BE PART OF SMTA!
As your trade association, you will know that we have a Board of Directors who strive to ‘encourage, protect and promote’ the SMTA for its members.
Some of our current board members are standing down this year and we are therefore looking for several non-executive directors to join the Board. We are looking for people who are passionate about the Scottish motor trade and who can bring their experience and ideas to the SMTA.
It is a non-executive position, and we ask that you are free in person or remotely to attend four board meetings per year. We will cover your travel expenses and you would also have a complimentary invitation to our Annual Dinner each year and, let’s not forget you would assisting in future-proofing the SMTA going forward to deal with the many changes that the motor industry is facing right now. Interested? Please contact our Chief Executive, Sandy Burgess sandy.burgess@smta.co.uk or you can call him on 07764 152566 for an informal chat about the role.
The approved insurance broker to the Scottish Motor Trade Association
MEMBER NEWS: FAMILY-OWNED FORD DEALER GROUP TO OPEN £4.5M SHOWROOM IN DUNDEE THIS SUMMER
The family-owned Your Ford Centre says the building on the 10-acre site in Baird Avenue should be up and running on July 1 to complement its other dealerships in Kirkcaldy, Cupar, Dalkeith and Peebles.
It’ll offer the full new Ford car range, including the all-electric Mustang Mach-E, as well as more than 100 used cars and commercial vehicles.
The site, which will create 25 jobs and is said to have cost £4.5m, replaces an ex-
Tesco depot and will also boast a six-bay workshop plus MOT centre.
The Courier quoted Your Ford Centre director Ben Short as saying: ‘We are delighted to have been selected as Ford’s preferred partner for the Dundee area.
‘It’s an exciting time for us, but also for the people of Dundee and the surrounding areas.
‘The site is in a prime location and, once completed, will deliver a fantastic facility for the community.’
Your Ford Centre said it was looking to give its support to the community as well, such as sponsoring sports teams and clubs.
‘As a family-run business we are very community focused. We would love to speak to local grass-roots clubs and teams to see if we can support them in any way,’ said Short.
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Read the full article at CarDealer Magazine
NO NEW INCENTIVES, BUT UK GOVERNMENT IS "COMMITTED TO KEEPING TRANSITION TO EV AFFORDABLE"
The UK Government has reiterated it is "committed to keeping the transition to electric vehicles affordable" in a response to members of the House of Lords who have been urging it to do more to ease motorists concerns about a future driving EVs to reduce tailpipe emissions.
Yet members of the House of Lords Environment and Climate Change Committee have been left disappointed that Rishi Sunak's government will not come up with more incentives to help more people access electric cars nor to offset the higher costs of those owners forced to regularly charge their EV on expensive public chargers.
The head of the committee has warned that the UK Government's desire for an EV revolution could be "a non-starter" if more is not done.
The committee had called for targeted grants to incentivise the purchase of EVs after the Government withdrew the plug-in car grant in June 2022. Since its inception in 2011 it delivered £1.5bn in grants and subsidised nearly half a million new vehicles, the Government said, but its policy now is to target incentives where they have the “most impact and deliver the greatest value for money”, including motorcycles, vans, taxis, trucks and wheelchair accessible vehicles until at least financial year
2024/25.
In its response, published last week, the Government agreed that all cabinet members will be driven in EVs by the end of 2024, and the central government car and van fleet will transition to zero emission vehicles by 2027.
EVS HELP LIFT UK VEHICLE OWNERSHIP TO RECORD HIGH WHILE DRIVING DOWN CARBON EMISSIONS
Plug-in vehicles drove the biggest growth in car ownership since 2016 to take the number of vehicles on UK roads to a record high last year.
That’s according to new Motorparc data published yesterday (Apr 20) by the SMMT, which said there were 41,404,589 vehicles driving around last year – an increase of 1.7%. In 2016, the growth was 2.5%.
The total number of cars on the road rose by 1.6% – 546,800 units – to 35,694,845, after almost half a million new battery-electric (BEV) and plug-in
hybrid (PHEV) vehicles were registered during 2023, comprising 314,687 BEVs and 141,311 PHEVs.
