2 minute read
Potential profit
ACCORDING to the latest data from Auto Trader UK, the first quarter of 2023 closed on a high, with strong growth recorded in demand, sales, and used car retail prices.
In fact, Auto Trader’s Retail Price Index shows that used car price growth accelerated in March, following 10 months of softening, fuelled, in part, by exceptionally strong levels of consumer demand, as highlighted by the record 82.5 million visits to Auto Trader’s marketplace last month.
Despite the strength of the used car market, however, retailers missed out on nearly £25.5 million in potential profit in March by pricing their stock below their true market value.
Auto Trader’s data shows that nearly 7,700 of its circa 15,000 retailer partners advertised their cars below their current value, with each retailer leaving an average of £3,300 in potential profits on the table as a result.
Based on circa 900,000 pricing observations across the automotive retail market, the Retail Price Index found the average retail value of a used car was £17,712 in March, which on a likeforlike basis is up 2 per cent yearonyear.
With space tourism becoming increasingly likely, it is time to address the mobility needs of extraterrestrial exploration and Opel is once again pioneering this new era.
The Rüsselsheim based brand has just released advanced information and images of its new space mobility concept: the Opel Corsa Moon II.
The brand with the Blitz will be the first mobility provider to start to offer tourism on the moon as of mid decade, once again sticking to its credo of making innovations accessible to everyone.
Consequently, Opel’s lunar vehicle is based on the German brand’s bestselling batteryelectric Corsae. The Corsa Moon II is equipped with space age technologies to offer the optimum balance between ride comfort, reliability
DRIVERS of nearly 700,000 cars in Greater London could be liable to pay the ULEZ charge when the zone is expanded this summer.
DVLA data shows a total of 691,559 licensed cars in the whole of Greater London were either petrol cars first registered prior to January 2006 or diesel cars registered prior to September 2015 the key dates for meeting ULEZ standards.
This figure rises to 851,065 when counting all non compliant vehicles, rather than solely cars.
But the number of drivers affected once the zone expands is likely to be far higher when taking into account vehicles entering from bordering counties such as Kent, Hertfordshire and Essex.
Transport for London (TFL) estimates that around 160,000 noncompliant cars a day currently drive in the area that will become and moon driving performance.
Based on the extensive knowledge gathered with the 1997 Corsa Moon concept car, the Opel R&D team identified solar energy as one of the best options for powering a lunar vehicle.
Built in solar cells effi ciently will power the 500kWh battery of the Corsa Moon II in a sustainable way.
The Corsa Moon II can cover up to 7,000 km in the ULTP (Universe wide harmonised Lightduty vehicles Test Procedure) cycle on a single charge of the battery.
700,000 hit part of the expanded zone later this summer.
Drivers of affected vehicles who do not pay the £12.50 daily charge will a fine of up to £160.
To help mitigate the impact on drivers and businesses the mayor of London has launched a £110 million scrappage scheme which offers those eligible up to £2,000 towards buying a compliant vehicle.
