Car Dealer Magazine: Issue 138

UPDATE: CAN CHANGES TO AUDI’S Q7 SUV HELP IT FIGHT OFF RIVALS?

Issue 138 | September 2019 | CarDealerMag.co.uk | £5

R E T S MA

R E T S BLA

NEW!

CAR DEALER CLINIC – HELP AND ADVICE FROM TOP SUPPLIERS

CLASS YET A L U F R E W O P S ITS MOST IL E V N U S E D E C R DRIVEN: ME

CAPE H C IN D N A S R E K SHALL, LOO R A M M O R F S R E T NUMB RESULTS: LATES MAKE A DATE

CK CDX WILL BE BA D NEXT YEAR – FIN IDE! S IN N E H W T U O

THE BIG STORY

: EV REVOLUTIONAD CHARGING AHE T ?

OR FALLING FLA

The UK’s Best Used Car Warranty

02 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

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Editorial ACTING HEAD OF EDITORIAL Jack Evans

jack@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @jackrober

HEAD OF DESIGN Graeme Windell

graeme@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @graemewindell

PRODUCTION EDITOR Dave Brown

dave@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @CarDealerDave

CHIEF SUB-EDITOR John Bowman

john@blackballmedia.co.uk

STAFF WRITER Ryan Hirons

ryan@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @RyHirons

STAFF WRITER Darren Cassey

darren.cassey@ blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @darrencassey

Advertising SALES MANAGER Jon Hickey

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

ACCOUNT MANAGER Michelle Searle

michelle@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @cardealermich

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

MANAGING DIRECTOR BLACKBALL MEDIA Andy Entwistle andy@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @CarDealerAndy Contributors Ted Welford, Adam Weller, Oliver Young

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Welcome.

I KNOW this applies to the automotive world as well, but working in the magazine sector, we always seem to be a bit ahead of ourselves.

After all, the October edition comes out in September, the November one in October... you get the idea.

Luckily, all this forward planning tends to stand us in good stead when it comes to organising our calendar of events each year. And there’s never a dull moment here at Car Dealer Towers. The Used Car Awards, Bangers4Ben, Car Dealer Power – there’s always something on the horizon to keep us out of mischief.

One of the biggest events we organise is, of course, CDX, which was held this year at Farnborough International Exhibition and Conference Centre. It was such a resounding success that we have decided to return to the venue for CDX 2020. What’s more, we have set the date further in advance of the big day than ever before.

Next year’s CDX will be held on Tuesday, April 28 – and since we’ve given you that information in plenty of time, you can have no excuse for missing it! And why would you not want to be there? With fascinating Live Stage sessions, insightful workshops and another huge expo, CDX 2020 promises once again to be a terrific and incredibly valuable day for everyone in the motor trade.

As I have written on this page before, finding a venue that is accessible for everyone in the country is no mean feat but Farnborough ticks a lot of boxes – it’s close to the busy south-east of England and has an array of excellent transport links. Read more – and find out how you can register for FREE – on page eight.

with the aim of helping you make more money. And what’s not to like about that?

As I write this, the best among them will be hoping to pick up trophies at Car Dealer Power in late September – and in this month’s mag, we’ve devised a new way for them to get their messages across to you.

Turn to pages 56 and 57 for the Car Dealer Clinic and you’ll see six top suppliers with some exciting news to share as well as some useful advice to impart.

Warranties, finance, provenance checks and video are four of the categories we look at in the inaugural clinic and I’m sure you’ll find something that will interest you.

THE expo at CDX features dozens of suppliers to the motor trade, all of whom provide valuable services and products

Dave Brown Production Editor

ELECTRIC cars. Love ’em or hate ’em, they’re here to stay – but will sales really ever take off in a dramatic enough fashion to challenge the supremacy of petrol and diesel?

It’s a subject that’s very much up for debate (and has been for the best part of 10 years now).

EVs get quite a few mentions in this edition of the mag.

On the stats pages (58-59), we report that pure EV sales, although still relatively modest, have actually tripled according to recent figures, while in the ‘Big Story’ on pages six and seven, James looks at how the ‘electric revolution’ is progressing, before returning to the subject on page 82.

Trouble is, he says, there are ‘countless hurdles’ on the road to EV ownership. Do you agree? Let us know using the contact details on this page. Enjoy the issue.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 03

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You’ll have access to: • Use of our trusted brand • Extended warranties • 82-point approved vehicle preparation standard • Free RAC breakdown cover And more…

Join the RAC Dealer Network and watch your business grow

0330 100 3807 rac.co.uk/getapproved dealernetwork@rac.co.uk 04 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Dealer Network

Join Car Dealer Club by visiting CarDealerClub.com Members get free legal advice worth £195 for a £49.99 subscription

BMW 330d Touring

Close to being all the car you could ever need, the estate version of BMW’s 3 wagon impresses Jack Evans

A round-up of news from across the UK

ISSUE 138 I SEPTEMBER 2019

Dashboard.

Big Story: The electric revolution Save the date for CDX 2020 Around the UK Used Car Awards 2019 Joining the SsangYong network Big Mike Feedback Around the World Finance

06 08 10 18 24 27 28 32 34

Features.

Emissions impossible Self-driving cars

Data File.

The Statistics Fully Loaded Aftermarket Car Dealer Club Auctions Taking Stock

Forecourt.