The number of BEVs in use rose by almost half (47.3%) versus 2022, which the SMMT said meant that zero-emission vehicles now accounted for 2.7% of all cars in use – up from just 1.9% in 2022.
And despite the record number of motors on the road, the amount of CO2 produced by the average car dropped by 2.1%. The total CO2 emissions for 2023 was 132.1 g/km, while the previous year’s figure was 135.0 g/km;
Meanwhile, company car emissions plummeted by 11.5%, thanks to what the SMMT called ‘compelling fiscal incentives’ that encouraged fleets to invest in EVs, as well as investment by manufacturers.
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Read the full article at AM Online Read the full article at CarDealer Magazine
MOT FORECAST VOLUMES APRIL 2024
TRADE SNIPPETS
Research shows Tuesday is now peak day for enquiries
Article courtesy of AM Online
Organised car crime group sentenced for £2m fraud conspiracy
Article courtesy of Motortrader
Insurance and fuel price rises are biggest concerns for motorists – Close Brothers
Article courtesy of CarDealer Magazine
Tesla slashes prices in several countries in move which could impact used EV market
Article courtesy of CarDealer Magazine
Arnold Clark workforce supports vital work of 24 charities
Article courtesy of AM Online
FCA urges firms to ensure adequacy of financial resources
Article courtesy of Motortrader
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POST TOWN FORECAST TO EXPIRE EXPIRED –TYPICAL CHANGE FROM TYPICAL (TESTS) CHANGE FROM TYPICAL [%] ABERDEEN 17395 23063 -5668 -24.58% DUMFRIES 4827 6667 -1840 -27.60% DUNDEE 8911 11278 -2367 -20.99% EDINBURGH 26363 34954 -8591 -24.58% FALKIRK 9499 11723 -2224 -18.97% GLASGOW 32833 42450 -9617 -22.65% HEBRIDES 885 1354 -469 -34.64% INVERNESS 9494 12499 -3005 -24.04% KILMARNOCK 11650 15371 -3721 -24.21% KIRKCALDY 11547 16324 -4777 -29.26% KIRKWALL 1652 2643 -991 -37.50% LERWICK 914 1261 -347 -27.52% MOTHERWELL 11225 13801 -2576 -18.67% PAISLEY 9377 12641 -3264 -25.82% PERTH 6341 8222 -1881 -22.88% TWEEDDALE 4285 5486 -1201 -21.89% TOTAL 157821 207096 Figures courtesy of DVSA (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency)
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Diesel 2,499 4,407 Petrol/Electric TOP 10 MARQUES YEAR TO DATE TOP 10 CARS YEAR TO DATE Strathclyde 3,291 Lothian 14,000 2,584 Grampian 2,100 Central 1,814 Tayside 1,452 Fife 1,285 Highlands 540 Dumfries & Galloway 314 Borders
REGION FUEL TYPE YEAR TO DATE Petrol 17,186 Electric 2,777 Diesel/Electric 2 Petrol/LPG 115 UK YEAR TO DATE: SCOTLAND YEAR TO DATE: SCOTLAND MONTHLY: 545,548 45,962 27,380 CAR
Vauxhall Corsa 1,686 Volkswagen 4,019 (8.74%) BMW 1 Series 1,401 Vauxhall 3,921 (8.53%) Ford Puma 1,192 BMW 3,296 (7.17%) MG ZS 1,162 Kia 2,939 (6.39%) Volkswagen Polo 833 Ford 2,377 (5.17%) Vauxhall Mokka 880 Nissan 2,299 (5.00%) Nissan Qashqai 1,058 MG 2,211 (4.81%) MINI Mini 819 Peugeot 2,025 (4.41%) Kia Sportage 1,333 Audi 2,023 (4.40%) Volkswagen T-Roc 818 Renault 1,844 (4.01%)
Figures courtesy of the SMMT (Scottish Motor Manufacturers and Traders)
REGISTRATIONS BY
FIGURES MARCH 2024
FEMALES IN FOCUS UPCOMING SMTA EVENTS
FRIDAY 20TH SEPTEMBER 2024
GRAND CENTRAL HOTEL, GLASGOW
We are delighted to hold our Females in Focus lunch this year at Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow on Friday 20 September 2024.
