR-V, so at some point they will concentrate totally on the new Civic.’

Following Car Dealer Magazine’s visit to the Paris Motor Show, Honda dealers were also invited out to see the car.

‘We have a huge amount of respect for our dealers,’ said Crossman. ‘We try to treat them as partners and we talk a lot about the Honda family globally. That is very much the nature of the company. We’re in it together, it’s not us telling them what to do. We want a partnership.

‘They need to make money, they need to look after their customers. We need to provide them with good products. We’ve got the right balance.

‘We’ve got the right amount of dealers, of the right size for where we are and we want our dealers to be profitable so I have no plans to expand the network at all.’

Type R values to rise due to limited run HONDA Civic Type R owners can expect their cars to increase in value, according to the manufacturer’s UK boss Philip Crossman.

‘I think it’s great news for dealers because the demand is there,’ he told Car Dealer at the Paris Motor Show.

‘There’s only going to be 2,000 to 2,500 of the current Type R on the road.

It’s a wonderful car and it’s going to be a complete collector’s item.

‘So I’d advise anyone who’s got one now, to keep the mileage down, keep it in good condition and the value is going to go up.’

SEAT: ‘Ateca has created a real buzz around the brand and confidence is sky-high’

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eat’s new Ateca is a big deal for the Barcelona brand. As the car maker’s first foray into the SUV market, it’s tapping into a flourishing segment of the industry – one that UK director Richard Harrison is keen to make the most of.

The Ateca comes as the first car in a fivevehicle wave from Seat, with Harrison seeing it as a ‘challenge’ for the brand but, as he added: ‘What a great challenge to have!’ Not only is the Ateca attracting a huge amount

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of interest from the press, but it’s also requiring specific training for its dealers. Harrison told us: ‘We took over Millbrook Proving Ground for 10 days. We brought all of the dealer staff – not just sales, but service staff and technicians – into Milbrook and gave them an intensive full day in Ateca.’

It seemed that the carspecific training did the trick, as Harrison also said: ‘As the dealers were leaving at the end of the day, their

confidence was sky-high because it’s not just about what we tell them, but also what they experience for themselves. We’re now seeing the benefit of that through our order take.

‘I’m pretty certain that we’ll be sold out for this year’s production by the time we reach the end of next month. There is a real buzz around the brand at the moment.’

The Spanish car maker has recently benefited from €3.3 billion of investment from owners Volkswagen Group, showing the parent company’s commitment to making Seat work.

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More space, better quality KIA: Will South Korean manufacturer have another hit on its hands with car that has been designed to address some of the foibles of its predecessor?

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ia’s big news in Paris was undoubtedly its new Rio supermini – not just for us hatchback-loving Europeans, but for Kia’s operations across the rest of the globe. too. The Rio is Kia’s biggest-selling model worldwide and its third biggest across Europe, so getting the formula right matters – and is perhaps why the maker is sticking rigidly to a (comparatively short for the segment) six-year product cycle.

‘Rio enters the biggest car segment out there – one of the most competitive and one of the most challenging,’ Kia UK’s president and CEO, Paul Philpott, told us. ‘We do pretty well in the retail market right now with existing Rio, and I think what you see of the new Rio is an evolution of the current model.’

Although not exactly the most radicallydesigned car on display at Paris – even within its segment – Philpott, below, says this fourth generation Rio gently addresses some of the foibles owners found with the previous model.

‘Firstly, more usable space without changing the exterior dimensions dramatically. Secondly, as with most of our cars now, you’ll see a step change in the quality of interior materials – so you’re seeing dash, seating and instrumentation all moving forward at quite a pace.

‘Finally – and I think most importantly for small car buyers – you’ll see updated infotainment and integration of technology like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto via a new central screen, which you’ll see coming to more and more of our models.’

The Rio, followed by a new Picanto next year, makes up the core of Kia’s small car offering, but Philpott is keen to see the pair joined by a sibling that could compete in an increasingly popular segment.

‘Rio enters the biggest car segment out there – one of the most competitive and one of the most challenging.’

42 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

by JON REAY @JonReay ‘You only have to walk round a Kia showroom to realise there’s still opportunity for a smaller SUV,’ he told us. ‘And from our strength in SUVs with Sportage and Sorento, and crossovers with Niro and Soul, you have to conclude that a Juketype competitor is something that the Kia range would benefit from.

‘I then think if you look at our brand positioning as slightly more youthful and dynamic than Hyundai… we’ve said for many years that the Kia brand would benefit from some sort of dedicated sports car.

‘But at the same time, we have to make sure that we manage range complexity. We need to make sure that we don’t make the range so complex for dealers that they don’t understand it.

We have to recognise any further complexity, and complexity isn’t necessarily a good thing.

‘It’s why we don’t offer any factory options – as soon as you add options you add stocking complexity, and when half our range comes from Korea with six weeks spent

on the high seas, having the wrong cars in stock to meet customer demand is something we want to avoid.’

Just a stone’s throw from Kia’s stand, sister brand Hyundai was revealing something decidedly more saucy: a 374bhp rally car-like creation said to preview a hot-hatch version of the new i30. We asked Philpott if he thought the Kia brand was missing out on the hot-hatch action.

‘Clearly Hyundai’s rally programme and their N series is interesting.

‘I think for us, we’ve got no plan at the moment to create a dedicated series.

‘Our experience of Cee’d GT and GT Line is that it worked very well for us in promoting the Cee’d product

MITSUBISHI: PHEV and EV offroaders now define us... and technology is moving very fast

M range. And GT Line is taking something like one third of sales mix now – so people want sporty looks, not necessarily with a sporty powertrain or the insurance group that goes with it.’

So no sign of a direct rival to the i30N, then – but would Philpott like to see Kia follow Hyundai and Rockar into the model of selling cars within a retail environment?

‘I continue to believe that a strong manufacturer brand, great product range and

a strong local dealer brand offering great customer service is a pretty strong model,’ he told us resolutely. ‘We’ve experimented – on a much smaller scale – with our existing dealers operating within shopping centre units. You cannot display our whole range within a shopping centre. There’s no used operation, there’s no service operation.

‘And so where do customers go?

‘They go to the local dealer. And therefore our focus is very much on driving people to fullyoperating dealerships.’

New Kia Rio boasts better quality interior materials

itsubishi chief Shiraji-san says PHEVs, EVs and SUVs are what now define the company.

At the Paris Motor Show – where the firm unveiled the PHEV Ground Tourer Concept car which points towards the look of the next-generation Outlander hybrid – Shiraji-san revealed the firm has now sold 110,000 PHEVs worldwide.

‘To our great delight the Outlander was the best-selling PHEV in Europe last year and continues to be number one this year,’ he said.

He also revealed that the firm will soon launch a pure-electric SUV with a range of 240 miles based on the eX Concept car.

He said: ‘Electric vehicle technology is evolving so fast. We will launch a pure electric SUV in the near future with a 400km range based on this concept car.’

He added that Mitsubishi believes demand for electric-powered SUVs will only continue to grow and that its model line-up will cater for this.

The new GT PHEV Grand Tourer concept debuted on the firm’s stand is a possible look at what the next plug-in hybrid from Mitsubishi will look like.

With a 120km range and triple motor four-wheel drive, Shiraji-san said it’s a car that can be enjoyed every day and mostly driven as a pure EV. In total, the car will have a 1,000km range when driven on a combination of electric drive and engine.

The new GT PHEV Grand Tourer concept

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 43

DASHBOARD.

Clubman JCW ‘offers usable practicality and performance’ MINI: The manufacturer may be growing up but it’s still got lots of room for fun and excitement with a widening range

M

ini had a large stand at this year’s show, with the manufacturer now able to offer six models in total.

It’s always a company full of surprises, bringing along numerous cars that all share the same inherent ‘go-kart’ spirit. And it’s a spirit that Ralph Mahler, vice-president of product management at Mini, wanted to show was still there in the brand’s latest model, the Clubman John Cooper Works.

The most powerful Clubman to date, it’s a serious car, but does that mean Mini has to grow up, too? Mahler doesn’t seem to think so. ‘With a smaller car, you can expect a more go-kart feeling,’ he said. ‘Although the cars are getting bigger, I still think it’s the most exciting car when you compare it to others in the segment.

‘That driving enjoyment is kept in right from development – it’s in the genes.’

Is there space for an even bigger car, larger even than the compact SUV Countryman? Mahler said there was – just. ‘Of course a larger car is possible.

The Countryman is considered small for the segment, so of course a larger car is possible.’

In a show dominated by SUVs, it’s easy to see how Mini could introduce one, too. The Countryman currently sits at the smaller end of the spectrum as Mahler says, which could mean a larger vehicle is on the cards.

However, with parent company BMW producing numerous plug-in hybrid and electric

by JACK EVANS @jackrober

cars, it seems natural for Mini to progress into the alternatively-fuelled market. Mahler said: ‘Demand for plug-in electric cars is extremely good because customers don’t have to fear running out of charge.

‘I think that’s the perfect solution for the near future because it’s a way to get the customer into electric cars.’ But how would this technology work for Mini? The benefits of being owned by one of the largest vehicle manufacturers in the world are clear to see. ‘As you see, we already have a few technical solutions within the BMW group, and whenever an electric idea comes up for Mini we would take one of these existing solutions – we wouldn’t come up with a completely new system.’ With electric power being crucial to a company’s progression, it’s easy to see how Mini could integrate current BMW technology into its cars. However, with Mini trading on a back-tobasics driving feel, wouldn’t more technology dilute its cars? Not at all. Mahler put us straight on the subject. ‘To be honest, I don’t think that the increase of technology in cars detracts from the driving experience at all. When you look at all of the components that are key for the driving experience – especially for the go-kart feel – they are almost always mechanical parts.

Headset views are virtually a given MANY manufacturers are looking at different ways to showcase their cars to consumers. Virtual reality headsets are already being used to give buyers a more in-depth look at their vehicles. Will this apply to Mini soon? Ralph Mahler is split on the idea, saying: ‘I personally think you need to see a car in reality, because that gives the best impression. However, with the complexity of the cars, many people want to see the configuration they have in more than just 2D on a computer screen.

So maybe in the future.’

‘Of course, technology helps when it comes to changing driving modes, but when it comes to the core of it, it’s all about mechanical parts.’

As well as having a good mechanical basis, Minis have always had a distinct sense of place within the market, with each and every model offering something slightly different. Where does the Clubman JCW sit within this? Mahler told us that as well as offering performance it also gives usable practicality. ‘I myself have two kids and a dog. We live in the city.

‘I like driving performance cars, but I also need a vehicle that I can get my family in.

‘The Clubman JCW, for example, is perfect for that because it provides everything I need.’

And as Mahler explained to us, despite Mini’s ‘growing up’, the company still has plenty of room for fun and excitement.

Mini Clubman John Cooper Works

44 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Autonomous systems seen as highlighting driving pleasure BMW: Cars without a steering wheel or pedals are the ultimate level – meaning you might not need a licence

A

utonomy was a bit of a buzz word at this year’s show, and BMW, with one of the largest stands at the event, has openly shown its interest in autonomous technology. Dr Dirk Wisselmann, senior engineer for automated driving at BMW Group, is one of the key figures in the brand’s development of the technology. However, with the German car maker’s constant use of the ‘Ultimate Driving Machine’ phrase, doesn’t taking your hands off the wheel conflict with this idea?

Wisselmann explained that, far from reducing driver involvement, autonomous systems could be used to highlight it.

Stages of autonomy have been split into levels, with the highest being level five. This would see consumers buying cars without steering wheels or pedals, negating the need for any driver involvement. Current cars sit at the lower end of the spectrum. ‘If we reach level four, we don’t have any conflict between autonomous driving and driving pleasure,’ said Wisselmann.

‘There will always be the possibility to choose with a BMW. The technology fits almost perfectly with the brand because it gives drivers the option between allowing the system to drive or for the driver to take control.’

Each and every manufacturer at the show seemed to mention autonomous driving in some shape or form, but it appeared that BMW was especially keen to get the technology implemented sooner rather than later, with Wisselmann telling us: ‘We started our studies some five years ago, and at the moment we have conducted more than 400 tests.

‘We are quite confident that the system

by JACK EVANS @jackrober

will work. We are now on to seeing serious application of level three capabilities by 2021.

‘We need to develop some basic elements of the technology, though, which is why we’re working with Intel to develop and improve the “brain” of the car. This means the perception must be improved.’

Wisselmann was quick to point out, though, that even autonomous models in the future won’t be able to deal with complicated country roads.

‘For example, in Germany you tend to go skiing in the winter time. For the last 50 miles of your journey there’s lots of snow and you need snow chains to drive. The car will not be able to handle this automatically.’

He stressed that rather than removing any hint of driver involvement, autonomous technology would instead take out the bits we don’t enjoy.

Long motorway drives could be used for doing work or watching TV, with the driver taking control of the car when the road got more interesting. However, Wisselmann also showed the practical application of top-tier level five assistance. ‘Level five really means a car without a steering wheel or pedals. You might not need a driving licence – you might even be drunk.’

With recent surveys finding that some people are in fact scared of the prospect of autonomous cars, it would appear that getting the right rules in place before their deployment sits at the heart of the technology. Wisselmann’s native Germany appears to be somewhat ahead of the trend here,

Technology ‘will improve safety’ SAFETY in up-and-coming BMW cars will be improved thanks to autonomous technology, Dr Dirk Wisselmann said.

‘There’s already active departure warning,’ he explained, ‘but even the 2 Series and i3 have traffic jam detection systems. Higher levels of assistance will take longer, though.’

The company also revealed its latest concept, the X2, which comes in response to an ever-growing crossover market.

BMW X2 Concept

though. ‘The Ministry of Traffic is very active in allowing the testing of level three cars within this decade,’ he said. ‘I think this could be the first step in development, as many countries are discussing this issue. We don’t see legislation as a blocking factor just yet.’

Rather than taking the thrill of driving away, autonomous driving would be used to make interesting roads even more exciting to drive. For now, the technology sits at assistance level, but it’s clear in which direction it is going.

‘I think the future of BMW lies in autonomous driving,’ concluded Wisselmann.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 45

DASHBOARD. Increased sales of 3008 are expected PEUGEOT launched 3008 at the Paris Motor Show and it’s expected to be a game-changer.

David Peel said the more popular 3008’s sales are expected to shift from around 6,500 to 13,000 a year.

‘Just for the fact that the SUV segment is up 25 per cent yearon-year. I guess our old product was ageing and we feel we’ve got a game-changer when it comes to 3008,’ said Peel.

‘Originally before Brexit we had higher expectations of volume because the market was predicted to be higher.’

New MD draws on experience in retail sector to effect changes PEUGEOT: Dealer profitability rises and higher percentage are hitting their sales targets

D

avid Peel has a unique perspective when it comes to running a car dealership. The managing director of Peugeot UK previously worked as MD of Peugeot’s Retail Network for seven years and has a history working in retail.

He took over his current role in March and he’s not held back when it comes to making changes.

However, the feedback from dealers showed that something had to give.

‘We were bottom of the NFDA survey when I took over,’ he said. ‘When we held the forums in May I think because I was new in the job we had 90 per cent attendance, which was unheard of.’

Fresh into the job, Peel told dealer principals that the only way they could be stronger together was, quite simply, to be stronger together.

by REBECCA CHAPLIN @BelieveBecca

‘What we did in the first round of forums is we listened to what the dealers said and I was able to validate it from the dealers’ perspective. Then on July 1 we implemented all of these changes, to which the network had open arms.’

This included the dealers’ area of influence being readjusted using Experian to give a more realistic footprint for which they are responsible.

Dealer targets were simplified, with Peugeot now giving overall numbers to hit plus six months of targets in advance, based on the area of influence.

Peugeot also simplified its CSI programme and how it’s measured. Other improvements have

been changes to the brand’s commercial policy and simplifying its commercial offers.

The changes to targets have seen 80 per cent of Peugeot dealers hitting target, whereas previously they had to hit a market share of which only 40 to 50 per cent were achieving.

It’s more than just numbers, though. Dealer profitability is up, too.

‘Our dealer profitability at the end of August was 0.6 per cent return on sales against 0.3 last year, so it’s only point three but it’s double. We’re making significant progress.’

Peel is encouraging more campaigns to improve dealer profitability, including a national used car event that will cost the brand £1.5m.

A crackdown on pre-registrations is also taking place by the manufacturer.

All-in online purchase option to be launched as digital leads soar PEUGEOT will be the next manufacturer in the UK to offer customers the option to complete their new car purchase online through the brand’s website.

Currently, the only other way to do this is to buy a Tesla or use Rockar to buy a Hyundai or Jaguar Land Rover product.

Peel, pictured, explained that its digital leads had been a huge area of 46 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

growth for the brand. ‘Our digital leads have gone from 2,000 a month a year ago to 10,000 a month now, and we’ve still got dealers that I don’t think are really embracing that. That’s 10,000 customers a month contacting us,’ he said.

‘In November we’ll have a complete online platform that is part of our website, so it’s not anything separate. All of the volume goes through the network.

That’s the key point. As of today we’ve got 98.5 per cent of the network signed up.

‘Our customers will be able to go through the complete process online, including valuation without seeing the car, which we stand on with no adjustment.

‘If your car has a dent in the door then we’ll take it because we’re taking the rough with the smooth. We don’t want a blocker.’

Seven-seater Kodiaq looks to muscle in on premium sector SKODA: Manufacturer reckons demand for new ‘landmark’ SUV will outstrip supply, as it widens its segment offerings

S

koda is a brand that appears to be ever on the up and up. The Kodiaq – the manufacturer’s new seven-seat SUV – is aimed squarely at premium rivals while still maintaining the Czech company’s allimportant brand values.

SUVs were a big theme at this year’s Paris Motor Show, and Skoda was keen to show off its latest creation.

First revealed in the form of the VisionS concept car in Geneva, the Kodiaq looks to ride the new model wave first started by cars such as the Yeti and Superb.

As well as showcasing a whole new direction for Skoda, it reveals an intention by the Czech carmaker to push into the premium car sector.

Duncan Movassaghi, brand director for Skoda UK, adds to this, saying: ‘We’ve always pulled from more premium brands, and with Superb that was definitely the case. With Kodiaq, I think there will be no exception to that.

‘Kodiaq is a more expensive vehicle, and customers might have been driving a premium vehicle previously, so we need to make sure that we are aligning ourselves to them.

‘We aim to delight customers, but they come with a different set of expectations.’

Indeed, the Kodiaq certainly feels the premium product. Doors close with German car weightiness and the cabin has a level of fit and finish that we’ve come to expect from cars much further up the market.

Sitting above the already-successful

by JACK EVANS @jackrober

Superb in the range, the Kodiaq allows Skoda to offer a car in nearly every segment. With production already increased on the Yeti, it appears that people simply can’t get enough of the company’s no-nonsense attitude.

Does Movassaghi expect it to be as popular as the brand’s other cars? It would seem so. ‘We’re launching in April, and with this car we think that demand will outstrip supply,’ he said. ‘Our volumes will be dictated by how many we can get into the market.

‘We’re looking at a figure of circa 7,000 for year one, though we’re working with the factory to see what allocation we can get.’

Coming as what Movassaghi calls a ‘landmark’ car, it’s good to see that dealers will be offered specific product training. ‘There’s a lot of training and support planned for dealers in terms of selling Kodiaq. We’re also bringing in an intensive training programme, and we’ll be bringing the whole network out for specific model training.

‘Part of our training is around customer handling, not only at the point of sale

Firmly focused on alternative future IN ADDITION to the Kodiaq, Skoda will soon begin work on filling in the gaps of its range, as well as keeping an eye on in-demand areas of the market, such as hybrid and electric vehicles.

‘Obviously, we’re aware of the trend in terms of alternative fuels, so that’s another area that is under intense investigation,’ explains Movassaghi. ‘We’ll also be looking at bringing out a hybrid vehicle, as well as a battery vehicle, which is absolutely key within the planning period.’ but through the ownership cycle as well.’ And what does the future hold for Skoda? Simple: build more cars. Movassaghi said: ‘At a global level, we’re absolutely flat out. We’re looking at growing capacity, but right now we can sell every car we build. To an extent, it’s a nice place to be, but I’d rather have more as we can sell more than we can get – and sell them well.’ [CD]

‘We’re looking at growing capacity, but right now we can sell every car we build.’

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 47

JOURNEY

MANAGE YOUR

CONSUMER digital

to

physical

engage

convert

transact

Contact us to discuss how we can help you manage your consumer’s journey 0845 226 0503 info@ivendi.com www.ivendi.com/CD 48 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

DASHBOARD.

