Car Dealer Magazine: Issue 149

Dealership

Help& advice HOME TEST DRIVES, FURLOUGH AND MORE

NEWS • NEW ELECTRIC SUVS • MASERATI GOES HYBRID • USED PRICES STAY HIGH • NISSAN’S NEW LOOK • BOUNCE BACK LOAN SCAM • CAZOO BUYS CAR SUPERMARKET

Issue 149 | August 2020 | CarDealerMag.co.uk | £6

VW T-ROC CABRIOLET FIRST DRIVE

THE FUTURE OF DROP-TOP FUN OR A NICHE TOO FAR?

We chat to industry leaders...

Daksh Gupta HOW MARSHALL HAS COME OUT FIGHTING AFTER LOCKDOWN

Peter Waddell ON HIS £50M, 4,000-CAR CAZOO-RIVALLING NEW BUSINESS

PLUS: PETROL V ELECTRIC: WHICH MAKES FOR THE BEST PERFORMANCE CAR?

The UK’s Best Used Car Warranty

02 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

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THE BOSS

FOUNDER James Baggott

james@thebaize.com Twitter: @CarDealerEd

EDITORIAL

CHIEF SUB-EDITOR John Bowman

john@blackballmedia.co.uk

HEAD OF CONTENT Jack Evans

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MULTIMEDIA MANAGER Jon Reay jon@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @JonReay

HEAD OF DESIGN Graeme Windell

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CONTRIBUTORS James Batchelor, Darren Cassey, Rebecca Chaplin, Nigel Swan, Ted Welford

FINANCE

FINANCE MANAGER Kate Gordon

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ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER Kevin Day

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5 THINGS WE’VE LEARNT THIS MONTH

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Awards

Winner of Best Business Publication, Headline Auto Awards 2012 & 2014

WELCOME. I

n what was a strange twist in the online used car dealer world, the news broke one Sunday morning that Cazoo was on the cusp of buying Imperial Car Supermarkets.

I was tipped off by a contact – and for the record, it wasn’t someone who worked for either of the businesses. Staff at Imperial had been made to sign confidentiality agreements, but clearly someone had been blabbing.

For my sources to hear the deal was about to go through meant there were some loose lips somewhere in the organisations. We broke the story on the Sunday afternoon after an official spokesperson from Cazoo gave us the standard ‘we don’t comment on rumour or speculation’ line. The next time you read that, remember this is invariably used by companies who want to say it’s true but can’t. Imagine it being said with a wink and knowing nod and you’ll get the picture.

When the news was announced 24 hours or so later, no one was shocked – the cat was already out of the bag, thanks to our exclusive. Shocked they might not have been, but those who keep a watchful eye on the dealer world would certainly have been curious. For months, Cazoo founder and formerly the man behind Zoopla Alex Chesterman and his colleagues had been saying the future was online used car retailing. While the pandemic had played into their hands and accelerated this change, it still seemed strange that they were suddenly buying a bricks-and-mortar business after months of saying they were a thing of the past. I suspect the real reason they bought Imperial, though, is because the supermarket group not only has a nice spread of showroom locations across the country that can be used as distribution hubs, it also has some brilliant prep centres.

Preparation of used cars is the key to profitability. Just ask Carzam boss Peter Waddell. In this issue, he walks us around his incredible prep centre and reveals it costs him around £270 a car to prepare and a few days to turn them around.

Rumours suggest that Cazoo is getting charged more than double that by external companies that take weeks to complete the work.

That difference in used car terms can make a huge impact on the bottom line, so I suspect that Imperial’s impeccable preparation centres were as of much interest as the showrooms. That and the stock, of course. Cazoo now has access to thousands of used cars and the same stocking routes and relationships Imperial enjoyed which, as we’ve reported regularly, is the biggest issue at the moment as supply dries up and auction prices go through the roof. The Cazoo/Imperial deal may have looked strange on the outset, but fair play to Chesterman. He’s clearly not afraid to admit he was wrong and quite happy to change direction – and in this brutal industry, being agile and quick to react is absolutely vital to success.

You’ll have seen for this issue we’ve redesigned Car Dealer for an improved digital experience. More and more of you are reading this on phones and tablets so we’ve tried to make it easier to digest in a new format. I’d love to know what you think of it so please get in touch – I’m on LinkedIn or Twitter @CarDealerEd.

Preparation of used cars is the key to profitability. Just ask Carzam boss Peter Waddell.

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IGNITION. ISSUE 149 | AUGUST 2020

CONTENTS

25 40 26

30 INTERVIEW

‘It’s an awful thing to say, but we’ve had a really good lockdown.’

12

45 FORECOURT

‘On paper the T-Roc Cabriolet shouldn’t work, but out on the road it does.’

22

FEATURE

‘The first couple of seconds of acceleration in a Taycan take the breath away.’

30

12

Investigation Car News Round-Up Daksh Gupta Interview Dealer News Supplier News Business News Feedback Car Dealer Live Finance

6 8 12 16 18 20 32 34 36

FORECOURT Volkswagen T-Roc Cabriolet 22 Lotus Elise Cup 250 25 FEATURES Peter Waddell Electric v Petrol

26 30

COMMENT James Baggott Big Mike James Litton

39 40 43

ADVICE Avoiding Fraud Facebook Marketplace Legal Update Home Test Drives

45 46 49 51

DATA FILE The Statistics Vans Suppliers Guide Long-Termers

52 54 57 59

DATA FILE

‘The government must boost the economy and help customers feel safer in their jobs.’

52 CarDealerMag.co.uk | 05

INVESTIGATION

What is happening to used car prices right now? We asked 10 experts to help us make sense of the current market

R

by James Baggott @CarDealerEd

eports suggest the used car market is currently buzzing, with consumers flocking to car dealers and the motor trade running seriously low on stock.

Car dealer forecourts are increasingly emptying, with some big dealer groups reducing their used car stock by thousands of models.

Used car prices are rising too, as demand outstrips supply and prices at auctions go ‘crazy’, with hundreds of bidders registering for sales that would only have attracted a handful before the pandemic.

While new car sales remain sluggish, used cars are bolstering dealer profits, with some of the big groups reporting a record month in June.

But can it continue? And what exactly is happening with the used car market right now? To find out, we asked a panel of experts from across the used car motor trade, from auction houses to pricing experts, to give us an idea of what’s really going on.

In this exclusive report on the used car market, here’s what our experts had to say.

Good news for residual values in months ahead

Dealers should put some used car prices up

New buyers set to offer reassuring pipeline of sales

Unprecedented rise when values usually drop

Glass’s chief editor Jayson Whittington he volume of used cars selling through auction channels ramped up in June, although overall numbers are lower than normally expected.

Logistical issues, together with fewer part-exchanges coming from dealer groups because of the poor new car market, is to blame, rather than a lack of demand.

Activity was strong, helped by the reopening of retail sites in England.

Demand is likely to outweigh supply over the next three months, which should be good news for residual values.

Autorola director Jon Mitchell ur sister company Indicata estimates that dealers are short of 125,000 used cars currently compared with before lockdown.

If dealers are unable to buy the volume of stock to fill their forecourt, it’s about making sure they buy the best cars they can afford that are most saleable.

By analysing local pricing and demand, they should also be increasing retail prices on some forecourt stock that is in high demand. Prices should be reviewed daily in such a hot market.

Auto Trader commercial director Ian Plummer n June, used prices recorded their largest monthly growth since January 2019. Along with the low supply of vehicles, it reflects the huge surge in demand in the market.

On July 5, 38 per cent of circa 6,000 people on our marketplace said they intended to buy within three months – up from 35 per cent a month prior.

What’s more, 42 per cent said they were either buying for the first time or looking for an extra car. These new buyers coming into the market look set to offer a reassuring pipeline of sales over the coming months.

Cap HPI head of valuations Derren Martin he average movement of five-year-old cars was 1.2 per cent up during June, while 10-year-old cars rose by an unprecedented average of 5.7 per cent at a time when values invariably drop. Again, these have stabilised in July.

Convertibles and cabriolets continue to be sought after, particularly for models over three years old, helped by the sunny weather and short-term increase in some people’s disposable income. Lack of new car activity led to a shortfall in part-exchanges, so less stock for the franchise dealers.

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06 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

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1,500 auction buyers logging in to some sales

Big demand for cars seven-plus years old

BCA COO UK remarketing Stuart Pearson CA has expanded its online remarketing programme significantly to meet demand, running up to 20 sales in parallel at any one time, with 1,500 or more buyers logging in for some events.

Daily entries typically exceed 5,000 vehicles. There is increased interest in highervalue, retail-ready vehicles.

Demand for lower-value, budget vehicles remains incredibly buoyant, maintaining the trend we have seen since the first days of lockdown and resulting in some unprecedented price increases.

Cazana insight director Rupert Pontin he current retail market is buoyant with good retail consumer demand across most age and mileage profiles. There is a specific halo around sevenyear-old-plus cars, and the popularity reflects the consumer demand for second or third cars for commuting purposes so they can avoid using public transport and the increased risk of catching Covid-19.

Current market conditions should prevail for the next six weeks or so until more used car stock comes to the market more easily, when pricing may see adjustment.

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Watch our Rupert Pontin video here

Fleets are starting to see volumes return to post-Covid-19 levels, which spells good news for wholesale stock availability and choice.

Martin Potter

Steady growth will continue no matter what time of year

New type of buyer emerging from lockdown

The usual sleepy summer will get much busier

Wholesale stock volumes set to grow for now

Motorway.co.uk director James Bush he used car market is buoyant right now. More people are returning to work but avoiding public transport, choosing to buy a used car instead – and we don’t see this changing any time soon.

Typical market seasonality trends are out of the window this year – these are normally driven by plate changes, but with new car sales on the floor we’ll continue to see steady growth in used car sales regardless of the calendar date.

Right now, sub-£5k stock is golden and sub-£12k stock is also doing very well.

AA Cars CEO James Fairclough he market has made tentative but reassuring progress since lockdown restrictions were eased. In addition to the pent-up demand from buyers who were in the market before lockdown, we’re also seeing a new type of buyer emerge – people we believe are trading public transport for a private car for their commute.

Although many consumers are clearly worried about their future finances, their need for a car has not necessarily changed. The used car market offers prices that can suit budgets of all sizes.

Shoreham Vehicle Auctions MD Alex Wright he car market is showing classic symptoms of supplyand-demand economics – pentup demand from lockdown with supply struggling to keep up for various reasons, including fewer new-plate part-exchanges.

Supply is starting to improve and will continue during summer, but our normal sleepy used car summer months will be replaced by a busy July and August.

Prices will be strong throughout the year but softening slightly around September when used car supplies start to improve.

Aston Barclay Vehicle Remarketing Group MD Martin Potter uly has seen a continuation of high prices, although stock levels are increasing weekly. Fleets are starting to see volumes return to postCovid-19 levels, which spells good news for wholesale stock availability and choice.

Finance houses are working through a backlog.

Wholesale stock volumes are likely to continue to grow until the end of summer, and then we will hopefully see a healthy plate change in September to feed some part-exchanges back into the market.

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CarDealerMag.co.uk | 07

DASHBOARD

MORE BHP

Porsche reveals new 911 Turbo

CAR NEWS ROUND-UP

Manufacturers have been busy refining existing models and producing new ones. We look at 10 of the results...

PORSCHE has unveiled its new 911 Turbo following the introduction of the rangetopping Turbo S model earlier in the year.

The new car packs a twinturbocharged 3.7-litre flat-six engine with 527bhp, allowing it to slot in between the less powerful Carrera 4S and the tip-top 641bhp Turbo S. Capable of going from 0-60mph in under three seconds and travelling on to a top speed of 199mph, the Turbo is 39bhp more powerful than the car it replaces.

ENGINES

SHARPER

Audi SQ7 and SQ8 swap out diesels

MG reveals refreshed ZS

AUDI has ditched the diesel engines from its SQ7 and SQ8 SUVs, instead switching to a 4.0-litre petrol engine.

The V8 powerplant ups performance by about 72bhp to 500bhp, while torque is measured at 770Nm. Both boast a 0-60mph time of 3.9 seconds and can go from 50 to 75mph in 3.8 seconds. The engine is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheeldrive system, while adaptive air suspension and all-wheel steering are standard.

08 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

FIRST LOOK

Maserati unveils new Ghibli Hybrid MASERATI has kicked off its electrification plans with the new Ghibli Hybrid.

The saloon car ditches its old V6 engine in favour of a new, more efficient 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine linked to a mild hybrid system.

The exterior has been tweaked to showcase the car’s greener credentials, with blue details and a grey colour that’s unique to the electrified model.

Two trims will be available from launch – sporty GranSport and high-end Gran Lusso.

MG HAS given its ZS a mid-life refresh, adding a sharper exterior design along with more interior technology.

The ZS, which has been on sale for two and a half years, is one of the firm’s core models aimed at taking advantage of the huge demand for SUVs and crossovers. The new ZS gets LED headlights, a new grille, redesigned alloy wheels plus a refreshed tailgate.

There’s a zero per cent PCP finance package, and prices start at £15,495.

STAR CAR

Bond-inspired Aston Martin DB5 completed ASTON Martin has completed its first DB5 Continuation model, which will see 25 new examples of the classic car built.

It has been inspired by the star car of the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger, and as such comes with a variety of gadgets – many of which actually work – including revolving number plates, simulated machine guns, plus a rear smoke screen delivery system. Aston Martin Works is using classic build processes with some modern modifications and enhancements.

CROSSOVER

Nissan presents new electric SUV

NISSAN has unveiled its new electric Ariya to the world following several concepts and teasers.

The Ariya – Nissan’s first electric coupe crossover – is set to deliver a claimed electric range of up to 310 miles, with even less powerful models returning a claimed 211 miles.

It will be available with a twin- or single-motor setup, with outputs of either 63kWh or 87kWh. In total, there will be five versions of the Ariya available in the UK.

POWER PLANTS

SUPERCAR

Range Rover Sport gains new engines

GT Black Series can reach 202mph

THE Range Rover Sport’s appeal has been strengthened with efficient new mild-hybrid engines and special edition trim levels.

The Sport gains cleaner new in-line six-cylinder diesel engines that incorporate 48volt mild-hybrid technology.

The Ingenium engines meet the latest emissions rules, with the new D350 diesel hitting 60 in under seven seconds and its CO2 of 237g/km making it cleaner than the outgoing V8 diesel. A lower-powered D300 variant is also available.

THE Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series is the most hardcore version of the German supercar yet – with the most powerful AMG V8 engine.

It’s been designed to embody AMG’s motorsport know-how in a track-focused but road-legal car, so boasts an uprated engine plus extensive exterior styling modifications. The engine is an ‘extensively redeveloped’ version of the twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 and makes 720bhp and 800Nm of torque, taking the car to 202mph.

CONCEPT

Audi unveils new Q4 Sportback e-tron AUDI has revealed a new car that looks to bolster the firm’s EV presence – the Q4 Sportback e-tron concept.

Leading on from the production e-tron and e-tron Sportback, the new concept brings a sleeker design ahead of the showroom-ready version’s introduction into the market next year.

Audi claims it has a range of 310 miles, with two electric motors helping to power it to 60mph in around six seconds. Flat out, it’ll do 112mph.

HYBRID

Skoda adds to Octavia line-up

SKODA has launched a hybrid version of its popular Octavia vRS that will go on sale this autumn.

Available as either a hatchback or estate, the new vRS benefits from either a petrol or diesel engine, as well as the addition of a new plugin hybrid setup.

The hybrid uses a 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol engine linked to an electric motor for a combined output of 242bhp and 400Nm. It will reach 60mph from zero in seven seconds.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 09

Matching quality dealers with quality leads

search 10 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Content is king when it comes to reaching car buyers

Expect to see more of heycar in Google searches in the coming months – and thanks to the work we’re putting in now, more in-market high-quality leads being passed your way

A

t heycar, we’re not shy about our mission to raise the bar both for dealers and for car buyers. We’re bringing greater transparency to the market and, in the process, strengthening the connection between in-market car buyers and the quality dealers – and cars – that they’re searching for.

The word ‘search’ couldn’t be more appropriate. That’s how many car buyers start the process – with a Google search. If you can imagine it, they’re searching for it. Whether it’s a review, a valuation, a query about spec or just wanting to know if a car is available in a certain colour, your buyers are looking for it.

So we’re investing heavily to make sure that buyers get the answers they’re looking for. We plan to be the top result for all important searches related to car buying and we’re putting in the work now to make that happen. This is a multi-year project that demonstrates the long-term commitment that heycar has to bring high-quality leads to dealers in the coming years.