Mercedes-AMG A 45 S Audi Q7 Mini John Cooper Works Clubman

40 44 46

Market Insight Suppliers Guide Long-termers James Baggott

48 50 58 60 64 66 68 69 73 76 79 82

Car Dealer Clinic––six six At Your Service of the best suppliers to work with with.

New long-termer won’t break the bank

Our events...

As voted for by dealers, Car Dealer Power is unique.

Nominations for this year have now closed and the winners will be revealed on September 26.

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

Get involved and you could be a winner! Turn to page 18.

Car Dealer’s automotive trade expo features the Live Stage, workshops and much more. The 2019 event took place at Farnborough – and we’re returning next year! Turn to page 8.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 05

Dashboard.

THE BIG STORY

On a charge: The electric Electric cars are popping up everywhere, but is that down to buyer demand or incoming costly fines manufacturers are facing? James Baggott investigates.

E

very which way you turn these days, you can’t help but trip over another manufacturer launching an electric car.

Even Britain’s most famous export – the Mini – has been given the full electric treatment with 124 miles of range and a (relatively) affordable £25k price tag. And now Lotus are at it with the crazy, all-electric 2,000bhp supercar, the Evija.

In fact, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, consumers can now choose from some 80 models of hybrid, plug-in hybrid, battery electric and hydrogen vehicles – with many more on the way.

To an outsider, the petrol-driven car industry must look very different these days – all EVs and hybrids, and not a V8 to be seen...

While those sentiments are not exactly true, pretty much every car maker has, or will have soon, some form of electrified car in their range.

But are we set up to cope with this charging demand? And what’s the real reason behind the surge in launches? Is it demand from buyers or more simply a reaction to incoming legislation?

A recent poll by DriveTribe.com revealed that it’s not necessarily demand. More than half of the 2,200 respondents said they wouldn’t be buying an electric car any time soon.

Just five per cent said they were going to buy one in the next 12 months, and only 14 per cent were considering an EV within the next two years. That doesn’t paint a pretty picture.

While in some areas of the States – especially California – buyers are crying out to get hold of EV models, in mainland Europe, the poll certainly suggests it’s a different story.

Steven Ewing, managing editor of Roadshow, CNET and CBS Interactive, told us that while EV sales are rising in the US, adoption is still slow.

He said: ‘A number of factors contribute to this, not least of which is the relatively poor charging infrastructure across the country.

‘In major cities like New York, Los Angeles or San Francisco, it’s easier to find public charging options. In smaller cities or rural areas, however, they’re not as easy to locate. And since distances between cities are much larger in America than in other countries, it makes shorter-range electric vehicles a tough sell for folks who commonly drive long distances.’

Charging infrastructure remains a problem across the world. However, it’s less of an issue in the States because most owners tend to charge at home – thanks to most having a drive where 06 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

installing a charging point is quite simple.

US-based John Voelcker, who edited GreenCarReports.com for nine years and now analyses and writes about the global electric car market, added: ‘Some 80 per cent of US charging is done at home overnight or at work. We have more single-family dwellings with dedicated parking than other countries, especially the UK. ‘However, the public doesn’t really understand that, because of a lack of visibility of charging points. They’re smaller, not consistently signed, if at all, and usually have to be found via apps.

‘This makes potential owners think roaming is harder, and the fact there are a dozen charging networks nationally and locally makes it complicated to understand.

‘Couple that with the fact that car salespeople don’t know any of this and are disinclined to learn because they think selling EVs is harder, and the problem is compounded.’

In the UK, the charging infrastructure is growing but is still not really fit for purpose.

With few potential owners having the ability to install a home charger, the reliance on public charging is greater.

Autocar and What Car? editorial director Jim Holder said: ‘Given the propensity for home charging, most studies suggest we would need 4060,000 public chargers across the UK if everyone ran EVs, so today’s 20,000 points for a fraction of ownership seem adequate, and the data suggests that none are remotely close to 100 per cent usage.

‘The bigger problems are that a large proportion of these chargers don’t work properly and the geographical distribution is patchwork, because of the way in which the roll-out has been done between numerous companies using different systems. This has also led to these charging points being far too complex to access.’

Despite these difficulties, the EV boom is set to continue – especially with incoming emissions legislation that could drastically penalise car manufacturers. While there is some demand for EVs in Europe, it’s tiny compared to combustion

engines, but manufacturers will soon be very keen to push sales to bring down their overall CO2 fleet emissions.

Industry analyst Jato Dynamics says Europeanwide CO2 targets could be seen as ‘an apocalypse of the car industry in Europe’.

Manufacturers must achieve an average CO2 fleet level of just 95g/km across all the cars sold, starting next year and fully in place by 2021, or face fines running into billions. The UK has said it will adopt these rules after Brexit, too.

The regulations set each car maker a specific CO2 output target, with the individual requirement varying depending on the weight and size of vehicles built and how many of them the manufacturer sells each year. Despite this caveat, it’ll still be a tough ask.

‘I can see a time soon when manufacturers are forced to register electric cars themselves and take the hit to help bring down their fleet CO2 levels,’ said the MD of one car firm who understandably didn’t want to be named. The fines could be huge and it may be far easier to pre-register electric cars that aren’t selling to get the fleet average down or stop selling high-emitting cars completely instead.