Around the world Dealer news from somewhere other than here

RUSSIA

FOUR BMWs were stolen from a showroom in St. Petersburg – in a timeframe of just 100 seconds. Four men approached the cars one evening in September, seemingly to take test drives. They opened the doors with keys they had in their possession – possibly stolen from a safe at the showroom – climbed inside the cars and drove off. Police tried to intercept them, but failed. The stolen cars are together worth £240,000.

AMERICA

FORD USA has issued a recall notice and put a hold on sales for Focus and Focus RS models over concerns that the boot can unlatch at low speeds. The recall covers US-made Focus models from 2013-2017 and current Focus RS models, built in Saarlouis, Germany, and sold in the North American market. At speeds below 4mph, it’s possible to accidentally operate the boot release switch and open the tailgate.

MEXICO

MEXICO’S auto exports were down more than five per cent in the first half of the year, according to data reported on the website Automotive News. Meanwhile, new-vehicle sales in Mexico are at historic highs. Last year, Mexico posted a sales record of 1.35 million vehicles. The trend is continuing this year, with sales up 18 per cent in the first half of 2016.

CHINA

LUXURY German automaker Porsche is consolidating its position in China as it expects sales to hit a new high in the world’s largest auto market.

Porsche China president and CEO Franz Jung predicted that 2016 will be another record year for the brand, which has delivered around 37,000 units to the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong in the first seven months of the year, nine per cent more than in 2015. ‘We will sell in this year more than 60,000 units for sure,’ he said. The wide variety of models and their elegant designs, help the brand do well, he added.

INDIA

DEMAND for new cars has been buoyed by a good monsoon season. The above-normal level of rainfall is boosting crop production and easing food price inflation, leaving more money in people’s pockets, particularly in rural areas. Manufacturers and dealers are working to cut waiting times for India’s most popular models such as the Suzuki Baleno and Tata Tiago.

www.desperateseller.co.uk | www.facebook.com/desperateseller.co.uk | twitter.com/despseller

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 49

FindandFundMyCar.com The future of feel good car buying and selling ϐ Representing a revolution in car buying and selling FindAndFundMyCar.com is a revolutionary site that brings customers, dealers, and finance lenders together, creating exceptional experiences for all. It truly is by dealers, for dealers, for the benefit of customers.

How FindandFundMyCar.com differs from other car buying websites is in its ability to guarantee quality cars from independently rated dealerships, provide finance with consumer protection, and ensure that the dealer earns not only from the sale of the vehicle, but for the sale of finance too.

A completely fresh approach to car buying and selling.

It was in early 2012 that MotoNovo Finance recognised the gap between customer expectations and what was readily available in the market. In response, it launched a mission to work with dealers to capture customers in the right place, at the right time whilst meeting their individual needs – creating a model that worked for everyone involved.

ϐ Dealer finance opportunities get squeezed Today, the market is experiencing the pressure of profit-driven finance models. Online brokers, direct lenders, and most car buying websites are increasingly excluding the dealer from the buying journey, putting the squeeze on dealer finance incomes.

The customer might not necessarily be getting the best deal for them either. In fact, when it comes to online finance brokers, customers will typically pay a 30% higher APR than dealer finance.

MotoNovo Finance aims to create a fairer environment through FindAndFundMyCar.com, one where the dealer earns their finance income, and the customer gets a great deal on their dream car.

FindandFundMyCar.com will bring dealers and finance lenders together to ultimately increase the reach of dealer finance.

ϐ Dealers earn twice Through FindandFundMyCar.com dealers will earn from the sale of the car and the sale of the finance.

ϐ Dealer fees go directly into advertising Every penny put in by dealers goes directly into advertising.

The more dealers that sign up to the revolution, the bigger the advertising campaign will become.

We believe in fair pricing.

The advertising will include an iconic motoring tune from Madness, as well as the voice of one of Britain’s famous racing drivers and television presenters, Vicki Butler-Henderson.

50 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Join the revolution Visit feelgoodcarselling.com

Powered by

We will advertise online and around the country, including top television channels, radio stations, outdoor, and online.

Ď? Earn more for less We believe in fair pricing. All dealers pay the equivalent of ÂŁ1.50 per space per week, regardless the showroom size.

The more cars that are sold, the less the dealer will ultimately pay. With this revolutionary new price package, we can help dealers move away from expensive online advertising space.

Ď? Increase the reach of dealer finance We believe that for dealers to take more of the market share Together we can take back from unsecured loan control of the car buying providers and online journey, delivering a better finance brokers, real customer experience and change needs to be higher returns for all. made to the traditional motor finance journey through collaboration of dealers. We are asking dealers to join FindandFundMyCar.com to protect the interest of the industry. Following a successful launch, it is hoped that other lenders will join us on the platform.

TV views over

300 million Radio reach

over million

220

Outdoor reach over

100 million

Web reach over

53

We are calling dealers to join together to protect the motor industry.

To find out more and register your interest, visit feelgoodcarselling.com or email marketing@motonovofinance.com

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 51

FINANCE. New Kia offers and a chance to go to Australian Open!

KIA is giving customers who test-drive any of its models before the end of November the chance to win a trip to the Australian Open.

The competition is part of the South Korean manufacturer’s offers for the fourth quarter of 2016, which include continuing to offer private customers £1,000 off the price of a new car when they test-drive selected models of the Kia range up to December 31, 2016.

Customers test-driving any Kia model before the end

of November will also be entered into the prize draw to win the all-expenses-paid trip Down Under for the men’s semi-finals of the Australian Open, which Kia Motors has sponsored since 2002. The offer is available across Kia’s 188 dealerships nationwide.

A range of finance offers is also available, including a 4.9 per cent APR deal across the range.

The best-selling all-new Sportage, left, now sees all grades benefiting from the £500 PCP deposit allowance, while Kia’s city car, the Picanto, also has enhanced finance offers, with the ‘SE’ and ‘Sport’ grades now enjoying a £700 PCP deposit allowance.

The Kia Sorento comes with the £1,000 testdrive saving and a £1,000 PCP deposit contribution. In addition, Caravan Club members buying a Sorento privately through the Kia dealer network continue to benefit from the offer of £500 towards Kia accessories.

All grades have all-wheel drive, hill-start assist, trailer stability assist plus reversing sensors, and can haul between 2,000kg and 2,500kg depending on the version.

Seven new appointments boost Scottish operation Close Brothers Motor Finance committed to offering personalised service

C

lose Brothers Motor Finance has expanded its Livingstonbased Scottish team with seven new appointments.

Since 2001, the branch has provided a personal service to dealers in Scotland through a flexible underwriting process and assistance with dealer-customer relationships – helping to increase footfall and sales in forecourts across Scotland. The new task force demonstrates Close Brothers Motor Finance’s commitment to delivering a personalised service to the dealers who operate in the region.

Matt Maley is the new sales manager and will be responsible for helping Scottish dealerships increase their sales, expand their customer Car Dealer Banner 1.pdf 6 05/08/2016 C

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base and retain current patrons. He will manage his team of five account managers, who are dedicated to the region, while setting targets and objectives and implementing strategy.

Maley brings a wealth of experience to the role, having worked in the industry for nearly 30 years. He was previously head of sales at Manheim.

Joining the sales team is Mark Barker, appointed as the new account manager for Scottish dealers.

Barker also has a wealth of industry experience, having previously worked at the SMTA (Scottish Motor Trade Association) and brings with him great knowledge and relationships with small and medium dealerships.

Barker worked in retail sales for 16:00:06

various dealerships, including cars and LCVs. Stephen Walsh has taken over as operations manager and is responsible for the day-to-day running of the Scottish branch. Walsh has 13 years of banking experience and has undertaken many roles, ranging from managing consumer lending to helping set up the overseas contact centre for Lloyds TSB, as well as the role of bank manager. Owen McAdam, Raymond Maxwell, Laura Sandison and Scott McEwan have been appointed as branch underwriters.

James Broadhead, the chief executive of Close Brothers Motor Finance, said: ‘Expanding the team in Scotland reinforces our commitment to the Scottish market.’

NEXTGEAR CAPITAL

Firm breaks through 1,000 dealer barrier

NEXTGEAR Capital UK has broken through the 1,000-dealer milestone for its stock funding solution, having grown rapidly since the business was established in the UK in 2014.

The company is now working with more than 1,000 independent and franchise dealers with facilities ranging from £30,000 to £2.5 million.

These dealers are able to buy vehicles directly from two-thirds of the UK’s wholesale and auction vehicle sources via NextGear Capital’s digital integration.

To date, NextGear Capital, which is part of Cox Automotive, has funded more than 100,000 vehicles, worth more than £730 million.

David Mercer, NextGear Capital UK’s managing director, above, said: ‘Having only moved into our new offices in Chester last month, it is fantastic to reach this milestone. We are seeing more dealers signing up for our stock funding solution, which enables them to stock more of those vehicles they know sell well.’

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Giving marketing advice and guidance is key part of our role I

’ve recently been out to visit a number of dealers, mainly at the dealers’ request. But I’ve also gone out on a few unannounced off-the-cuff visits to some dealers who we don’t work with.

I like to do this from time to time as I get to learn about the market and the differences between dealers – as well as finding out about the different ways they work.

It really is a varied day out, visiting dealers who have completely different stock profiles.

One dealer I saw had just 10 cars and another more than 100; one was a franchised dealer while another was a family-run business.

The key areas that were the same across them all were

‘They were missing a large amount of traffic and opportunities.’ that they all wanted higher business levels and they all sold cars. On my days out, I like to discuss all sorts of things to do with marketing and the market we work within. We always enjoy the visits and in the main they are very positive.

One of the main reasons for me going out on this occasion was that I wanted to help dealers get more customers coming to them via their websites.

Giving marketing advice and offering guidance to dealers is a key part of our role at First Response and something that we pride ourselves on.

Dealers are all different and they all have different website providers, but in the main they all work in the same way, so my advice really does apply to all dealers.

Let’s look at one key area: search engine optimisation

Ben

Garside TIME IS MONEY

(SEO). At one dealership I visited, when I started asking about how they were doing getting business through search engine optimisation, they didn’t really know what I was on about.

They said they were at the top and proceeded to show me the results for a search on their dealership name. While it is great to be at the top for your name, I was trying to draw attention to other aspects.

When I said that I wanted to know where they were for search terms like ‘used cars <city>’ and ‘used cars <county>’ they were unsure, and when we looked, they weren’t ranking for ‘used cars <county>’ and they were really low for ‘used cars <city>’.

From a business point of view, they were missing a large amount of traffic and business opportunities.

When I was back at the office, I worked out what the dealer could get traffic-wise and – based on standard

Turn over page for more finance stories conversion rates – what they could get through ranking for these key terms.

I then looked at their pages and worked out what was required.

This varied across the website from page titles, header tags, body content, internal links and links into the pages from other websites... the list went on.

I rewrote a couple of the pages for the dealer, adding internal links, and I also prepared a few additional pages.

This was a day’s work for me but the dealer is now ranking well for both search terms and has increased traffic. If you’d like our assistance then get in touch – we’d love to help.

Who is Ben Garside?

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

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 53

DEALFINDER.

FINANCE. YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO . . .

PICK-UP TRUCKS VOLKSWAGEN AMAROK

FORD RANGER AS A premium pick-up, the Ford Ranger has plenty of great features, such as a superb towing weight of 3.5 tonnes, intelligent security devices, advanced road safety systems and a range of economical yet powerful engines that will get you and your cargo wherever you need to go.

Until December 31, Ford is offering the Ranger Wildtrak 3.2 TDCi Stage 6 to business users on a 49-month contract for £279 per month. Following an initial customer deposit of £9,300.63, they will pay 48 monthly fees until the end of the contract. At the end of the deal, they will have paid £22,692.63.

If they choose to keep the Ranger, Ford requires a final payment of £8,482, meaning the total cost of the Ranger Wildtrack is £31,174.63 – the same price had they bought the vehicle outright as a business customer.

THE Volkswagen Amarok is one of the most premium commercial vehicles on the market, thanks to its superb interior feel and fantastic performance both on and off road.

With safety devices such as Hill Hold Assist and Hill Descent Control, customers will have a simple drive, which can be made even simpler by the addition of the optional eight-speed gearbox.

The Amarok Highline has superb accessories as standard, and until January 2 it’s being offered at £299 per month on a 36-month contract.

Customers pay a deposit of £7,100.90 then 35 instalments of £299, totalling £17,565.90.

They can then choose to keep the Highline with a £14,609.10 final optional payment, making the total cost £32,175, which is the same as the on-the-road price.

40 not out! Jennings celebrates a business relationship milestone Firm looks forward to going from strength to strength with HSBC

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ennings Motor Group is marking four decades of a successful business partnership with its bank.

In 1976, when one of the first Ford Fiesta models was rolling off the production line in Valencia, Spain, Jennings Ford, which is now part of the multi-award-winning Jennings Motor Group, was forging a new business relationship with the Midland Bank – later part of HSBC. Nas Khan, managing director of Jennings Motor Group, said: ‘We are absolutely delighted to be celebrating such a significant business partnership milestone, which began when we were solely operating as a Ford dealer four decades ago. Over the years, our business relationship and working partnership with HSBC Car Dealer Banner 2.pdf 1 05/08/2016 16:01:17

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by DAVE BROWN @CarDealerDave has grown and developed with the expansion of the company, and we can only look forward to continuing to go from strength to strength.’

In addition to being appointed to handle the general day-to-day finances and banking for the Jennings Ford business, the bank was also responsible for completing one of the first major investment transactions involving the company’s former dealership in Morpeth, Northumberland.

The Jennings business was registered with Companies House in 1912 by Septimus Jennings, and in 1917 the company became one of the first main Ford dealers in the country to be appointed

by Ford Motor Company to sell its cars. In 1992, a management buyout from the third generation of the Jennings family took place and in 2005, Khan was involved in a second buyout, which resulted in him taking over as managing director.

Andrew Blain, area relationship director for HSBC, who has been responsible for all aspects of finance for Jennings Motor Group for the past 10 years, said: ‘Over the past 10 years, HSBC has supported Nas Khan and the rest of the Jennings management team as they have grown their business and diversified their operations. We look forward to working alongside Jennings in future.’

Pictured above: Andrew Blain, area relationship director for HSBC, left, and Nas Khan, managing director of Jennings Motor Group.

Car Dealer Advert Column.pdf 8 05/08/2016 15:52:05

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

TOYOTA HILUX KNOWN to be one of the most rugged vehicles in the world, the Toyota Hilux has gone through many iterations before its current model.

Coming with an excellent off-road pedigree and excellent features to help perform any task, it has proved to be a great commercial vehicle, and also comes with Road Sign Assist and cruise control as standard.

For business customers, Toyota is currently offering the Hilux Invincible, which starts at £29,850, on a contract hire deal for £271 plus VAT per month.

This rolling contract starts with a £1,626 initial rental fee (plus VAT).

The Hilux Invincible can then be used for as long as the customer wants before exchanging it for a different model.

The offer comes with a three-day test drive to help customers make their decision. This deal is available until December 14, 2016 and the model has a five-year/100,000-mile manufacturer warranty.

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If you don’t offer online motor finance options you’ll lose customers!

Continued growth in consumer car finance, says FLA

THE one-third of dealers who do not offer motor finance on their websites are leaving their businesses exposed to online brokers, according to e-commerce experts iVendi.

Chief executive James Tew pointed to statistics from Google showing that 71 per cent of customers want to start their finance journey online – and that where dealers don’t give them this option they are potentially handing over business to others.

Tew said: ‘If you do not offer integrated, online motor finance on your website, there is a good chance that your customers are looking elsewhere – and may end up using an online broker.

‘Ironically, through a process of cutting out the middleman, all these online brokers will tend to do is pass your customer back to you without any finance commission and, in some cases, without an additional fee, too. Frankly, if the whole one-third went this way then finance income would be lost in its entirety with no incremental sales.

‘The effect on a dealer’s bottom line would be significant.’

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NEW figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association show that new business in the point-of-sale (POS) consumer new car finance market grew nine per cent by value and five per cent by volume in August, compared with the same month last year.

The percentage of private new car sales financed by FLA members through the POS reached 85.5 per cent in the 12 months to August, up from 85.3 per cent in the 12 months to July.

The POS consumer used car finance market also reported new business growth of 23 per cent by value and 21 per cent by volume in August.

The FLA’s Geraldine Kilkelly said: ‘The growth reported by the POS consumer car finance market in August marked more than five years of consecutive monthly new business growth.’

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 55

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NextGear Capital UK Limited, NextGear House, Kingsfield Court, Chester Business Park, Chester, CH4 9RE. Registered in England and Wales number 08696123.

Stocking Plan is subject to status, terms and conditions.

56 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

BIG MIKE.

All Big Mike’s columns are on our website. Enjoy them here bit.ly/bigmike

When the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing...

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here are some mistakes you only make once, as my young part-time assistant, Jamie, found out to his embarrassment and shame last week.

Jamie is 19 and has worked part-time for me since he was about 14, cleaning cars, learning how to change oil and filters and generally helping round the yard. He’s at college, but when he has a spare few hours, he comes and helps me out and I give him a few quid to spend down the pub, which is quite a nice arrangement.

The older he gets, the more I trust him, and he’s a pretty useful resource to have about now he’s old enough to drive, as he helps me pick cars up and move them around, saving me the hassle of towing or catching the bus. I did, however, trust him a bit too much the other week…

First of all, a little context for you. Like many parts of the UK, the West Midlands has its fair share of European immigrants. This is absolutely fine by me, as I’m not a racist and I’m more than happy to welcome anyone who is prepared to pay their taxes and contribute to society.

It’s also opened up a fair bit of competition in the hand car wash industry, and when you get cars valeted ten at a time, such a situation is healthy for your margins. They do a cracking job, too, by and large.

The mistake I made was to leave Jamie in charge for a couple of hours while I popped out to have a look at a couple of motors.

I told him that if a punter came on to the lot, he should do a deal and show me what he was capable of.

Imagine my delight, then, when I got back to the yard to find he’d managed to shift an Audi A6 Avant that I’d prepared for sale only the day before.

I had £3,295 in the screen, and Jamie was all too keen to tell me he’d managed to do a deal at the full screen price, albeit with a PX allowance.

The buyer was a youngish Eastern European chap who wanted something a bit bigger than his previous car to ferry his children around in. He’d turned up with cash, ID at a UK address and, according to Jamie, spoke exceptional English and was both polite and charming.

The part-exer was a Volkswagen Golf TDI of 1999 vintage, on an old school T-plate. Old, but being both a VW and a dirty diesel, I didn’t doubt for a second that it was the kind of car we’d put in the PX-to-clear bit of

Big Mike OUR MAN ON THE INSIDE SPILLS THE BEANS ON THE CAR BUSINESS...

our weekly newspaper advert and wave goodbye to over the following weekend, so I congratulated Jamie on a job well done and told him that if we sold the Golf over the weekend, I’d cut him some of the margin back against the part-ex allowance. Okay, so I’d made £900 regardless, based on the Audi’s stand-in value, but you’ve got to keep these youngsters keen, and I am the boss.

At the end of the working day, we were putting various cars back in the yard, and out of intrigue I grabbed the keys to the Golf and went to collect it from a piece of waste ground we borrow on a neighbouring road, Elm Street. During the day, most of our unsightly snotters live there, a mere two-minute walk from the main yard, and we jokingly call them the Nightmares of Elm Street, hence why I bothered to tell you.

It’s not that funny, I know, but a man has to try…

‘I told Jamie that if a punter came on to the lot, he should do a deal’ To be fair to Jamie, the Golf looked pretty tidy. Silver, no nasty modifications, factory alloys. As a first car for someone, or just a cheap banger, it was a respectablelooking thing. I blipped the keys and jumped in, ready to move it round to the yard – and then it hit me. There was, to put it bluntly, no steering wheel. Or there was, but it wasn’t in front of me. It was over the other side, where it had been since the car was first registered new back in Germany, and subsequently (I later discovered) exported to Lithuania. It was UK registered, but had only been that way for the past six months.

Jamie, in his excitement, had first of all not bothered to look, and then to my absolute astonishment, had jumped in the car and driven it round the block without even thinking that the steering wheel was on the wrong side…

So, if anyone’s doing one of those banger rallies across Europe any time soon, give me a ring.

I may have just the thing.

Who is Big Mike?

Well, that would be telling. What we do know is he’s had more than 40 years in the car trade and picked up some incredible tales along the way.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 57

FORECOURT. PRACTICALITY

440-litre boot is up there with the largest in the class.

PRICE

Prices start from just £12,995 – cheaper than a mid-range Polo.

EFFICIENCY

Fiat Tipo

1.6-litre diesel is capable of 76.3mpg.