We’ve begun with car reviews. It’s the starting point for many car buyers who are at the choosing and comparing phase of the journey. We found that there was a gap in the market for reviews that answered the specific questions from car buyers in a simple, easy-to-understand and detailed way. We’ve worked hard to make our reviews industry-leading in their breadth and scope. Written by our team with more than 150 years of combined road testing and reviewing experience, they’re hot on detail and good practical advice on how a car will fit into a buyer’s lifestyle. We’ve worked hard to provide answers to the questions that we know people ask before buying a car: What is the best engine and spec? Does it have Isofix points? How safe is it? What’s the infotainment like?

Our belief is that the more information a buyer has, the more informed and confident they are and, as result, become a stronger sales prospect. Armed with the right information and with their questions answered, buyers have the confidence to make that next step – which is to take the first steps in the purchasing part of the journey – often by submitting a test drive request or a request for further information. Expect to see our reviews become even more useful in the coming months – with data and trends that we’re seeing in the market brought to life to give the buyer more information than ever.

But straight out of the box, these aren’t token reviews that you may find on other sites. We’ve added 500 actual reviews, which is a huge number to cover almost every car and commercial vehicle to be launched in the past eight years, with each spanning 3,500-4,000 words. That’s almost two million words written in little over two months – the equivalent of 25 novels.

We move at lightning pace and massive scale at heycar. And that’s deliberate, designed to ensure that dealers in the heycar network can benefit from our increased search presence as quickly as possible – we’ve compressed what should be up to a year’s work into just two months.

And that’s just a taste of the ambition that we have for bringing car buyers into heycar from Google and other search engines. While reviews are the cornerstone of the strategy to connect car buyers with dealers, we have a whole series of advice, tools and calculators that are being designed, written and developed right now to help car buyers make informed decisions.

We have an editorial team with a wealth of experience and insight into car-buying behaviour, combined with some of the best designers and developers in the business. Although we can’t go into detail on the specifics, we’ll be continuing to answer car buyers’ questions in simple, intuitive ways and helping to make complex decisions more simple.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 11

INTERVIEW

‘It’s an awful thing to say, but we’ve had a really good lockdown’ James Baggott talks to Marshall Motor Group CEO Daksh Gupta about the impacts of lockdown, and his vision for the group’s future after Covid...

One of Marshall’s dual-brand Jaguar Land Rover showrooms 12 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

H

e’s the veritable pandemic poster boy. Whether it’s at the vanguard of rallying his troops during lockdown, chatting up investors or starring in front of the TV news cameras, no one could accuse Marshall Motor Group boss Daksh Gupta of hiding behind a desk.

Since the start of lockdown, the chief executive of one of the largest dealer groups in the UK has never been busier, working 14-to-15-hour days minimum.

Now, with his 117 dealerships getting busy once again, he faces new challenges. While lockdown was about preservation and emergency action, he’s turning his attention to planning for the future.

The coronavirus pandemic has been painful for many dealers, but it’s starting to present opportunities – and that means growth is back on the table for Gupta.

He predicts that within five years there will be an emergence of car dealer ‘supergroups’ – generating revenues of more than £5bn each – and he wants to be one of them.

‘I think in the next three to five years you might see a number of groups breaking away into that £5bn-plus category,’ Gupta told us in an exclusive interview video interview, covered here in full for the first time.

‘Whereas before I thought this might happen over eight to 10 years, I now think the emergence of five or six supergroups will happen a lot faster.’

Gupta has been acquisitive since taking over the chief executive role more than a decade ago, buying and selling 159 businesses in his 12-year tenure. The latest addition to the portfolio was VW Aylesbury, bought from Jardine.

But now Gupta is aiming for the stars.

‘This business absolutely has the potential to be one of those top five or six groups. I have no doubt we will be one of them.

‘But do we do that now or do we do that in the next three years, or the next five years? I don’t know, but what we won’t do is rush anything.

‘We are ready and in a great position to do it, but we will only do it when we are in a strategic position and when it makes financial sense to do it for our shareholders.

‘Has this business got the potential? 100 per cent it has, for sure.’

Covid-19 has drastically changed how Marshall operates

I think in the next three to five years you might see a number of groups breaking away into that £5bn-plus category.

HUMAN RESOURCES Gupta says he reviews acquisitions ‘every week’ but any purchases need to be the right fit for the group – a good mix of location and the right brands.

‘I don’t want to buy businesses to then close them,’ he explains.

‘We are in a really good position, we have virtually no debt, no pension liabilities and we have no nasty leases, so the business is in fantastic shape.

‘But when we review acquisitions it has to make strategic sense to our business. We want the right brands and right businesses and we won’t rush to grow.’

While his dealerships are performing well now, the listed dealer group boss is worried that sales might tail off later in the year.

During the lockdown, his sites were selling an incredible 13 used cars to every one new, but that is starting to level out – and he still thinks some form of stimulus from the government will be needed.

‘I think the government is waiting and watching,’ he explains.

‘They have got data coming out of their ears and they will have their ears to the ground – they will be monitoring transactions.

‘My suspicion is they are waiting to see what happens and whether the sector needs stimulus or not.’

G

upta says that currently the market is being driven by ‘pent-up demand’ and in the short term doesn’t need an incentive, hence nothing coming forward when the chancellor announced his package of measures at the start of July to boost the economy.

‘Quarter four and into 2021 is what people are anxious about,’ added Gupta.

‘I think some form of stimulus is needed, but I suspect that if something is to be done, if anything, it will be at a later stage once the government understands what the underlying health of the car industry is.’

Gupta says he has concerns about a scrappage scheme that would likely

Marshall staff on furlough MARSHALL Motor Group still has around 1,000 staff on furlough, but boss Daksh Gupta isn’t planning on making any redundancies.

‘I want to have the best possible chance to understand the market, not panic, not rush and not make a decision just yet,’ he said. ‘Yes, it’ll cost me money not to take those decisions now and it will only go up from there, but I think that is worth it.’

He says the dealers that ‘went in weak’ to the pandemic will just get weaker and we’re seeing the results of that now.

He added: ‘If you went in weak with lots of issues and debt around you, then you’re going to have to make some tough decisions. If that means redundancies then I can understand that.’

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 13

INTERVIEW unfairly incentivise customers into cheaper cars sold by volume manufacturers.

Understandably – as a group that holds considerable premium brands in its portfolio – he wants a scheme that will help all manufacturers equally.

He said: ‘If we went to scrappage how would that benefit a premium brand like JLR? It’s a fantastic, UK-based manufacturer, but how does scrappage convince someone to go and buy a brand-new JLR product?

‘Is it fair to benefit one end – volume – versus the premium end?’

He’d much rather see a VAT cut by as much as 10 per cent to boost demand.

‘A VAT cut would be good, but it would need to be attractive because cars have gone up,’ he told us.

‘There is no point doing a 2.5 per cent cut – it would need to be 10 per cent.

‘VAT-free would be lovely, but I don’t think the government is going to be able to afford to do that, but I don’t know.’

W

orkaholic Gupta admits he has actually enjoyed the lockdown, as it has not only given him time at home with his family, but also the opportunity to work more closely with his management team.

He’s increased the number of times they meet via video calls and says the efficiency of meeting via video rather than in person has ‘given them back time’ they won’t want to lose again.

‘It’s an awful thing to say, but we’ve had a really good lockdown,’ explains Gupta.

‘We meet twice a week on Zoom and that has been revolutionary. The tight team has got even tighter.’

With difficult decisions facing car dealer bosses across the country – and many

CLOSURES

500 car dealers could shut within a year as restructuring and coronavirus take their toll SOME 500 franchised car dealers could shut their doors for good as restructuring and the coronavirus pandemic take their toll on the car industry.

That’s the view of Daksh Gupta who believes there will be a 25 per cent reduction in dealer numbers by 2025.

Gupta said that manufacturers restructuring their networks – such as Ford, Vauxhall and Honda – as well as dealer groups realising that they can do business very differently will accelerate the closures.

‘There are 4,500 retailers in the UK and I could see that dropping to about 4,000 maybe in the next 12 months,’ said Gupta.

‘Most people think, and I concur with this view, that by 2025 there will be fewer retailers.

‘There is subjectivity as to what that number will be, but in my own mind I have always thought we’ll see a reduction of between 20 and 25 per cent naturally by 2025.’

Gupta said car dealer groups had realised that they can now do business very differently following the pandemic – and this will mean changes to dealer numbers.

‘You also have the dynamic created by lockdown as people are looking at the model and realising there are some efficiencies that can be driven.

‘Productivity is significantly higher with fewer people and some groups are taking advantage of that.’

Gupta said Covid-19 had ‘accelerated’ decisions by dealers to make closures, and he thinks there’ll be a lot of ‘smaller businesses’ that will close.

‘Fifteen to 20 per cent will happen in the next 12 months,’ he predicts.

‘There’s a lot of momentum on this.’

Gupta added that some of these changes would also result in job losses and says ‘market intelligence’ leads him to think ‘every dealer group is taking actions’.

14 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Personally, I’ve never worked so bloody hard in my life – it has been knackering.

It’s all hands on deck at Marshall’s Covid-secure showrooms

STOCK

Used cars flying for Marshall

Marshall’s portfolio of premium brands is unlikely to benefit from scrappage, says Gupta already shedding jobs to help balance the books – Gupta says he is not planning any cuts.

‘We are not making redundancies and there are no plans to do so, but you can never say never – if the economy is really weak in Q3 then you have to protect the business, but we will fight hard and do all we can to protect it and jobs for the long term.

‘We had a good reputation going in and I think our reputation has been enhanced. I think lockdown has genuinely been good for this business.

‘The love for the company right now has been amazing. I have been inundated with people who want to work here. I’ve had six CVs today.

‘It gives me pride to see the feedback we are getting from colleagues.’

S

o what’s next for Daksh Gupta? A break, or more of the same?

‘Personally, I’ve never worked so bloody hard in my life – it has been knackering,’ he says with a laugh.

‘My chairman calls me a junkie because I’m a work junkie, but I don’t believe that – work isn’t work for me.

‘Work is fun and it is a bonus I get paid to do it – the day I don’t enjoy it is the day I quit.’

But it doesn’t sound like Gupta is planning on slowing down any time soon.

He adds: ‘We are an ambitious business – and in my experience people want to work for exciting businesses, businesses that are going places and making changes.

‘I want to look back on my career and think “we did great things”.’ CD

USED cars are the stars for dealers post-lockdown and Marshall boss Daksh Gupta says he hasn’t seen anything like it in over a decade.

The Marshall CEO said the auction performance he had seen recently was ‘quite frankly nuts’, with every single one of the group’s cars that had gone to auction selling.

‘In the last few weeks we’ve had a number of auctions and literally every single car has been sold. I haven’t seen that in the last 10 years.’

He said the prices used cars were achieving too in auctions had been incredible, with his stock’s current performance running at 114 per cent of CAP. ‘Usually it’s 97 per cent,’ said Gupta. ‘It’s simple supplyand-demand economics.’

He added that his dealerships were pushing out new car deliveries to generate more part-exchanges and were focusing on quickly turning around stock.

Gupta said his group had one of the best stock-turn averages last year and was on course to ‘significantly beat that’ in June.

He says he has definitely seen evidence that car buyers are ditching public transport and buying used cars instead.

‘Trains are dead from what I can see,’ he said. ‘Before lockdown, 62 per cent of buyers would come in with a part-exchange, but that has dropped by about 10 per cent.

That is too big a drop to be coincidental and tells me more people are buying cars today that don’t already have cars.’

Click here to see the video of Daksh Gupta’s interview CarDealerMag.co.uk | 15

DASHBOARD SHEFFIELD

DEALER NEWS A ROUND-UP OF STORIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

New Vauxhall site for Pentagon DEALER group Pentagon has opened a new, purpose-built Vauxhall showroom in Sheffield.

The move, which cost more than £500,000, comes after the firm – which operates 26 sites and 49 franchises – completed the planned closure of its existing city-centre site in Savile Street. All Savile Street staff are transferring to the new Parkway Avenue base.

Pentagon Motor Group MD David Lewis said: ‘We are very pleased to have been able to make this happen.’

KENT

EASTBOURNE

Caffyns’ results show profit fall to just £300,000 LISTED dealer group Caffyns has seen its profits fall by 79 per cent to just £300,000.

In its postponed annual results issued to the Stock Market on July 17, the dealer group – which has 13 sites across Sussex and Kent – said it incurred substantial losses for April and May. Profit fell from £1.4m for the previous year for the year ended March 31. The results – the publication of which were delayed by some six weeks – only take into account a few days of lockdown.

Chief executive Simon Caffyn said: ‘We incurred substantial losses in April and May whilst the business was in an effective lockdown state, although we were pleased with the levels of trading achieved in June.’

SOUTH-WEST

Lipscomb moves FCA brands LIPSCOMB Cars is relocating its Ashford-based Fiat and Abarth showroom to its former Volvo site in Canterbury.

The new business will continue running new and used vehicle sales for Fiat and Abarth, and will add FCA brands Alfa Romeo, Jeep and Fiat Professional Vans. It will also operate aftersales for them all.

The Volvo business has been moved to a new £5m showroom next to the newly relocated FCA operation, with all the staff transferring.

16 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Probe uncovers £350k of faults in used cars

A TRADING standards probe into used car sales uncovered some £350,000-worth of faults – with a third of the vehicles destined for an MOT test fail and some of them likely to cause an accident.

The investigation of 129 cars at 40 sites took place between December and April, with the results made public just now. Enforcement action has been taken against the traders, meaning the cars can’t be sold until all the faults have been fixed.

20k

The number of cars Carzam thinks it’ll sell in its first year, rising quickly to 35,000 in the following years.

Read our exclusive interview with founders Peter Waddell and John Bailey p26

BRITAIN

Black is top choice of used car colour

THAT’S what Imperial Cars found when it analysed its sales data, with subtle colours being favoured above brighter, more extravagant shades.

Between June 2019 and the same month this year, the car supermarket sold 4,502 cars in black, making up more than a quarter of its total sales during the 12 months.

Near-second was white at 4,117 cars, third was grey with 3,459, and fourth blue – with the hue accounting for 2,565 cars sold.

Lawgistics founder dies.

Supplier News: p18

‘No one is calling out for this car – it just happens to be quite an interesting prospect.’

Forecourt– Volkswagen T-Roc Cabriolet: p22

LONDON

Cazoo snaps up Imperial Cars

ONLINE-ONLY dealer Cazoo has bought Imperial Car Supermarkets for an undisclosed sum.

Cazoo says the 18-location dealer group offers it a national network of storage, distribution, aftersales and collection hubs.

Sources told Car Dealer that staff at Imperial Cars had been spotted showing Cazoo founder Alex Chesterman around dealerships in recent weeks, with a team of people seen ‘measuring up’.

NEWCASTLE

Vertu Motors cutting Dealer issues Bounce 345 jobs in online push Back scam warning

VERTU Motors is to make six per cent of its staff redundant.

The news came on the back of an announcement that it made £9m profit in June. Investment in online software has improved efficiencies in sales administration and will result in the job losses.

CEO Robert Forrester said: ‘The Covid crisis has driven an acceleration of technology uptake and we are embracing this trend to futureproof the business.’

BRITAIN

Motorpoint profits drop by 15 per cent

MOTORPOINT suffered a pre-tax profit fall of 15.3 per cent to £18.8m in the year to March 31.

In its final results for the year, released via the London Stock Exchange, the independent, nonfranchised car supermarket blamed temporary site closures during the lockdown, which started in March – usually its busiest trading month.

Revenue, meanwhile, was down by 3.8 per cent to just over a billion pounds – £1,018m.

AIRDRIE

A CAR DEALER has issued a scam warning after he narrowly avoided losing a £40,000 Porsche in an attempted Bounce Back Loan fraud.

Stephen Bogan, who runs prestige dealership James Glen Car Sales in Airdrie, has posted a Facebook warning video explaining how a customer tried to buy a Porsche Cayman GTS using a Bounce Back Loan fraudulently.

It had been applied for in the car dealer’s name.

GERMANY

If coronavirus does come back with a vengeance – and there would be few who would bet against it – we’ll be far better prepared to deal with it.

James Baggott p39

Dealer ‘giving away’ free Renault Zoes

THANKS to generous electric car subsidies from the German government, Autohaus Koenig – a dealer group with more than 50 sites – is being allowed to advertise a lease for the Zoe EV that’s covered completely by state subsidies, effectively making them free.