It’s going to be very tough.’

Car Magazine editor-in-chief Phil McNamara agrees. He says it’s likely some car makers will

‘To accelerate demand we need the right conditions to encourage buyer confidence, including a long-term commitment to incentives, comprehensive recharging infrastructure and supportive taxation.’

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive

Which were the best-selling new cars in July?

Top 10, p10

revolution is in full swing

‘I can see a time soon when manufacturers are forced to register electric cars themselves and take the hit to help bring down their fleet CO2 levels.’

Unnamed car firm MD be forced to hold back sales to keep themselves within the limit.

Writing online, he said: ‘Groups that have been slow to embrace plug-in cars – Ford, Fiat-Chrysler, Mazda, PSA Groupe – will almost certainly have to cap their own sales until their product range catches up with the regulations.

‘The industry is furiously developing pure EVs, and plug-in and mild hybrids; it needs them on the market as soon as possible, ahead of new emissions targets coming into force.’

Jato Dynamics, meanwhile, says it’ll lead to unprofitable cars being cut completely from ranges. Its online report added: ‘We will definitely see many models dropped where investment to reduce their averages is larger than the profits generated. This will include the axing of more combustion engines, large and heavy cars, or those slow-selling models.’

Holder thinks that despite the industry’s

move to push more EVs on to the market, buyer reluctance to adopt change is still prevalent.

‘The general feeling is that consumers are being pushed into EVs rather than pulling to get hold of them,’ he told us.

‘There are plenty of signs that this is changing, especially for the newest in-vogue models. The Tesla Model 3 waiting list is well-known, likewise I-Pace, e-Niro and Kona Electric. The Porsche Taycan is said to have a two-year waiting list too.

‘That hints that pent-up demand is there if you build the right car. And, of course, car manufacturers want to sell electrified cars from next year, when it really matters, in order to meet emissions targets and avoid fines.’

Despite this, sales of some alternatively fuelled vehicles in the UK have fallen in recent months, as confusing messages from the government, including the premature removal of incentives to buy, have put people off. In June, plug-in hybrid

sales fell by 50.4 per cent – a drop that helped tip sales of alternatively fuelled vehicles overall in the month into negative growth for the first time since April 2017.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: ‘The recent decline in registrations of plug-in hybrids is a serious concern, providing evidence of what happens when government incentives for emerging technologies are removed prematurely.

‘To accelerate demand we need the right conditions to encourage buyer confidence, including a long-term commitment to incentives, comprehensive recharging infrastructure and supportive taxation.’

While the future of the motor industry looks a little muddy, what is clear is the pace of change will continue to accelerate. But whether the infrastructure that will help support this pace of change keeps pace itself remains to be seen.

James Baggott, p82 CarDealerMag.co.uk | 07

Dashboard.

Which were the top-selling LCVs in July?

Fully Loaded, p62

DON’T MISS IT

SMMT STATS

Save the date!

CDX 2020 will be held on April 28

Car production falls by more than a fifth

by JOHN BOWMAN john@blackballmedia.co.uk

G

et your 2020 planners out, folks, and put a big red ring round Tuesday, April 28 – because that’s when next year’s CDX is taking place and we’re heading back to Farnborough International Exhibition & Conference Centre for it!

Our packed conference and expo dedicated to the UK retail motor industry will once again be a mustattend event for dealers, and you can already register for it for free at cardealerexpo.co.uk Once again, top names from the industry will be taking to the Live Stage to give keynote speeches as well as share their knowledge in fascinating discussions, while the workshops will provide delegates with useful information from industry experts on a variety of subjects.

All the sessions will be tailored to give attendees a massive steer on what they need to be doing in the future.

The expo part, meanwhile, will see a host of suppliers eager to show just how they can help your business thrive – make sure you keep an eye out for on-the-day special offers, too.

Andy Entwistle, the managing director of Car Dealer Magazine publisher Blackball Media, which organises the event, said: ‘We are absolutely thrilled to be returning to Farnborough International for CDX. ‘It’s such a fantastic venue. It was our first year there this year and when we secured it we knew we were on to something special, which certainly proved to be the case.

’The centre has got everything going for it – superb facilities to deliver a top event and excellent transport links making it easy for dealers to get to from across the UK.’ He added: ‘We had terrific feedback this year and we’ll be building on its success to bring more of what CDX has become famous for – hugely useful insight, knowledge and tips that dealers can put into practice straight away to sell more vehicles, as well as a fantastic showcase of products and services from suppliers, all of which is geared towards giving attendees that vital competitive edge.’

‘We are absolutely thrilled to be returning to Farnborough International.’

Andy Entwistle

BRITISH car manufacturing output fell by more than a fifth in the first half of 2019, according to figures released recently by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

The industry body also reported a 15.2 per cent fall in June, marking the 13th consecutive month of decline.

A total of 666,521 cars rolled off production lines in the first six months – a year-on-year loss of 168,052 units owing largely to falling demand in key markets, including the UK, exacerbated by factory shutdowns pulled forward in anticipation of the March Brexit deadline.

In June, output for the UK rose by 2,791 units following an anomalous 47.2 per cent decline in the same month last year when preparations for the new WLTP emissions test affected volumes. The underlying trend, however, remains downward, with year-to-date production for the domestic market down by 16.4 per cent.