James Fossdyke delivers his verdict on a cheap, practical hatchback that’s refreshingly lacking in airs and graces WHAT IS IT? Fiat’s latest rival to the Hyundai i30 has revitalised a name from the 1980s and attached it to a thoroughly modern, if relatively simple, family hatchback. With a value price tag and a reasonably stylish exterior, Fiat is pitching the new Tipo at the budget and fleet sectors, promising strong residual values and plenty of kit. The newcomer is also aiming to become the flagship of the brand’s ‘rational’ offering, which sits alongside its ‘emotional’ vehicles such as the 500 and the 124 Spider.

though, which offers 98g/km CO2 emissions and 76.3g/km economy despite its meaty 118bhp output and sub-10-second 0-60mph time.

WHAT’S THE SPEC LIKE?

Basic versions start from a rather attractive £12,995, and that includes air conditioning, Bluetooth phone connectivity and a space-saver spare as standard. Opting for the Easy Plus trim level, though, will upgrade the 15-inch steel wheels to 16-inch alloys, as well as offering a five-inch touchscreen infotainment system, rear parking sensors and cruise WHAT’S UNDER THE control. It’s a lot of extra kit for a BONNET? mere £1,000 price hike. A further The Tipo engine range is a fairly £1,000 (yes, pretty much every simple affair, comprising two diesel upgrade costs £1,000) buys you the engines – a 1.3-litre unit and a 1.6 range-topping Lounge variant, which – and three petrols. Power outputs boasts larger 17-inch alloys, chrome range from 94 to 118bhp for both fuel touches on the exterior and sat nav. types, although plumping for petrol WHAT’S IT LIKE TO gives you the option of a 109bhp 1.6-litre engine, as well as the 94 and DRIVE? 118bhp 1.4s. Fiat expects the majority Fiat has very clearly set the Tipo up to be a comfortable cruiser, and the to opt for the larger diesel engine, 58 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Italian brand has pretty much nailed it. The Tipo rides well and it feels really soft on long motorway runs.

The diesel engine fitted to our test car was a little grumbly at idle, but it quietened down in the cruise, and the seats are comfortable enough.

THE KNOWLEDGE Model:

Fiat Tipo Lounge 1.6 MultiJet II 120 Price: £17,995 Engine: 1.6-litre turbocharged diesel Power: 118bhp Torque: 320Nm 0-60mph: 9.8 seconds Top speed: 124mph Economy: 76.3mpg Emissions: 98g/km

WHAT DO THE PRESS THINK?

TARGET BUYERS:

Autocar wrote that ‘the Tipo doesn’t offer a particularly engaging driving experience and the inconsistent interior quality will be a turn-off for some, but if you’re after a practical, affordable and economical hatch, the Tipo has a lot going for it.’

THE RIVALS:

WHAT DO WE THINK? Anyone in the market for a cheap, practical hatchback really can’t go far wrong with the Tipo, but there’s more to its charm than just that. The Fiat is a rare breed – an honest little family car that doesn’t pretend to be any more or less sophisticated than it is. There are no airs or graces, and that makes it a very likeable car.

Fleet managers or families in need of a cheap, spacious car.

Hyundai i30, Kia Cee’d, Ford Focus.

KEY SELLING POINTS: 1. Low starting price.

2. Mid- and high-spec cars get plenty of toys.

3. It’s a comfortable cruiser with a big boot.

DEAL CLINCHER:

It may only cost the same as a Polo, but it’s as big and as comfortable as a Golf.

STYLING

SUV design cues and modern lines make the Scenic a real looker.

SPACE

572-litre boot is supplemented by numerous cubby holes and stowage bins.

Renault Scenic

Distinctive, good-looking and practical – no, not our expert tester James Fossdyke but this ‘apres SUV’ from Renault . . .

WHAT IS IT?

WHAT’S THE SPEC LIKE?

Renault has described the new Scenic as an ‘apres SUV’, for people who don’t actually want an SUV but fancy the looks and practicality of one. Many customers will be the sort of people who would otherwise opt for a Citroen C4 Picasso or a VW Golf SV. Nevertheless, the car gets some SUV-like styling. There’s plenty of ground clearance, a high beltline and plastic body cladding that hints at ruggedness. Twenty-inch alloys come as standard.

Entry-level Expression+ models cost just shy of £20,000 and you get plenty of kit. Safety systems such as autonomous emergency braking and cruise control are all standard, along with two-zone climate control, automatic lights and wipers, a seven-inch touchscreen infotainment system and, of course, the 20-inch alloys. Moving up to the Dynamique Nav model adds parking sensors, chrome detailing and a sliding centre console with USB ports. As the name suggests, you also get satellite navigation courtesy of Renault’s R-Link 2 infotainment system. Further up, the Dynamique S Nav gets a larger touchscreen, a Bose sound system and a rear parking camera, while the top-of-the-range Signature Nav gets leather upholstery and electric front seats.

WHAT’S UNDER THE BONNET? Our test car was powered by a 1.2-litre TCe 130 engine, which is effectively the same unit found in basic Nissan Qashqais, but the most popular powerplants will probably be the 1.5- and 1.6-litre diesels on offer. They boast power outputs of 109 and 128bhp respectively, and the former returns as much as 72.4mpg.

If you need more economy, there’s a Hybrid Assist option.

but not a bit of it. The steering is heavier than you might expect, but in a good way. It doesn’t make a fuss of cornering, either, displaying impressive levels of body control and grip for a car so tall. It’s by no means perfect, though. Our test car’s 128bhp 1.2-litre engine was just about punchy enough and offered good refinement, but it struggled slightly on the economy front.

WHAT DO THE PRESS THINK? Autocar said: ‘If you’re after a distinctive yet practical family holdall, then the Scenic should definitely be on your shortlist.’

WHAT DO WE THINK?

For some reason, French manufacturers seem to have a knack of making brilliant family cars, and this is yet another. The Citroen C4 Picasso, VW Golf SV and Ford C-Max WHAT’S IT LIKE now have another worthy rival to TO DRIVE? You might expect the tall, high-riding contend with at the top of the midScenic to be a bit wallowy and vague, size MPV market.

WHEELS

Huge 20-inch alloys are standard across the range.

THE KNOWLEDGE Model:

Renault Scenic Signature Nav TCe 130 Price: TBC Engine: 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol Power: 128bhp Torque: 205Nm 0-60mph: 11.4 seconds Top speed: 117mph Economy: 48.7mpg Emissions: 129g/km

TARGET BUYERS: Families that want to stand out by owning something other than an SUV.

THE RIVALS: Citroen C4 Picasso, Volkswagen Golf SV, Ford C-Max.

KEY SELLING POINTS: 1. Well equipped with plenty of kit for the money.

2. Stylish design.

3. Comfy despite its huge wheels.

DEAL CLINCHER: How many other MPVs look this good?

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 59

FEATURE. MAZDA SPECIAL

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oute 1 is 800 miles of road that circumnavigates the rugged wilderness of Iceland. On it, you’ll encounter unpaved sections of mountain track, switchback roads that wind their way up plunging cliffs, seemingly suicidal sheep and the odd volcano. In short, it’s one of the best driving roads in the world.

Bearing these potential hazards in mind, however, it didn’t really come as much of a surprise that we missed out on a vote of confidence when we informed an Icelandic local of our plans to conquer the road in the new Mazda MX-5 Icon.

‘You’re all completely mad,’ he lambasted us from the bottom of what was likely his sixth pint of the night. It later transpired that he had lost his licence after receiving a raft of speeding 60 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Beware, suicidal sheep on road...

fines. So, before even setting off we had already been accused of madness by someone who wasn’t exactly a paragon of responsibility. Not the most reassuring thing to hear the night before embarking on a road trip of epic proportions.

Nevertheless, we were up bright and early the next day, heading out of Reykjavik in convoy by 7.30am. The first leg of the two-day tour around Iceland would see us cover roughly 400 miles, travelling north in a clockwise direction before ending up in Egilsstadir on the other side of the country. It’s worth mentioning at this point that the road itself isn’t really what makes Route 1 one of the world’s greatest driving roads.

It’s dead straight for the most part, and the threat of a substantial on-the-spot fine for breaking the strictly-enforced 90km (56m) per hour blanket speed limit makes you think twice

NEW MODELS

Mazda MX-5 Icon

ICELANDIC ADVENTURE On a trip round the country’s Route 1 in a Mazda MX-5 Icon SIMON DAVIS found himself transfixed by the scenery as well as captivated by the drop-top’s capabilities about stamping on the accelerator. No, what makes this road legendary is the sheer scale of the scenery on offer, and what better way to take it all in than behind the wheel of an equally, if not more, legendary drop-top?

Since production began in 1989, the MX-5 has been an incredibly successful car for Mazda. In the UK alone, more than 120,000 examples of the roadster, which is now in its fourth generation, have crossed dealer floors into the hands of their owners. And with special editions such as the new Icon, Mazda is aiming to build on these earlier achievements.

The car we’re driving is the fourth MX-5 to bear the ‘Icon’ badge, following earlier special editions that were sold in the UK in 2000, 2005 and 2007.

Just as these previous iterations of the MX-5 Icon were limited to respective production runs of

750, 1,563 and 1,250 units, there will only ever be 600 Mk4 MX-5 Icons built.

It’s powered by the same 1.5-litre, 129bhp naturally aspirated SKYACTIV-G petrol engine as the entry-level MX-5, yet its exterior has been slightly tarted up thanks to the addition of red finishing on the wing mirrors, rear spoiler and front splitter, as well as red chequered decals down the car’s flank. The £20,995 price tag also buys special 16-inch alloys finished in gunmetal grey, and a greater amount of standard equipment. Whether you love or hate these notso-subtle styling cues, they make the MX-5 Icon a properly eye-catching thing.

And as we trundled out of Reykjavik, it quickly became apparent just how eye-catching the little MX-5 was. Toots of horns, flashes of headlights and endless thumbs up and waving was the

IF EVER there was a car that needed no introduction it’s the Mazda MX-5.

The world’s most popular roadster, the MX-5 has been on sale for more than 25 years now, reaching its fourth generation in 2015 with more than a million sold.

While the recipe for the original has barely changed – it’s still using a small, four-cylinder engine at the front, powering the rear wheels – the proportions did swell a little over the years. By the time the thirdgeneration car bowed out, it had grown 5cm in length and width and had put on almost a quarter of a tonne in weight.

The new car addressed these issues, coming in similar proportions to the original car and losing a few pounds thanks to SKYACTIV. New 1.5 (129hp) and 2.0 (153hp) petrol engines give it a better power-to-weight ratio than ever, bringing the car back to its original ‘jinba ittai’ (‘horse and rider as one’) philosophy.

Introduced just recently was the first special edition variant of the lower-output 1.5, the Icon. Previous Icon special editions had featured unique paint and interior trim, but the Mk4 Icon is aimed at emphasising the car’s sporting credentials.

Red accents on the door mirrors, rear spoiler and front airdam, along with red chequered flag side graphics, give it the road presence, while red stitching on the leather seats, door cards and dash trim complete the interior look.

reaction we got from what felt like every second motorist we passed.

Rather gaudy looks aside, there is a very good reason we received such a response from the Icelanders. In a country as harsh and unforgiving as this, four-wheel drive is the order of the day.

It doesn’t matter if it comes packaged in the form of a humble Suzuki Jimny or one of the gargantuan Toyota Land Cruiser monster trucks that frequented Route 1, if you’re going to own a car in Iceland you’d CarDealerMag.co.uk | 61

FEATURE. MAZDA SPECIAL

On the straight and narrow during the road trip round Route 1 in Iceland

NEW MODELS

Mazda 2 WHILE Mazda’s new exterior design philosophy had worked well on the larger cars in the range, there were a few questions about how it would translate down to the smallest model. Coming from a car based on the Ford Fiesta, recognised as one of the best cars in the category, to an all-new, in-house chassis also caused some furrowed brows.

When the 2 was finally revealed, as the Hazumi Concept at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show, it was clear that the new 2 was just as striking as its larger siblings had been, and it made its way to production with very few exterior changes.

More remarkable was the interior. Many of the technologies we’d seen on the larger cars – the CX-5 and Mazda 6 – had cascaded down to the little Mazda 2 and made it quite a compelling package.

The 2 kept the touchscreen and remote commander set-up for the infotainment system, along with the navigation system (where specified) and toys such as DAB and internet radio, making the set-up in the car that used to be its sibling look very dated indeed. The 2 could even be selected with a head-up display in the form of a small screen that would fold out ahead of the driver – something still rarely seen in a car in this sector.

In fact, the interior as a whole was so good that Mazda more or less transplanted it directly into the next generation of the MX-5 when it came out in 2015.

62 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

better be sure that it’s capable of coping when the weather turns sour and the going gets tough.

Thanks to its rear-wheel-drive set-up, lack of ground clearance and a low front splitter, the MX-5 doesn’t tick any of these boxes whatsoever.

These factors are likely to be the reason that Mazda has only managed to sell a grand total of two MX-5s in Iceland. That isn’t just two fourthgeneration MX-5s, either, that’s two MX-5s from a production run that first began 27 years ago.

Pondering that fact as we made our way out into the Icelandic wilderness, the reception we received from the passing cars started to make a lot more sense. However, what also started to become apparent, rather counter-intuitively, was the fact that out in the wilds, the MX-5 was properly coming into its element.

On the long straights that made up the vast majority of the first day of driving, the MX-5 made quite the cruising machine. Its seats provided the perfect amount of support, and they weren’t so firm that you felt broken at the conclusion of a 10-hour stint behind the wheel.

When the road did decide to get a bit twisty, the car’s steering was sharp and direct, and provided just the right amount of feedback.

You really had to work through the gears to get the most out of the MX-5’s fizzy little 1.5-litre engine, as it isn’t exactly the last word in out-andout power. However, thanks to the car’s slick sixspeed manual gearbox and well-weighted pedals, the enjoyment gleaned from keeping the engine revs at that sweet spot in the power-band more than made up for the car’s lack of straight-line performance. The only time the MX-5’s shortage of power let it down was when it came to overtaking. This was made even more hair-raising by the fact that we were driving UK-specification cars on the right-hand side of the road, meaning you had to rely on your co-pilot to alert you to any oncoming traffic.

With the fabric roof stowed away behind the front seats, the view of the ever-changing landscape that we were afforded was one of those things you will never really forget. And thanks to the little convertible’s heated leather seats and powerful heater, we hardly noticed the cold conditions that otherwise made themselves felt, even in late summer.

I was beginning to think that maybe Iceland had developed the wrong idea where cars such as the MX-5 are concerned. By the time we pulled in for our overnight stop in Egilsstadir, the little

The MX-5 might not have four-wheel drive but

A symphony of eye-catching sophistication outside the Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavik

NEW MODELS

Mazda 3

that wasn’t an issue for the roadster as it effortlessly took Route 1’s stunning scenery in its stride

‘Before even setting off we had already been accused of madness by someone who wasn’t exactly a paragon of responsibility. Not the most reassuring thing to hear.’

Mazda hadn’t really put a foot wrong. Yes, it may not be the fastest car you could take on a tour of Iceland, but given the island nation’s low level of interest in cars of its ilk, it’s certainly one of the most unique.

The second day of our tour began much the same as the first: rising early for a quick breakfast before hitting the road again just after 8am.

After witnessing some truly immense scenery on the first day – Gullfoss waterfall and the Námafjall geothermal area were particular highlights – the sights we saw on the second almost proved to be too much all together.

Within a few miles we found ourselves on an unsealed road, winding our way up an

entirely Martian-looking mountain and into a thick blanket of fog. After cresting the hill and beginning our descent down the other side, we emerged out of the fog to find ourselves looking out over a wide-open valley bordered by mountains even larger than the one we had just scaled. Epic stuff.

From our vantage point, we could see Route 1 winding its way through the valley floor. To get there, we first had to navigate our way down a narrow series of switchbacks and hairpins.

These provided the perfect opportunity to slow the Mazda right down, drop down into a lower gear and kick the tail of the car out on the gravelled corners. Eventually, we wound

UNDER Ford’s custody, the Mazda 3 had been a fairly anonymous vehicle. While other brands were hanging successes off C-segment cars, the Mazda 3 was – hot MPS model aside – just another five-door family hatchback. There was even a slightly ungainly saloon model that looked like the hatchback with a boot strapped to it as a bit of an afterthought.

More than most then, the 3 badly needed the new technologies and design that SKYACTIV and KODO brought.

The new car arrived in 2013 as the third vehicle to benefit from Mazda’s self-reinvention and looking for all the world like a smaller version of the Mazda 6, particularly in the shape of the new Fastback body style, which was not only a far better interpretation of the saloon than before but also boasted an extremely low drag coefficient of 0.258 – as good as many hybrid cars – leading to impressive fuel economy.

Like the Mazda 2, the Mazda 3 showed the brand’s willingness to trickle down technologies from its larger, flagship vehicles to the smaller models.

The most recent update to the car brought the adaptive LED headlights and G-Vectoring Control system from the Mazda6, but already the car had the same infotainment system as its bigger sibling and a head-up display. It’s difficult to tell the cars apart from behind the wheel either – which is saying something considering that the 6 is itself a fairly premium-feeling product in its own segment.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 63

FEATURE. MAZDA SPECIAL

INTERVIEW

Mazda UK boss Jeremy Thomson says that with new-look showrooms and a refreshed range of cars, the manufacturer is well placed for uncertain economic times. JACK EVANS reports NEW MODELS

Mazda 6 AFTER the all-new Mazda CX-5 became the first car to debut Mazda’s new technologies and design language, the Mazda6 saloon was the first existing model to be updated into the new mould.

First shown as the Takeri concept in 2011, it was clear that the new car was a handsome affair, carrying over the new ‘KODO – Soul of Motion’ design first seen on the Shinari a couple of years previously.

Heading in a new and slightly more upmarket direction from the Mondeo origins of the previous two generations, the new 6 featured a raft of new technologies that were previously the realm of more premium vehicles.

Right from the first cars in 2012, the 6 was equipped with features such as keyless entry and start.

The car also debuted a regenerative braking system bearing the slightly awkward name of i-ELOOP (intelligent energy loop) that used deceleration to power cabin electrics, reducing load on the electrical systems and engine.

A head-up display added to the surprising array of gadgets.

It was incrementally improved over the following years, bringing in adaptive LED headlights, radar cruise control and forward obstruction warning. An electronic hand brake was added in 2015 to replace the mechanical version and free up space in the centre console.

The latest version of the car adds more sound-deadening and a noise damper in the diesel engines to make the car whisperquiet, and a system called ‘G-Vectoring Control’ that improves cornering stability as well as long-distance comfort.

64 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Will model revamps help push sales forward?

Always – in the sense that ‘new news’ is always a good thing for manufacturers. It always tends to boost not only the model that has the news but also the lines adjacent to it.

People come into the showroom perhaps looking at the model that has just changed and are then attracted by cars that could perhaps better meet their needs.

This comes on the back of a very long run of rapid product development for Mazda. As we come into rather uncertain economic times, it’s good that we have one of the freshest model ranges in the industry.

When we went into the 2008 period, we had one of the oldest ranges. In the intervening period, we’ve had a lot of product upgrades and are very well positioned these days in terms of modernity.

Was that your plan for the times we are heading into?

Not really, that just kind of happened in an unconnected way.

I would have liked to have had a more modern product range when we went into the last major financial crisis, but it’s just the natural cycle of things.

It is a good coincidence that we have a very fresh product range now though, and we’ve also just updated all of our dealerships to the new corporate identity.

Are these two areas working together well?

It’s a combination of those

up on the coast. Here, Route 1 was bordered by more jagged mountains on one side and the freezing waters of the Atlantic on the other. The combination of black sand beaches, grey ocean and sombre mountains was one of many examples of scenery we encountered on our tour of Iceland that managed to be both bleak and beautiful simultaneously.

By 8pm, we ended up back in Reykjavik thoroughly spent but still completely in awe of both the sheer scale of the scenery

things, with 95 per cent of our dealerships now reflecting the new Mazda look and feel of things.

This comes in terms of external appearance and the dramatically different showroom look. That, coupled with nearly a completely refreshed new product range, puts us in as good a position as we could expect to be, going into the next few years. There are going to be a few lumps and bumps in the road ahead, but Mazda’s in a good place.

Are there any areas of the range you think could be improved?

I think it’s very solid. We cover all the major segments and, because it’s all been refreshed, if we had any older cars in our range then I’d mention that but no, I think we cover all of the volume segments and the brand has increasingly moved towards a more premium look and feel, which is reflected in our new model year. I think consumers are responding well to that.

Have you seen any examples of this?

Definitely. Since 2012, our business has grown by between two to three times the growth of the industry overall, so we’re outpacing the industry growth and I think that’s a demonstration of how consumers have warmed towards the way Mazda does business, and the kind of cars we’re bringing to market.

we had witnessed and what we had managed to achieve in the little MX-5. Mazda had taken the tiny sports car well and truly out of its traditional comfort zone and, in doing so, had proved that this isn’t just a car for fair-weather driving in the summer sunshine.