Since the firm made the advert live online, around 3,000 people have inquired about it and about 300 have signed contracts, according to BloombergNEF.

BITE-SIZE

Purchases, redundancies launches – and more Aylesbury: Marshall has completed its purchase of Jardine’s Volkswagen business in Aylesbury – making it the UK’s biggest VW retailer.

The deal now means Marshall has 15 VW car retailers and six commercial vehicle dealers.

Leicester: TMS Motor Group has bought the Sandicliffe Leicester Kia dealership and kept all the staff on. The deal – for an undisclosed sum – means that along with its Hinckley Kia dealership, TMS now has two sites selling the brand.

Milton Keynes: Jardine Motor Group is believed to be making 521 redundancies as it moves to close its head offices in Milton Keynes and Colchester.

Consultation with the affected staff has begun at the £2bn-turnover dealer group.

UK: Used car prices are still well above official estimates and some dealers are reporting bidding against 500 others in online auctions.

Car Dealer Forum users have said they have seen some ‘extraordinary’ sold prices.

Farnborough: BMW Group UK has launched a digital car locator that gives customers real-time access to new stock across its entire dealer network.

It comes as the group says online car reservations soared by 130 per cent in May. CarDealerMag.co.uk | 17

DASHBOARD

SUPPLIER NEWS

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

Strong used market could last until October

THE used car market could take until October to reach a new normal, latest figures suggest, with the current trend of strong prices and high demand for stock expected to carry on throughout the summer.

Aston Barclay reports that high demand for older used cars and diesel models has helped drive up prices to a new record in Q2.

A poll of 100 buyers and vendors showed that 80 per cent believe the activity will continue into Q3.

LAWGISTICS

Tributes paid after consultancy founder and managing director David Combes dies at 72 TRIBUTES have been paid to Lawgistics founder and managing director David Combes who has died at the age of 72.

A qualified trading standards officer, David ran an investigations unit for many years, looking at commercial fraud within the motor trade, and in 1984 founded Lawdata – his first automotive law firm.

In 2001, he established the legal consultancy Lawgistics to provide a more comprehensive package to a wider spectrum of the retail motor industry, and last year was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Car Dealer Used Car Awards.

Lawgistics legal adviser Philip Strickland said: ‘David will be sorely missed but he leaves a legacy in his knowledge, wisdom, client-focused service and commitment to all who relied upon him and his team.’ Car Dealer editor James Baggott said: ‘We were all extremely shocked and saddened to hear of David’s passing. He was not only a truly remarkable man who did so much for the automotive industry but he was also a sheer delight to be with. He will be greatly missed indeed.’

David died on July 13 after having been ill for some time.

HEYCAR

Partnership formed with SilverBullet

HEYCAR has partnered with technology supplier SilverBullet.

It said a survey of 707 website visitors that it carried out between June 1 and 2 found that a third of them now expected to be able to buy a vehicle from their home.

SilverBullet’s e-commerce systems mean visitors to the used car marketplace can now complete more of their purchase online, with all the paperwork sorted before they step inside a dealership.

18 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

WHAT CAR?

David will be sorely missed but he leaves a legacy in his knowledge, wisdom, clientfocused service and commitment to all who relied upon him and his team.

Philip Strickland Lawgistics

CAZANA

New car buyer budgets Values of used EVs rise during lockdown could fall ‘significantly’

A FIFTH of new car buyers say their vehicle budget has risen because of the lockdown, according to new car buying platform What Car?, which polled 6,245 in-market buyers.

In the poll, published on July 15, just over half of the respondents – 52 per cent – said their shortlist had more vehicles on it because of the lockdown. More than a third had at least three on their list, and nearly a fifth were looking to choose between four or more vehicles.

VALUES of used electric cars are likely to fall in the next 18 months as more cars with longer ranges come to market, potentially pushing down values of older models ‘significantly’.

That’s the view of Cazana’s director of insights, Rupert Pontin, who told Car Dealer in an exclusive interview that the boom in new ‘petrol car-like’ electric cars will have repercussions on the used electric market, where values have traditionally been strong.

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Experience a safer and more open world CarDealerMag.co.uk | 19

DASHBOARD

BUSINESS NEWS

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

BITE-SIZE People, places products – and more

Optare: Former Aston Martin boss Andy Palmer has been named the non-executive chairman of bus maker Optare.

He stood down from the role of president and group CEO of Aston Martin Lagonda in May.

Tesla: Tesla has been ordered to stop making ‘false advertising promises’ by a German court.

The setback means it can no longer use the phrases ‘full potential for autonomous driving’ and ‘Autopilot inclusive’ in its adverts in the country.

Jaguar: Jaguar’s fully electric XJ won’t be launched until the third quarter of 2021.

The Sunday Times reported that Jaguar Land Rover has delayed all non-essential spending as it looks to fight its way out of financial trouble.

Ineos: Ineos Automotive has halted plans to build its new Grenadier 4×4 in south Wales.

The company has now expressed an interest in buying Daimler’s Moselle site, currently used by Smart, rather than building a new Bridgend factory.

PORSCHE

Pandemic blamed as global sales take a hit GERMAN luxury brand Porsche has reported that sales in the first half of 2020 dropped by 12 per cent worldwide compared with the same period last year.

It delivered 116,964 cars to customers, and blamed the closure of its dealerships during the height of the coronavirus pandemic for the decline. The brand remains optimistic, though, reporting an improvement in sales in the US and Europe since May.

BENTLEY

TOYOTA

JLR / ASTON MARTIN

Crewe factory back to Brand name disappears Firms join union crisis 100 per cent production as logo is reworked talks to save jobs

BENTLEY is back up to full production again with its latest Bentayga SUV, after a major review of social distancing measures.

Peter Bosch, board member for manufacturing at Bentley Motors, said: ‘The new Bentayga is a celebration of all that we can do in Crewe and is a testament to the skill, passion and dedication of all of our colleagues who produce cars.’

TOYOTA has unveiled a reworked logo and plans to roll out a new corporate look later this year.

The firm says it’s made the change as it ‘transitions from a car company to a mobility company’, with a new logo and updated typography.

In adverts the word ‘Toyota’ will be removed, too, but dealership signs will remain in place and be reviewed in 2025.

AUTOMOTIVE giants Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin were among businesses taking part in an online summit to decide on a plan to stem the massive tide of job losses.

Organised by the West Midlands TUC, the talks on July 16 came as the Unite union said the region had suffered a ‘devastating’ 8,000 job cuts by a number of major employers in just one week.

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20 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

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BRITISHVOLT

NISSAN

Britain’s first battery gigafactory green-lit

No plans to produce new EV in Sunderland

BRITAIN is set to get its first EV battery-producing gigafactory.

Start-up company Britishvolt has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Welsh government for a new battery plant near Barry.

Britishvolt intends to break ground in the second quarter of 2021, with plans to create as many as 3,500 jobs in the area eventually.

NISSAN has ruled out producing its new Ariya EV in Sunderland.

The manufacturer says it will only be produced in Japan at its Tochigi plant, home of the GT-R and 370Z. Marco Fioravanti, vice-president of product planning at Nissan Europe, said: ‘Regarding Sunderland . . . at the moment we’re eagerly awaiting Brexit to give us the green light to expand it further.’

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NISSAN

Nissan showrooms to sport new logo NISSAN has revealed a new logo that will be used across the company – including in its showrooms.

It will start appearing this month both digitally and physically. In addition, Nissan’s EV models will have an exclusive illuminated logo with 20 LEDs to represent the number of years between the redesigns.

The recently unveiled Nissan Ariya will be the first car to sport the new logo.

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FORECOURT

Engine

VOLKSWAGEN T-ROC CABRIOLET

The 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine produces 148bhp and 250Nm of torque.

The T-Roc Cabriolet may take a different approach to more conventional convertibles, but has it paid off? Jack Evans finds out.

THE KNOWLEDGE Volkswagen T-Roc Cabriolet R-Line

Price (as tested): £34,480 Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol Power: 148bhp Torque: 250Nm Max speed: 127mph O-60mph: 9.3 seconds MPG (combined): 42.2 Emissions: 130g/km CO2

WHAT IS IT? When Volkswagen announced it was making a convertible version of its T-Roc SUV, it’s fair to say that several sets of eyebrows were raised. But it powered on nonetheless and here we have the all-new T-Roc Cabriolet. Should VW have left this car on the drawing board or is it a genuinely attractive proposition? Let’s take a look...

WHAT’S NEW? Obviously the largest change going on here is the fact that there’s no roof. To all intents and purposes, this Cabriolet mirrors the standard T-Roc in all areas apart from that foldable fabric roof, with the same looks and a similar – albeit slimmed-down – range of engines too. The wheelbase has been slightly extended to give passengers a little more space.

WHAT’S UNDER THE BONNET? Our test car makes use of a 1.5-litre turbocharged ‘EVO’ petrol engine, which sends power to the wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox. It produces a relatively modest 148bhp and 250Nm of torque, which is enough to whisk it up to 60mph from a dead stop in 9.3 seconds and onwards to a top speed of 127mph. It’s enough performance for a car of this type, but another aspect of this car is economy – Volkswagen claims 42.2mpg combined while CO2 emissions are 130g/km.

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO DRIVE? This ain’t no performance car. Lopping the roof off comes with a weight penalty, with 190kg added by the roof mechanism and additional strengthening to bring the car’s total bulk to 1,540kg – that’s quite a lot for a car of this size. But when it comes to sedately cruising around, this makes little difference. The T-Roc is best kept at a relatively meandering pace, where the soft ride and surprising lack of roof-down buffeting make it a comfortable place.

Go a bit quicker and it does start to feel a touch unwieldy but, as we mentioned, this isn’t a car to break track records in.

HOW DOES IT LOOK? If there was ever a car you’d expect not to work visually it’d be a T-Roc with the roof removed. But somehow it just does. Volkswagen has done well to give the exterior panels of the car some flair with cuts and ridges, and this helps it from looking too slab-sided. When

22 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Styling The R-Line has a full styling pack with chunkier bumpers, lowered suspension and 19-inch alloy wheels.

Interior

The cabin has been carried over from the standard T-Roc and is logically laid out.

TARGET BUYERS:

Those who want the driving position of an SUV with the topdown thrills of a convertible.

THE RIVALS:

Range Rover Evoque Convertible, Mini Convertible, BMW 2 Series Convertible.

KEY SELLING POINTS:

On paper the T-Roc Cabriolet shouldn’t work, but out on the road it does.

1. Novelty factor.

2. Surprisingly comfortable.

3. Little wind buffeting.

DEAL CLINCHER:

The Volkswagen T-Roc Cab might not be the sharpest convertible in existence, but it’s one of the most useable on a day-to-day basis.

the roof is retracted it folds away neatly and doesn’t impede the main lines of the car and when it’s up it’s not too bad either. It’s at its best with the roof folded down, though. Oh, and that roof takes just nine seconds to open and 11 to close at speeds of up to 19mph.

WHAT’S IT LIKE INSIDE? Volkswagen has carried over the interior of the standard T-Roc to the cabin of the Convertible, which means it’ll be very familiar to anyone who has already experienced the firm’s compact SUV. It’s logically laid out and the materials are good on the whole, although some slightly scratchier plastics can be found lower down. Space in the back remains quite tight and there’s a large penalty when it comes to boot space too – just 284 litres on offer with the roof up or down.

WHAT’S THE SPEC LIKE? Volkswagen has added a comprehensive list of standard equipment to the T-Roc Cabriolet’s line-up of features. Just two specifications are available – Design and R-Line – with our test car featuring the latter. It brings a full styling pack with chunkier front and rear bumpers, as well as 19-inch alloy wheels and lowered sports suspension. When it comes to technology, there’s a full eight-inch infotainment system with satellite navigation and connectivity functions, as well as a 10.25-inch customisable driver’s display replacing the conventional dials. Adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist and predictive pedestrian protection are included as standard too, bolstering the T-Roc’s safety credentials.

WHAT DO THE PRESS THINK? What Car? says: ‘The T-Roc Cabriolet will definitely find its audience in those wanting a small SUV with an extra dimension of fun and freedom.’

WHAT DO WE THINK? The T-Roc Cabriolet is undoubtedly a way of Volkswagen filling a niche that many people weren’t aware existed. In truth, no one is calling out for this car, but it just happens to be quite an interesting prospect – and one so far from the norm that it’s likely to be a hit with people who just, more than anything, want a change. It’s comfortable, refined and – in a country that loves its convertibles more than any other – great with the roof down. On paper the T-Roc Cabriolet shouldn’t work, but out on the road it does.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 23

Beyond finance “I’m more like a consultant, taking time to understand the dealership so that we can add real value to their business.”

Watch Aimee's video to see how: blackhorse.co.uk/beyondfinance

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A better way of doing business 24 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

FORECOURT

LOTUS ELISE CUP 250 THE KNOWLEDGE

Lotus Elise Cup 250

As cars get bigger and heavier, the lightweight Elise Cup 250 is an appealing prospect. Darren Cassey put it to the test.

WHAT IS IT? If you’re after a purist driving experience, the Lotus Elise is one of the go-to names. The model has been around since 1996 and has become world renowned as a lightweight sports car that’s utterly fantastic to drive.

WHAT’S NEW? The Cup 250 is 14kg lighter than its predecessor thanks to the use of carbon fibre, titanium and aluminium. The manual gear shifter now has a beautiful open-gate design that lets you see its inner workings, and the body design has been tweaked to improve aerodynamics.

WHAT’S UNDER THE BONNET? The Elise Cup 250 uses a 1.8-litre supercharged four-cylinder petrol engine with an output of 240bhp. While that might not sound like much when hot hatches make more, the little Lotus weighs just 931kg, giving a power-to-weight figure of about 275bhp per tonne.

Price (as tested): £49,555 Engine: 1.8-litre supercharged four-cylinder petrol Power: 240bhp Torque: 249Nm Max speed: 150mph 0-60mph: 3.9 seconds MPG (combined): 36.2 Emissions: 177g/km CO2

TARGET BUYERS:

Those who want one of the purest road car driving experiences without going for a hard-edged track-focused model.

THE RIVALS:

Porsche 718 Boxster, Caterham Seven, Ariel Atom.

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO DRIVE? On a country road, the immediacy of response from every turn of the wheel is a delight, and actually takes some getting used to. It’s so responsive that you’ll find yourself turning in too early, but once you’re dialled in it’s a joy to thread along a country lane.

KEY SELLING POINTS:

HOW DOES IT LOOK? While its predecessors could almost be considered cute, the latest Elise has a somewhat meaner appearance. It’s far from aggressive, but there are fewer curvy lines and more sharp and focused design features. It’s also tiny. But there are some nice design touches, such as the air intakes ahead of the rear wheels and the Union Flag on the rear-wing end plates.

DEAL CLINCHER:

WHAT’S IT LIKE INSIDE? There’s really little here that isn’t related to actually driving, with a small stereo head unit and soft Alcantara upholstery about as close as you’re getting to creature comforts.

1. Focused driving experience.

2. Perfectly judged performance.

3. Best steering in the business.

It has all the responsiveness of a hard-core track car but with ride quality and performance perfectly judged for the road.

WHAT’S THE SPEC LIKE? There’s a new in-car infotainment system by Sony, which has iPod and Bluetooth connectivity, with improved speakers. There’s also a heating system and classic analogue dials. The exquisite ride is helped by Eibach coaxial coil springs and Bilstein high-performance dampers.

WHAT DO THE PRESS THINK? Autocar said: ‘What it does seems simple, yet nothing does it better.’

WHAT DO WE THINK? The Lotus Elise is a breath of fresh air in 2020. It’s been around for more than two decades, but at a time when cars are getting heavier and more numb for the driver, this car is a reminder of what a pure driving experience really is.

Interior The highlight is the gear shifter, which has a beautiful open design so you can see the linkages at work.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 25

FEATURE

I don’t buy this pent-up demand nonsense and I don’t think it will tail off later in the year Peter Waddell isn’t a man to mince his words, as James Baggott found when he was whisked away by helicopter to discover more about Carzam.

exclusive interview

B

ig Motoring World boss Peter Waddell will launch his online used car dealership Carzam on September 1 with a stock of 4,000 cars – and he’s betting £50m it’ll be a success.

Along with business partner John Bailey, the former president of Cox Automotive, the pair will pump £50m of their own cash into the new online car sales business.

In an exclusive video interview with Car Dealer Magazine, the larger-thanlife car dealer boss picked us up in his helicopter, showed us around his incredible house and supercars, before flying us to Peterborough to see a new preparation centre that will churn out 350 cars a day.