DEFICIT

Tesla announces $408m loss TESLA has posted a loss of $408 million for the second quarter of 2019 despite producing a record number of vehicles.

The deficit – equivalent to about £327m – is, however, an improvement on the $702 million (circa £562m) loss that the US electric car manufacturer announced for the first quarter of 2019.

A busy expo, industry big-hitters on the Live Stage and great opportunities to do business – CDX is not to be missed 08 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 09

Dashboard.

News from around

What’s been hitting the headlines on the home front? Here’s a ABERDEEN

Arnold Clark Volvo opens new £1m site

ARNOLD Clark has opened a new Volvo dealership in Aberdeen after developing the site of a former supermarket.

Planning permission for the showroom was granted in 2017 and work costing nearly £1 million began on transforming the Lidl site in Wellington Road last December, replacing the previous Volvo branch which was further along the road.

It has now opened and boasts room for some 75 used cars on site plus eight new cars in the showroom as well as increased car park capacity.

LANCASHIRE

From left, Ruth Ford, Phil Da Silva, Paul Screen and David Ward

BEACONSFIELD

Owzat! Colleagues celebrate 100 years not out FOUR colleagues at a Beaconsfield dealership group are celebrating a century of loyal service.

Aftersales collection and delivery driver Phil Da Silva has notched up 30 years at Hughes MercedesBenz, with aftersales administrator Ruth Ford and bodyshop painter David Ward celebrating 20 years each. Technician Paul Screen has achieved 30 years

ELTHAM

Academy’s first wave Ancaster ploughs of trainees start jobs £4m into dealership

SWANSWAY Motor Group has launched an in-house trainee sales executive academy programme.

The first six recruits are now at the group’s Blackburn and Preston Audi centres. Scott Walker, Swansway Group sales training manager, said: ‘There were over 500 applications. All our trainees come from different backgrounds, but what they have in common is they’re full of enthusiasm and up for hard work.’ Pictured from left are the Blackburn trainees Elliot Danson, Harriet Evans and Ellis Bunney 10 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

ANCASTER Group has opened the doors to a new £4m Nissan dealership in Eltham.

Built on the site of its previous Nissan outlet, it combines sales, aftersales and servicing plus used car facilities and has parking for 60 cars on the roof. It strengthens the group’s Nissan presence across the south of England alongside its sites in Bromley, Penge, South Croydon, Shepperton and Slough.

Managing director Stephen Wood said: ‘It demonstrates our confidence in the brand and market.’

at Hughes Jeep. Simon Eggs, Hughes MercedesBenz market area director, said: ‘All four colleagues have not only demonstrated loyalty, they have also ensured that they keep learning and developing despite having decades of experience.

‘All are key members of the team and are very popular with customers and colleagues.’

The best-selling new cars in July July 2019

Source: SMMT

Ford Fiesta

5,646

Volkswagen Golf

4,288

Nissan Qashqai

4,047

Ford Focus

3,863

Mercedes-Benz A-Class

3,702

Vauxhall Corsa

3,079

Ford Kuga

2,921

Volkswagen Tiguan

2,624

Volkswagen Polo

2,568

Kia Sportage

2,292

The statistics, p58

ASHINGTON

Richard Hardie MG opens its doors

MG MOTOR UK has welcomed Richard Hardie MG to its expanding dealer portfolio.

Situated 15 miles north of Newcastle in Ashington, the dealership is the first MG outlet to open in Northumbria and hit the ground running by selling its first MG before lunchtime on the opening day! Boasting a spacious sevencar showroom, Richard Hardie MG also provides full maintenance and aftersales support, with experienced technicians trained to work specifically on the MG range.

A global snapshot of dealership news.

Around the World, p32

the UK

First drive:

Nissan Navara Have updates to the pick-up improved it?

round-up of stories

Forecourt, p39

STAFFORD

GUISELEY

LONDON

Service duo gain full Audi accreditation

Farnell Land Rover joined by Jaguar

Charles Leclerc opens Ferrari showroom

TWO service advisers at Stafford Audi have qualified and become fully accredited by the manufacturer.

Lydia Haycock and Leigh Taylor, pictured with head of business Kevin Cunliffe, centre, have taken the Swansway-owned dealership to 100 per cent Audi accreditation.

‘This is a real achievement for Lydia and Leigh and great for Stafford Audi,’ said Cunliffe.

Haycock said: ‘I’ve worked for a few companies but Swansway is the best. Everyone was so welcoming and there’s a great family feel.’

FARNELL Land Rover Guiseley has been joined by the Jaguar brand after a £4 million refurbishment.

The expanded site now features a 10-car showroom in addition to state-of-the-art servicing technology. Head of business Stephen Whitaker said: ‘This is a fantastic endorsement of Farnell Guiseley, and the new Jaguar cars look amazing in the redeveloped showroom.’ Pictured from left are Stephen Whitaker, general sales manager Mike Simms and service manager Ryan Flynn.

‘My job was to value and buy in the part-exes while Silver Stanley smooth-talked punters into driving away in something shinier and brighter.’

Big Mike, p27

H.R. OWEN’S new Ferrari showroom in Mayfair has been officially opened by current Scuderia Ferrari Formula One driver Charles Leclerc.

The flagship two-car showroom in Berkeley Square boasts a large, cutting-edge configuration suite as well as the latest in Ferrari design.