While Mazda might have its work cut out trying to get the MX-5 to catch on in Iceland in the same fashion it has in Britain, on our travels around Route 1, the roadster certainly proved that it was more than up to the task. [CD]

AUTOMOTIVE AUTOMOTIVE SOFTWARESOFTWARE

 sales@dragon2000.co.uk  dragon2000.co.uk 01327  sales@dragon2000.co.uk  dragon2000.co.uk  01327 222333 CarDealerMag.co.uk | 65

SuperUnleaded.com THE GRID

Top stories, accelerated by you...

SuperUnleaded is your new motoring service station where you choose what’s important. Like a post? #AccelerateIt up The Grid for others following in your slipstream and help set the starting line-up of timewasting content for everyone else.

Fuel for thought

Daily motoring news where you help choose what’s important. From the makers of award-winning @CarDealerMag straight out of @BlackballMedia

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Ferrari Celebrates 70 Years With New Liveries

Take Grape Care Not To Skid On Slippery Commune Roads!

Ferrari turns 70 next year, and although the Italian brand has celebrated with the unveiling of its jaw-dropping LaFerrari Aperta, a little more showing off seems to be in order! superunleaded.com/?p=17242

We all know wine and driving don’t mix… but for motorists in a French commune, where signs warning of a grape juice skid risk have popped up, it’s dangerous for another reason. superunleaded.com/?p=17215

Ken Block And BJ Baldwin Go Hooning In Off-Road Buggies

Five Of The Coolest Cars At This Year’s Paris Motor Show

Viral car video veterans Ken Block and BJ Baldwin gathered a group of friends and split into two teams to face-off with a fleet of Can-Am Maverick X3s. superunleaded.com/?p=17204

When you love cars, few things are as exciting as one of the biggest motor shows of the year.

We hunted around the biennial Paris Motor Show to find the hottest metal on display. superunleaded.com/?p=17195

Here’s A Parking Ticket You Really Can’t Ignore

McLaren Reveals All-Electric P1… And It’s Child’s Play!

An American company has come up with brutal way of letting you know that you’ve parked in the wrong place. The device is effectively a massive yellow rectangle. superunleaded.com/?p=17139

When McLaren unveiled its latest version of the P1 as an all-electric model, you’d think this would be a ground-breaking event. But in actual fact, it’s a car just for youngsters! superunleaded.com/?p=17075

FIM Gives Middle Finger To Rude Hand Gestures

Nissan Makes A Chair That Queues By Itself

After Valentino Rossi gave fellow MotoGP racer Aleix Espargaró a middle-finger salute, the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) has introduce new fines for riders. superunleaded.com/?p=17035

If there’s one thing the British are good at, it’s queueing. Which is why a new chair from Nissan needs to make its way to the UK as soon as possible. superunleaded.com/?p=17090

FOCUS ON.

Upselling

Adding value to create a deeper dealer proposition W: autoprotect.co.uk T: 01279 456600

AUTOPROTECT

W

e have a very clear philosophy that there is a distinction between ‘upselling’ and ‘adding value’ at AutoProtect. For some, the difference may seem like a very fine one, but we believe that it can make all the difference for customers and the team seeking to help those customers in the showroom (and increasingly online).

Financial regulation may have guided dealers to focus upon creating a ‘good outcome’ for customers, but this is what we should all want and part of creating that good outcome should include helping customers to choose additional products and services that enhance their motoring experience. If these are never presented, then the risk is that we fall short of delivering that good outcome.

In a restaurant, we expect to be offered wine to accompany a meal, we then have the choice.

That decision is then ours to make as a customer. In the case of the offer of wine, the waiter may explain the options and how they may suit the food; in the showroom, the paint protection supports the longevity of the car’s lustre; GAP provides peace of mind against the prospect of a financial loss.

In light of the changing way consumers find, buy and use their cars today, as well as for regulatory reasons, the AutoProtect Way maps a new route to success for added-value services.

It centres upon making the dealer proposition a deeper one.

In making their car or van buying decision, customers will commonly ‘buy’ the dealer as well as the vehicle.

The transparent and proactive promotion

of added value products re-enforces a positive impression. Providing product information on products customers can buy creates value in the breadth of the dealer’s offer, service ethos and integrity; it enhances the dealer’s credibility.

This is especially true for today’s online buyer who is seeking reassurance about the quality of the dealer.

All added value products are not the same.

Sourcing the right products to suit the dealer is about understanding how it will benefit the customer. Everyone in the showroom needs to know the product features and benefits and be aware of the claims processes.

At AutoProtect, we have re-engineered our products and processes and this new approach is available to every dealer; the goal has been to establish a better buying experience that customers like, value and take advantage of.

Here, there is no substitute for good training, aligned to an easy to buy process.

Testing this belief has been very rewarding for us and our dealers. Customers buy products and services that enhance their motoring and which are easy to understand and buy when promoted positively.

GAP Insurance from AutoProtect A measurable difference In an increasingly competitive market your customers require GAP products with demonstrable benefits, clearly explained in order to make an informed purchase decision. AutoProtect provides the support and training needed to develop your sales team’s existing skills to achieve this goal.

Plus AutoProtect’s management-friendly IT systems, which streamline the registration process and facilitate performance review, allow you to accurately measure the difference our GAP products make.

For more information, please call Mike Macaulay on 01279 456600. Or email us at sales@autoprotect.co.uk

twitter.com/autoprotect

linkedin.com/company/autoprotect

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FOCUS ON.

Upselling

‘We listen to dealers and design bespoke packages’ AUTOGUARD

D

W: autoguardwarranties.com T: 03432 271499

uring the last couple of years, there have been some significant trends influencing the growth of the warranty market. Against a backdrop of tightening legislation from the FCA and changing consumer attitudes and behaviour, the warranty market is booming.

Over the last 12 months, Autoguard Warranties has seen demand for warranty and GAP products rise by 20 per cent.

There are some key trends driving this growth and many of these are good news for both franchised and independent dealers.

According to the latest Trend Tracker research, warranties are 10 times more likely than service plans to attract franchised workshop customers.

Furthermore, 68.5 per cent of new car owners highlight new car warranties as a primary reason for returning to the franchised workshop for servicing. The research also shows that there is a major growth opportunity for franchised workshops to develop robust post-warranty servicing strategies.

Robert Dockerill, CEO of Autoguard Warranties, explains: ‘Autoguard Warranties has seen an increase in the demand for longer duration warranties.

68 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

‘Customers are looking for longer security on their purchases and are more aware of the products and services available today.

‘So quite often, they are open to ‘‘total cover’’ solutions, such as 36 months warranty with 36 months GAP, or 24 months warranty that includes 24 months recovery.

‘Many of the banks and credit cards have stopped offering free breakdown cover and more and more consumers are wanting recovery as part of their warranty package. We have seen a surge in dealers looking for warranty products with a named recovery provider. This has been driven by the dealer network looking to improve customer service by giving total peace of mind in the event of a failure. Now the majority of our warranties offer recovery backed by AXA Assistance.

‘Recovery solutions bundled with warranty have seen an increase of 28 per cent in the last 12 months. This is mainly due to less recoverytype products being included with bank accounts or credit cards and obviously customers want that peace of mind.

‘‘

‘We have also seen a 28 per cent year-on-year rise in GAP product sales. We are also seeing a growing trend, with consumers opting for a combination of traditional GAP and Return to Invoice products, to fully protect their assets.

‘What makes our products a ‘‘must use’’ is the flexibility we offer to our dealer network. This is both in the way we handle claims and the way we personalise the product offering to the dealers.

‘We listen to dealers and design bespoke warranty packages.’

Autoguard Warranties has built its name providing high-quality warranty programmes to dealers since its launch in 2009. Today, Autoguard Warranties offers extended warranties; FCAcompliant general insurance products; warranty products and services; and GAP and MOT cover to independent and franchised dealers across the UK. Autoguard Warranties works with 1,000 dealers and provides 60,000 warranties every year, backed by the highest possible levels of service.

What makes our products a ‘must use’ is the flexibility we offer.

Robert Dockerill

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 69

FOCUS ON.

Upselling

Put a shine on profitability with Autoglym protection AUTOGLYM

A

W: lifeshine.com T: 01462 677766

ccording to research by Dealerweb, the introduction of last year’s new FCA regulations has had a negative impact on dealer GAP sales. It found that only 19 per cent of customers took out a GAP insurance policy during the first half of 2016, compared with 29 per cent in the same period the previous year. The survey also noted ‘wide monthly fluctuations’ in GAP sales conversions as dealers came to terms with the new rules.

Unlike insurance-backed products, Autoglym’s LifeShine Vehicle Protection System enables sales staff to upsell with far more ease and confidence.

In fact, independent research showed that dealers achieve, on average, increased penetration rates of 13 per cent when they switch over to LifeShine from other vehicle protection system (VPS) providers. Some dealers, including the dealer group Norton Way Honda for example, have seen a huge boost in paint protection sales.

Initially starting with a six-month trial at its Letchworth dealership, the team at Norton Way was so impressed with the uptake and profitgenerating capacity, that it subsequently rolled it out to all dealerships in the group.

As a result, the business has achieved a 47 per cent take-up rate on new cars since introducing LifeShine – an increase of 20 per cent compared with other brands.

Harry Grainger, group business development manager at Honda Norton Way, said: ‘We’ve been

70 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

working with Autoglym for over three years now and are immensely pleased with the results.

We’ve seen a remarkable 20 per cent increase in penetration. We had tried a number of different vehicle protection brands but nothing compares to the quality and durability of LifeShine and this gives my sales team confidence.’

According to Paul Caller, Autoglym’s chief executive, making sure VPS is mentioned during every sale is critical to moving the needle on penetration rates. There’s the added reassurance of a lifetime guarantee with LifeShine for as long as the owner keeps the vehicle.

‘LifeShine with Carbon Shield Technology has proven to deliver the complete and most profitable VPS solution for dealers. We’ve seen some premium-brand dealers boost uptake by as much as 80 per cent. LifeShine is a compelling proposition not just because of its superior performance but also due to Autoglym’s unrivalled support for dealers. They have the benefit of a dedicated business manager to help them achieve increased sales and profitability, as well as our innovative and interactive LifeShine app, which gives customers all the information they need to make an informed decision.’

Increased durability does not mean increased preparation time, though, as Autoglym has

ensured that LifeShine remains the frontrunner in the VPS market when it comes to ease and speed of application. For vehicle preparation teams, this is a crucial consideration so that productivity is maintained. The single application process can be carried out in just 30 minutes, complemented by a rapid curing time.

Further research also found that 80 per cent of technicians described LifeShine as ‘easy to apply’, which outperformed all other brands.

As well as guarding the paintwork and interior, LifeShine includes an all-important glass treatment, meaning customers will not have to spend valuable time or expense on continual cleaning. Each customer receives a comprehensive aftercare collection for remedial cleaning with a range of complementary products that will enhance and lengthen the protective qualities of Carbon Shield Technology.

Having celebrated 50 years in business in 2015, Autoglym is the most established and recognised car care brand and also the holder of two Royal Warrants of Approval. LifeShine is endorsed by brands including Volkswagen, Audi, Seat, Skoda, Vauxhall, Kia, Honda and Jaguar Land Rover as an approved VPS for their dealer networks. [CD]

Profits from other vehicle protection systems look dull by comparison.

Carbon Shield TechnologyTM Fuses liquid carbon to vehicle paintwork to create an impenetrable barrier against harsh contaminants and the elements.

LifeShine’s new Carbon Shield Technology™ outlasts other vehicle protection systems to give your customers a superior product and put the shine back into your profits.

Research shows that on average a dealership’s penetration rate increases by 13% when they switch to LifeShine*.

What’s more, with a lifetime guarantee from the most recognised and respected name in car care, it really is the easy choice for customer satisfaction.

That’s the Autoglym way. Always has been.

For a free demonstration of Carbon Shield Technology™ and to see how our unique support materials can benefit your dealership, please call 01462 677766 or email Lifeshine@autoglym.com. *

Swift International Research 2014

www.lifeshine.com CarDealerMag.co.uk | 71

FOCUS ON.

CarGurus

Your crucial questions answered by CarGurus CARGURUS

W: cargurus.co.uk/signup/cardealer T: 0808 168 3894

Q

Why the move into automotive? After the success of Trip Advisor, what was the gap that the team saw to bring the same style and concept to the automotive market place?

Our CEO, Langley Steinert, was the cofounder of Trip Advisor, a company that truly revolutionised the way consumers researched trips. Like travel, an automotive purchase is a research-intense, high-cost purchase.

But there was not a lot of information transparency in the car-buying process, which made it difficult for consumers to make smart and efficient purchase decisions.

We saw an opportunity to apply technology and data analytics to this challenge and provide transparency on price and dealer reputation in ways that benefit both consumers and dealers.

And it’s resonated with both audiences – we’re now the number one most trafficked car shopping site in the US by daily visitors and we work directly with more than 18,000 US dealers who subscribe to our listings platform.

In the UK, we saw a quite similar gap in the marketplace which prompted our launch here last year. No other car shopping site in this market provides the transparency and efficiency CarGurus gives shoppers.

That advantage allows us to provide enormous value to dealers by sending educated, ready-tobuy consumers to their stores.

A

Q A

Why Car Gurus? What are you doing and offering the dealers that no-one else is?

Car shopping is now a digital endeavour, and CarGurus enables dealers to reach and sell to today’s car shopper more effectively. Unlike many dealer offerings in the marketplace, CarGurus offers dealers a freemium model with our Basic package, which allows dealers to list their stock for free on our site – we don’t limit the number of vehicles or charge by car. For dealers who are looking to gain a significant return on investment, including full contact information on all inquiries and enhanced branding opportunities on site, there is the option to upgrade to one of our premium packages.

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Regardless of which package a dealer selects, they get access to shoppers that are more informed, confident and ready-to-buy due to CarGurus’ transparent pricing guidance and validated dealer reviews.

Q

How does it really work? How are deals ranked when there is such variation in the quality of car, extras, condition, warranty, service history etc. that affect the pricing, that can’t be taken into account by an algorithm or a face value listing?

This is where CarGurus’ technology and engineering expertise set us apart. Our proprietary algorithm takes into account the multitude of specific attributes that affect market value including things like age, mileage, specs, location, options/extras and vehicle history.

We’re running a complex multi-variant regression analysis on hundreds of thousands of car listings every day to assess the Instant Market Value for each car, then relating that data to a user’s specific search to help them quickly find the best deals in their local market.

Much like a Google search delivers the most relevant search results, so CarGurus provides the most relevant results for our users.

Our deal rankings are rigorously data-driven, combined with validated user reviews of dealerships, to provide the ultimate car shopping experience. Our search offering is key to our success in the US and what sets us apart in the UK.

A

Q

How is dealer reputation accounted for, worked out and then factored into a deal?

Where is the reputation data coming from and how do you prevent this being manipulated?

We know that a great deal isn’t only about a fair price, it’s also about a great buying experience with a reputable dealer. We use community dealer reviews to give shoppers on our site this visibility, and unlike other sites, we actually use review scores as a factor in our search results ranking algorithm. So for a dealer that is perhaps not pricing a car as aggressively, if they have a track record of stellar reviews, their car will bump up in a user’s search – they get rewarded.

The opposite applies for a dealer that consistently receives low review scores from other shoppers – their car will get demoted in the search rankings. Dealer reputation is a very important aspect of the CarGurus experience, so we take the authenticity of dealer reviews very seriously. Only shoppers who have interacted with dealers through our site are invited to review those dealers, and we have a multitude of tested automated and human anti-fraud processes in place to ensure validity of reviews, as well as a mediation process for dealers.

A

Q

Is some of the information you give consumers detrimental to the dealers?

How does it help dealers to sell cars by showing the days in stock figure? A car may be overage for a genuine reason, but a consumer may instantly see this as a cause for concern or expect a huge discount!

We believe that the transparency we provide can benefit dealers as much as it benefits consumers – it creates ready-to-buy shoppers that come to a purchase with the powerful endorsement of a neutral party. Exposing days on forecourt and providing buyers with pricedrop alerts often allows dealers to attract new interested shoppers and can lead to a more efficient purchasing process. The feedback we get from our dealers in the US and in the UK is that eliminating the guessing game and bridging the trust gap between buyers and

A

we are exceeding one million unique monthly visitors and have signed a significant number of dealers for our enhanced packages. Certainly we have more growth ahead, but our progress so far has confirmed that our model resonates with consumers here and delivers value for our dealers. So we are quite optimistic.

Q A

sellers is, in fact, driving interest in cars that they are eager to move off their forecourts.

Q A

What is your pricing model based on?

Where is the data coming from?

Our valuation model is based on a daily analysis of prices for hundreds of thousands of vehicles for sale across the UK. To arrive at our Instant Market Value (IMV), we run a multi-variant regression factoring a multitude of attributes for each car including year, make, model, transmission, added options, mileage, history and location. It is updated every day.

Q A

How has Car Gurus become so big in the US? How does this compare to the UK? At the heart of our success in the US has been our relentless focus and commitment to making the car-buying experience better for both consumers and for dealers. We are

a technology company, with digital in our DNA, and that deep expertise and experience has informed our ability to deliver a radically different offering to a sector that was in need of some innovation. We are constantly testing new offerings to consumers and dealers to deliver the optimal customer experience.

In the US, we are now the number-one most trafficked car shopping site for both mobile and daily unique user traffic, ahead of the large entrenched players in the market. We are also delivering tremendous value for the now 18,000+ US dealerships (and growing) that subscribe to our listings platform. We have proven the model in the US, and already we are discovering the potential in other international markets.

Our reception to date in the UK has been tremendous, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re much further along in terms of user traffic and dealer sign-ups than we expected to be at this stage. Less than a year in,

How are you going to grow your customer base of both consumers and dealers?

The reception from dealers in the UK has been quite positive thus far, with early adopters showing remarkable results on our site: increased leads, high sales conversions, and significant, measurable return on investment. We are working hard to get the message out to the broad dealer community through our sales and marketing efforts, which include a lot of direct outreach and trials on the site as well as industry events that we are sponsoring and hosting.

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve learned in the US that the best way to convince dealers that CarGurus can offer a better solution is to show them the results we drive, and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why we offer our basic service for free. Most dealers who start with basic come back to us looking for ways to build on that success.

We are also partnered with a number of leading players in the digital marketing, inventory and website management arena who have longstanding relationships in the UK automotive industry. On the consumer front, we are very focused on digital marketing and PR.

Q A

What is the current conversation rate of leads supplied to dealers?

We strive to provide above industry standard performance to our dealers. In order to most accurately measure the return on investment of your marketing budget, we recommend working with a CRM in order to directly attribute leads to their origination source. Because our site does not require consumers to enter a full postcode before searching, we do not use postcode matching as a form of attribution. Instead, we only look at actual inquiries sent through CarGurus. This, in turn, allows our dealers to gauge the quantity and quality of leads we send to them. [CD] CarDealerMag.co.uk | 73

FOCUS ON.

Bluesky Interactive

Bespoke websites that really work for our clients BLUESKY INTERACTIVE

I

t’s difficult to function in the modern world without a good website, and if there’s one company that knows what it takes to make a good website for car dealers, it’s Bluesky Interactive.

The core of Bluesky is its bespoke designs.

The company, founded in 2002, works almost exclusively for car dealers and builds fullyresponsive websites for clients of any size.

The entry-level solution for small dealers, called COG Express, provides a very basic taste of what Bluesky is all about.

Bluesky has developed its own exclusive platform in-house so that what runs underneath the websites is consistent, but it can design whatever it wants over the top.

While rivals’ sites will often look very similar across dealers, Bluesky’s ethos is that not all car dealers are the same – in fact some are dramatically different – so the ability to meet their specific needs and do whatever they need, however different, similar, or unexpected, gives Bluesky a unique selling point.

A lot of what the company is trying to do now involves, in its own words, ‘getting even more data savvy’. Although far from a conclusion at the moment, Bluesky has been researching banners – whether people click on them, especially on group homepages, and whether they actually work. It’s very early days, but all the initial evidence gathered suggests banners simply don't

W: blueskyinteractive.co.uk T: 01926 932 202 get clicks – the company notes that as few as six per cent of visitors click banners and most of those only click the first one. That leads to the next question of, ‘if customers are not clicking banners, what are they clicking instead?’ It’s this kind of research that informs Bluesky’s direction when it comes to how dealers should be laying out their home pages, through understanding what customers actually do, and optimising inquiries off the back of this data.