Waddell and Bailey gave us the inside line on the online used car business they feel will shake up the used car market and told us why they think they’ll be the ones to finally crack it.

26 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

P

eter Waddell doesn’t do things by halves. In his recent Car Dealer Live interview, he explained how he started life on the streets and watching ‘flash cars’ drive past him gave him the determination to succeed.

‘I’d see people drive past in Mercedes and think “Why are they driving that and not me?” and it was then I realised I had to do something about it,’ Waddell explained.

And do something about it he did.

Carzam cars ready to be prepped We’d just landed on the lawn of his incredible multi-million-pound home on the outskirts of London. When Waddell agreed to this interview, he offered to pick us up from Gosport – but little did we know he meant by helicopter.

Waddell sent a new AgustaWestland 139 that he was thinking of buying to replace his current chopper to pick us up. Ever the wheeler dealer and always pressed for time, Waddell was using the flight to Gosport-his home-Peterborough and back to ‘road-test’ the new purchase.

‘I’m dyslexic and learning to fly the helicopter was hard, but I love it,’ Waddell explained.

‘It saves so much time for me, as I can visit my dealerships, the prep centre, auctions and my other business interests very easily.’

We take a seat in one of Waddell’s luxurious lounges and he explains how he’s recorded his best-ever June.

The reopening of dealerships at the start of June saw buyers flock to his showrooms and he’s now got just two per cent of his staff on furlough.

‘We’re having it off,’ he says with a huge smile. ‘We’ll do 3,200 cars this month.

‘The government paused an F1 race track with the lockdown. We’re all still in the same place in the race. It’s just been paused for 12 weeks.

‘We were all very tired. The government gave us a break. I’ve spent time at home, I’ve had time to relax and now I’m raring to go. I’m fired up and ready to go again.’

As we wander around Waddell’s amazing home, he shows me his home office. It’s covered in well-thumbed A3 printouts of his budget and he explains that he always has his busiest months in the summer. ‘People come out of winter and realise then they want to upgrade their used car – we’re always busy in the summer,’ he says.

‘I don’t buy this pent-up demand nonsense and I don’t think it will tail off later in the year. The used car market is strong and I don’t see that changing, especially when fewer people will be buying new.’

Waddell says his success is down to keeping an eye on the detail. His phone is constantly

PICTURES: NIGEL SWAN

The used car market is strong and I don’t see that changing.

Buyers can expect same-day delivery

So how will Carzam work?

The huge workshop where Waddell’s team MOTs hundreds of cars every week ringing and lighting up with text messages and it’s quite obvious he never stops. Real-time data from the number of sales, the profit he’s made to the minute, and every tiny detail about individual deals is accessible from his phone via a vast system he had built for himself. He checks it regularly as we’re flying at 3,500m above London, or walking around his house or business.

‘It’s here where I make my money,’ he says, pointing to his phone.

In his garage he shows me his Rolls-Royce Dawn, Lamborghini Aventador, and we’ve already walked past a 20-plate Aston Martin DBS Superleggera on his drive.

‘It’s s**t,’ he says. ‘John said I should buy something classy, but it’s useless.’

Then we turn to the hypercars. Waddell owns two Bugattis, a Veyron and a Chiron, combined worth more than £5m, and he has another on order. ‘I never drive them,’ he says, admitting he prefers his Range Rover. ‘One has just 800 miles on it.’

W

addell’s home is immaculate. The lawns manicured, the decor like a fivestar hotel. There are 54 televisions dotted around the vast stately home-style property, an indoor pool and a grand piano in the hallway that he can start playing from controls anywhere in the house.

In his ‘Moet & Chandon’ bar is a full-size snooker table, another huge TV and more bottles of the champagne than I can count. From miniatures to Jeroboams, there’s bathfuls of the stuff. Waddell must really love champagne. ‘I hate the stuff,’ he laughs. ‘I drink Asti Spumante – six quid a bottle. People buy me Moet as a present. I like the way it looks. I don’t need anything or want anything, so when people buy me a present it’s usually a bottle of Moet and then it ends up in here.’

We thank Waddell’s wife, who is busy juggling looking after their two-year-old son while packing for a trip to their 130ft yacht in Monaco, for letting us intrude and head back to the helicopter. Within minutes of take-off we’re flying over London and landing in Peterborough 20 minutes later at his vast preparation centre.

The set-up is incredible. The former Pilkington Automotive engine factory has 14 acres of space inside, which Waddell and Bailey have filled with ramps, paint shops and valeting teams. They are currently serving Big Motoring World’s six car dealerships and preparing 150 cars a day. Soon that will ramp up to 350 cars in a 24-hour operation that will pump thousands of cars into the Carzam business. ‘Preparation costs are key to making the used car business a success – and that’s the difference between us and our rivals,’ says Waddell as we’re shown around. ‘I get a daily report on our preparation costs and we’ve got it down

Waddell says it is quite simple and has coined the phrase ‘the mouse to the house’, or in his famous twang ‘the moose to the hoose’.

‘Carzam is high-tech business,’ he explains. ‘We’ve been building the website for a year and it’ll go live on September 1. Buyers will be able to buy online and get the car delivered the same day.

‘We’ll do this with distribution centres. We’ll launch with 3-4,000 cars on sale and can do that because we can offer the stock from Big too.

‘We’ll do it quicker than anyone else. We are faster and better and, importantly, we know the job. We know the car trade.

‘I don’t just talk, I just do.’

Bailey said they’re confident buyers want to purchase used cars online now and that it’s a trend that’s only going to increase in the coming years.

‘Lockdown has accelerated the move to online buying for cars,’ he explains, as we sit around Waddell’s boardroom table.

‘We are so excited about Carzam. People are ready to buy used cars online and they’re doing it now. We’ll offer them the chance to do that via people who know the car business.’

Selling vast numbers of used cars is also about making sure you can get hold of the stock, and while the pair remain tight-lipped about their sources for cars, they’re clearly confident they can get more at a time many dealers are fighting over them at auctions.

‘This will work because we’re car people,’ added Bailey. ‘We know what to buy and importantly what not to buy. We know what the car buyer wants too.’

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 27

FEATURE

Cars are prepped - including paint - in two days

Carzam is gearing up to sell thousands of cars every month - and deliver them to buyers’ homes

to around £270 a car.’ While the costs might be less, from what Car Dealer saw there is no scrimping on standards.

Every wheel is refurbed, painted and recut at a rate of 26 every 20 minutes. Whole panels are removed and painted to the highest of standards and any engine servicing work that needs doing is done on one of 72 ramps.

T

he scale of the operation is mammoth.

There are 12 MOT bays, 500 staff (soon Hundreds of alloys are refurbished every day to be 600) and this is with Covid-19 restrictions in place. Most of the employees we meet have come from BCA. ‘We pay them well and they enjoy their jobs,’ explains Waddell.

Bailey tells us he thinks Carzam will sell 20,000 cars in the first year of operation and quickly ramp up to 35,000 cars a year. ‘Peter sold 1,500 cars in May online via Big Motoring World – that was the tester for this and it worked,’ Bailey said.

Waddell can turn a car around from purchase to being on sale in one of his dealerships in just 4.3 days. It’s believed rival online used car dealers take 25 days-plus to achieve the same thing as others outsource the preparation to partners.

Bailey adds: ‘We have parts runners here who bring the parts to the technicians so they don’t need to walk down the line to the parts office, stopping along the way to chat to the others and getting distracted.

‘That could add 20 minutes to the operation and all that time adds up. By having someone bring them the parts we save time and money.’

Waddell adds: ‘This is what no one has. This centre is what it is all about. It’s about attention to detail, getting the cars right.

‘We are spending more on the cars now because they will be sold online. These may be used cars but they are new to the person who bought them, so they have to be right.’

And as I cast my eye over an 18-plate BMW 3 Series while it’s checked to drive out the door, I honestly think it looks like new.

Bailey and Waddell admit they went round in circles thinking up the name Carzam – Waddell wanted to go for CarPal but concerns over PayPal’s lawyers put an end to that one.

They eventually settled on Carzam. ‘It had to have car in the name,’ said Bailey.

The pair met while Bailey was still at Cox Automotive and Waddell was one of Manheim’s big buyers. They got chatting and Bailey decided to take a minority stake in the business.

‘I’ve seen a lot of businesses and a lot of prep centres in my time at Cox, but I can honestly say I’ve never seen anything like this,’ he said. ‘We’ve had franchised dealers in here and two to three bosses of plc dealer groups and they’ve all been blown away.’ CD 28 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

These may be used cars but they are new to the person who bought them, so they have to be right.

The online used car dealer world is likely to be a very competitive place While Cazoo may have got the head start, there would be few who would bet against Waddell and Bailey.

The pair make a formidable team with expertise in all the fields you need to make a large used car business a success. One thing’s for sure, watching this battle play out is going to be very interesting indeed.

Peter Waddell, left, and John Bailey

Click here to see the video of our interview with Peter Waddell and John Bailey

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FEATURE

PETROL VERSUS

ELECTRIC Darren Cassey tests the present and future of performance cars

A

sk most car enthusiasts for their propulsion method of choice and they’ll probably say petrol. This fossil fuel has powered some of the greatest engines known to man, and has fuelled engines with the power to catapult tonnes of metal to inconceivable speeds in a matter of seconds – sounding great while doing it.

However, with climate change now weighing on people’s minds, the role of heavily polluting fossil fuels is quickly dying out.

That means we need an alternative, and it appears electric will be the future.

Porsche is at the forefront of both old- and new-school technology, epitomised by the 911 Turbo S and Taycan Turbo S. While they might not seem like natural competitors – a two-plus-two, petrolpowered sports car and an electrically powered fourdoor saloon respectively – on paper they make for an intriguing comparison.

We were given the chance to test-drive both back to back, and it made for a fascinating and thoughtprovoking day. Here’s what we found…

30 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

THE FACTS AND FIGURES Let’s start with the 911 Turbo S. The Porsche 911 has long been one of the best sports cars on the market, and this newly released Turbo S version sits at the very top of the range of this latest generation.

Its 3.8-litre, six-cylinder, twin-turbocharged petrol engine makes 641bhp and 800Nm of torque, with a top speed of 205mph and a 0-60mph time of 2.6 seconds. It also emits 257g of CO2 per kilometre and achieves fuel economy of 25mpg. Prices for the coupe start at about £155k, or £165k for the convertible that we tested.

Meanwhile, the Taycan uses twin electric motors (one on each axle to provide all-wheel drive) that produce a combined 616bhp and 1,050Nm. With launch control engaged, that figure goes up to a scarcely believable 750bhp, contributing to an identical 0-60mph time of 2.6 seconds and a lower top speed of 161mph. It emits no CO2 and has a range of about 250 miles between charges. The Turbo S starts at £138,826, but the one we tried had been specced up to £151,210.

WHICH FEELS FASTER? Both are fast enough to scramble your brains. Put your foot down in the 911 and there’s a moment’s lag as the turbos spool up and fuel is dumped into the cylinders to get the pistons firing – but once you’re away you’re really away.

There’s a perceptible shift of the car’s weight to the rear and you’re catapulted towards the horizon. What’s incredible is that the higher your speeds and the further round the tachometer the needle spins, the harder the car accelerates. The first time you’ll be shocked into silence before laughing hysterically once you regain your composure.

The Taycan, on the other hand, scrambles your brain in a completely different, if similarly effective, manner. Electric motors are different to petrol and diesel engines because while the last two build power with revs before tailing off, electric motors have 100 per cent of torque available from ‘zero’ RPM. They then consistently lose power as speeds get higher, hence the lower top speed. (It also has to do with the fact that electric motors work over a broader rev range than that of traditional engines so don’t need multiple gears… but that’s a story for another 1,000-word article.)

The result? The Taycan and its 750bhp hit you like a freight train. The 0-60mph times might be identical but the 0-30mph is surely heavily in favour of the EV. Even with this jaded journalist’s experience of fast cars, that first couple of seconds of acceleration in a Taycan take the breath away.

The difference between petrol and electric is like the

The first couple of seconds of acceleration in a Taycan take the breath away.

The 911 Turbo S feels like a big old brute that’s heavy in the corners.

PICTURES: DARREN CASSEY famous quote from the 2014 film The Interview: ‘Same-same, but different.’ Both cars do a great job of accelerating faster than the human body could ever be prepared for, they just do it in different ways. The result in both cases is fantastically addictive.

WHAT ARE THEY LIKE TO DRIVE? Where the difference lies is more in the corners. The 911 Turbo S feels like a big old brute that’s heavy in the corners. It’s capable of cornering hard, but you’d need to be driving at silly speeds to get the most out of it on the road. We tested the Cabriolet – models that are almost always going to be less sharp than an equivalent coupe for reasons of weight and weight distribution – but it just felt a bit ‘too much’ for the road. Especially narrow, unsighted British roads.

The Taycan, on the other hand, felt more nimble and compact. It had more immediate turn-in and felt less like it was filling a full lane on the road, even if the odd brush with an overreaching hedge told a different story. With the batteries in the floor, all the weight is down low, and the Taycan actually has the lowest centre of gravity of any Porsche road car, which helps in the handling department.

What’s particularly interesting here, though, is that the Taycan is actually wider than the 911 Turbo S. I was shocked to see that when I got back and dived deeper into the numbers, but the 911 is 1,880mm wide and the Taycan is 1,966mm. It’s amazing how the ‘feel’ of a car alters your perception behind the wheel.

WHICH ONE’S BETTER? Now that’s an impossible question – but one that I’m going to try to answer. For me, it’s the Taycan, because it offers all the performance of the 911 but feels more nimble on a fun road.

That said, it’s also spacious inside, has four doors and decent legroom for rear passengers. I also adore the looks to the point where it could be awful to drive and I’d still want one.

The 911 Turbo S couldn’t be closer behind, though. As it’s a 911, the average person probably won’t recognise that it’s ‘the fast one’, so if flying under the radar is your thing, the 911 is just about common enough that you won’t turn too many heads. (Although if nimble performance is what you’re after, a 911 GT model will leave both in its dust on a twisty road.)

It’s also got utterly addictive performance and epitomises everything we’ve loved about petrol engines over the decades. Porsche’s boxer engines are iconic, and this being one of the last wouldn’t be a bad way to go out.

However, the good thing for car enthusiasts in particular is that owning an electric vehicle doesn’t mean saying goodbye to fast fun. It just means you can go fast with a clearer conscience and lower running costs.

CarDealerMag.co.uk CarDealerMag.co.uk| |31 31

FEEDBACK TOP TWEETS

With Cazoo buying car supermarket Imperial, here’s what Twitter was saying

@beaton_bruce

The disruptor joins the disrupted. So it’s no longer sexy, just another bricks and clicks operator. Interesting to see a proper valuation based on actual assets and trading numbers

What do I need to know before making a career change from pub landlord to car dealer?

Hi guys, please be patient with me. I have been managing pubs for a long time but believe the industry is going to suffer massively due to Covid. I have always been hugely interested in cars and through lockdown I have signed up to Copart, bought a couple of cars with bits of damage and been fixing them ready to sell. A couple are just about ready to be advertised.

I would like to one day have a bit of land and 30 or 40 cars on a lot for sale so please hit me with some starting-up tips. Thanks in advance.

PhilA&S Got a good tip. Less thinking and talking. More doing.

PICTURE OF THE MONTH

@Motorscribe

That’s very interesting.

Decided they actually need a physical presence?

Rory RSC

Yep. Although this sounds sarcastic it’s absolutely correct. You can talk this job through until the cows come home but the best education you’ll get is when you start buying and selling.

BHM If you scroll through the forum you will find lots of advice given to a similar question to yours. Good luck.

Nevillec

@jimreidvehicle

Surely the disruptor is only disruptive if they are doing it differently? But a supermarket doesn’t sound that different to me, but that’s just my take!

Your comments via email to editorial@blackballmedia.co.uk

Head of content Jack Evans, centre, suffered phone problems in one of our Zoom quizzes, giving us a frozen image of him with hand clasped to forehead in frustration over a question. Video supremo Nigel Swan, left, and multimedia manager Jon Reay were quick off the mark to show their sympathy...

This is what I did early on, and I still learn lots now. Go back to the start and read all the threads, might take a few weeks. By the time you’ve done that you will have a good grasp on CRA15, buying stock, advertising, photographing, part-exchanges and all the pitfalls we encounter. Plus you’ll find some entertaining old threads, too. Also at the top of the page is the How To Be A Car Dealer guide, it’s £10 – buy that, it will help you and it will help fund the people who run the forum. You’ll get more than your £10 back in terms of knowledge.