It will operate alongside H.R. Owen’s South Kensington Ferrari showroom in Old Brompton Road.

Guests were treated to the UK debut of the SF90 Stradale – Ferrari’s first series-production plugin hybrid electric vehicle.

MERTHYR TYDFIL

Empressive spoof of Britain’s Got Talent

EMPRESSIVE Motor Company has given its latest advert a unique twist, parodying the hit ITV show Britain’s Got Talent with the help of dealership director Mark Steed.

In the commercial – online at bit.ly/BGT-advert – Steed gives new meaning to being hands-on with his dealership’s marketing strategy, slipping into the roles of the hosts Ant & Dec (now Aston McPartlin and Daimler Donnelly), as well as its judges, the newly rechristened Daewoo Walliams, Skoda Cowell, Alfa Dixon and Audi Holden.

David Savage, right, general manager at Lookers Vauxhall Liverpool, hands the keys of the car to Kevin Morland

LIVERPOOL

Grand gesture will help those in desperate need A LIVERPOOL charity is finding it a little easier to spread its message of kindness after being given the use of a new Vauxhall Grandland X by Lookers.

An Hour For Others received the SUV from Lookers Vauxhall Liverpool and will be able to use it for free for up to a year to help with its work in the community. The charity was established five years

ago by painter and decorator Kevin Morland and accountant Gillian Watkins, who felt compelled to help those who, through no fault of their own, have fallen on hard times.

Since then, its volunteers and local business supporters have provided nearly £500,000 in skills, time and donations to those desperately in need.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 11

Dealers are

to get a lead when they have an iVendi eligibility checking solution on their website

The number of ďŹ nance leads from your website without eligibility checking

The number of ďŹ nance leads from your website with eligibility checking

tellmemore@ivendi.com

0345 226 0503 ivendi.com

12 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Dashboard.

An Audi A6 Avant joins the fleet.

Long-termers, p79-81

‘A MASSIVE LOSS’

ACQUISITION

Tributes paid after death of Sir Michael Marshall T

Pentagon Motor adds Vauxhall site to portfolio

he chief executive of Marshall Motor Group has paid tribute to Sir Michael Marshall, a central figure in the business for more than four decades, who died on July 27.

Sir Michael, who was president, former chairman, former CEO and majority shareholder of Marshall of Cambridge Holdings, which owns 64 per cent of the motor group, passed away while on holiday with his wife and friends in Spain.

Speaking to Car Dealer, Daksh Gupta said: ‘From a personal perspective, I have been privileged to work with some amazing people over the years and for me, Sir Michael is right up there in terms of the most influential people that I’ve had the privilege of working with.

‘He was an amazing man. The people who knew him described him as a really kind gentleman and they are the two words that really stick out to me. It’s a massive loss for Marshall, not just for us as an organisation but also the city of Cambridge.

‘It was headline news in Cambridge and that just shows you the stature of the man.

‘He was deeply rooted and connected to Cambridge and very proud and supportive of the city. He’ll be greatly missed.’

Gupta said he had the privilege of working with Sir Michael on his board for eight years, adding: ‘He was instrumental in me joining the

Sir Michael Marshall company and was a fantastic person to work for. He had a great sense of humour and was very supportive.

‘Michael was passionate about people and was always talking about the customer being at the heart of everything we do.

‘The values that form the cornerstones of our company today are customer service and people and that comes from the DNA that he ingrained in the organisation.’

Gupta said Sir Michael’s passing had affected him particularly, as they had been in touch shortly before his death. ‘He was being typical Michael, really positive,’ he said.

Charitable endeavours were close to Sir Michael’s heart too. Gupta said: ‘He was heavily involved in Ben over the years, as well as serving as vicepresident of the IMI. He will go down as one of the greats in our industry.’

Sir Michael was also known for his impressive work ethic. ‘I don’t know where he got his energy from,’ Gupta told us. ‘I would come in to work at seven o’clock and his car would already be there!

‘He would be in the office already – he just enjoyed work.

‘I read a tribute that described him as a dynamic force for good – and that’s exactly what he was.’

Heycar launches ‘to solve pain points for dealers’ A NEW online marketplace for used cars has launched in the UK. Heycar.co.uk says it is on a mission to bring ‘greater trust and transparency’ to automotive retail.

The brand plans to do this by creating a ‘superior user experience’ for consumers and dealers, launching with an inventory of more than 100,000 listed vehicles from nearly 50 brands across 1,400 dealerships.

Heycar says it has a strong focus on offering quality used cars to consumers. This is achieved by partnering with selected dealers and

only listing vehicles that are under eight years old, have done fewer than 100,000 miles and come with a warranty.

Perceiving that the UK used car industry has long suffered from consumer scepticism, Heycar aims to overcome this and make its mark through innovation and fresh thinking. The site allows users to search for and find the used car they are after, complete with a finance quote, in a simple online journey.

Speaking at the launch event in London, CEO Mat Moakes said:

‘The UK used car industry is worth £50bn, yet it works inefficiently for consumers and dealers. Buying a used car can be like a lottery; you don’t know what you’ll get.

‘Existing websites are cluttered with ads, eroding consumer trust.

Dealers are burdened with rising fees for listing used cars online, squeezing their margins without a guarantee of leads or sales. We’ve developed Heycar to solve these pain points.’