Lauren Cooke, marketing and client relations manager at Bluesky Interactive, said: ‘We consider ourselves to be conversion rate experts. We’ve got a number of clients that benchmark us to achieve 10 per cent conversion on our websites and we always achieve it, with some websites getting 20-30 per cent conversion. Conversion is our big thing and as part of that, we’re trying to make sure we build data wherever we can. We like to identify something that isn’t performing, even industrywide, and come up with a solution that, based on data, improves things.’

In addition to the intelligent website design is Bluesky’s eMarketing team. Specialising in everything from social media management to search engine optimisation (SEO), the team also covers pay-per-click (PPC) and email marketing.

Cooke notes: ‘A lot of suppliers and dealerships

tend to focus on paid search campaigns that are top level. It’s really easy to make campaigns convert if you’re doing location targeting and brand targeting. It’s common sense and it’s easy to convert: people know what they want and they want that brand.

‘We try to take things more to a conquest audience. So as well as targeting people who are searching for certain models, we have a clever strategy where, within 10 miles we’ll target aftersales, we’ll target new cars and brands in a 20-mile radius and used cars within a 30-mile radius.

That’s based on all that data of what people click on and how far people are willing to travel.’

Part of that same idea of doing bespoke websites is that, in the same way Bluesky is willing to do things that work for their clients rather than force them all down one route and template sites, it has one of the widest ranges of third party integrations on the market as well.

Cooke adds: ‘We don’t tell people they have to use one finance supplier, they can use whatever works for them. They can use third party reviews, or live chat – we pride ourselves on integrating a really wide range. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach, all of our dealers have different needs, everyone sets their own features and budgets.’

The company is happy to guide product and

stunning website and happily offer changes free of charge in a very prompt manner.

‘Since moving to Bluesky Interactive we have noticed a huge increase in online inquiries and car valuation requests. It is critical in the modern mobile age to be compatible with all devices that customers use to access the internet. By choosing a responsive website design we have made sure that we don’t miss out on any potential leads.

‘I would happily recommend Bluesky Interactive to any dealer who is looking for a professional website solution.’

Nathan Tomlinson, Devonshire Motors: ‘Since switching to Bluesky Interactive, we have seen a significant increase in web-based leads and inquiries across all departments. The Bluesky site is responsive across all platforms and very simple to navigate but at the same time it provides all the functionality and resource that consumers require.

‘It’s clear that providing a full suite of tools which allow customers to explore every aspect of purchasing a vehicle with complete transparency and from the comfort of their own home

TESTIMONIALS

‘I would recommend Bluesky Interactive to any dealer’ Lee Tucker, Ticehurst Motors: ‘Ticehurst Motors fully understands the need for a professional, informative website that shows our customers relevant information about the cars we have for sale, plus key information about our garage and the services we offer. Dealing with Bluesky Interactive has been a delight from day one! Polite and friendly staff have designed us a 74 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

CASE STUDY NEW SERVICE BOOKING FORM, ALAN DAY VOLKSWAGEN:

‘‘

WE RECENTLY identified that multi-step service booking forms result in upwards of 90 per cent total drop off – meaning only 10 out of 100 customers got as far as making a booking. This is in part because the forms tend to be focused around dealer rather than consumer needs, and also because customers typically had a lot of questions about aftersales services.

In order to improve this form we created a custom service booking form combining a quick call back request form (for consumers short of time) and the option to extend to a full online booking – with that full booking completed in just one step. Check out an example at bit.ly/example104.

This new form has typically resulted in a strong jump in inquiries for our dealers, showing the importance of a consumer-focused journey.

As an example, Alan Day VW originally saw a 92 per cent drop-off for online service bookings, and has now reduced that to nearer 80 per cent.

In real terms, that means they generated 20 per cent more service bookings over a one-month period – and even more impressively, these stats are July compared to August, where typically we would expect service bookings to fall.

design decisions, particularly when it comes to how they will affect inquiries and conversions, but ultimately Bluesky’s is a very client-led approach.

Cooke comments: ‘Dealers do the work day-in, day-out. They may want advice and insights and we can provide those, but really they’re the ones that are going to know, on the bottom line, which finance supplier fits their business and I don’t think we should be dictating it.’

‘‘

complements our dealership perfectly.

‘We have seen used car sales processed entirely from the website with customers choosing a vehicle, valuing their part-exchange and using the valuation information to carry out a full finance proposal and soft credit check.

‘It has then been a simple matter of verifying information at the dealership to confirm the sale.

‘The new site is performing exceptionally which fully justifies our decision to partner with Bluesky. Of equal value to us though has been the stellar level of client support. I really can’t

say enough about how impressed we have been with the speed of response and approach to maintaining and evolving the site.

‘Previously, our website was expensive and time-consuming to maintain and we received little in the way of assistance.

‘It’s only since we have been with Bluesky that I have realised just how much internal cost and resource we have saved.’

Charlotte Murray, JCT600: ‘We chose Bluesky Interactive as our

development partners because of their flexible and proactive approach resulting in a robust solution encompassing our individual requirements delivered to brief and to deadline.

‘Our online proposition is continually evolving and Bluesky forms an extension of our central digital team; working collaboratively to bring new solutions and the latest technology to deliver the best possible customer experience for users during the research, purchase and ownership stages of their journey with JCT600.’ [CD] CarDealerMag.co.uk | 75

FOCUS ON.

What Car?

A fair price on both sides is the ideal outcome WHAT CAR?

T

E: whatcaradmin@haymarket.com

he internet has been something of a blessing and a curse for car dealers. On the one hand, it’s never been easier to get your stock in front of the eyes of potential customers.

On the other, competition has increased to the point where profit margins are eradicated, more and more classifieds sites are vying for monthly payments and existing sites keep raising fees in exchange for products that aren’t necessarily useful.

The latest big thing in the industry is buying cars online. Several players are operating in this space, some of whom have put a lot of money into marketing to quickly raise their profiles.

Some are clearly great for customers as dealers bid for their custom, with the lowest price often winning. The problem on the dealer side is that this quickly sees car-selling become a ‘race to the bottom’, where the sales person might get an extra registration towards their targets but the dealer’s no better off for it.

That’s where What Car? is different. It has been offering car-buying advice for the last 40 years and now it has entered the car sales industry with a newly-launched platform called New Car Buyer Marketplace, which aims to lead buyers directly from one of its reviews to contacting a dealer

76 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

about a sale. Steve Huntingford, Editor at What Car?, said: ‘Most people don’t come to What Car? purely for entertainment, they come because they are in the market to buy a car.

‘We’ve always done the advice, so we just felt this was a natural extension to help them through that final part of the car-buying process and actually put them in touch with the dealer who could sell them the car.’

The process begins when a customer reads a review on the What Car? website. Alongside the usual verdicts, purchasing advice and definitive information already provided, customers will now be shown the car for sale at dealers nearby.

The company’s research has confirmed what many dealers already know: that most people like to buy cars locally. That’s why when a customer is reading a review, they’re shown deals from dealerships close to them.

Doing this gives the customer more motivation to actually get in touch with a dealer and go and see the car, making sales more likely.

And if the customer is struggling to find the exact car they want on the New Car Buyer Marketplace, What Car? is making a team of experts available to connect them to a dealer who can help. This means that there are sales opportunities to be had away from those cars that dealers have actively uploaded.

Once a dealership has signed up to the service, they can set the price they’re willing to accept for a particular car – something that can be changed whenever necessary.

What Car? readers can see this price and compare it to a car’s ‘Target Price’, which is worked out by the company’s team of mystery shoppers. More on that later.

Once a prospective owner has seen the car they want at the price they want to pay, they can then contact the dealer.

T: 020 8267 5616

‘‘

Most people don’t come to What Car? purely for entertainment, they come because they are in the market to buy a car.

Steve Huntingford

The price displayed online is the price that the customer will pay.

What Car? is keen to stress that it wants to be seen as working with dealerships to ensure that this is a wholly positive experience for them.

‘We don’t want to put dealers out of business because that means less choice for the consumer and ultimately prices will end up higher,’ Huntingford says.

At the core of the product is the Target Price.

What Car? has displayed this for 15 years now, and it’s designed to help customers know what they should be paying for a car.

Huntingford explains that the idea of haggling for a great deal puts many buyers off of the carbuying experience. To alleviate that worry and get more people into showrooms, ‘we mystery shop the deals that are available, and we present what we consider a fair price.

‘And that’s a price where the dealer still gets the profit but the haggling is taken out of it for the car buyer. It’s not meant to be that you can squeeze the absolute maximum out of the dealer.’

What Car? says that its Target Price is set by former car dealers who know the industry and are sympathetic to the costs a dealer incurs during the selling process. This means that the dealer’s profit margin is always in mind, with a fair price on both sides the ideal outcome.

And that’s part of what differentiates the New Car Buyer Marketplace from its rivals, says Huntingford. It’s supposed to be a conduit for

bringing buyers and dealers together, giving those selling the car complete control over the deals they offer.

‘It’s a place for dealers to advertise their cars and the deals they’re offering. They can choose the price they want and can update it any time they want. It’s a chance to market what they do.’

Dealers will also be given the tools to track their performance on the platform, giving full transparency as to how well it’s working for them: ‘They can see how many cars they’re selling, how much money they’re making and whether it’s in their interests to keep going,’ Huntingford tells us.

In a bid to alleviate any concerns that dealers might have, What Car? has written an open letter – which you will have received with this issue of Car Dealer – explaining the service and how it can benefit sales. It says that 2.5 million people visit its site every month, with one in five of those actively looking to buy a car.

‘We don’t just want to help you sell cars; we want to help you market more efficiently and build lasting, valuable relationships with new-car buyers in your immediate area,’ it says.

So, say you’re a dealer and you want to get involved, what are the next steps? For those who sign up now, for the rest of the year the service will be free. This gives dealerships the opportunity to test the service and see how well it works for them.

In the new year, What Car? will then set a residency fee. Dealers will pay a flat rate to be on the New Car Buyer Marketplace, which makes their offers visible to customers near them.

Unlike some other online platforms, What Car? will not charge a referral fee. There’s one payment and if you sell more cars, you make more profit.

The only other thing a dealership will have to do, other than maintain their stock on the site, is commit to the Dealer Charter.

What Car? sees this product as a natural extension of the services it already offers through its editorial content. Therefore, it is keen to ensure its well-respected and trusted name remains intact.

Customer service and after-sales care are important to consumers, so the Dealer Charter is a way of indicating that the dealerships involved in the service hold themselves to a high regard.

It’s a way of placing themselves above rivals by giving an open commitment to good service.

Ultimately, the goal for What Car? is to make both sides happy.

If it can extend its car-buying advice to getting a customer into a car for a price they’re happy with and that doesn’t leave the dealer downhearted, then it’s mission accomplished. [CD]

by Darren Cassey (@DCassey) CarDealerMag.co.uk | 77

DASHBOARD. FEATURE.

Ask Lawgistics .com

Car Dealer Club lawyers at Lawgistics answer dealers’ legal questions. Join for £39.99 a year to get advice like this when you need it

Distance selling: Do I have to take this car back?

Q

I have a customer who wants to return their vehicle under the ‘distance selling rules’.

They bought it over a week ago and say they have changed their mind about it. Surely that’s no reason for me to have to take it back – and what are the distance selling rules anyway?

Firstly, the term ‘distance selling rules’ is probably still used because the relevant law used to be the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000. However, these regulations were superseded in June 2014 by The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.

These newer regulations set out what information traders need to provide to consumers in regard to ‘on-premises sales’, ‘off-premises sales’ and ‘distance sales’.

The information requirements in off-premises sales (generally this means going into someone’s home to conclude a sale) and also distance sales are higher than those for your standard onpremises sales (those made in the normal course of

A

business in your showroom or on your forecourt).

All traders need to be clued up on the definitions and requirements of each type of sale. As a warning, failure to comply with the off-premises requirements can result in imprisonment or an unlimited fine.

However, staying with your question about a customer wanting to return their vehicle, the 2013 Regulations give a consumer the right to change their mind about their distance purchase within 14 calendar days.

They have that right for any or no reason (separate to any right to reject under the Consumer Rights Act). However, for it to be a distance sale, the regulations define that the sale has to be concluded under an organised distance sales scheme.

So, if your customer saw the vehicle on the website, called up and paid over the phone and had it delivered to their door, potentially, this is a distance sale and so the customer may have the right to a refund within the prescribed 14 days for

no reason other than they changed their mind.

In this case you should have provided them with cancellation paperwork at the point of sale and if you did not, then their 14-day right to change their mind is extended to one year and 14 days!

However, if this was a one-off in response to this customer’s specific request and not the way you normally do business, it could be argued that the distance sale rights do not apply as the sale was not made under an organised distance sale scheme.

How many ‘one-offs’ of this nature make an organised distance sales scheme has yet to be tested so traders do need to think about whether they could be deemed to be operating such a scheme or not.

If your website is set up and markets this type of sale, then you are probably running such a scheme and the customer will have 14 days to change their mind – plus the extra year if you did not supply the required cancellation forms.

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78 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

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PPC is a hugely successful way to advertise your business and stock online, targeting relevant customers and widening your digital reach.

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Check it out

Q A

What checks should I be doing before a vehicle is taken out on a test drive?

The most important one – which may be taken for granted – is checking the person can actually drive! Not only does a driving licence provide clarification of the ability to drive but it also provides another form of identification.

Whilst you may want to trust the person and cut corners for ease and time, if the test drive doesn’t end well, eg with the vehicle being written off, you may be asked to prove sufficient checks were carried out beforehand.

You should always ensure some form of documentation or paperwork is understood and signed by the person intending to carry out the test drive.

The documentation really needs to address the key points, ie, the driver is liable for any damage that may be caused during the test drive or any traffic offences incurred.

It is also worth ensuring you have sufficient insurance in place should you need to make a claim. Make sure the driver knows how to operate the vehicle and accompany them on the test drive.

WHY I JOINED CAR DEALER CLUB

This issue was entirely avoidable, but it’s good to have Lawgistics to turn to RORY Anderson of RS Car Sales had seen three years of relatively troublefree used car sales until an issue arose earlier this year.

A customer had purchased a BMW X5 but after three weeks and 1,500 miles, had discovered an issue with it. Instead of taking the car back to the Sandbach, Cheshirebased dealership, where Anderson would have been able to fix the issue under the car’s warranty, the customer took the model to a main dealer, where a DPF issue saw it accumulate a rather large bill.

It was only after the repair had taken place that the customer contacted Anderson, to demand to be reimbursed for the cost.

Unsure of where he stood, Anderson contacted Lawgistics, who reassured him that he was right to be hesitant in footing the bill.

After a number of Lawgisticsapproved letters and a goodwill offering failed to appease the customer, they took the issue to the small claims court, where Lawgistics once again helped by preparing Anderson’s court papers. ‘Despite

the issue happening a few months ago, it is still ongoing because they refuse to reason with either us or Lawgistics,’ Anderson told us.

With the case at a stalemate, he is understandably concerned about it.

‘Dealing with something like this takes a lot of time and expense. It’s not a situation I’ve found myself in before, so it’s good to have Lawgistics to turn to.’

Anderson has now changed what he says when customers pick up a car: ‘I now say that if they have a problem with a car and I don’t know about it, then I can’t help them. They should let me know and I’ll always do my best to work with them on it.

‘This issue was entirely avoidable,’ he concludes. ‘If they had just let us know about the problem, we could have fixed it for them, for much cheaper than it cost.’

WANT TO UPGRADE? LAWGISTICS’ Basic membership – which you receive as a member of Car Dealer Club – is a cracking deal, but what if you need something that has extra clout? Larger dealer groups or a dealer embroiled in a big legal battle may require some more firepower, and the good news is that club members get discounts on Lawgistics’ other packages. You’ll receive a £100 discount off the Small Business package (normally £695) – perfect for sole traders, a partnership or a small dealer group – and £250 off the Professional package (normally £1,295). This is ideal for franchises, a dealer group or a car supermarket and covers all areas of legal law and documentation.

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Dragon2000 CarDealerMag.co.uk | 79

DATA FILE.

Thestatistics

n

SMMT Sales Data

n

Taking Stock

SMMT: Highest level of September registrations ever Almost half a million new cars shifted as 66-plate models are snapped up

T

he UK new car market remained steady in September, rising 1.6 per cent, according to data published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

A total of 469,696 cars were registered, as buyers purchased the new 66-plate.

The performance marks the highest September on record, while the total number of cars registered so far this year also grew to 2,150,495 units – up 2.6 per cent compared with the same period last year. It is only the second time that the two million mark has been passed in September since 2004.

Fleet registrations continued to drive growth, up 7.3 per cent, while registrations to private motorists experienced a small decline, down 1.7 per cent to 223,844 units in the month.

Meanwhile, diesel registrations rose 2.8 per cent as petrols declined by 1.1 per cent.

Alternatively-fuelled vehicles continued to outpace the market, up 32.6 per cent against the same month

last year with a market share of 3.4 per cent.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: ‘September is always one of the biggest months for Britain’s new car market. The new 66-plate, combined with a diverse range of exciting new models featuring the latest technology, has certainly helped draw buyers into showrooms and many are taking full advantage of the attractive deals and low-interest financing options on offer.

‘Business and consumers place September orders many months in advance, so the ability of the market to maintain this record level of demand will depend on the ability of the government to overcome political uncertainty and

safeguard the conditions that underpin consumer appetite.’

Although covering the whole of the UK, closer examination of the SMMT statistics reveals that England was the only nation showing an increase in new car registrations – but that the rise was enough to cancel out deficits in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

The English new car market showed a jump of 1.88 per cent, against drops of 1.04 per cent for Northern Ireland; 0.24 per cent for Scotland and 0.11 per cent for Wales. The best-selling cars across the UK in September, were, from the top, the Ford Fiesta (96,139 examples registered); Vauxhall Corsa (64,925); Ford Focus (57,137); VW Golf (54,954); Nissan Qashqai (50,293); Vauxhall Astra (44,771); VW Polo (43,642); Mini (36,738); Mercedes-Benz C-Class (34,994) and Audi A3 (33,240).

Infiniti was the UK’s fastest-growing manufacturer in September, selling 256 models in the UK. And the brand performed strongly across the whole of Europe, shifting 1,790 vehicles – almost twice as many as in September 2015.

Automotive sector ‘still resilient after Brexit vote’ IT’S important to analyse the latest SMMT figures in detail, not just look at the headlines, according to Chris Bosworth, director of strategy at Close Brothers Motor Finance.

Bosworth said: ‘The new registration figures from the SMMT – the first since new 66-plated car registrations came into force – indicate that the automotive sector remains relatively resilient following Brexit with a second 80 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

consecutive month of growth following a flat July. The increase in overall registrations has been helped by the growth in demand for alternativelyfuelled vehicles as well as business and fleet markets which all showed significant year-on-year and monthly figures for September.

‘Nevertheless, it is important to analyse the figures, rather than just look at the headlines. As we have seen

for the last six months, private sales have continued to fall.

‘Many consumers are now starting to gravitate to well-priced ‘‘nearly-new’’ stock as manufacturers reduce the number of subsidised finance offers available. With the business market likely to be impacted by the outcome of the current HMRC review into company cars, the private sales market will become increasingly important.’