The rest you’ll learn with experience. Good luck.

SouthernTrader

Lesson 1: Forget Copart and try buying proper cars. You won’t make any money resurrecting damaged goods, it takes too long and you’ll attract too much aggravation. You might be better off continuing as a pub manager and watering down the beer!

Trade vet ....and fiddling the spirits. I’m with you on this, if you’re paying someone to PROPERLY nail together damaged rubbish you can’t make any money. However, I’m sure the lads throwing them back together themselves (plenty of cable ties, sledgehammer chassis work & Roy Orbison paint jobs) make a shilling.

BHM

@carcaredirect

Some interesting synergies and also help some of their stock challenges

Thanks for all your positive responses guys, and yes Rory – I always say some people wait for the meal to be put in front of them and others go and find the ingredients and make their own.

PhilA&S

More and more of our readers are joining the debate – and it couldn’t be 32 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

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PANDEMIC

What do you think of the new one-metre social distancing?

I think at one metre you’re just saying back to normal. I think it’s a bad move. The worst thing is reminding people to stop touching things! Nearly run out of antiviral spray already!

And what about test drives at one metre? Are you now willing to go out with them? No way will I be going in the back. I like to be near the wheel for customers that can’t judge where the kerb is!

It’s beeen implied this week l may be over-cautious and I reminded them it is my business, run by me, my way. If you do not want to buy at a Covid-secure business, erm, go away.

Have a word with the wife

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

Ultimately it’s your decision – you can operate a five-metre zone if you wish. To be honest, for some punters I’d like to introduce a 100-mile zone!

BHM Keep the distance where you are comfortable. I’ve found that although many of the customers I’ve encountered since June 1 when I reopened aren’t too bothered about keeping a distance, they respected the request to keep two metres-plus away. I agree – at one metre it’s almost pointless. The risk is low, very low, but still there.

MattR Very true. People getting worried about three foot or six foot as to whether you’ll get the virus is daft really. Turn away, don’t be face to face and wash your hands.

Test drives are still contentious in my mind. I’m getting away without test drives quite nicely and people understand. One metre still doesn’t let you take customers out on test drives, does it? I suppose if you both mask up and have gloves on – but do we really need to?

David Horgan

Who should wear masks in showrooms?

From what I understand of the new law, workers in shops aren’t mandated to wear the masks but customers are. Make sense of that? It’s also not our responsibility to enforce it.

Mojo121 You can’t fix stupid comes to mind. I got told off yesterday for not wearing a mask and how her husband has had lung cancer so he has to wear one everywhere. I was so tempted but did not ask why she wasn’t wearing one. They both got in their car, he took his mask off feeling very safe for the protection it afforded him and drove off with his wife feet away from him who hasn’t worn one once. justina3 I was collecting a car from down south and went by train. I’m only 20 minutes in and the warm air from my mouth is so annoying I feel like taking the mask off. Hats off to all the doctors and nurses who have had to wear them for 12-13-hour shifts. I tell you, they are not easy to keep on!

Tony911

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DASHBOARD

INDUSTRY VIEWS

NEWS AND THOUGHTS FROM SOME OF OUR CAR DEALER LIVE GUESTS REDGATE LODGE

Customers keep on buying in person

THE owner of used car dealership Redgate Lodge reported that despite hearing of the popularity of click-and-deliver in lockdown, his customers want to buy in person.

Scott Sibley surveyed customers, asking them how they felt about buying cars online, and 90 per cent still wanted to visit the showroom.

Sibley added: ‘We’ve done 70 deals already this month and it’s the 16th. Of all of those, we’ve only delivered three.’

P&A WOOD

CAR QUAY

People were leaving deposits at our gate

CAR Quay boss Jamie Caple said: ‘In May, you couldn’t turn up [to collect from the dealership] unless you’d given us money over the phone. It sounds ridiculous – so counterintuitive for a car dealership not wanting customers to come in, but it was amazing.’

Craig Vladimirovs added: ‘We had people at the gate leave deposits before we let them in.’

As for the days after June 1, things kicked into overdrive for the dealership, the pair told us.

‘In terms of pure profit margin, by the 18th of this month, we’ve matched our biggest-ever month – in 18 days,’ said Caple.

AUTOVILLAGE

MERCEDES-BENZ

DIVINE AUTOMOTIVE

Enthusiasts love it all no matter what

Lot less faffing around under our new system

Old vans were bought back for extra capacity

Supercar demand still healthy after lockdown

P&A Wood managing director Georgina Wood described the unique experience of running such a specialist dealership as theirs.

She said: ‘What we find today, is you’ve got your enthusiasts, and your enthusiasts just love it all no matter what else is going on in the world. Although you have these peaks and troughs where Rolls-Royce as a manufacturer was popular or not, there’s always a demand for what we do.’

AUTO Village boss Paul Boyce said that new car sales hadn’t stopped for the SsangYong dealer, despite the surge in used car interest.

‘We’ve sold quite a few new SsangYongs in June as well to new customers,’ he told us.

Boyce added that selling cars under its new system meant there had been ‘a lot less faffing around’, too. However, even with this in place that hasn’t seen customers not want to shop with the dealership.

MERCEDES-BENZ Vans UK managing director Steve Bridge explained demand for its LCVs in the lockdown increased to the point that customers bought back their old defleeted vans for extra capacity.

He said: ‘I think from our point of view we were quite pleasantly shocked by the increase in volume that we received during the period of March and April.

‘The market was very depressed, but our volumes grew.’

USED car dealer and owner of Divine Automotive Tom Blackmore said modern classic and used supercar demand had been healthy and he’d experienced strong demand since reopening on June 1.

‘I think the market is actually quite strong at the moment,’ he said.

‘There’s a lot of people who’ve been sitting at home for three months that are still financially fine but they’ve not been able to buy a car and suddenly we’re all let loose.’

34 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

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Long-termers: p59

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MOTOR CONNECT

Buyers splashing out – even while in hospital

Sourcing cars outside of traditional auctions

CATERHAM Cars CEO Graham Macdonald suggested that buyers had been splashing out on sports cars in these trying times.

Recounting one memorable tale, he told us: ‘There was one instance where a customer had been struck down with the disease, in his hospital bed recovering, and said “That’s it – I want to buy a car!”’

Discussing new vs used, Macdonald added: ‘We seem to be selling an awful lot more of used.’

STEPHEN Corwood from Motor Connect in Northwich has switched from the traditional stocking routes since lockdown and is now actively ‘hunting for stock’.

He said: ‘We haven’t bought a car out of the auction since prelockdown. In fact, one of the large auction houses was on to me last week asking me why.

‘It’s quite self-explanatory. We had pent-up demand and we had online orders that had to go out.’

SOPHUS 3

‘In terms of pure profit margin, by the 18th of this month, we’ve matched our biggest-ever month – in 18 days.’

Jamie Caple Car Quay

Incentives are more important than ever

SCOTT Gairns from Sophus 3 explained that looking at the increases in traffic from across the big five European markets, success was currently more about politics than best practices.

He told us: ‘Looking at the numbers, we can see France and Germany had a massive increase in traffic because they were very quick and fairly clear in terms of their scrappage schemes and incentives for customers to buy cars.’

PETER VARDY

Lockdown century for Porsche salesman

HORIZON MAGNA GROUP

Industry should be cautious of second wave HORIZON Magna Motor Group chief executive Tony Roberts has warned the industry must be ‘cautious’ coming out of the Covid-19 crisis to avoid a second lockdown.

He said: ‘We’ve put such a huge amount of effort into reducing the number of cars in showrooms, creating one-way systems, marking the showroom floor, marking the windows, masks, gloves, hand sanitisers in all the appropriate places, at every entry and exit, and I’ve been to all of the dealerships checking that we meet that criteria, that I actually think we should carry on with that until we see this thing go a little bit further.’

DEALER group Peter Vardy’s eponymous boss told us that during lockdown the group successfully sold cars online and delivered them – with one salesman in his Aberdeen Porsche dealership selling 100 cars.

He said: ‘Through the lockdown our most successful business was Porsche. I had one sales adviser sell 100 Porsches himself.’

Vardy added: ‘To be honest with you, I didn’t think that would happen – that’s incredible.’

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 35

DASHBOARD

FINANCE NEWS RESEARCH

Revealed: The new cars that are cheaper to buy on finance

by John Bowman john@blackballmedia.co.uk

P

BARGAIN BUYS AT A GLANCE Saving on finance

BMW 7 Series M760Li

£10,247 eople can save more than £10,000 buying a new car on finance rather Volvo S60 2.0 B5 R Design £2,019 than paying by cash, according to Vauxhall Grandland X 1.5 £1,500 research by What Car? Turbo D Griffin After checking over 6,000 Target Price Volkswagen Touareg 3.0 V6 £1,500 offers, the new car buying platform found TDI 231 4Motion SE that 14 per cent of new cars – around one Ford Focus 1.0 Ecoboost £1,250 in seven – actually cost customers LESS 125 Titanium X with a finance deal!

Top of the savings list was the BMW 7 Series M760Li, which was a whopping £10,247 cheaper on PCP. At the other end of the scale, customers could save £883 on the Peugeot 108 1.0 72 Allure.

Other bargains included the Volvo S60 2.0 B5 R Design (£2,019 saving on finance), the Vauxhall Grandland X 1.5 Turbo D Griffin (£1,500), the Volkswagen Touareg 3.0 V6 TDI 231 4Motion SE (also £1,500), and the Ford Focus 1.0 Ecoboost 125 Titanium X (£1,250). The savings take into account interest payments plus the final balloon payment, as well as dealer deposit discounts.

Pat Hoy, head of What Car?’s Target Price mystery shopping team, said: ‘Buying on finance works out cheaper when the car maker’s deposit contribution is greater than the maximum discount offered for a cash purchase – as indicated by our Target Price saving – and the finance interest rate is either zero or low enough not to cancel out that saving.’

What Car? said making some vehicles cheaper on finance let car makers discount a new model without making it obvious they were looking to boost sales. Manufacturers also preferred to get customers on PCP deals because of the repeat business when finance agreements ended. What Car? editor Steve Huntingford said: ‘Our New Car Buying platform allows buyers to compare both cash and finance offers on their car, giving them a quick comparison tool to determine which is the best offer for them.’

FCA

Payments freeze is extended to help customers FINANCE customers struggling to meet payments can apply for a second three-month freeze or a cut, the Financial Conduct Authority has announced.

The organisation has said customers who are struggling with cash because of coronavirus and who haven’t applied for a payment holiday or asked for an extension can apply for one up to October 31.

Running in tandem will be a ban on repossessions until October 31, too.

The FCA says finance firms should contact customers coming to the end of the first payment freeze to establish whether they can continue with payments. If not, they should agree a plan on how missed payments can be made.

Christopher Woolard, pictured, interim chief executive of the FCA, said: ‘Our measures will ensure that people who are still facing temporary payment difficulties because of this pandemic continue to have access to the help they need.’

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36 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

TIME IS MONEY BEN GARSIDE

A MONTHLY LOOK AT THE WORLD OF AUTOMOTIVE FINANCE AND MARKETING

At times of crisis our focus is always on dealer support

O

Ben Garside is marketing manager for First Response.

Call him on 07817 518739 or email ben.garside@frfl.co.uk

ver the past few months First Response Finance has been doing whatever it can to support our motor dealer partners and customer base. Although there have been some tough decisions at all levels of the business, being active and communicating with our motor dealer partners seems to have been well received.

Our management board took the decision not to furlough our staff early on and instead decided to direct all employees to work from home. We knew that our customer requests would spike and our customer account management departments would need to be on hand to assist through these uncertain times of this pandemic. We were also aware that our underwriting, sales and many other department workloads could draw to a halt, but the decision was made to keep everyone mentally active and focus on other opportunities to utilise our employees.

As a sales and marketing team, we chose a number of projects and strategies to focus on.

A dealer communication strategy was a key undertaking at the start, and we spoke to a high proportion of our dealer partners to find out how they were and what they wanted/needed from us. We then drew up schedules on who needed to be communicated with and how often. This may seem normal, but we were told it wasn’t a common practice in the market.

We always focused on supporting our dealers in these calls. We were investigating the government schemes, then sharing advice and guidance with motor dealers, and on what help was available to them throughout the lockdown. We also provided timely information on how they could move forward once the opportunity arose.

Early on, we invested some time in finishing the development of our dealer portal and online processes, meaning we had a fully fledged digital process from end to end. This has allowed us to be operational throughout, providing a service to keyworkers due to the complete no-contact process. A key part of this no-contact service was providing awareness of what constitutes being ‘distance selling’ and what doesn’t, and this awareness has assisted many dealers in being able to trade legally.

Our head of sales has provided regular email updates, with the usual content being what we have discovered, what we’d sourced from an independent law firm, and offering support constantly. The key outcome has been the positive feedback provided directly to our head of sales from many motor dealers, thanking him for the continued support.

There were other areas where we assisted, supported and pushed forward to develop and evolve. All have been well received by the motor trade and we will continue down our eversupportive path. We have done whatever we could to help throughout the pandemic, just like we did in the financial crisis. Feel free to message me if you need our support.

98%

OF CUSTOMERS WOULD RECOMMEND FIRST RESPONSE

The key outcome has been the positive feedback provided directly to our head of sales, thanking him.

GET IN CONTACT TODAY. frfl.co.uk/car 0115 946 6260 enquiries@frfl.co.uk CarDealerMag.co.uk | 37

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Opportunities are always there so make sure you grab them

L

We’re now delivering our news up to the minute via our website, WhatsApp groups and emails.

ike everybody else out there right now, I’m desperately trying to make sense of things. For years, most things seemed certain – kids went to school, pubs served beer, that sort of thing – but that’s not really the case any more, is it?

Car dealers have had their worlds turned upside down – just as every other industry has – but among all that chaos and confusion, there have been many positives. There’s a saying that keeps getting bandied around that you should ‘never waste a crisis’ and I’m beginning to think whoever said that was right.

There’s always opportunity to be had, no matter how dark the days may seem. Without wanting to sound like one of those awful quotes some idiot posts on Instagram, it’s about keeping a positive state of mind and just getting on with it.

Let’s take Car Dealer Magazine as an example. My company has changed at an extraordinary pace as we’ve transitioned to a digital business in a matter of weeks.

When the lockdown was announced there was no way I could continue to send a printed magazine to dealerships that were closed – something that I’d done for more than a decade.

Instead, we needed to be where you were hunting for news – online on a far greater scale than we ever were. We’re now delivering our news up to the minute via our website, WhatsApp groups and emails.

It’s instant, engaging and direct. Of the 1.9m people who looked at our website in May, an incredible 1.7m of them were on their phones. We spotted that and have been working to improve the way we deliver content to mobiles ever since.

We could have rolled over and given up, but just like most car dealers I know, we dug deep, worked out a new way of doing things and got on with it.

We’re getting used to a whole new way of life now, just as you are. The biggest shift has been ditching our office to working from home. I’ve been running my business for 12 years now and many employees have asked me over that time if I’d allow them to work from home. I never let them, insisting that it was more important to be working as part of a team than from afar.

How wrong I was. I can honestly say I don’t think my team has ever been closer, yet been so far apart. We have a daily Zoom call every morning for a coffee, a catch-up and a chat about the day ahead. Everyone knows what everyone else is up to and can help where needed. We laugh, we joke and there’s a spirit of we’re in this together that has bound the team closer than ever before.

There’s a flip side to it too – we’re obviously saving the office costs. I intend to spend some of that on getting the team together in person for more social working lunches instead. While I love the fact that I can work from home and ‘meet’ four people in a day that would have taken me a week to do driving around the country, it isn’t half tiring – but that Zoom fatigue is another story altogether.

Car dealers I chat to have made huge changes to their businesses as well. From smaller teams to more focus on online sales, coronavirus has accelerated change at an extraordinary pace.

And it’s change I think is going to be with us for a very long time to come. I can’t help thinking that the Enjoy Summer Safely campaign and the reopening of shops and activities is the government’s chance to get some cash swilling around the country’s coffers again and give us the chance to enjoy some of life’s pleasures before a winter of worry, second surges and local lockdowns return to haunt us.

But do you know what? If coronavirus does come back with a vengeance – and there would be few who would bet against it – we’ll be far better prepared to deal with it, and you never know, there might be a few more opportunities out there to take advantage of, too.

Speaking out

COMMENT

JAMES BAGGOTT

AGAINST OUR BETTER JUDGMENT, WE LET THE CEO HAVE HIS SAY EACH MONTH James Baggott founded Car Dealer Magazine and is the 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.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 39

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

Who is Big Mike?