This lunch is always such a highlight of our event calendar and we are proud to be able to run an event that highlights the many career paths available in the motor trade to females. The event will again have an inspiring panel of business women sharing their career stories and insights!
Full details will be available soon, in the meantime any queries can be emailed to events@smta.co.uk
TICKETS NOW ON SALE CLICK HERE TO BUY ONLINE
Sponsorship items are available please email wendy.hennessy@smta.co.uk for information
SMTA ANNUAL DINNER
THURSDAY 24TH OCTOBER 2024
HILTON HOTEL, GLASGOW
We are so excited that we’re announcing our guest speaker in this bulletin, And it is none other than THE STIG! Yes, it is the man in the white suit from Top Gear also known in real life as Ben Collins will be our guest speaker.
As a respected figure in the world of motorsports, Ben has additionally been the stunt driver to some of the biggest blockbuster films in modern cinematic history, including The Dark Knight Rises, Quantum of Solace and most recently Skyfall.
TICKETS NOW ON SALE CLICK HERE TO BUY ONLINE
Sponsorship items are available please email wendy.hennessy@smta.co.uk for information
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Scottish Motor Trade Association Ltd., Palmerston House, 10 The Loan, South Queensferry EH30 9NS Telephone: 0131 331 5510 www.smta.co.uk ACCOUNT ENQUIRIES: Telephone – 0131 331 5510 Email – accounts@smta.co.uk MEMBERSHIP ENQUIRIES/ TRADING PARTNERS: Norman Stirling – 07917 095014 Membership Development Manager Marcus Lawrence – 07375 057561 Territory Account Manager, Western Region Stuart Kennedy – 07375 057560 Territory Account Manager, Northern Region MOT QMS ENQUIRIES David Innes – 07789 264228 Operations Manager, Support Services Gordon Laing – 07799 732124 Support Services Consultant Wayne Lindsay – 07729 045666 Support Services Consultant APPRENTICE TRAINING ENQUIRIES Fraser Miller – 07789 264229 Apprentice Training Manager EMPLOYMENT LAW ENQUIRIES Moira Gaynor – 0131 331 5510 Company Secretary/Finance Manager SCOTSURE WARRANTY: Claims and Enquiries – 0131 331 5512 MEMBERSHIP COMMUNICATIONS: Karen Thompson – 07922 079889 Membership Communications Manager EVENTS ENQUIRIES: Email: events@smta.co.uk ADVERTISING/SPONSORSHIP ENQUIRIES: Wendy Hennessy – 07974 380140 SMTA produces a quarterly magazine to all our members, if you haven’t got one yet our Territory Account Managers will be visiting your garage soon with a copy for you. If you’d like your garage to feature please contact: karen.thompson@smta.co.uk This bulletin is kindly supported by SMTA is proud to support: OUT NOW! SMTA AUTO INSIGHT ISSUE 16 WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR GARAGE TO FEATURE IN SMTA’S MAGAZINE? SMTA CONTACTS Disclaimer: Whilst we endeavour to ensure the information in this bulletin is up to date and correct, we make no representations of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability and suitability. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk. DOWNLOAD HERE READ IT HERE DVLA –UPDATED VERSION OF RAV RETAILER GUIDE The document has now been updated to include the new versions of the V750 Certificate of entitlement and V778 Retention Document. The Magazine for Scottish Motor Professionals brought to you by Supported by Incorporating ISSUE 16 AUTOTECH CONNECT: MEMBER PROFILES: FCA SCRUTINISE MOTOR FINANCE COMMISSIONS CYBERCRIME WITHIN THE AFTERMARKETAUTOMOTIVE J&R AUTO SERVICES & AW AUTOTECH