SMMT sales data Sep/year to date

5

Top

Most-improved manufacturers in September

Infiniti +141% Lotus +113% Bentley +110% MG

+96%

Land Rover +49%

5

Bottom

Worst-performing manufacturers in September Citroen -27% Seat -15% Alfa Romeo -14% Maserati -14% Volkswagen -14%

MAZDA -5%

JEEP +19%

Marque Abarth Alfa Romeo Aston Martin Audi Bentley BMW Chevrolet Chrysler Citroen Dacia DS Fiat Ford Honda Hyundai Infiniti Jaguar Jeep Kia Land Rover Lexus Lotus Maserati Mazda Mercedes-Benz MG MINI Mitsubishi Nissan Peugeot Porsche Renault SEAT Skoda smart SsangYong Subaru Suzuki Toyota Vauxhall Volkswagen Volvo Other British Other Imports Total

September 2016 2016

805 752 130 31,113 320 32,595 0 0 9,108 5,247 2,616 11,319 49,078 11,495 17,039 256 6,458 2,492 15,340 14,629 2,998 47 199 9,422 31,988 1,005 13,119 2,656 27,807 16,130 2,152 17,275 7,308 12,565 2,381 983 762 7,380 18,888 41,697 33,722 7,827 82 511 469,696

% market share 0.17 0.16 0.03 6.62 0.07 6.94 0.00 0.00 1.94 1.12 0.56 2.41 10.45 2.45 3.63 0.05 1.37 0.53 3.27 3.11 0.64 0.01 0.04 2.01 6.81 0.21 2.79 0.57 5.92 3.43 0.46 3.68 1.56 2.68 0.51 0.21 0.16 1.57 4.02 8.88 7.18 1.67 0.02 0.11

September 2015 2015

706 878 148 28,437 152 29,713 1 2 12,496 4,455 2,584 12,467 55,083 10,734 15,504 106 4,860 2,097 13,980 9,809 2,578 22 232 9,917 27,610 511 11,095 2,686 28,473 16,875 1,910 15,148 8,655 11,384 1,838 806 821 7,701 19,095 43,848 39,263 7,388 98 351 462,517

% market share 0.15 0.19 0.03 6.15 0.03 6.42 0.00 0.00 2.70 0.96 0.56 2.70 11.91 2.32 3.35 0.02 1.05 0.45 3.02 2.12 0.56 0.00 0.05 2.14 5.97 0.11 2.40 0.58 6.16 3.65 0.41 3.28 1.87 2.46 0.40 0.17 0.18 1.67 4.13 9.48 8.49 1.60 0.02 0.08

% change 14.02 -14.35 -12.16 9.41 110.53 9.70 0.00 0.00 -27.11 17.78 1.24 -9.21 -10.90 7.09 9.90 141.51 32.88 18.84 9.73 49.14 16.29 113.64 -14.22 -4.99 15.86 96.67 18.24 -1.12 -2.34 -4.41 12.67 14.04 -15.56 10.37 29.54 21.96 -7.19 -4.17 -1.08 -4.91 -14.11 5.94 -16.33 45.58 1.55

2016 3,125 4,038 657 138,411 1,538 138,656 3 0 53,793 20,923 13,767 49,868 254,220 49,656 73,649 2,500 26,416 11,762 72,949 63,644 11,422 278 1,112 39,764 136,892 3,305 51,716 14,753 119,836 80,986 9,799 68,112 36,912 63,310 9,349 3,837 2,807 31,593 80,918 202,956 163,020 34,861 604 2,778 2,150,495

Year-to-date (YTD) % market share 0.15 0.19 0.03 6.44 0.07 6.45 0.00 0.00 2.50 0.97 0.64 2.32 11.82 2.31 3.42 0.12 1.23 0.55 3.39 2.96 0.53 0.01 0.05 1.85 6.37 0.15 2.40 0.69 5.57 3.77 0.46 3.17 1.72 2.94 0.43 0.18 0.13 1.47 3.76 9.44 7.58 1.62 0.03 0.13

2015

2,029 3,924 727 133,300 1,027 124,309 9 136 66,338 20,386 4,549 51,867 268,328 43,563 70,623 891 17,966 8,420 64,208 49,881 10,618 263 1,161 37,923 116,509 2,461 47,182 18,100 124,967 84,593 9,559 59,221 40,520 60,144 6,363 2,681 2,734 28,706 81,604 212,100 182,441 32,391 567 1,597 2,096,886

% market share 0.10 0.19 0.03 6.36 0.05 5.93 0.00 0.01 3.16 0.97 0.22 2.47 12.80 2.08 3.37 0.04 0.86 0.40 3.06 2.38 0.51 0.01 0.06 1.81 5.56 0.12 2.25 0.86 5.96 4.03 0.46 2.82 1.93 2.87 0.30 0.13 0.13 1.37 3.89 10.11 8.70 1.54 0.03 0.08

% change 54.02 2.91 -9.63 3.83 49.76 11.54 -66.67 0.00 -18.91 2.63 202.64 -3.85 -5.26 13.99 4.28 180.58 47.03 39.69 13.61 27.59 7.57 5.70 -4.22 4.85 17.49 34.30 9.61 -18.49 -4.11 -4.26 2.51 15.01 -8.90 5.26 46.93 43.12 2.67 10.06 -0.84 -4.31 -10.65 7.63 6.53 73.95 2.56

Figures supplied by SMMT

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 81

Why being transparent can lead to sales success Only 7% of car buyers say they trust the used car industry, but it’s a case of perception rather than reality.

A move to greater transparency will not only help build a more positive image but can generate more sales success too.

A

uto Trader’s latest Market Report revealed that only 7% of UK consumers claimed they trust the used car industry.

It points to a problem with the reputation of the used car industry, which is put into sharp relief when compared to 12 other major industries.

The used car industry was ranked bottom

by UK consumers for trust and placed other business sectors such as property, finance and mobile services higher.

However, when we asked consumers who had bought a car in the last six months, there was a big change in the level of trust they had in the industry. This time only 7% of UK car buyers said they didn’t trust the used car dealership they had bought from. For 68% of consumers, they claimed they had a significant level of trust and another 25% were indifferent to the question of trust in the used car dealership they had bought from.

So what’s the reason for this discrepancy?

Why are consumer perceptions of the used car industry so low and far removed from the reality for today’s car buyers?

Lack of transparency puts off car buyers Auto Trader’s Market Report was based on a survey of 5,000 UK consumers and reveals a lack of transparency in the online research phase.

Consumers spend on average 11 hours researching their next car purchase online, which is twice the time spent on the forecourts.

If consumers are unable to find the information they’re after, then this may lead to a lack of trust.

In the survey, 76% of consumers reported that price transparency is the most important factor in the car buying process. What’s more, 20% of car buyers claimed they had found vague, hard to find or misleading information when researching their next car to buy.

This lack of transparency has a negative effect on car buyers, with 42% saying it made the car buying process more stressful, 41% saying it took them longer to buy the car they wanted and 22% saying they nearly ended up visiting another dealer instead. More telling, is that 16% of consumers decided to buy from another dealer altogether.

Transparency helps build trust The good news is retailers can change this negative perception. What consumers want is transparency, and not just price transparency.

Consumers value the opinion of other car buyers, with 61% of those surveyed rating dealer testimonials and reviews as an important factor in the car buying process.

Comparative pricing of vehicles was another factor rated highly (67% of new car buyers and 65% of used), while 70% of used car buyers cited car history checks as another important factor.

This transparency builds greater levels of trust and provides a level of reassurance that gives consumers confidence to buy a car.

Some retailers are already beginning to embrace the levels of transparency demanded by today’s car buyers.

Andy Bruce, CEO of Lookers Plc, said: “Consumers want to be in control of the buying process and we fully recognise and encourage that. We believe our role is to provide as much information and advice as we can to allow them to make an informed choice, so it’s about helping people to buy, as opposed to selling to them.

Transparency and honesty are key to this aim.”

In a world where consumer behaviour is ever evolving driven by the rapid change in digital technology, providing a transparent car buying process is key. Not only will it help build a much more positive perception of the industry, but it also gives consumers the confidence to do business with you.

Auto Trader Operations Director, Nathan Coe, said: “Changing perceptions of the used car industry is a huge challenge, but it’s not insurmountable. It will require the majority of the industry to embrace a greater level of transparency to increase trustworthiness with consumers. And those that do will certainly gain a competitive advantage.”

How to deliver transparency with consumers and gain their trust Providing real online transparency not only builds trust with consumers, but also gives them the confidence to do business with you. Here are five ways to provide transparency that consumers rated as the most important in the car buying process*:

Prices The number one way to provide transparency with consumers is to have prices that are easy to find, clear and with no hidden extras. Over 78% of new car buyers voted this an important factor.

Car history check 70% of used car buyers felt that knowing exactly what the car’s history was, was an important factor in the car buying process.

Price comparison For 67% of new car buyers and 65% of used car buyers, being able to compare prices was really important to them when buying a car.

Dealer testimonials and reviews Finding out what other customers thought of a retailer’s service was of real interest to 65% of new car buyers and 60% of used.

Timely responses For 75% of new car buyers and 59% of used car buyers having a dealer respond promptly to an enquiry was of importance in the car buying process.

*Auto Trader Market Report survey September 2016

To download the full Market Report visit: trade.autotrader.co.uk/market-report

For the latest news, views and insight for the automotive retailer community, follow @ATInsight on Twitter 82 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

TAKING STOCK. Remarketing specialist BCA analyses its latest Pulse report to give its thoughts on matters that are important to dealers for the months ahead

A third record month as auction halls and online channels get very busy Dealer customers are saying that retail demand is stronger than might be expected, says Simon Henstock, BCA’s chief operating officer for the UK

U

sed car values continued to rise in September, according to our latest Pulse report.

The headline average value of a used car rose by £34 to £8,376, the third month in a row a new record value has been established. Year-onyear, the headline figure was up by £674, equivalent to an 8.7 per cent increase in average values.

Fleet/lease values increased by 1.3 per cent to go above £10,000 for the first time on record, while average dealer part-exchange values rose by £64 to a new high point of £4,553. Nearly-new values also improved during September.

September saw demand keeping pace with supply, with both the auction halls and online channels being very busy. Sale conversion rates remained high, typically exceeding 80 per cent during September, meaning there is good churn in the marketplace.

It is notable that our dealer customers are anecdotally saying that retail demand is stronger than might be expected at this time of year and this is helping to keep wholesale values firm, even as more stock enters the market.

Increased retail activity following the 66-plate change means more volume is heading towards wholesale channels. This is when the remarketing sector must work closely with its vendor customers to ensure stock is managed in an orderly fashion back into the marketplace.

This means offering stock to the widest possible buyer base via a variety of physical and digital channels and ensuring there are no sudden spikes in volume that can affect demand. Equally, it is critical to appraise and value vehicles appropriately and in line with

condition, and invest in the appropriate level of preparation to attract the attention of buyers.

Looking at the average price performance by model shape, values for volume stock were largely static during the month, although MPVs and estates saw values rise by around 1.7 per cent on average.

Convertible values held up, largely as a result of the good late summer and early autumn weather, while 4x4 values are likely to rise in line with the onset of colder weather conditions in the weeks that lie ahead.

Values in the fleet and lease sector climbed by £127 (1.3 per cent) in September compared with August, to reach £10,017, the highest point on record.

Headline average value of a used car

£8,376

Retained value against original manufacturer’s retail price improved to 42.65 per cent in September from 41.7 per cent in August. Yearon-year values were up by £317 (3.2 per cent), with age falling by one month and mileage down by 3,000. Average values for dealer partexchange cars improved by £64 (1.4 per cent) to a new high point of £4,553, following five consecutive months of relatively flat price performance. Year-on-year values were ahead by £219 (5.0 per cent), with both age and mileage static.

Average nearly-new values improved by £332 (1.5 per cent) to £21,353 in September, although model mix has a significant effect in this lowvolume sector. Values were up by £828 (4.0 per cent) year-on-year.

Values in the fleet and lease sector

£10,017

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 83

AUCTIONS.

Imperial signs a new Henstock agreement with BCA

AUCTION STATIONS

‘We will achieve good returns, quickly and efficiently’

I

mperial Car Supermarkets has signed an exclusive remarketing deal to dispose of part-ex cars through BCA for the next two years. BCA will hold auction sales for Imperial Car Auctions at BCA Enfield every Thursday.

Mike Bell, managing director at Imperial Car Supermarkets, said: ‘BCA is uniquely placed to cover our remarketing needs from funding purchases to valuing and appraising part-exchanges, and then remarketing the non-retail stock.

‘BCA brings the scale and commitment to innovation that mirrors our own business, giving us peace of mind that our vehicles will achieve good returns, quickly and efficiently.’

Imperial Car Supermarkets has grown quickly with a clear focus on customer satisfaction and a commitment to transparency throughout the sales process.

It uses online marketing to help boost confidence in its offering and drive positive feedback on the service it provides.

W

It operates six retail sites in Chertsey, Fleet (Hook), Swanwick, Southampton, Portsmouth and Northampton.

BCA chief commercial officer Craig Purvey said: ‘Our buyers will benefit from a wide range of attractive cars in these regular sales. This deal builds on our relationship with Imperial Cars, which has been a customer of Partner Finance for 18 months. Working in a true partnership has helped to drive efficiency and results throughout the process.’

Dealers ‘now getting stock seven days a week’ DEALERS are moving away from traditional buying patterns to sourcing stock seven days a week, according to BCA Partner Finance.

The company says the trend is driven by better access to finance and the growth of online purchase channels.

Malcolm Thompson, managing director of BCA Partner Finance, said: ‘Traditionally, dealers would sell over a weekend and bank the money before looking to source replacement stock.

The advent of funding solutions, like

How much longer can values stability last for?

BCA Partner Finance, has freed the dealer to operate more efficiently and, with better liquidity, buy for the best deal to suit the business.’

He added: ‘Customers value the simplicity of the service, which is helping them to purchase additional stock from the huge choice available at BCA. ‘Dealers can use BCA Partner Finance to fund any auction purchase, whether they are making a speculative buy, sourcing a vehicle to order or expanding their range and scope.’

hile average values have been relatively stable for much of 2016, commentators are beginning to speculate as to whether that trend will continue into 2017. Market performance brings into play a number of factors, including on-going supply-and-demand dynamics, and while no-one can predict the future, we can look at recent and longer-term trends as a guide.

August and September to date have seen demand keeping pace with supply. Conversion rates have been healthy, which shows there is a good churn in the marketplace. Increased retail activity following the 66-plate change means more volume is heading towards wholesale channels. It is notable that our dealer customers are anecdotally saying that retail demand is stronger than we would normally see at this time of year.

This is helping to keep wholesale values firm, even as more stock enters the market.

This is when the remarketing sector must work closely with its vendor customers to ensure stock is managed in an orderly fashion back into the marketplace. This means offering stock to the widest possible buyer base by a variety of physical and digital channels and ensuring there are no sudden spikes in volume that can affect demand. Equally, it is critical to appraise and value vehicles appropriately and in line with condition, and invest in the appropriate level of preparation to attract the buyers’ attention.

In previous years and with similar trading patterns we have seen good levels of demand into the autumn months, then a general slowing of activity towards the end of the year as the festive season approaches.

Whatever the market conditions, professional used car buyers need to be able to find the right stock quickly and efficiently. Tools such as BCA’s Auction View make stock location quicker and easier across an even wider range of search criteria.

Who is Simon Henstock? ‚

He is BCA UK s Chief Operating Officer – Remarketing. Visit bca.co.uk or call 0845 600 6644.

ROCKINGHAM AUTOMOTIVE DEFLEET & REMARKETING CENTRE VEHICLE REMARKETING SERVICES 1. Logistics Our dedicated collection team are experienced in all forms of vehicle movement from doorstep inspection/ collection featuring detailed damage costings supported by digital images signed by the customer to the more standard movement of single or multi vehicle transporter load. With six strategically positioned UK wide drop off locations we have the ability to cover the England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland regions for all aspects of recovery.

2. Inspection On arrival all vehicles are inspected to the NAMA grading standard, the standard you can trust. This nationally defined scheme will enable the best possible prices to be achieved.

Vehicles of specific grades will attract certain buyer groups therefore ensuring that vendors obtain the best audience both physically and online. The transparent grading of used vehicles within the industry has encouraged growth in the online buying practices of major motor retailers at all specialist corporate fleet sale events.

3. Presentation Every vehicle is presented to a retail clean standard to ensure the best possible financial return is achieved. This small investment is an essential ingredient to the overall result for the corporate vendor. The vehicle presentation takes place immediately prior to digital imagery of vehicles which are then uploaded to website and smartphone applications for marketing purposes.

84 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

3 UK wide inspection and collection service at competitive pricing 3 Strategically positioned central hub to provide nationwide single centre sale events 3 Every vehicle presented to a retail clean standard 3 Expert refurbishment programme tailored to your needs 3 300 acres of secure hard standing vehicle storage

3 Established auction programme to suit both corporate and dealer group part exchange 3 State of the art Online Centre to offer vehicles 24/7 direct to marketplace 3 Asset Recovery System – digital platform to track, recover and remarket the asset 3 Fleet Management Department – Experienced, knowledgeable and dependable

For further information please contact Michael Tomalin 07808 791210 or email mt@cityauctiongroup.com

Rockingham Speedway, Mitchell Road, Corby NN17 5AF

www.cityauctiongroup.com

How dealers can build trust with their customers, by Dragon2000 bit.ly/trust104

‘Model’ example of a Ford Zephyr is sold by Manheim Delight as Mark II model achieves an ‘incredible selling price’ of £12,100

BCA

European ops director appointed

M

anheim has sold a ‘model’ example of a Ford Zephyr Mark II at its Leeds auction centre – the exact car that was used by Corgi as the basis for its diecast version of the car.

The cherished 1961 example of the 2.6-litre six-cylinder Ford saloon bears the registration ‘110 LAL’, which is replicated on the Corgi model of the Zephyr Mark II. This particular car is equipped with overdrive and is well known among Ford enthusiasts. It was offered at auction with just over 82,000 miles on the clock and a substantial service history, including MOT certificates dating back to 1976.

With a guide price of between £8,000 and £10,000, the unique Zephyr Mark II eventually sold for £12,100 and has gone off to a fantastic new home in the classic car collection of John Schofield, managing director of Car Transplants, the UK’s largest independent salvage company.

The collection already includes around 120 classic cars, mostly

Car dealer new strip ad 3/16

Sharing the same registration plate... the Corgi, left, and the fullsize version, below British and American models.

The 86bhp Zephyr Mark II is one of the more unusual cars to pass the rostrum at Manheim’s Leeds auction centre and has local history, having been previously sold by a classic car specialist based in North Yorkshire in 2008.

Andy Conde, Manheim’s General Manager for Group Auctioneers, said: ‘It’s a challenge to put a value on a

26/9/16

THE FLEET AUCTION GROUP - THE UK’S

N1 O

TRADE ONLY AUCTION

14:32

unique car with the provenance of this example, so we were thrilled to see the Zephyr achieve such an incredible selling price and go off to a great new home to reside with some fellow classic cars.’

Page 1

BCA is supporting its expansion plans in Europe with the appointment of Bertrand de Techtermann, above, into the new role of European operations director. He brings with him a wealth of experience gained over 17 years in the automotive industry and finished vehicles logistics, most recently at logistics group Gefco, where he set up its Algerian business.

This new role aims to provide a unique customer experience, offering BCA’s business partners the expertise, assistance and agility to leverage the full potential of the European market.

Jean-Roch Piat, chief operating officer – remarketing Europe, said: ‘Bertrand de Techtermann´s appointment is a key milestone in our ability to execute innovation in all markets at the same time, while delivering a robust, high-quality and efficient service to all our customers.’

Purpose built 12 acre auction complex Central UK location Fixed cost buyers premium Fleet Car Sales every Monday & Thursday at 10am Collection of vehicles 24 hours a day, 7 days a week Excellent variety of weekly stock from premium sources Regular Top Car Sales. Vans, Truck & Plant every week Enclosed and heated auction halls and viewing area All new website & stock locator. On-line bidding The UK’s finest auction restaurant Call for account application

The Fleet Auction Group Ltd., Stephenson Industrial Estate, Coalville, Leicestershire LE67 3HG Telephone: 01530 833535 Email: info@fleetauctiongroup.com www.fleetauctiongroup.com CarDealerMag.co.uk | 85

Dealer Promise Be trusted, sell more

The Dealer Promise builds unrivalled confidence by reassuring your customers they are in safe hands when buying a car from you.

How it works...

Clarity - show customers you have signed up to deliver the best customer service experience Commitment - communicate with your customers your core values including a minimum of six months MOT and a test drive on all vehicles Reassurance - buyers know your promise to deliver all documents, offer free breakdown cover and carry out history checks Confidence - AA branded POS clearly partners you with the UK's most trusted brand Reputation - confirming your integrity, openness and position as a reputable dealer

Contact us for more details:

01920 877750 aacars.com 86 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

MARKET INSIGHT.

..in association with ASE-global.com

Investment worries lead to a drop in share prices Merger and acquisition activity looks set to continue for rest of 2016, says Adam Cottam

S

hare prices fell across all listed motor retail groups in September. Investors appear to be worried over the anticipated new car market fall and there is some belief the stocks are over-sold.

This was in contrast to the wider equity market, as the FTSE 100 continued to climb.

A weak pound was helping UK export businesses and multinationals whose earnings were higher when converted at the more advantageous spot rates.

Cambria and Vertu released pre-close trading updates in advance of their full- and half-year results respectively. Both were very strong and reported significant growth, although there was some indication the new retail channel was softening despite robust new car volumes overall.

There were no significant transactions in the sector in the month, although there is still strong appetite for expansion and the strong merger and acquisition activity seen already this year is expected to continue.

Despite motor retail share prices recovering in recent months, September saw them fall back slightly, across all the listed businesses.

There appears to be a continuing concern among investors that a number of these businesses are over sold, and that the slowing of the new car market will significantly affect future profitability.

The existence of concern is not widespread across all industries; this is evident by the FTSE 100 continuing its growth. The Pound has remained weak, which has strengthened the results of UK-based manufacturers exporting their goods. This has been great news for marques whose vehicles are made in the UK. While some businesses have seen increases in the cost of imported raw materials, multinationals have benefited from a weak Sterling as their earnings were worth more when converted. We also continue to see strong economic data following the UK referendum on EU membership. Consumer confidence and spending are high, and many businesses are reporting little effect on consumer behaviour, all of which are better outcomes than first expected.