Well, that would be telling. What we can say is he’s had more than 40 years in the car trade so has probably forgotten more about it than we’re likely to know.

40 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

COMMENT

Percy the Punto is the perfect pleaser – I’ve no time for new Corsa

I

know I’m a grumpy old man and it’s my job to not accept new technology, but last week I had a back-to-back (and back-to-basics) experience that reminded me of why I’m quite happy to be a Luddite.

I’ve mentioned before in this column about my confusion around modern cars and their tendencies to bing, bong and beep at you, all the while detracting your attention from the road, but now I think I know why they do it. It is, in fact, to distract the driver from the car itself should some actual driving need doing, or certainly driving of the type that the car isn’t capable of itself (something which is, in itself, rapidly evolving).

For it seems that today’s cars are actually just giant entertainment centres, designed to suit a generation for whom ‘entertainment’ is spoon-fed rather than self-generated. The type who, if left alone in a room with no wi-fi, would die of instant boredom.

Last Tuesday, with business being quiet, I offered to help a mate in the new car trade who had a few motors that needed swapping between his three sites, one of which was a brandnew, all-singing, all-dancing Vauxhall Corsa – the very latest one that’s roughly the size of the Taj Mahal.

Now, I’m not one for knocking Corsas. I’ve been a car dealer for all of my working life and Corsa is one of a handful of nameplates that has always, without fail, chucked a few pennies into my retirement pot. For the past quarter of a century, a tidy Corsa has been great news for anyone in my end of the trade – easy to buy, easy to fix, easy to drive, easy to sell. Sure, they may have been as dull as my local during lockdown, but a mid-price, midspec Corsa was as easy to sell as magic cakes in Amsterdam.

The new Corsa, though, is a different kettle of fish altogether. If you’re interested in the latest tech, then it has probably got loads going for it. My mate did offer to show me how to make it mirror my smartphone, but to someone like me that just sounds like identity theft so I politely declined and then spent more time finding Radio 5 Live than I did driving the thing. Seventeen menu screens and I finally picked it up on DAB, although in fairness (as matey pointed out) if I’d just jabbed the ‘MW’ button in the middle of the stereo, life may have been a bit easier.

But I digress. I took the Corsa home overnight and my son’s girlfriend was all over it. Not only could it provide her with a smartphone mirror (I’m assuming to check her eyelashes in) but it also did something called a ‘sink’, which sent all hope of her keeping her eyes on the road down the plughole. Spotify, YouTube, Amazon Music, Deezer… you name it, she could make the car do it. Within 10 minutes, she had my driveway sounding like a nightclub and was Twittering away at her mates about how the hashtag Corsa was a hashtag cool thing, just the ticket for a 22-year-old lass about town. No doubt to the eternal delight of Vauxhall’s social media team.

In fairness, in a modern context it’s probably a decent bit of kit, although apparently you need £25k for a mid-spec Corsa these days and that’s way beyond my comprehension. Want one you can plug into the mains and you’ll need upwards of £30k.

But on me, its many features were lost completely. Instead, what I had custody of for 24 hours was a modern ‘supermini’ that was just 11cm shorter than the original Zafira and almost as tall, with naff-all suspension travel and an entertainment centre that was about as confusing as the government’s social distancing guidelines. If it didn’t need moving from one of my mate’s sites to another, I’d have given up and walked.

But there was a further incentive for me to help him out. I don’t need to tell you lot about how the motor trade is often fed by favours, many of which are done as much out of humour as they are out of goodwill, but my buddy had promised me a gift for my troubles and he knew it was one that I’d appreciate.

It was actually rather surprising, though, when I got to his main dealership to find not only half a dozen beers waiting for me but also a receptacle in which to carry them home

The entertainment centre was about as confusing as the government’s social distancing guidelines.

– the receptacle in question being a 1998 Fiat Punto ‘Team’, which was a special edition created to celebrate Italy’s mediocre performance in the France 1998 World Cup, in which they lost to the hosts in the quarter-finals.

Back then, I was a Fiat main dealer and the Punto to me was what the disco-dancing Corsa is to my mate today – the staple that gets folk through the door and unlocks your volume bonus, even if that did mean taking a load of crap colours and specs as part of a pre-reg deal. Or football-themed base models from a tournament that only the French really cared about.

This one had come to Tony as a part-exer via a not-reallyscrappage scheme that his local marketing manager had cooked up in order to convince local punters that they wouldn’t have stuck a couple of grand on the bonnet to get their custom anyway – and it was taking up space round the back.

Indeed, it’d have been on the scrap truck regardless, as the cost of putting it into the auction was greater than anything they’d have got back. But instead, there was an old motor trade mate to stitch up, one with a Fiat history. And anyway, it was far better than catching the bus. Plus, I didn’t have to wear a mask to drive it.

With the movement job completed, we said our goodbyes, managed to resist shaking hands (which is still a major struggle in the motor trade) and I drove back across the city in a car that the previous owner had christened ‘Percy the Punto’.

And do you know what? I didn’t need to even turn on the radio (a good job, really, as where the radio should have been was just a gaping chasm in the dash). There’s something about a little Italian car in an urban environment that makes such things superfluous, as the revs rise and fall charging from one set of lights to the next.

Not only was the entire driving experience engaging and ‘real’, but not once did I need a bing-bong-a-ding-dong to remind me that I ought to be paying more attention to the road – the 22-year-old braking system and absence of an airbag was plenty enough for that.

But more so, the car was actually fun. As much fun as I remember them being back in the Nineties, with a great chassis, lively steering and a slick gearbox that would happily snap between ratios as if I were forcing my way through Italian traffic rather than negotiating the Great Charles Street Queensway. When in Rome, etc…

I loved it. Indeed, I loved it so much that Percy never made it as far as the grubby part of my lot from which I punt out part-exes, known affectionately as Poo Corner. Instead, he’s currently in the local bodyshop having a scuffed-up wheel arch repainted, after which he’s going to live in a warm cosy garage alongside a few others that got under my skin over the years, and I’m currently scouring eBay for a period Fiat-branded radio-cassette. Tragic as it makes me, I’d have Percy over a new Corsa any day of the week…

Not once did I need a bing-bonga-ding-dong to remind me that I ought to be paying more attention to the road.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 41

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High-end caravans and campervans could lose their allure before long

O

We’d often go just an hour up the road where there were new places to carry our loo roll to prison-like outbuildings.

ne of my favourite episodes of The Simpsons includes a scene where Homer buys Marge a bowling ball with his initials for her birthday. We have all done it: the telly that is a 48-inch instead of a 32-inch, or trying to convince the wife that the spare room really needs a snooker table or dartboard. It also reminds me of the time my dad came home with a Fiat Amigo campervan to try to tempt my mum into the world of camping and caravanning. For those who don’t know, the Amigo wasn’t like the five-star Talbot Express Autosleepers that were popular at the time, it was more the seedy b&b with cold and cold running water.

Luckily, my dad owned a garage so had a way to dispose of it once my mum had given him the option of the Amigo as his lone permanent residence. He had sown the seed, though...

A couple of years later, both parents came to pick me up from my grandparents in what could only be described as a dead giveaway to a life with a new caravan: a Volvo 740 GLE estate with a gleaming new tow bar.

My sister and I enjoyed our caravan holidays. In addition to the schleps to damp parts of the north Wales countryside, we’d often go just an hour up the road where there were new places to make friends, ride our bikes and carry our loo roll to prison-like outbuildings.

That love hasn’t endured into adulthood. An Airbnb doesn’t see me battle unrestricted foreign lorry drivers on the motorway or look for a space in Tesco that is big enough to berth the QE2. But it seems I am unique, especially in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

Not only has there been a huge growth in caravan and campervan sales, it appears to be the case that any old plumber’s VW Transporter with a valid MOT gets the conversion treatment. I guess it isn’t surprising that people are reluctant to travel to foreign lands at the moment and are seeking a different kind of holiday, but it is surprising to see the kind of money they spend on these things – a quick look on eBay and you’ll still find the Talbots of the ’80s and early ’90s making well over £5k.

In a world where my LinkedIn is awash with motor trade professionals looking for jobs, it is great to see a segment of the industry that is flourishing. As I wrote last month, it feels as though anyone with savings or a secure job is looking for some form of escapism from the pandemic. However, I would be wary of dropping £50k on a VW California just now.

Many experts are predicting some kind of coronavirus vaccine to be developed and distributed by the summer of next year, and there will be some amazing deals on foreign holidays and flights if that happens. Given that the novelty of camping and caravanning can soon wear off, it is possible there will be a huge number of vehicles coming on to the market next year and prices could take a tumble. This is especially true of the expensive vehicles that are probably being bought by those used to living it up in Mediterranean villas over the summer.

So, if you are someone who has a hankering to wash your dishes in a communal sink, or if you enjoy laughing at others attempting to stop their hastily erected awning from blowing off the cliff edge, may I suggest you look for a Fiat Amigo that won’t cost you the earth and might bring you to your senses?

Trader Tales

COMMENT

JAMES LITTON

CASTING AN EXPERIENCED EYE ON THE WIDE AND CHALLENGING WORLD OF MOTOR SALES

James Litton is an automotive retail consultant who always has something to say about the industry he loves.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 43

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ADVICE

WARNING

Have people used the pandemic to carry out fraud at your dealership?

James Batchelor finds out about economic crime in showrooms.

N

o-one would disagree that Covid-19 is having a hugely damaging effect on the automotive industry.

But along with showroom closures, job losses and reduced cashflow, dealers also have to be wary of fraud.

That’s the advice from chartered accountants and business advisers UHY Hacker Young, who have warned of a fresh wave of fraud and other economic crime arising from coronavirus – and the effects are so damaging they may last for years.

The automotive industry has one of the highest percentage of frauds committed by insiders, says the firm.

In April, dealer group Lookers announced that it was expanding its internal fraud investigations to its entire business.

Initial findings from one of its operating divisions resulted in an expected one-off charge of more than £4m in its 2019 financial results.

By the end of June, the investigation had revealed a £19m issue in the accounts.

UHY Hacker Young’s David Kendrick, who is head of corporate finance and chairman of UHY’s national automotive group, said: ‘This just illustrates how allegations of fraud, previously undetected, emerge from the shadows and can result in an eye-watering black hole.’

Highlighting the need to remain alert to current risks, Kendrick said: ‘You may wonder why, at your pre-year-end audit planning meeting, your auditor queries whether there have been any instances of fraud during the year.

‘It might seem a completely irrelevant question and one that has nothing to do with the audit, but ask yourself this: are your systems and controls robust enough to deter fraud?

‘Would you know if your employees were pulling a fast one, or your supplier was really Car they dealer strip ad Revised 4/4/18 12:01 Page 1 who said new they were?’

Types of fraud to be aware of: • Profit manipulation • Cash and credit card sales • Cooking the books • Backhanders • Supplier fraud • Cybercrime As a minimum, UHY Hacker Young recommends a dealer: • Reviews the strength of financial controls, internal processes and guidelines • Reminds employees of existing company policies about conduct and the acceptable use of company systems, devices and information • Puts measures in place to identify unusual behaviour, eg, enhanced monitoring or retrospective reviews of high-risk transactions • Warns staff that cyber criminals may exploit the current turmoil to increase phishing attacks • Reviews cyber liability insurance and understands how it will respond in potentially harmful situations • Discusses automotive retail fraud risks with their auditor during the audit planning meeting to ensure key risks are identified and responded to

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ADVICE

ONLINE TRADING

Facebook gives its top tips for selling your used cars via Marketplace F

acebook Marketplace’s popularity with car buyers is growing increasingly, and car dealers are discovering that it’s a powerful tool in their advertising arsenal.

Dealers can list cars free of charge on the site – with the help of a Marketplace partner – and with the ability to talk to customers directly via Messenger it’s a great way to do business.

Facebook says: ‘Marketplace is a dedicated discovery and search experience on Facebook designed to help millions of people find their next vehicle.

‘You can list your inventory where people are already shopping for cars, at no extra cost.’

For car dealers looking to take advantage of the platform, we’ve worked with the Facebook team to create this top 10 list of tips to get the most out of Marketplace.

1

Upload listings correctly

To maximise your presence on Marketplace, you need to send 100 per cent of your used vehicle inventory, across all price points, to the platform. You can list certified pre-owned and pre-registered vehicles, including cars, trucks, motorcycles, commercial vehicles, boats, powersport vehicles, RVs, plus campervans and trailers.

2

Provide clear vehicle descriptions

Give a clear and complete vehicle description – ideally 100 to 150 words – and include details of any vehicle damage. Highlight special features or equipment, from power steering to in-car satellite navigation, as all are crucial to attracting buyers.

3

Use high-quality images – and lots of them

Provide as many high-quality photos as possible (minimum 960 x 720px resolution).

Listings with 15 to 20 photos tend to perform well, and you need a minimum of two (and a maximum of 50) images. Include photos of the front three-quarters angle, cockpit, side and back, interior, engine, wheels, plus any dents, dings or excessive wear. Don’t add overlays or graphics.

4

Keep your inventory up to date

It’s important to keep your inventory up to date so that accurate vehicle information appears on Marketplace. Listing partners can create automatic feed uploads (setting a daily, hourly or weekly upload schedule).

46 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Marketplace is a dedicated discovery and search experience on Facebook designed to help millions of people find their next vehicle.

Facebook

Messaging has an important part to play as calls fall out of favour

5

Use Messenger to connect with customers

Messenger is an instant messaging platform built into your dealership’s Facebook page.

Interested buyers can contact you directly to ask questions, get more information about a vehicle and schedule a test drive in seconds. You can also choose to use the built-in lead form on Marketplace.

6

Select one listing partner

Working with one listing partner will enable you to attribute Marketplace to the correct provider and accurately measure performance. Car dealers in the UK can work with any one of the providers listed here to get their cars on the platform – while listing is free, they may charge you for value added services. Click here to find them.

7

Update your Facebook page

Your Facebook page is your digital shopfront and should be kept up to date and engaging, with accurate and current contact details.

8

Keep communications short and sweet

People expect businesses to respond quickly (within a maximum of 24 hours) and to provide timely updates. Communicate key points succinctly and early on in your message, as this aligns with people’s expectations for messaging as a channel and enhances readability. Short messages can be read clearly in message previews.

9

Consider using a chatbot

It’s highly recommended that you use a third-party chat provider to help you manage messages from people interested in the vehicle listings that they see on Marketplace.

10

Get started sooner rather than later

To start listing on Marketplace, find a local listing partner or build a direct integration by emailing commerce-partnerships@fb.com.

GIVING customers the ability to message your dealership in the same way they’d message their friends can radically improve your sales.

Facebook has found more than half of buyers prefer messages to phone calls and it has investigated the dramatic change that being able to directly message showrooms can have on business.

Using WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger or Instagram direct messaging gives buyers an ‘emotional and authentic’ connection with your dealership and the purchase.

In a webinar for car dealers and the automotive industry, the social media giant said it had found that 65 per cent of millennials and 63 per cent of baby boomers preferred messaging a dealership than calling it.

Facebook’s Will Evans told the audience that using messaging as a key part of customer engagement was crucial for car dealers and that it was the ‘closest brands can get to their customers’.

He said: ‘Messaging can help get more buyers through the buying channel faster.’

WhatsApp is used by 1.5bn people in 180 countries and has an incredible 1bn active users every single day.

Messenger is used by 1.3bn people, with 10bn messages sent by businesses and people a month.

Evans said dealers and car manufacturers were increasingly using messaging to stay in touch with customers, adding that automatic replies were useful.

How fast replies are sent can be a key deciding factor for buyers. Facebook offers automated replies to help cope with high demand.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 47

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So now you’re never far away from great service, expert product advice, unrivalled technical know-how and the use of the latest technology to ensure you get the right parts when you need them. As well as exclusive promotions and offers to save you money.

For more information and to find your nearest PartsPlus Centre visit: PartsPlusUK.com 48 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

ADVICE

Flexible furlough – how different is it?

LEGAL UPDATE

Giving clarity to dealers after confusing messages from the government Flexible furlough, redundancy plus other issues addressed by Lawgistics.

C

onfusion is still rife following the government’s announcement about the £1,000 furlough bonus – and it’s even got legal experts scratching their heads!

Rishi Sunak announced the move in his summer statement, as reported by Car Dealer, saying that businesses bringing back furloughed staff would be paid a £1,000 bonus per employee. Appearing on Car Dealer Live on July 13, Lawgistics legal adviser Nona Bowkis was asked by host James Batchelor what it meant for dealers.