Heycar’s launch in the UK market follows the brand’s foundation in Germany in 2017.

PENTAGON Motor Group is to acquire the Archie Moss Vauxhall dealership in Loughborough.

The deal, for an unspecified sum, will see it assume ownership of the site – which currently offers new and used Vauxhall cars as well as aftersales support for Citroen, Peugeot and Renault – from CSM (Basingstoke) Ltd. Pentagon, part of Motus Group (UK), already operates 42 franchise outlets for a range of major vehicle manufacturers, with 28 sites across the East Midlands, north-west of England, South Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.

At the start of the year it acquired three Ford sites in Warrington, St Helens and Runcorn from the Ford-owned TrustFord retail group. Pentagon managing director David Lewis, pictured, said: ‘We are very happy to be adding to our current Vauxhall portfolio.’

IMDA

New website ‘is key to success’ THE Independent Motor Dealers’ Association has launched a new website.

It pulls together the former website, IMDA Hub and IMDA Forum into one central point and uses a more mobile-friendly setup. IMDA chairman Umesh Samani, who owns Stokebased Specialist Cars, said the new platform – theimda.co.uk – was ‘paramount’ to the continued success of the organisation.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 13

Dashboard.

Audi Q7 put to the test.

First Drive, p44

STUDY

Luxury car imports ‘surge ahead of Brexit’

Mini milestone marked with gathering of 60 cars MINI has celebrated its 60th anniversary by bringing together a car from each year of manufacture.

The first production car – built in May 1959 and simply known by its registration 621 AOK – led the event at the Mini factory in Cowley, Oxford. At the other end of the firm’s timeline is the 10 millionth Mini produced globally, pictured above, which rolled off the assembly line in July and also took part in the event.

Designed by Sir Alec Issigonis, Minis were born out of a demand for affordable motoring. They became popular in

the 1960s, featuring as getaway cars in movie The Italian Job and being driven by pop stars and fashion legends.

Cheap, easy to manoeuvre and with an unusual shape, the car has seen demand continue for six decades.

Peter Weber, managing director of the Mini plants at Oxford and Swindon, said: ‘As we celebrate 60 years of our iconic brand and look towards an electric future, I would like to thank everyone who has made Mini such a global success, from my team here to the loyal customers and fans around the world.’

SOCIAL MEDIA

Tom Hartley Snr faces the music in row with Twitter T he popular founder of Derbyshire-based luxury and supercar firm Tom Hartley Cars has had his Twitter account temporarily suspended.

Anyone trying to see tweets by @TomHartleySnr at the time this edition of Car Dealer went to press was met with a page carrying a message confirming the suspension.

It’s not entirely clear why Twitter decided to take such action but it’s thought a piece of music attached to a tweet might have caused a problem.

In response, Hartley posted a video message on the Swadlincote dealership’s Twitter account in which he bemoaned the ‘silly situation’ and said: ‘When you’re successful in life controversy … follows you and jealousy – it’s inevitable. It’s a sad thing about

14 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Tom Hartley senior the UK. It caused nobody any damage.’

He added that he knew the person who was responsible for reporting it and would ‘name and shame’ them.

Speaking to Car Dealer Magazine, Hartley, who has some 60,000 followers on Twitter and more than

100,000 on social media combined, called the suspension ‘unnecessary’, adding that he had no idea which tweet it was that had caused the issue.

‘It was never my intention to cause any harm or disruption and I apologise,’ he said.

‘I miss my interaction with my followers and so do they.’

People were being asked to retweet his message to show their support, and Hartley, who has been in business for 47 years, told Car Dealer there had been some 50 requests to Twitter to reinstate him. The social media platform is understood to be coming back to him to resolve the matter.

‘It was never my intention to cause any harm or disruption and I apologise.’

THE number of luxury cars imported into the UK from the EU increased by 16 per cent in the past year, according to a new study.

The rise has been attributed to the prospect of added taxes in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

Just over 3,800 luxury cars were imported in the past year, compared with 3,297 in the previous 12 months, said law firm Boodle Hatfield.

Fred Clark, pictured, associate at the company, which acts for wealthy individuals as well as businesses, property owners and families, said: ‘A no-deal Brexit could mean luxury car imports become 32 per cent more expensive overnight.

‘There is a possibility that moving cars into and out of the UK will become more difficult if the UK leaves the EU with no deal.

‘More individuals are now taking that risk seriously and bringing vehicles into the UK from the EU.’

HATFIELDS GROUP

Remarketing deal extended HATFIELDS Group – one of the UK’s largest independent dealer groups selling Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo – has renewed its remarketing contract with Aston Barclay.

The move sees it commit to weekly Friday dealer sales at Aston Barclay’s Prees Heath site for a further 24 months, totalling more than 5,000 vehicles.

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Dashboard.

Car that really was a ‘hatchback’!

Big Mike, p27

PREMIER CARS

Essex car dealer creates 10 jobs at bigger site

LAMBORGHINI

Showroom revamp shows strength of partnership

L

amborghini has officially reopened its Pangbourne dealership after a major revamp.

It is part of a programme by the luxury car manufacturer to establish its new showroom corporate design in 50 countries.

Lamborghini Pangbourne, which originally opened in 2013, is one of the brand’s 10-strong and growing UK dealer network. Last year, the UK was the second-largest Lamborghini market worldwide after the USA and the first within Europe.