A lot can change however, and things will become a lot clearer as the Government’s plan on Article 50 starts to take shape.

Share price movement from January 1 to September 30, 2016

Share price movement from January 1 to August 31, 2016

Pendragon

64.2%

72.5%

Vertu

60.6%

63.2%

Lookers

61.9%

73.8%

Inchcape

83.9%

89.4%

Cambria

81.3%

83.8%

Caffyns

101.8%

102.8%

Marshall

85.6%

88.6%

Financial performance There were a couple of financial performance announcements during September.

A pre-close trading update was released by Cambria, made in advance of the preliminary full-year results which are due on November 22.

Overall, the picture was positive, with improved profitability in new, used and aftersales. New was driven by better year-on-year volumes, compounded by improved chassis margins, which

was a story also seen in the used department.

The September order bank was robust, and the company confirmed that the businesses acquired during the year were all performing as expected and integrating well.

Vertu also released pre-close trading information, in lieu of their half-year results due on October 12. New car performance was strong, although this was largely underpinned by commercial and fleet with the retail channel ‘softening’ in recent months.

Used and aftersales results were very strong, which puts the business in a good place with the anticipated new car market deterioration.

These divisions provide higher margins, which should provide even stronger future profitability prospects.

Transactional activity It has been a very quiet month in terms of transactional activity with no significant deals being completed.

There doesn’t appear to be any dampening of appetite for expansion, however. As we move into the final quarter, we expect there to be some significant merger and acquisition activity.

Who is Adam Cottam?

He’s corporate finance executive at dealer profitability specialist ASE plc. You can read ASE’s column here every month.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 87

88 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

RECRUITMENT.

Twenty new jobs created as flagship Nissan outlet opens MD says motor group is proud to strengthen relationship with manufacturer

A

new flagship Nissan dealership for Scotland has been officially opened a stone’s throw from Edinburgh Airport.

Western Nissan occupies a prime site at Edinburgh’s Luxury Car Village – a premium automotive destination dominated by parent company Eastern Western Motor Group.

Purpose-built at a cost of £6.5m, Scotland’s biggest Nissan outlet was developed after the thriving dealership outgrew its former site on the city’s Corstorphine Road.

And its opening, alongside Western Nissan’s other sites in Stirling and Dunfermline, has further strengthened the relationship between one of the UK’s fastestgrowing automotive retail groups and one of its fastest-growing car brands.

Employing 100 people – and having created 20 new jobs – the development centres around a 15-car showroom designed to showcase the Nissan range to best effect.

The showroom features a unique angular roof designed to both maximise the impact of Nissan’s 21st Century retail concept and to meet strict flight path planning regulations.

Outside, there’s a huge, Nissan-only forecourt stocking a massive selection of up to 125 quality approved CARED4

used Nissan models. The site has also been future-proofed for predicted growth in aftersales with a massive 14-bay state-of-the-art workshop with all the latest Nissan servicing and diagnostic equipment.

Peter Collin, managing director of Eastern Western Motor Group, said: ‘We are absolutely delighted to have opened such a fantastic facility that will offer motorists in Edinburgh and West Lothian the very best of the Nissan brand.

‘We are also proud to have strengthened our relationship with Nissan at such an exciting time for the brand and for our group.’

Dealer principal, John Latrobe, added: ‘It’s particularly pleasing that this new dealership has a prime spot at Edinburgh luxury car village surrounded by premium brands.’

CITNOW

Geoffrey will help firm grow AUTOMOTIVE video technology expert CitNOW has announced the appointment of Geoffrey Page-Morris as non-executive chairman.

This follows his appointment as a board advisor earlier in the year. Page-Morris will assume the new role with immediate effect to support the growing firm, which currently works with 31 OEMs across Europe and 91 of the top 100 automotive dealer groups in the UK. Building on a wealth of automotive experience prior to joining CitNOW, PageMorris spent 18 years with car dealership group Sytner.

Commenting on his appointment, Page-Morris said: ‘I liked CitNOW from the off. The ability to seamlessly present a personal video quickly within an existing dealer’s process, in sales or aftersales, is very compelling.’

Fed up, no long term career path, no team working, no thank you’s or financial rewards?!

WOMA are an established family business located in Witney, West Oxfordshire. Offering in excess of 15,000 vehicles for sale each year on behalf of independent and nationally recognised vendors to an established database of 3000 customers, we need help to continue the growth of our business.

Tuesday, May 23, 2017 The Wing, Silverstone CDX17 will be bigger than ever, with a larger expo, plus more workshops and breakout sessions STAND BOOKINGS BEING TAKEN NOW!

To register your interest please call 023 9252 2434 or email events@blackballmedia.co.uk

The ideal candidate will be prepared to support the General Sales Manager in the day to day running of the business with the ability to multi task in many other areas to include the development and promotion of our Online bidding facility.

We will offer the successful candidate the opportunity to train as an auctioneer to further support our long term plans, so a confidence and ability to present to an audience is a pre requisite of this role.

This opportunity is to be considered as a long term career as the successful candidate will become an important part of our business succession plan and as such, will eventually fill the important role of liaising with both vendors and bidders.

You can look forward to a Mon-Fri working week, a competitive salary and a company performance bonus paid twice a year (circa £32k OTE) For further info or to apply, send your CV to: stevec@woma.co.uk or phone 01993 774413 (ask for Steve Carter)

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 89

DATA FILE.

James Litton

TRADER TALES

Small carmakers have some thinking to do

M

y dad started in the motor trade as an apprentice mechanic in 1960. In those days, there were very few dealer groups, just a collection of franchised dealers and independents, all of whom shared a common rogueish trait.

The owner of the business he worked for was like many; a public-school type with a love of the open road. In those days, the right accent and charm were enough to secure some funding from the bank or from some school pals. Life was good, lunches were boozy, bottom lines were healthy.

Having worked his way to up sales director, my dad left in 1981 to venture out on his own with a small garage in Somerset – a few used cars, couple of ramps and a petrol filling station. This would not have been possible without the help of a business associate who bankrolled the first year of the operation.

My parents worked together for 10 years and sold the business to an oil company for them to redevelop. Even in 1991, it was becoming apparent that big business was squeezing the motor industry and faced with either a large redevelopment cost or selling out, my folks chose the sensible option.

Fast forward to 2016 – and I am a similar age to that of my dad when he started his own business in 1981.

What options does someone like me have to start a franchised business? The answer is none.

While I am very happy in my role here, there are many talented friends and former colleagues who would love the opportunity to go and give a franchised business a crack. The barriers to entry are not only a problem for them, they are a problem for most manufacturers.

Take the NFDA rankings as a power poll of attractive partners. You cannot target one Mercedes business, you need to target a market area. The latest sale of MB Retail’s Manchester and Birmingham business had 20 prospective bidders, no doubt a mixture of established PLCs and foreign investors. There may have been an individual or two in the race, but think Roman Abramovich, not James Litton.

Perhaps the most successful brand in the survey with an open point or two could be Suzuki. Could an aspiring entrepreneur easily fund a Suzuki dealership? Probably not.

Think land and building costs, infrastructure investment, people, stock, cash flow restrictions, delayed manufacturer bonus payments, reluctance of banks to invest. All for two per cent return on sales. The big boys need not worry, but smaller manufacturers need to think about their retail spaces – what they look like, who operates them, and, most importantly, how they are paid.

‘Take the NFDA rankings as a power poll of attractive partners.’

Who is James Litton?

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

90 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Suppliers’ If you’re looking for a motor trade supplier you can find App Development

Finance

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W: astonbarclay.net T: 01245 450700 E: info@astonbarclay.net Info: Aston Barclay delivers national coverage through its four auction centres, together with proven online remarketing channels.

W: auctionbuyers4u.co.uk T: 07836 777268 E: info@auctionbuyers4u.co.uk Info: We have more than 30 years’ experience, providing a first-class service whether you’re a small concern or a large retail operator.

We deal with motor trade only.

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 marketleading returns for sellers.

W: dealerplus.co.uk T: 0871 310 3444 E: sales@dealerplus.co.uk Info: Dealerplus is a motor finance broker that offers an extensive panel of lenders to a nationwide network of dealers.

W: firstresponsefinance.co.uk T: 0115 946 6317 E: marketing@frfl.co.uk Info: First Response is an award-winning UK finance company providing simple financial solutions. Get in touch and let us help increase your profits.

W: motonovofinance.com T: 0330 159 1895 E: marketing@motonovofinance.com Info: Our heritage, rich in passion, knowledge and success, has driven our commitment to ensure that our dealers get the best possible service and value.

W: paragoncarfinance.co.uk T: 0345 149 7777 E: pcf@paragonbank.co.uk Info: We offer finance through dealers and brokers with our innovative proposition, backed up by our knowledgeable and experienced team.

W: autoprotect.co.uk T: 01279 456500 E: sales@autoprotect.co.uk Info: A provider of warranties, GAP, SMART repair insurance, Foresight Service Plan and many other sources of income to manufacturers and retailers.

W: dna-insurance.com T: 0844 282 0138 E: mail@dna-insurance.com Info: Save money! Low-cost insurance for road risk and/or combined. Number 1 provider for motor traders in the UK.

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W: codeweavers.net T: 0800 021 0888 E: marketing@codeweavers.net Info: Codeweavers has a proven track record of delivering solutions to websites that helps dealers sell more cars online.

W: ivendi.com T: 0845 226 0503 E: info@ivendi.com Info: Award-winning vehicle-retailing technology and highly qualified lead generation. See why more than 6,000 dealers now work with us.

W: lawgistics.co.uk T: 01480 445500 E: sales@lawgistics.co.uk Info: Leading provider of legal services and advice to the UK motor trade. Helping our members comply with current and future legislation.

W: autoprotect.co.uk/ceramic-coat T: 01279 456500 E: ayoungs@autoprotect.co.uk Info: Ceramic Coat is the most advanced paint and interior protection system available.

AutoProtect is the sole provider to the UK’s motor manufacturing and dealership networks.

To have your details included here call (023) 9252 2434 and ask for Suppliers’ Guide listings

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W: movex.co.uk T: 020 8551 1060 E: daren@movex.co.uk Info: The UK’s leading online vehicle logistics platform, easing vehicle movements for trade-only customers, with a network of 600plus approved transport providers.

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Paint Protection

Vehicle Preparation & Cleaning

Warranty

Gtechniq

National Car Cleaning

Warrantywise

Paint Protection

Vehicle Remarketing

Warranty

Supagard

CarGurus

WMS

Parts

Vehicle Remarketing

Website Design & Digital Marketing

Euro Car Parts

Friday-Ad

GForces

Stock

Video

Website Design & Digital Marketing

Maguires Garage

CitNOW

Goldsand Digital

W: gtechniq.com T: 01327 811015 E: platinum@gtechniq.com Info: In 2004, scientists at Gtechniq created a superior line of products aimed at perfecting all car surfaces, and these products have been continually improved.

W: supagard.com T: 0141 633 5933 E: info@supagard.co.uk Info: The UK’s number one since 1988 and the preferred choice of the AM Top 100 and major vehicle manufacturers.

W: eurocarparts.com T: 020 3474 0500 Info: The UK’s number one distributor of car parts for all makes of cars and light commercial vehicles. Door-to-door delivery service six days a week.

W: maguiresgarage.co.uk T: 028 9061 3141/07718 780343 E: info@maguiresgarage.co.uk Info: New car and van imports in stock and available to order.

Contact Stevie or Jim. First-class customer service and very competitive pricing.

W: nationalcarclean.co.uk T: 01268 565050 E: info@nationalcarclean.co.uk Info: Over the past 30 years we have grown from a family business to a national enterprise, providing a complete valeting service.

W: cargurus.co.uk T: 0800 808 5557 E: dealers_uk@cargurus.com Info: Leading car shopping website that brings transparency to the car search process, helping consumers easily find great deals.

W: fridaymediagroup.com T: 01273 837855 E: MotorsTeam@fridaymediagroup.com Info: An automotive classified site that exposes used car dealers to more than 200,000 unique car buyers a month. Detailed search functionality helps drive leads.

W: citnow.com T: 0118 997 7740 E: reply@citnow.com Info: CitNOW is the UK’s largest provider of personalised video presentation services to the automotive industry. More than 3,500 live installations worldwide.

The UK’s Best Used Car Warranty

W: wisedealer.co.uk T: 01254 355104 E: dealers@warrantywise.co.uk Info: Provide your customers with the UK’s best used-car warranty, designed by Quentin Willson.

W: wmsgroupuk.com T: 01844 293 810 E: dealers@wmsgroupuk.com Info: Open 24/7, we offer award-winning warranty products for FCA- and non-FCA registered dealerships.

W: gforces.co.uk T: 0844 247 4523 E: info@gforces.co.uk Info: The leading provider of automotive web software and full service marketing, working globally with OEMs and more than half of the UK’s top 200 dealers.

W: goldsanddigital.com T: 020 7287 9233 E: info@goldsanddigital.com Info: Build a high-quality pool of hot leads, avoid fatiguing your database and create marketing your customers will love.

Vehicle Inspections

Warranty

Website Design & Digital Marketing

AA Cars

Car Care Plan

Spidersnet

W: theAAcars.com T: 01920 252054 E: enquiries@theaacars.com Info: The AA is a trusted brand, so let us help you expand your business with vehicle inspections, AA branding and advertising on our used car site.

W: carcareplan.com T: 0344 573 8000 E: salesinfo@carcareplan.co.uk Info: The market-leading supplier of warranty, asset protection and cosmetic repair products protecting 1m customers every year. We work with manufacturers, dealer groups and independents across the world.

W: spidersnet.co.uk T: 01273 837560 E: support@spidersnet.co.uk Info: Award-winning website solutions plus services to help drive leads to dealers’ doors. The specialist team are dedicated in assisting new and used operations reach their full online potential.

Why my little doodle didn’t go down well

I

’ve seen a few people sending in their nightmare stories to this part of the magazine, so I felt obliged to add mine too.

However, whereas others tend to involve encounters with customers, my issue arose in the heart of the dealership.

Fresh into my new role as a wet-behind-the-ears trainee salesperson, I was keen to make a good first impression.

I made teas before they were even asked for, and stayed late to help lock up. In short, I really wanted to do well.

My manager, who I’ll call Ian, was a towering man who commanded respect from the entire team. He scared me just a little bit, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me from working hard. Unfortunately, I found out after the first week that the job just wasn’t for me.

From then on, it turned into a daily slog of boredom, with filing and polishing the odd display car the only highlights of my routine.

I’d quickly grown to pass the time by doodling on the back of spare pieces of paper. On a Friday afternoon, I’d just about finished a picture of Ian, drawn as Shrek, with the title ‘get out of my dealership’ written above it when I got a call from said boss, asking for me to photocopy some documents.

I dragged myself to his office, and took the documents from him with as much enthusiasm I could muster.

At the photocopier, I passed the documents through one by one, wishing that – just for once – something interesting would happen.

Job successfully completed, I took the pages back up to Ian and slid them over his desk. It was then, to my utter horror as he lifted them up, that I realised that my Shrek masterpiece had found itself into the pile. I quickly tried to grab them off him but he withdrew, asking what was wrong with me.

I walked back down the stairs to my desk, pretty sure that it would be the last time. I then heard a minor eruption upstairs, and a thundering noise as the ogre himself descended the stairs.

With the picture pushed into my face, I knew the game was up – especially as I’d had the misfortune to draw it on a document that had my name upon it. Needless to say, that was the last we saw of each other...

‘I walked back down the stairs, pretty sure it would be the last time.’

Tell us your story

Have you something to confess? We’d love to hear your tale of woe. Email our head of news and features (you can find her details on page three) or post them on our forum – simply type cardealermagazine.co.uk/forum into a web browser and get confessing!

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 91

KEY NOTES

..in association with Traka

Don’t fear going digital For many, it may be a good idea to move forward in bite-size chunks, says Paul Smith

G

oing digital means very different things to different people. For some, it’s about putting a website out there and detailing all your latest stock on it. Others are now offering an app-linked popup screen on their website, giving people the opportunity to book a test drive of the car they are checking out online.

And some are putting live webchat facilities on their websites to help people with any queries after they’ve been onsite for a set amount of time.

These are all good examples of going digital in our market and should be commended. They offer the dealership the chance to cut time to – and cost of – sale considerably, while improving the online customer experience.

However, according to leading management consultant McKinsey & Co, the proliferation of digital tools so far is just the tip of the digital iceberg. The car market will see a ratcheting-up

of ‘digital intensity’ over the next few years and some of these changes could prove seismic. So it’s best to begin devoting budgets to planning for digital intensification ahead of its arrival.

Let’s have a quick look at what’s happening in our market right now.

There are four key changes afoot: 1. In Europe, we’ve seen a slowdown in sales of new cars. McKinsey & Co predicts that between 2016 and 2020 we will see growth percentages roughly halve globally, settling at around five per cent by 2020.

2. Simultaneously, we are seeing technologydriven disruption coming through in spades.

Uber and other e-hailing and car-sharing services will inevitably create an environment in which fewer people will be inclined to buy new cars.

McKinsey & Co estimates that changing car usage behaviour could mean an aggregate reduction of up to two million new cars being sold worldwide each year by 2030.

3. Also on the technology side, we are seeing intelligent cars on our roads in increasing numbers. These will offer increasingly sophisticated assisted driving and parking capabilities. They may also offer carto-car communication for collision prevention and will be packed with infotainment offerings, sensors, software and networking capability.

4. There’s also the inexorable move from diesel and petrol-dominated drives to hybrid and all-electric vehicles, pushed along by EU legislation that may well mandate minimum 60mpg vehicles by 2025.

If at first glance this list looks like a recipe for ‘disruption overload’, fear not. The UK is better

equipped for digitisation than even the US, because more of us are happier to buy more stuff online already. And as long as online processes are properly joined up, many of us are even prepared to buy our cars via the click of a mouse as long as we have a nearby dealership to show us the car options and help finance, service and support the mighty purchase.

So how should dealers respond now to impending digitisation? The first thing to think about is properly segmenting your customer base by value and behaviour traits. Once you’ve defined their value and digital savoir faire, the next element to consider is tailoring the digital customer experience accordingly. It is important to look at every online process with a view to delivering a joined-up customer experience.

You also need a clear top-down digital strategy and senior-level management support to make it happen, including IT budget to help you invest in the technology to migrate. Digital ‘sticking plasters’ won’t do for very much longer.

For many, it may be a good idea to go digital in bite-size chunks, focusing on joining up processes and improving the online customer experience by so doing. So, if an existing customer has selected and bought an aftercare package, wouldn’t it be great if you could not only deliver the PDF policy document via email but also an FAQ page linked to the policy they’ve taken out? They might even be advised of your mobile app to help them with any servicing queries, together with an opportunity to book a service or receive early notifications of pending servicing considerations.

In this way we are starting to move into the world of digital self-service. And we all know that if it works, we will keep coming back and talking about it positively – and by so doing, convert others to do the same thing.

Who is Paul Smith?

Paul Smith heads Traka Automotive, part of the ASSA Abloy Group brand Traka. ASSA Abloy bought the electronic key management software provider eTag Solutions, which was founded by him. Traka is a leader in intelligent access control, key management control solutions and keyless electronic lockers.

Keys can make you money…

Find out how at www.traka-automotive.com The only viable key management solution for automotive POWERED BY

Email sales@etagsolutions.com or call 0845 225 2910

92 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

MONEY TALKS

..in association with Paragon Car Finance

Putting finance first There’s no point discussing a Ferrari if your customer can only stretch to a Ford!

I

n a traditional dealership sale, after a cursory discussion about budget, it’s not unusual for finance discussions to come right at the end of a long dialogue about suitable vehicles. Whilst this works perfectly when the customer’s budget expectations are realistic, it’s not so good if expectations and reality are out of sync. The growth of online finance brokers might have something to teach us about the benefits of putting finance first in the showroom.

How does online finance work?

Online finance brokers start by working out how much a customer can borrow and, importantly, whether they’ll be able to borrow the amount that they want.

The customer puts in a range of details about themselves, including their income and other key financial information, and the system does

the leg work before coming back with one or more suitable finance options.

Effectively, the system does the finance thinking up-front and delivers a deposit, finance amount, interest rate and payment plan that should, in principle, be available to the buyer.

Why put finance first?

A bit like a mortgage offer in principle, online vehicle finance can ‘accept in principle’.

By getting to know the customer’s financial profile and then looking at the available funding options, it focuses on the concept of affordability before too much excitement builds about any particular vehicle.

Applied in the dealer showroom, think how much time this could save your sales team and how much frustration it could spare your customers. After all, there’s no point discussing a Ferrari if the budget will only stretch to a Ford!