‘As ever, we don’t really know yet. It’s the headlines. People will walk back from furlough and remain in employment through until January. Employers are going to get a £1,000 “Brucie bonus” for doing that [but] we don’t know if that will include people that are already back from furlough or people that are brought back in October when the furlough scheme comes to an end.

‘They’ve said that it will be towards the end of July before we get any details. But it’s interesting that there are already some companies saying “We don’t want this”, because I think generally people have thought “We don’t see the point of this. We don’t really see the benefit.” ‘Maybe now the government has seen the reaction wasn’t particularly positive they will just change that.’

As she said: ‘Would you keep someone on because you’re going to get a thousand pounds in January when you’ve got to pay them through November, December and January?’

Joining her on the show was fellow Lawgistics legal adviser Kiril Moskovchuk, who answered other queries that were put forward.

KIRIL Moskovchuk clarified that any work done under the flexible furlough scheme had to be paid at the national minimum wage level, so if the basic pay falls below that, the employer has to top it up to at least the national minimum.

Annual leave rules under flexible furlough hadn’t changed much, though, with leave still accruing normally. The only difference is that under flexible furlough, annual leave should be counted as furlough hours.

What if someone refuses to return?

NONA Bowkis was unequivocal about this, saying: ‘At the end of the day you’re employed, that’s your contract, and you’ve got to work.’

She said there may have been reasons earlier, such as childcare, but they weren’t valid now. If someone continued to refuse to return, it could mean disciplinary action – or having to be asked if they were leaving. But she advised bosses to talk to Lawgistics first if it got to that stage.

Notice pay and redundancy

Going out on test drives

Face coverings in retail settings

Can dealers carry on in local lockdowns?

BOSSES must distinguish between notice pay and payment in lieu of notice, the latter of which can’t be claimed via furlough.

Redundancy pay must be at the pre-furlough rate for the last 12 weeks they were working and can’t come out of furlough either, it must be from company funds. A calculator to work out what to pay is on the gov.uk website. People employed for under two years aren’t entitled to redundancy pay.

ACCOMPANIED test drives are allowed once again and Lawgistics is recommending that face masks should be worn – but definitely not face shields, in case the airbag goes off.

It’s down to the individual sales staff member to decide if they want to wear a face covering or not. Having the window open where possible is recommended, but the use of recirculated air is a no-no.

Thorough cleaning after a test drive is also a necessity.

CUSTOMERS have had to wear face coverings in shops since July 10 in Scotland and must do so from July 24 in England, although some people are exempt from it.

Employees aren’t expected to enforce it – that’ll be down to the police. The government advises staff to wear face masks, but it isn’t mandatory.

ALTHOUGH Leicester’s is now being eased, once again there had been confusion at the outset from the government, which had said that all nonessential retail had to shut from June 30. The leicester.gov.uk website, in fact, clearly states that car showrooms could continue to operate.

‘Each lockdown would probably have slightly different rules,’ said Bowkis. ‘The devil is in the detail as with everything in law really.’

This panel was written following the Car Dealer Live broadcast, following new rules for England

Information here is correct at the time of publication but in the current climate may change at any time.

For the latest updates, visit our website at cardealermagazine.co.uk and gov.uk/coronavirus CarDealerMag.co.uk | 49

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ADVICE SALES PROCESS

Are car dealers offering test drives on new and used cars from home and if not how can they do it?

James Batchelor explains another new side of retail.

F

Why offer home test drives?

How does it actually work?

What’s the best way to go about it?

CUSTOMERS want them – it’s that straightforward. One manufacturer boss told Car Dealer recently the lockdown had made the automotive industry jump forward by two years in the digital arena – and home test drives are a key part of that transformation.

Many customers already expect car dealers to operate the same way as any other industry, and that expectation level is only going to get stronger in the years ahead.

IT’S basically a case of driving a demonstrator to the customer’s house, waiting for them to take it for a drive, then taking it back to the showroom.

There’s a bit more to it than that, which we discuss elsewhere in this feature, but essentially it’s simply taking the test drive to the customer rather than relying on that customer, with whom you’ve chatted on the phone, to come into the dealership off their own back. If anything, it’s sealing the deal.

HAVE a feature built into your website, much like those you’ve had to integrate already such as live chat or request a call back.

Dealer group Sandicliffe has a booking form on its website allowing customers to take a home test drive, but it can simply be a case of offering it to the customer while you’re talking to them.

Lastly, tell customers in all your advertising and social media that you offer the service – it’s a great marketing line.

How often should they be offered?

Have there been any success stories?

How safe is this type of test drive?

What happens after a home test drive?

HOME test drives are a great selling tool but we’re not stupid.

Offering home test drives to every customer who expresses an interest could soon rack up a lot of expenses, in some cases for little gain.

There’s the time out of the showroom for the sales person to start off with, along with a number of other factors.

However, qualifying the customers should sort the wheat from the chaff and ensure optimum use.

THERE have indeed! Holdcroft Nissan has had great success in offering door-to-door test drives. During the height of the coronavirus pandemic, Holdcroft’s sales people would qualify the customer then drive the car to their home and, because of Covid-19 regulations, leave the keys and a video on a tablet showing the car’s key controls.

Holdcroft normally allows customers a test drive that lasts an hour or overnight.

IN MANY ways, home test drives are as safe as normal test drives in that you’re entrusting a car with a customer whose driving style you’re likely to be unsure of.

Again, a lot of this comes down to a thorough qualifying of the customer before the test drive is offered or allowed.

Remember to make sure you follow your Covid-19secure cleaning regimes before and after each test drive for everyone’s peace of mind.

BEFORE the sales person takes the car back to the showroom is a good time to find out whether the customer likes the car. If they’re not so sure about that particular model or spec, you can offer another test drive in a more suitable version.

It may be they couldn’t pair their phone with the Bluetooth, for example, so you can send them a video explaining it.

Essentially, as always it’s about listening and giving the best customer experience.

rom click-and-collect to end-to-end online car sales, the past six months have seen a sea change in the way dealers have to do business.

One of those new methods of selling is door-to-door test drives or home test drives.

Only a small proportion of dealers are offering them, but the ones who are doing it are reaping the rewards of satisfied customers and potentially winning their business for years to come.

Here’s our guide on how car dealers are offering home test drives.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 51

DATA FILE

STATISTICS

SMMT

SALES DATA

THE LATEST REGISTRATION FIGURES

JUNE/YEAR TO DATE

TOP

GRADUAL REOPENING

Decline slows as dealers begin the return to work

THE CARS SOLD IN JUNE 2020

by James Batchelor james.batchelor@blackballmedia.co.uk

N

ew car registrations fell 34.9 per cent in June, latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reveal. A total of 145,377 cars were registered in the month – petrols were down 39.9 per cent, diesels fell 59.8 per cent while sales of pure electric cars jumped 261.8 per cent.

The Vauxhall Corsa was the best-selling car in the month with 4,528 registrations, followed by the Ford Fiesta (4,386) while in a surprising third was the Toyota Yaris (4,200).

May and April’s best-seller, the Tesla Model 3, slipped back to ninth place but it was the only electric car in the chart.

Meanwhile, the Ford Fiesta continues to lead in the year-to-date charts with 21,098 registrations, followed by the Ford Focus (18,145) and the Volkswagen Golf (17,889).

June marked the first full month of dealers being back to work, but only in England.

Dealers in Northern Ireland, Wales and very recently Scotland reopened their businesses during the month, but not on June 1 as did England.

While the figures are down year-on-year, June recorded the smallest fall since March’s 44 per cent. April saw a drop of 97 per cent and May’s figures were down by 89 per cent.

Commenting on the June figures, SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: ‘While it’s welcome to see demand rise above the rock-bottom levels we saw during lockdown, this is not a recovery and barely a restart. Many of June’s registrations could be attributed to customers finally being able to collect their pre-pandemic orders, and appetite for significant spending remains questionable.

‘The government must boost the economy, help customers feel safer in their jobs and in their spending and give businesses the confidence to invest in their fleets. Otherwise it runs the risk of losing billions more in revenue from this critical sector at a time when the public purse needs it more than ever.’

Model

Regs

Vauxhall Corsa

4,528

Ford Fiesta

4,386

Toyota Yaris

4,200

Ford Focus

3,551

Mini

3,400

Volkswagen Golf

3,042

Mercedes-Benz A Class

2,889

Nissan Qashqai

2,821

Tesla Model 3

2,517

Volkswagen Tiguan

2,494

REACTION

Profitability expert hails ‘strong performance’

ASE Global chairman Mike Jones 52 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

ASE Global’s Mike Jones called June’s overall fall in registrations ‘a strong performance’ since showrooms were only allowed to reopen at the beginning of the month.

The dealer profitability specialist chairman said: ‘The retail drop, at 20 per cent, shows that customer demand was strong, with fleets and leasing companies taking longer to recommence ordering. Overall performance was further boosted by strong used car sales, where sales for most retailers significantly outperformed 2019. Being a quarter-end month, we’d normally expect a sizeable level of tactical registrations at the end of the month. This was undoubtedly significantly lower this year, making up over 10 per cent less of the total for the month than in the prior year, as less than half the volume of vehicles registered in the last two days of the month in 2019 were registered in the last two days of June 2020.’

Van registrations LCV news: p54

-29%

+88%

DACIA

MG

Figures supplied by SMMT

June 2020 Marque

2020

June 2019

% market share

2019

Year-to-date

% market share

% change

2020

% market share

2019

% market share

% change

Abarth

212

0.15

258

0.12

-17.83

914

0.14

1,887

0.15

-51.56

Alfa Romeo

234

0.16

329

0.15

-28.88

940

0.14

1,862

0.15

-49.52

16

0.01

20

0.01

-20.00

57

0.01

85

0.01

-32.94

8,099

5.57

14,208

6.36

-43.00

40,405

6.18

81,129

6.39

-50.20

102

0.07

94

0.04

8.51

531

0.08

812

0.06

-34.61

10,635

7.32

19,985

8.94

-46.79

46,580

7.13

90,021

7.09

-48.26

Alpine Audi Bentley BMW Chevrolet

0

0.00

5

0.00

0.00

0

0.00

21

0.00

0.00

Citroen

2,067

1.42

4,015

1.80

-48.52

11,617

1.78

29,422

2.32

-60.52

Dacia

2,093

1.44

2,935

1.31

-28.69

7,433

1.14

18,568

1.46

-59.97

DS

153

0.11

351

0.16

-56.41

918

0.14

1,831

0.14

-49.86

Fiat

1,818

1.25

2,404

1.08

-24.38

8,328

1.27

17,749

1.40

-53.08

13,622

9.37

22,049

9.87

-38.22

59,874

9.16

127,789

10.07

-53.15

Ford Honda

1,617

1.11

3,854

1.72

-58.04

11,439

1.75

25,079

1.98

-54.39

Hyundai

3,643

2.51

7,803

3.49

-53.31

17,701

2.71

45,916

3.62

-61.45

Infiniti

0

0.00

40

0.02

0.00

0

0.00

203

0.02

0.00

Jaguar

1,712

1.18

2,938

1.32

-41.73

10,551

1.61

19,748

1.56

-46.57

437

0.30

582

0.26

-24.91

1,532

0.23

3,237

0.26

-52.67

Kia

5,501

3.78

8,527

3.82

-35.49

28,970

4.43

53,232

4.19

-45.58

Land Rover

4,691

3.23

6,495

2.91

-27.78

25,624

3.92

42,092

3.32

-39.12

Lexus

1,359

0.93

1,199

0.54

13.34

5,971

0.91

7,432

0.59

-19.66

50

0.03

84

0.04

-40.48

239

0.04

534

0.04

-55.24

1,464

1.01

3,731

1.67

-60.76

8,746

1.34

21,443

1.69

-59.21

Mercedes-Benz

9,569

6.58

14,947

6.69

-35.98

45,683

6.99

92,990

7.33

-50.87

MG

2,025

1.39

1,078

0.48

87.85

7,712

1.18

6,286

0.50

22.69

Mini

4,921

3.38

8,662

3.88

-43.19

18,276

2.80

33,250

2.62

-45.03

Jeep

Maserati Mazda

Mitsubishi

771

0.53

1,483

0.66

-48.01

4,708

0.72

9,784

0.77

-51.88

Nissan

5,884

4.05

9,247

4.14

-36.37

30,109

4.61

52,743

4.16

-42.91

Peugeot

5,168

3.55

7,313

3.27

-29.33

21,450

3.28

44,344

3.49

-51.63

Polestar

0

0.00

0

0.00

0.00

0

0.00

0

0.00

0.00

Porsche

1,056

0.73

1,054

0.47

0.19

4,073

0.62

6,785

0.53

-39.97

Renault

4,720

3.25

6,094

2.73

-22.55

15,269

2.34

32,113

2.53

-52.45

Seat

4,090

2.81

6,790

3.04

-39.76

20,267

3.10

37,778

2.98

-46.35

Skoda

5,272

3.63

7,361

3.29

-28.38

23,112

3.54

41,264

3.25

-43.99

Smart

146

0.10

522

0.23

-72.03

426

0.07

3,142

0.25

-86.44

SsangYong

-38.57

159

0.11

122

0.05

30.33

669

0.10

1,089

0.09

Subaru

44

0.03

244

0.11

-81.97

306

0.05

1,363

0.11

-77.55

Suzuki

1,431

0.98

3,159

1.41

-54.70

7,813

1.20

20,337

1.60

-61.58

Toyota

11,709

8.05

11,398

5.10

2.73

39,360

6.02

56,684

4.47

-30.56

9,104

6.26

15,540

6.96

-41.42

37,576

5.75

94,564

7.45

-60.26

Volkswagen

12,431

8.55

20,474

9.16

-39.28

58,933

9.02

110,891

8.74

-46.86

Volvo

4,374

3.01

5,260

2.35

-16.84

17,698

2.71

29,989

2.36

-40.99

140

0.10

248

0.11

-43.55

860

0.13

1,585

0.12

-45.74

2,838

1.95

519

0.23

446.82

10,832

1.66

2,172

0.17

398.71

145,377

100

223,421

100

-34.93

653,502

100

1,269,245

100

-48.51

Vauxhall

Other British Other imports Total

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 53

DATA FILE

JUNE 2020

LCV NEWS

Van market shrinks as the lockdown is eased

by John Bowman john@blackballmedia.co.uk THE UK new light commercial vehicle market fell by 24.8 per cent to 30,041 in June against 2019’s figure, as lockdown measures eased and businesses began to return to work, according to the latest SMMT figures. It was a big improvement on May’s 74.1 per cent drop in registrations to 7,541 but, said the SMMT, illustrated a weak demand given that the sector was effectively shuttered for nearly three months.

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: ‘We are still a long way off normal. The pandemic has stalled all but a few essential businesses, and those restarting now are doing so at a reduced pace to ensure the safety of their employees and in response to a cautious buyer appetite.’