The new showroom and service area is the result of what parent company H.R. Owen calls ‘a significant investment’ and boasts more display space for new and pre-owned vehicles.

H.R. Owen currently operates three Lamborghini franchises in the UK – Pangbourne, London and Manchester – and Automobili Lamborghini EMEA chief executive Andrea Baldi said: ‘Lamborghini Pangbourne provides

The new-look dealership boasts more space for new and pre-owned vehicles significant coverage in the south-east of England, with an extremely loyal and growing client base.

‘The investment by H.R. Owen confirms the continuing strength of our partnership and the enthusiasm for our Italian brand in the UK, both with existing customers and owners new to the marque as well as the remarkable number of Lamborghini fans in this market.’

Ken Choo, chief executive of H.R. Owen, said: ‘Lamborghini continues as a very strong-performing franchise within the H.R. Owen group of

‘Lamborghini Pangbourne provides significant coverage in the south-east of England.’

Andrea Baldi

brands. We continue our substantial commitment to Lamborghini, which saw a record number of Lamborghini cars delivered from our three dealerships last year, reflecting the record sales achieved by the brand both in the UK and worldwide.

‘Our new Lamborghini Pangbourne environment provides the perfect location for continued growth in both sales and aftersales, particularly with the Urus joining the model portfolio.’

More than 130 guests including Automobili Lamborghini representatives and owners attended the Pangbourne opening event.

Automobili Lamborghini delivered a record 5,750 cars to customers globally in 2018 and has already seen an 89 per cent year-on-year growth in the first half of 2019.

Hyundai launches solar roof battery charging system HYUNDAI has revealed a new solar roof system capable of returning up to 60 per cent of a car’s battery charge.

It will make its debut on the Sonata Hybrid – a car that isn’t available in the UK or continental Europe – and will be rolled out across a number of cars from the South Korean firm.

Based on a structure of silicon solar panels on the roof, the system is said to be able to charge the car when it’s parked or driving. Hyundai claims that drivers will be capable of an extra 808 miles annually of electric-only travel in a car with this technology. Heui Won Yang, Hyundai Motor Group senior

vice-president and head of the Body Tech Unit, said: ‘Solar roof technology is a good example of how Hyundai Motor is moving towards becoming a clean mobility provider.

‘The technology allows our customers to actively tackle the emissions issue.’

PREMIER Cars, a retailer and repairer of used vehicles in Essex, has bought a new 180car garage.

The larger site will allow the business to increase its stock capacity by 80 per cent and showcase a wider variety of used cars to its customers.

The business has leased its previous premises in Romford and moved into the bigger garage nearby in London Road, Aveley.

The new garage, which features MOT bays and service and repair work areas, also allows Premier Cars to bring its vehicle repair and servicing inhouse after six years of outsourcing. As a result, the business has created 10 full- and part-time jobs. The company was able to make the move after securing a seven-figure commercial mortgage from HSBC.

NISSAN

Juke boasts universal appeal QUIRKY crossover the Nissan Juke has emerged as the car with the most universal appeal to drivers of all ages.

That’s according to a new analysis of favourite models conducted by the online motor retail specialist BuyaCar.co.uk The finding reflects analysis of more than 10,000 used car sales over the past two years, which sought to identify the most popular cars chosen by drivers at different stages in their life.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 17

Used Car Awards.

It’s the night when stars of the sector truly shine T he countdown has commenced to THE event of the year for the second-hand car industry – the Car Dealer Used Car Awards!

Used cars form an increasingly important sector of the industry as the new car market contracts, and the Car Dealer Used Car Awards – now in their eighth year – have become THE trophies to have.

The event shines a spotlight on the best, brightest, smartest and downright nicest across the full spectrum of the trade, celebrating the stars of the sector.

Make no mistake: winning a Car Dealer Used Car Award is BIG. Dealers and sponsors are proud to shout about their successes, because the awards show their customers how highly regarded they are within the industry. The event, sponsored by Black Horse, honours all parts of this vital backbone of the motor trade, too.

From the smaller independents to the larger groups, it’s for every dealer in the used car business.

This year, the awards are being held on Monday, November 25, with the fantastic theme of ‘The Goodnight Cabaret’.

We’ll be handing out gongs in a variety of categories, and if you reach the final shortlist, you’ll be invited to our glittering ceremony, hosted by TV’s Mr Wheeler Dealer, aka Mike Brewer, right, at The Brewery, London. You’ll be able to enjoy a terrific meal, free drinks and – if you fancy it – lots of dancing! It’s always a grand night out, so don’t delay, enter today!

How can I nominate?

Simply go to bit.ly/ucanom19 to fill in the online nomination form. You can enter as many Used Car Awards categories as you like. You can also nominate yourself or somebody else for an award.

Make sure that you give plenty of detail, though, to help our judges decide who should go on the shortlists, which will be drawn up by our judging panel, headed by Brewer. The more information that the judges have to work with, the better a nominee’s chance of going forward.

If it’s tickets to the big night that you’re after, we’ve got a terrific range of packages to suit all budgets. You can book tickets and tables by calling the Car Dealer team on 023 9252 2434.