Can’t dealer finance systems do this already?

Many dealers already offer simple online calculators. Finance calculators certainly help customers reach a basic level of understanding on how far their budget might stretch.

In particular, interactive calculators let customers see how much monthly payments can vary depending on the size of deposit, interest rate and length of agreement.

However, beyond this, most dealer systems require both customer and vehicle details before offering specific finance options. The opportunity to source an ‘accept in principle’ offer for a particular amount for a specific customer is not widely available but can already be arranged with Paragon Car Finance.

Learning from the fast-moving world of online car finance, some development work with lenders in this direction may well be worth consideration for the future.

Any questions?

If you have any finance questions that you should know the answers to but you’re too scared to ask, send them through to Paragon Car Finance at pcf@paragonbank.co.uk

Home Sweet Motorhome Paragon Car Finance is proud to extend its lending package to motorhomes What we can offer Hire Purchase Maximum loan term = 10 years No deposit required Maximum LTV 115% Maximum age of vehicle at end of term = 15 years Maximum loan £100,000

0345 149 7777 pcf@paragonbank.co.uk www.paragoncarfinance.co.uk/motorhomes Paragon Car Finance is a trading style of Paragon Bank PLC. Paragon Bank PLC is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.

Registered in England number 5390593. Registered office 51 Homer Road, Solihull, West Midlands, B91 3QJ. Paragon Bank PLC is registered on the Financial Services Register under the firm reference number 604551.

BPCF13099 (07/2016)

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 93

94 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

THE FLEET.

LATEST FROM THE FLEET...

Third report:

DS 4Crossback Darren Cassey says he is learning to love this intriguing-looking crossover – and is wondering what is attracting buyers to the car

W

hen you drive something as quirky as the DS 4Crossback, it can be quite exciting when you spot another one.

Over the course of my ‘ownership’ I’ve noticed more and more of these intriguinglooking crossovers on the roads. I’m interested to find out what these proper owners think of their purchase and what exactly tempted them to buy.

No doubt the unique styling, excellent forward visibility and the promise of feeling premium without the need to spend BMW or Mercedes money was appealing. But the poor ride quality, odd brake feel and downright bizarre design features quickly frustrate.

That said, I was quite excited to spot that the family of Georgie Lane, main character in the BBC’s Our Girl series, drives a black DS 4Crossback. The car looks great on camera.

It made me feel as though I was starting to overcome some of the car’s foibles. Now that I’ve been running the car for a few months, I’ve naturally learned to work with most of its quirks.

The fact I rarely have passengers in the rear means that the intrusive door shape and lack of lowering mechanism on the window don’t really affect me, while the nose-dive when you brake can be compensated for with a gentler prod of the

THE KNOWLEDGE Model: DS 4Crossback BlueHDi 120 S&S Price: £24,045 Engine: 1.5-litre turbodiesel Power: 118bhp, 300Nm Max speed: 117mph 0-60mph: 10.9 seconds Emissions: 103g/km Mpg: 72.4 (combined) Mileage this month: 630 THIS MONTH’S HIGHLIGHT Spotting others on the road – and even one on TV! pedal. Excitement was piqued this month when it was time to undertake some maintenance.

While driving to work one morning, a bird unloaded its dinner on the car’s windscreen. A tug on the right stick would normally spray a jet of water across the glass and sort the matter, but this time it merely spluttered apologetically.

Okay, so not really maintenance, but it’s a new car and it was exciting to actually have something to do! Naturally, this meant there was now a big white smear encroaching on my field of view. I like to stay on top of the windscreen washer level since I use it a lot, but I’d had no warning on the dashboard that the levels were low and had simply forgotten

to check. Too much trust in technology, it would appear. Lifting the bonnet, I refilled the washer bottle and took a moment to check out the engine. Everything was very compact in there, so I don’t envy the engineers who have to work on it.

There also appeared to be a number of exposed wires, so that might be interesting once the wet weather properly hits over the next few months…

Stay tuned!

Mid-September I had to travel from my home in Surrey to my girlfriend’s mum’s house in south Wales. I was rather dreading travelling 150 miles in the DS 4’s terrible driving position, which makes me feel like a performing contortionist whenever I want to get comfortable.

I was left with an achy back and parked in the furthest corner of the service station to give myself a bit of a walk to shake loose, but there were no lasting pains at least. I’m not sure what shape DS thinks humans are – and it’s very possible that I’m the oddity – but I feel like addressing this in the next generation would alleviate a lot of my concerns.

The DS 4’s trump card continues to be that frugal engine. The 1.6-litre unit sips diesel and ensures my wallet doesn’t take too much of a hit over the weekend away, even with the Severn Bridge toll taken into account.

Despite the fact it’s so light on using the dark stuff and only has 118bhp, the engine doesn’t feel like it’s lacking puff. It pulls quite nicely on the motorway and has more than enough torque to make it sprightly around town.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’m warming to the DS 4Crossback, but I’m certainly learning to live with its idiosyncrasies.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 95

THE FLEET.

LATEST FROM THE FLEET...

Third report:

Third report:

AudiQ7

Seat Ibiza Cupra OutlanderPHEV

SuzukiVitara

Tom experiences the ‘joy of specs’...

Jack Evans decides to head off to west Wales

Clare Newman adapts to a pretty big beast!

The seats look snazzy but are they that comfy?

THE big Audi is the flagship of our long-term fleet, and not just because it is the size of an aircraft carrier. It stands above everything else in the car park in terms of price, stature and desirability.

But it’s not just the prestige badge that makes our Q7 covetable – part of the thrill of buying a car in this price range is choosing options – the ‘joy of specs’. The dark evenings have highlighted one in particular which we completely forgot about in the summer months – Matrix LED headlamps. A series of LEDs to constantly change the beam pattern, even using sat nav info to light the corners. Genius.

And while the engine is the ‘entry-level’ V6 TDI, it’s more than up to the task of hauling the Q7 about. Its average of 38mpg means there are 600-mile gaps between fill-ups. But there are some odd omissions from the spec. The most irritating is the need to take the key out of your pocket to press the unlock button. Are we being lazy?

Maybe, but owners of a 2003 Micra don’t have to do that. The levels of comfort and practicality mean the Q7 has been racking up the miles on business and pleasure. For our flagship, it’s all plain sailing so far.

Tom Barnard (@TomBarnardPR)

IT’S been a busy few weeks for the little Cupra. More usually suited to B-road blasts, it’s been thrust into long-distance motorway mileage.

The most incredible thing is that this hot hatch, despite its diminutive size, has performed admirably.

Thanks to an engine which is getting sweeter with each mile and a gearbox that is now fully loosened up, the Cupra is an exceptionally good all-rounder.

Couple that to the fact the Cupra retains the standard car’s usable shape, and it means the little Seat is perfect for nearly every occasion.

On a recent journey from Portsmouth to Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, the Cupra didn’t miss a beat. Swallowing up skateboards, wetsuits and everything else that comes with a weekend away for me, it didn’t make a fuss.

This boot space can easily be expanded thanks to the car’s excellent folding rear seats.

The only issue comes with the car’s fuel economy. We’re still struggling to see 40mpg, which does mean that on a longer run the fuel gauge take a surprisingly quick dive.

The 1.8-litre turbocharged petrol engine is powerful for the size of car, but we’d like to see just a little more frugality.

Jack Evans (@jackrober)

I’VE had the keys to our Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV for a month now — and after what I can honestly say was a shaky start, I’m feeling rather more at home with it.

The vehicle is far bigger than one I’ve ever driven before and as previously mentioned, I felt intimidated by it. Thankfully, those initial fears have now gone.

I’ve taken it on long journeys and short journeys, on motorways and country lanes, and wherever I go I feel a strange sense of smugness as I look at other drivers who I know aren’t as comfortable as I am.

As the summer concluded in humid fashion, the air-conditioning was the perfect antidote as I went on my travels.

And driving it is a pleasure. I love it when it’s running fully on its electric charge, silently and smoothly. I love it on the motorway when it’s coasting quietly. I love its smooth suspension, sharp brakes and excellent handling, and the parking assist camera — a lifesaver for the likes of me who are more used to driving small hatchbacks!

Keep the PHEV charged, keep your commute short and you could go weeks without refuelling — just think of the savings!

Clare Newman (@ClareNewman81)

WITH quite a few miles travelled now, I’m getting used to the nuances of the Suzuki Vitara.

Although it has definitely packed on the pounds over the years, it’s still an extremely small and manoeuvrable car, with the added benefit of the height desirable in a crossover.

Seats are something I’ve complained about before. They look pretty and the materials used make a really nice touch, but they’re just not comfortable. Initially I thought it was too much time spent driving old cars with poorly-constructed seats which was causing the odd twinge of backache for me, but there’s definitely a link between a long journey in the Vitara and an aching spine. When it comes to other ergonomics in the car though, everything is spot-on.

It’s been a bugbear of mine that many cars use over-complicated buttons on the steering wheel, don’t make commands easy to view on the screen and in some cases the buttons on the centre console can’t even be reached easily. That’s more than annoying, in some cases it’s actually dangerous.

This isn’t a problem in the Vitara though – even for me, and I’m just 5ft 4ins tall.

Rebecca Chaplin (@believebecca)

THE KNOWLEDGE Model: Audi Q7 3.0 TDI Quattro S Line Price: £65,250 Engine: 3.0-litre, TDI Power: 268bhp Max speed: 145mph 0-60mph: 6.5 seconds Emissions: 153 g/km MPG: 48mpg (combined) Mileage this month: 782 THIS MONTH’S HIGHLIGHT Avoiding cold and draughty petrol station forecourts.

96 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

THE KNOWLEDGE Model: Seat Ibiza Cupra Price: £18,900 Engine: 1.8-litre turbocharged petrol Power: 189bhp Max speed: 146mph 0-60mph: 6.8 seconds Emissions: 145g/km Mpg: 45.6mpg (combined) Mileage this month: 811 THIS MONTH’S HIGHLIGHT A great weekend away, thanks in no small part to KU16YXH.

Third report:

THE KNOWLEDGE Model: Outlander PHEV GHX5h Price: £40,899 (after PiCG) Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder petrol plus electric motors Power: 104bhp, 385Nm Max speed: 106mph 0-60mph: 11 seconds Emissions: 42g/km Mpg: 156 Mileage this month: 652 THIS MONTH’S HIGHLIGHT Getting used to the car and really starting to enjoy driving it.

Fourth report:

THE KNOWLEDGE Model: Suzuki Vitara S ALLGRIP Automatic Price: £24,285 Engine: 1.4 Boosterjet Power: 138bhp, 220Nm Max speed: 124mph 0-60mph: 10.2 seconds Emissions: 128g/km Mpg: 51.3 (combined) Mileage this month: 771 THIS MONTH’S HIGHLIGHT Finding everything within easy reach.

LONGTERMERS Sixth report:

Seventh report:

Thirteenth report:

Farewell report:

FordMondeo

KiaSportage

RenaultTwingo

Mazda2

Zaak Andrews has to think hard to find fault

Andy Entwistle says you can’t do better for £32k

James and the Twingo are the perfect match

A year with VU65UAT comes to an end...

THERE’S no denying that long journeys and covering very large mileages in small amounts of time is something that EA16USY is becoming accustomed to – thanks to us, the video team.

This month’s venture saw it travelling to Holyhead and back in less than 24 hours. It performed just as you’d expect – the comfy loadlugger consistently delivering 40mpg without pausing for breath.

By their nature, estates can often sometimes fall a little short in performance when compared to their saloon siblings, but I don’t think this is the case with the Mondeo. On the long stretches of motorway it was incredibly comfortable, easy to manoeuvre at speed and you rarely got the sense that it was full to the brim with kit.

Road noise was minimal too. The A roads at either end of the journey threw up a few obstacles for it, but none that really put it out of its depth – I’m actually struggling to find fault with it because the more time I spend with this car, the less I want to give it back.

Hang on – the sat nav. It’s good in the sense that it doesn’t take you down any weird routes, but the viewing options are a bit confusing.

Zaak Andrews (@zaakandrewsfilm)

WE finally got the Sportage back after it received some cosmetic attention following an unfortunate incident involving one of our team and a bit of damage to the rear bumper. Having been without the car for a few weeks, I am very pleased to be back behind the wheel. It got me thinking as to why the Sportage is one of my favourite cars of the moment.

Well, to start with, it’s simply a damn good car, and not just a good car for the money, but a good car – period. It shames cars costing twice as much with its build quality, driving style and kit list.

Certainly, at £32k for our top-ofthe-range model, you simply can’t do any better. Four-wheel-drive security, diesel economy and every extra you could need. But it isn’t just that, I’ve decided that it’s also because Kia has achieved what Skoda has been trying to do.

The Sportage is no longer seen as a cheap car, it’s seen as a goodlooking and refined SUV. It has style and a reputation that the rest of the range is still catching up with.

It looks good and I certainly don’t feel like I’m in a cheap or bland vehicle when I’m in it. It has Volvostandard build quality, too.

Andy Entwistle (@CarDealerAndy)

WHEN the Renault Twingo arrived at our office, it made sense that I take custody of the smallest car on the fleet. I quite like the idea of a rear-engined, rear-wheel-drive city car and my two-mile commute is unequivocally suited to such a thing.

Even away from work, it slots into my life seamlessly. If I want to squeeze into the minute parking bays of my local shopping centre, the Twingo’s compact dimensions and impossibly small turning circle make it a doddle, and the boot’s more than capable of swallowing a couple of shopping bags.

In fact, the only problem I’ve found is that because the engine is under the boot, the boot floor gets quite warm – annoying if you’re carrying anything cold, such as ice cream. Apart from that small issue, it has been a great companion.

Many people don’t like threepot engines, partly because they sound a bit rough, what with that off-beat vibration and the slightly clattery exhaust note. But as Oasis told us, true perfection has to be imperfect, and that noise and vibration is, to me, the imperfection that makes such engines personable and characterful – two of the key attributes I look for in a car.

James Fossdyke (@JFossdyke)

IT WAS with a heavy heart that we said farewell to our trusty Mazda 2 this month. Having been with us for a year, it’s been the fuel-sipping companion to many a long-distance trip. Never grumbling, it has proved to be an incredibly reliable hatchback.

So what have we learnt from our time with the 2? Well, it’s that, for a small hatchback, it offers a surprisingly involving drive with a gearshift action that rivals many a sports car. It also has the ability to use fuel on a microscopic level – something we’ve often praised throughout its reports.

It almost feels like I’m giving a child an end-of-term report at school. What would I grade the Mazda 2? For fuel economy, it has to be a solid A. We could never argue with this part of the car, and it made long trips easy-peasy. Build quality?

Again, an A. For a (relatively) lowcost hatch, it has an awful lot of equipment, all of which is screwed together impressively well.

For refinement, I’d give it a B. Out on the motorway, it managed to settle down quite well, though when cold there was a fair amount of diesel clatter. Would I be pleased to drive one again? Certainly.

Jack Evans (@jackrober)

THE KNOWLEDGE Model: Ford Mondeo Titanium TDCI Auto Price: £29,375 Engine: 2.0-litre, 6-speed automatic Power: 208bhp, 450Nm Max speed: 142mph 0-60mph: 8.1 seconds Emissions: 134g/km Mpg: 54.3 (combined) Mileage this month: 1,055 THIS MONTH’S HIGHLIGHT An easy trip to Holyhead.

THE KNOWLEDGE Model: Kia Sportage First Edition 2.0 CRDi (auto) Price: £31,645 Engine: 2.0-litre diesel Power: 182bhp, 400Nm Max speed: 125mph 0-60mph: 9.2 seconds Emissions: 166g/km Mpg: 44.8 (combined) Mileage this month: 663 THIS MONTH’S HIGHLIGHT Appreciating the quality of the Kia.

THE KNOWLEDGE Model: Renault Twingo Dynamique S Energy TCe90 Price: £12,545 Engine: 0.9-litre petrol Power: 98bhp Max speed: 103mph 0-60mph: 10.6 seconds Emissions: 99g/km Mpg: 65.7 (combined) Mileage this month: 443 THIS MONTH’S HIGHLIGHT Finding parking a doddle at Tesco.

THE KNOWLEDGE Model: Mazda 2 1.5D SE-L Nav Price: £16,395 Engine: 1.5-litre turbodiesel Power: 104bhp Max speed: 111mph 0-60mph: 10.1 seconds Emissions: 89g/km Mpg: 83.1 (combined) Mileage this month: 447 THIS MONTH’S LOWLIGHT Saying farewell to a dependable and popular member of the fleet.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 97

BAGGOTT.

Have you got our FREE iPad app? Download it here bit.ly/CDMiPad

Paris could learn a willy-waving thing or two from Frankfurt

W

ho doesn’t love Paris? It’s the city of romance, stunning architecture, good food and fine wine. There’s a huge tower, uncooked minced meat dubbed ‘steak’ and gardendwelling creatures you can consume, if such a thing floats your boat.

It’s also home to a motor show – one that arrives in the city biennially, on alternate years to the frankly god-awful Frankfurt Motor Show, otherwise known in motor trade circles as ‘The Punisher’.

However, while walking the show halls of the German torture event might be an Achilles’ heel snapper, at least when you do you’re rewarded with some relevant new car launches.

You see, the Germans manage to do it properly – if you want to see how willy-waving should be done, here you’ll find it perfected on a professional porn-star scale. BMW takes over its own hall – one year even building its own test track inside.

Audi then decided that a hall wasn’t good enough for it so built its own instead – slap-bang in the middle of everything else.

Oh, and obviously that had a test track in it, too.

Paris is different… and unfortunately not in a good way.

For a start, this year there were some big names missing from the bill. Britain’s biggest-selling car manufacturer for a start, Ford, was noticeable by its absence. The manufacturer released a statement a few days before the event which said it was focusing its money on its own marketing events. Reading between the lines, the Blue Oval deems the French show as pretty pointless, and when you lose a name such as Ford from your exhibitor list, the writing really is on the wall. Volvo and Mazda also steered clear, while luxury car makers Bentley, Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce were AWOL, too.

I spent a good few hours walking the halls and checking out the stands of the manufacturers that were there – and it felt like a motor show that was going through the motions. There were too few big reveals, too few shocks and nothing anywhere near as exciting as was revealed at Geneva, the star of the European motor show circuit. In fact, most stands were pretty empty, the space left void on press day only to be filled with existing models for the public to pore over.

OK, so there were some important cars there – the new Kia Rio was my star. It looks utterly brilliant for a little B-segment car, and a future best seller. The Ferrari LaFerrari Aperta was a carbon-fibre masterpiece, I loved the look of Mitsubishi’s PHEV Ground Tourer concept and Honda’s surprise Civic Type R concept looked amazing.

And there were thankfully some typically French, ludicrous

Who is James Baggott?

concepts – the Renault Trezor particularly worthy of a mention purely because it’s a car obviously conceived after a heady dose of quality burgundy in a room fogged up with Gauloises. In a good way.

But a few interesting cars don’t necessarily make a motor show. It’s the whole feeling, and Paris was definitely missing anything near a hint of palpable excitement on press day.

Even getting a drink was impossible. None of the cafes opened at a reasonable time and the coffee shacks that did weren’t exactly geared up for trade. I visited one and asked for some food. Sorry, we don’t have any. A bottle of water? No, we don’t sell cold drinks. OK, perhaps a latte? No milk. OK, just give me a coffee. Sure, that’ll be three euros. Card OK? We don’t take cards. *Hands over 20 euros.* Sorry, we haven’t got

James ‘It felt like a motor Baggott show that was going

through the motions’

AGAINST OUR BETTER JUDGMENT, WE GIVE OUR CEO THE LAST WORD EACH MONTH

any change… It was at this point I walked away, having wasted two minutes of my life I’ll never get back.

Perhaps it’s just the French way. A shrug of the shoulders and an ‘it’ll be all right’ attitude. Sadly, that sort of approach doesn’t cut it any more. Just look at what happened to our own motor show. In fact, the whole Paris event has a distinct whiff of the British Motor Show about it just before they put it out of its misery.

Some will argue motor shows aren’t aimed at the press, or the industry launching new products, that they are in fact a chance for the public to compare cars on their shopping lists all in the same place. But I don’t think they’re right. Consumers do that online these days, they read reviews, they watch videos, they canvass their friends’ opinions on social media.

Walking miles through sweaty, smelly motor show halls, looking at frankly nothing new at a poorly organised event is hardly a contest for surfing on your iPad in front of the TV, is it? Perhaps it’s time Paris stuck to what it’s good at: towers and uncooked steak.

He’s the founder of Car Dealer Magazine and chief executive officer of parent company @BaizeGroup, an automotive services provider. He now spends most of his time on Twitter @CarDealerEd and annoying the rest of us.

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