REGISTRATIONS OF NEW COMMERCIAL VEHICLES LESS THAN 3.5 TONNES Marque

Ford Mercedes Vauxhall Citroen Volkswagen Peugeot Nissan Renault Toyota Fiat Mitsubishu Isuzu Land Rover Iveco MAN Renault Trucks LDV Isuzu Trucks SsangYong Fuso Hyundai Total light CV

Figures supplied by SMMT

June 2020

2020

11,203 3,155 2,994 2,846 2,740 2,098 1,277 1,075 736 585 359 212 157 150 144 117 89 64 23 17 0 30,041

% market share

37.29 10.50 9.97 9.47 9.12 6.98 4.25 3.58 2.45 1.95 1.20 0.71 0.52 0.50 0.48 0.39 0.30 0.21 0.08 0.06 0.00 100.00

June 2019

2019

14,193 4,239 3,195 3,116 4,421 3,104 1,121 2,714 475 965 1,034 442 171 206 172 130 66 70 72 20 3 39,929

% market share

% change

35.55 10.62 8.00 7.80 11.07 7.77 2.81 6.80 1.19 2.42 2.59 1.11 0.43 0.52 0.43 0.33 0.17 0.18 0.18 0.05 0.01 100.00

-21.07 -25.57 -6.29 -8.66 -38.02 -32.41 13.92 -60.39 54.95 -39.38 -65.28 -52.04 -8.19 -27.18 -16.28 -10.00 34.85 -8.57 -68.06 -15.00 0.00 -24.76

2020

36,044 11,171 11,015 9,054 10,327 10,008 4,321 3,780 3,203 2,681 1,917 1,566 561 1,116 607 512 375 390 149 79 0 108,876

Year-to-date

% market share

33.11 10.26 10.12 8.32 9.49 9.19 3.97 3.47 2.94 2.46 1.76 1.44 0.52 1.03 0.56 0.47 0.34 0.36 0.14 0.07 0.00 100.00

2019

65,788 18,368 16,215 15,153 22,636 17,977 6,631 10,779 4,230 5,182 6,287 2,290 770 1,447 737 722 269 407 370 102 58 196,418

REGISTRATIONS OF NEW COMMERCIAL VEHICLES 3.5 TONNES TO 6.0 TONNES Marque

Fiat Mercedes Ford Peugeot Iveco Volkswagen Renault Citroen MAN Vauxhall Other imports Isuzu Trucks Nissan Renault Trucks Total heavy CV

June 2020

2020

87 63 60 43 24 8 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 291

54 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

% market share

29.90 21.65 20.62 14.78 8.25 2.75 1.03 0.34 0.34 0.34 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 100.00

June 2019

2019

169 178 23 255 55 15 13 20 35 36 0 1 1 1 802

% market share

% change

21.07 22.19 2.87 31.80 6.86 1.87 1.62 2.49 4.36 4.49 0.00 0.12 0.12 0.12 100.00

-48.52 -64.61 160.87 -83.14 -56.36 -46.67 -76.92 -95.00 -97.14 -97.22 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -63.72

2020

550 694 498 530 87 64 6 86 25 4 10 2 0 0 2,556

21.52 27.15 19.48 20.74 3.40 2.50 0.23 3.36 0.98 0.16 0.39 0.08 0.00 0.00 100.00

% change

33.49 9.35 8.26 7.71 11.52 9.15 3.38 5.49 2.15 2.64 3.20 1.17 0.39 0.74 0.38 0.37 0.14 0.21 0.19 0.05 0.03 100.00

-45.21 -39.18 -32.07 -40.25 -54.38 -44.33 -34.84 -64.93 -24.28 -48.26 -69.51 -31.62 -27.14 -22.87 -17.64 -29.09 39.41 -4.18 -59.73 -22.55 0.00 -44.57

Figures supplied by SMMT

Year-to-date

% market share

% market share

2019

1,019 873 107 1,177 299 34 48 90 57 118 0 9 1 5 3,837

% market share

% change

26.56 22.75 2.79 30.68 7.79 0.89 1.25 2.35 1.49 3.08 0.00 0.23 0.03 0.13 100.00

-46.03 -20.50 365.42 -54.97 -70.90 88.24 -87.50 -4.44 -56.14 -96.61 0.00 -77.78 0.00 0.00 -33.39

Figures supplied by SMMT

Gallagher Automotive Specialist Insurance for the Motor Trade Experience is key - and you need a specialist insurance broker who’ll take the time to understand the specific needs of your motor trade operation.

ARTUK435108998 GST-236330647

The Gallagher Automotive Insurance Team has been helping to protect businesses across the UK for over 50 years - from independent repairers and small family firms to the largest franchise dealerships.

Get in touch to discover how we can help your business.

Would you like to talk?

T: +44 (0) 800 612 2284 E: automotive_enquiries@ajg.com www.ajg.com/uk

Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered Office: Spectrum Building, 7th Floor, 55, Blythswood Street, Glasgow, G2 7AT. Registered in Scotland. Company Number: SC108909. FP1451–2019 Exp. 13/12/2020.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 55

FOCUS ON V12 Vehicle Finance

Register your interest here or find out more at V12VF.co.uk

There’s a new power partnership in used car finance

V

12 Vehicle Finance and City Auction Group have joined forces to help dealers across the UK source, fund and finance used vehicles fast.

Working in tandem with its strategic partners, V12 Vehicle Finance strengthens operational efficiencies for independent and franchised dealers through a range of unique products, services and straightforward solutions.

A newcomer to the automotive finance industry, V12’s powerful hub combines vehicle valuation, dealer stock funding, auction services and customer financing for prime and near-prime markets helping businesses to shift into top gear.

No catch. No jargon. No hidden clauses. Just hassle-free, honest financial solutions tailored to your customers’ and business needs.

Powered by Secure Trust Bank, V12 is set to drive City Auction Group to success, providing cutting-edge technology-led used vehicle

propositions, ensuring that dealers and their customers can purchase and finance vehicles how, when and where they want.

At the forefront of auction services for more than 25 years, with three state-of-the-art auction centres located in Belfast, Omagh and Rockingham, City Auction Group has maintained an outstanding reputation.

Joining physical auctions with an outstanding online auction platform, City offers users maximum exposure for the best return possible.

Looking to take its business to the next level, City Auction Group – armed with V12’s game-changing financial backing and stability – is set to transform its auction services by providing rapid funding and advanced stock sourcing, while significantly reducing customer costs. A winwin situation all round.

With a customer-first approach, dealers will now be able to quickly locate the best stock through the auction group’s network of physical and digital channels, including a new, userfriendly app pioneered by V12’s forward-thinking technology-led solutions.

The power partnership will see City Auction Group provide seamless, advanced physical and online professional vehicle and asset remarketing solutions to major corporate clients globally.

Add a whole new level of speed and strength to your dealership with V12 Vehicle Finance’s swift pricing, products, propositions and services – the future of used vehicle finance.

Find out what your business can really achieve with V12 Vehicle Finance’s leading-edge solutions.

David Mercer, managing director of V12 Vehicle Finance

To find out where your nearest auction house is located click here

20

THERE IS A NEW POWER PARTNERSHIP IN USED CAR FINANCE

40 60 80 100

V12 Vehicle Finance is a trading name of Secure Trust Bank PLC. Registered in England and Wales 541132. Registered Office: One Arleston Way, Solihull, B90 4LH. Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Our registration number is 204550. Used Vehicle Stocking provided by V12 Vehicle Finance is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority or the Prudential Regulation Authority.

56 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

V12 Vehicle Finance and City Auction Group have joined forces to help dealers source, fund and finance quickly, so you can locate the best stock and fund through us.

Looking to drive your business forward? Look no further: V12VF.co.uk

DATA FILE

SUPPLIERS GUIDE

LOOKING FOR A MOTOR TRADE SUPPLIER? YOU CAN FIND THE DETAILS OF SELECTED COMPANIES HERE Auctions & Trade-To-Trade Sales

Finance

Legal & Compliance

Vehicle Photography

Warranty Providers

BCA

Forza Finance

Lawgistics

Dealer 360

Warranty Administration Services

W: bca.co.uk T: 0344 875 3480 E: customerservices@bca.com Info: BCA’s remarketing programmes deliver volume, choice and availability for buyers, and speed, efficiency and market-leading returns for sellers.

W: forzafinance.co.uk T: 01245 245678 Info: Benefit from Forza Finance’s expertise, choice of products and lenders. Their personal approach will help you achieve higher levels of finance penetration and, ultimately, sell more cars.

W: lawgistics.co.uk T: 01480 455500 E: sales@lawgistics.co.uk Info: The legal experts for the motor trade, giving advice and support to our industry for over 15 years. Not anti-consumer, just pro-trader.

W: dealer360.co.uk T: 01270 780855 E: nicky.spratt@ukturntables.com Info: UK makers of photo booths incorporating our turntables for car, van and motorcycle dealers. Our software controls turntable and cameras – a onestop solution.

W: warrantyadmin.co.uk T: 01522 515600 E: tellmemore@warrantyadmin.co.uk Info: Unlock new profit and aftersales flexibility with Crystal Clear Warranty.

Ideal for franchised dealers, groups and independents.

Automotive Ecommerce

HR & People Management

Marketing, PR & Video

Vehicle Tracking

Warranty Providers

GForces

HR Manager

OnCue Communications

Meta Trak

Warrantywise

Data

Key Control

Marketing, PR & Video

Warranty Providers

These Listings Work!

Real World Analytics

Keytracker

Marketing Delivery

Autoprotect

W: gforces.co.uk T: 01622 391904 Info: GForces delivers class-leading ecommerce solutions. We work with global vehicle manufacturers, the world’s largest dealer groups and independent retailers around the planet.

W: realworldanalytics.com T: 0808 1890 617 E: auto@realworldanalytics.com Info: We are a SaaS-based data analytics solution provider for multisite dealers. Our business intelligence tools help customers make faster and better decisions.

W: hrmanager.co.uk T: 01480 455500 E: info@hrmanager.co.uk Info: HR Manager is Lawgistics’ new digital compliance portal designed to assist employers in managing their legal obligations, responsibilities and duties.

W: keytracker.com T: 0121 559 9000 E: sales@keytracker.com Info: Established in 1996 and based in the UK, Keytracker Ltd provide an extensive range of key and asset management systems for a wide range of businesses.

W: oncuecomms.com T: 020 8125 3880 Info: We are a leading provider of PR, video and events services to the automotive industry. The PR team has a proven track record of securing high-value, big-impact media coverage.

W: marketingdelivery.co.uk/ T: 01892 599911 E: get.in.touch@marketingdelivery.co.uk Info: Our SocialStock helps target prospects with tailored stock remarketing and social media advertising tools, and automated lead capture for Facebook.

W: metatrak.co.uk T: 020 8867 2340 E: enquiries@metatrak.co.uk Info: Total vehicle security. Clever tracking technology, advanced immobilisation, 24/7 monitoring and an easy-to-use app. Security. Connectivity.

Peace of mind.

W: warrantywise.co.uk/dealer T: 0800 001 4551 E: dealers@warrantywise.co.uk Info: Warrantywise sells over 100,000 warranties per year.

Quentin Willson personally designed Warrantywise to be the UK’s best used car warranty.

More Sales For You

W: autoprotect.co.uk

T: 01279 406888 E: sales@autoprotect.net Info: AutoProtect offers a full portfolio of award-winning protection products, including GAP. We lead the market with an ‘Excellent’ rating on Trustpilot.

W: Your website address T: 020 8125 3880 (that’s us!)

E: sales@blackballmedia.co.uk Info: The Suppliers Guide lets dealers find the companies they need to help them with their business. Make sure you’re here. Contact us via the above number or email address.

Finance

Key Control

Oil & Lubricants

Warranty Providers

Warranty Providers

Blue Motor Finance

Traka

Mobil™

Car Care Plan

WMS

Finance

Lead Management

Recruitment

These Listings Work!

Website Design & Digital Marketing

Close Brothers Motor Finance

GardX AD-Vantage

WeRecruit Auto

More Sales For You

Bluesky Interactive

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

W: gardx.co.uk/gardx-ad-vantage T: 01243 376426 E: goforaspin@gardx.co.uk Info: The award-winning 360 service offers an engaging display of the vehicle while additionally presenting profitable F&I products to a consumer.

Finance

Lead Management

Trade Bodies

Warranty Providers

Website Design & Digital Marketing

First Response

iVendi

Ben

Momentum Warranties

Haswent

W: blue.co.uk T: 020 3005 9331 E: dealersupport@blue.co.uk Info: Blue is transforming the car finance market, making car ownership simple and flexible and providing motor traders with access to essential finance.

W: firstresponsefinance.co.uk T: 0115 946 6317 E: marketing@frfl.co.uk Info: First Response is an awardwinning UK finance company providing simple financial solutions.

Get in touch and let us help increase your profits.

W: traka-automotive.com T: 0333 355 3726 E: automotive@traka.com Info: Bespoke software and electronic key management cabinets to deliver the most effective solution to dealerships to manage their keys and vehicles.

W: ivendi.com T: 0330 229 0028 E: tellmemore@ivendi.com Info: iVendi delivers a fully connected platform that engages consumers, converts buyers and manages transactions of vehicles online and in the showroom.

W: mobil.co.uk T: 0800 0857 420 Info: Whether using Mobil 1™ or Mobil Super™, Mobil™ engine oils meet or exceed the latest standards of the oil industry and vehicle manufacturers.

W: werecruitauto.co.uk T: 01603 550041 Info: Permanent recruitment – here to assist businesses within the automotive sector find the best fit for their company in terms of skillset, experience and culture.

W: ben.org.uk T: 0808 131 1333 Info: Ben is a not-for-profit organisation that partners with the automotive industry to provide support for life to its people and their families.

W: carcareplan.com T: 0344 573 8000 Info: Car Care Plan is a leading provider of motor protection products, trusted around the world to deliver quality protection with integrity and a customer-oriented outlook.

W: Your website address T: 020 8125 3880 (that’s us!)

E: sales@blackballmedia.co.uk Info: The Suppliers Guide lets dealers find the companies they need to help them with their business. Make sure you’re here. Contact us via the above number or email address.

W: momentumwarranties.co.uk T: 0330 445 0059 E: support@momentumwarranties.co.uk Info: How long does your warranty company make you wait? We pay claims into your bank within 45 minutes. The most advanced warranty programme in the UK.

W: wmsgroup.co.uk T: 01844 293810 E: sales@wmsgroup.co.uk Info: Open 24/7, we offer award-winning warranty products for FCA- and non-FCA-registered dealerships.

W: blueskyinteractive.co.uk T: 01926 651000 Info: Bluesky Interactive drive dealer websites and digital marketing forward thanks to game-changing innovation, the latest technology and our exceptional relationships with our clients.

W: haswent.com T: 020 3920 6164 E: hello@haswent.com Info: Composer is a next-gen automotive platform. You have extensive stock management options, and you’ll gain a brilliantly responsive new website.

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LONG-TERMERS

VOLVO V60 THE KNOWLEDGE Volvo V60

The early electrical gremlins with our long-term Volvo V60 have disappeared and now James Baggott is enjoying one of the best estate cars around.

I

often get asked which car I’d shell out my own money on, and while the model often varies, the manufacturer rarely does – it’s Volvo that does it for me.

Over the past few years, I’ve been very lucky to run several Volvo long-termers and this very latest V60 is arguably one of the best.

But then I’ve probably written that about the V90 diesel, and the V90 hybrid I had before that. In fact, you probably won’t have to delve too far into my past reports to realise I have something of a penchant for the Swedish brand.

Why? Well, it’s all about the quality. A number of manufacturers claim their cars offer a premium experience, but when you scratch beneath the surface you find that they don’t always live up to expectations.

In the Volvo, you don’t get that. This is the D4 Diesel model and with 190bhp it’s remarkably quick. The automatic gearbox is swift to swap cogs and never am I left wondering at what time of the day the car will decide to select a gear.

It’s inside where the quality really shines. The interior is beautifully crafted and now several months into my tenure and passing 6,000 miles, it is still as good as the day it arrived. The seats are superbly comfortable and I love the single iPad-style infotainment system. OK, sometimes it’s a little bit laggy when it comes to choosing certain things on the screen, but overall it’s simple to use and brilliant to interact with.

Since my last report, the gripes I originally experienced with the blind spot warning light randomly illuminating have disappeared completely. You may remember it went back to Volvo for some software tinkering and that obviously did the job.

Following that episode I’ve used the Volvo to head to the Alps for a ski holiday with my daughter. This, of course, was when the weather was colder and before we had to worry about things such as Covid-19.

The 1,500 miles were covered in luxury, and with winter tyres on it scampered up and down the snowy inclines I threw at it in the resort. What’s more, with the huge top box in place and despite my daughter’s attempts to fill the car with a metric ton of cuddly toys, there was surprisingly still room for sensible things like clothes and food.

We travelled over there thanks to Brittany Ferries and it was handy to be able to turn the alarm off so easily. Again, it’s all easy to find on that infotainment system.

Looks-wise, I’m pretty biased, but I think the Inscription Plus pack, brown paintwork and tan interior is a wonderful combination. It certainly gets a lot of looks when I am out and about and is far better than I could have ever imagined when I ordered it.

Problems? Well, there are few to report now the early electrical gremlins have disappeared. That’s testament to the quality and all-round goodness of the V60. If I were pressed for a moan, I’d say it can feel a little cramped in the front compared with the V90, but then what do you expect? It’s smaller. Yes, the price might look a little eye-watering, but I can honestly say I think it’s worth it. For a quality, practical and enjoyable-to-drive estate you can’t go far wrong with a V60… especially in brown.

Price (as tested): £50,295 Engine: D4 Diesel Power: 190bhp Torque: 400Nm 0-60mph: 7.6 seconds Max speed: 137mph Emissions: 117g/km CO2 MPG (combined): 64 Mileage: 6,324

This month’s highlight: The admiring looks while out and about – the V60’s appearance is far better than I imagined it could be.

OTHER CARS WE’RE DRIVING

SsangYong Korando Mileage: 2,285 The practicality levels of the Korando were seriously put to the test.

Audi A1

Mileage: 846 The Audi A1 is finally able to stretch its legs again after being parked up during lockdown.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 59

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