What are you waiting for? Get your entries in and make sure those tickets and tables are reserved! We look forward to seeing you at The Brewery on Monday, November 25…

Why you have to be there The prestige: The Car Dealer Used Car Awards are sponsored by Black Horse and have become THE awards ceremony for the second-hand car sector. Winning a trophy can give your business a brilliant boost because customers will know they’ll be getting high-quality service from you.

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

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

The variety: There are more than 20 categories, ranging from dealerships of all sizes to lifetime achievement, as well as recognition for websites plus service and repair outlets.

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

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

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

To nominate yourself or anyone else, go to bit.ly/ucanom19

18 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Why it’s such a great idea to get involved in sponsorship

T

hinking of getting involved in sponsorship? If so, there’s no time to lose! Just a few categories are still available. As ever, award sponsors at last year’s ceremony had nothing but praise for the event. The companies that supported the gongs enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and found it easy to network and do business on the night, as guests were in an excellent mood.

Not only does the awards night give you a fantastic opportunity to network, but as a sponsor, it’s a brilliant way to entertain your clients at the start of the Christmas festivities and to thank them for their support over the past 12 months. Each award sponsor gets a table of 10 in their package, which is a terrific way to wine and dine clients or celebrate the past year’s achievements with colleagues!

Every award sponsorship package comes with the following: • •

•

• •

•

Your company logo on the winner’s trophy.

Your company logo placed alongside all publicity of that award in the run-up to the awards.

Your chance to nominate winners for the judging panel to consider for your award.

Table of 10 at the Used Car Awards evening.

Full-page advert in the results issue of Car Dealer Magazine placed next to the editorial about your award.

Your company logo included in web promotion of the Used Car Awards.

Award categories Used Car Dealership of the Year: Up To 50 Cars

Social Media User of the Year This award will mark the achievements of a dealer that has mastered their digital direction.

We’re looking for the best dealership that stocks up to 50 used cars.

Service & Repair Outlet of the Year

Used Car Dealership of the Year: 51-100 Cars This award is for the best dealership that stocks between 51 and 100 cars.

Dealers’ Dealer of the Year

Used Car Dealership of the Year: 100+ Cars

Recognition from your peers is what makes this award extra special.

This one is for the larger dealers stocking more than 100 cars.

Best Dealership Use of Video

Used Car Dealership Group of the Year

Spotlighting dealerships that have made the best use of video technology to present their products and services.

Aimed at those with more than one site, this award marks the best used car group.

Used Car Sales Team of the Year

Used Car Supermarket of the Year

Behind every great dealership there’s a great team – and that’s who this award is for.

This award is for supermarkets that provide great cars and great service on a major scale.

Used Car Dealer Principal of the Year

Newcomer Dealership of the Year

Inquire

Best Used Car Customer Care

Specialist Used Car Dealership of the Year

Canny dealers know that cultivating a used car customer can create a punter for life – a loyal supporter who’ll return time after time.

If you sell specialist used cars, you need to have something special yourself to take this home.

The UK’s Best Used Car Warranty

Honouring the best official manufacturer-backed Used Car Scheme of the Year.

Used Car of the Year This winner will be selected from the following five category winners, based on the absolute chart-topping vehicle whose value has stood the test of time against all the others.

Used Small Car of the Year Used Mid-Sized Car of the Year Used Executive Car of the Year Used Sports Car of the Year Used SUV of the Year The above five category winners will be chosen by taking into account which make and model has the best residual value in its sector after three years or 30,000 miles. These awards are something that no individual dealer can influence – it’s all about the market figures for the vehicles concerned.

Inquire

We’re looking for DPs who absolutely excel at running a successful used car dealership.

This award recognises the best dealership established during 2018.

Manufacturer Used Car Scheme of the Year

Inquire

We’ll be looking for the garage that excels in repairing and maintaining used cars.

Used Car Product of the Year

Approved Dealer

Inquire

Whether it’s a brilliant online sales portal or a clever warranty scheme, this award will celebrate the very best of suppliers.

Manufacturer Used Car Website of the Year We’re looking for interactive sites that are easily navigable and present used vehicles clearly.

Dealer Used Car Website of the Year Our judges will be looking for the ease of use, design and functionality of the website.

Outstanding Achievement of the Year

Inquire

Recognising the dealer or dealership personality who has achieved something truly remarkable.

Lifetime Achievement Award For this trophy, the judging panel will be looking for a big hitter in the motor industry.

Rising Star Award

Inquire

The spotlight here is on a person under 25 years old who is tipped to be one to watch in the used car sector.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 19

Dashboard.

INTERIM RESULTS

Lower profits, yes, but we LOOKERS

L

ookers saw its pre-tax profit plummet by nearly 40 per cent from £41.3m to £24.9m over the six months to June 30.

It was a far worse performance than the motor retail group had predicted in July, when it issued a profit warning and said it expected the figure to be around £32m – a drop of 26 per cent.

Its underlying profit before tax dropped by 27.5 per cent to £29.2m from £40.3m.

In June, it was revealed that the Financial Conduct Authority would be investigating the car dealership group’s sales processes between January 1, 2016 and June 13, 2019, which shook investor confidence in the company and sent the share price spiralling downwards.

It tumbled overnight from 67.6p to 57.4p, and was 46.0p when this edition of the magazine went to press. Between January and July, the share price dropped by 54.9 per cent.

Despite the pre-tax profit fall, revenue against the first half of 2018 increased by 2.7 per cent to £2.646bn. Lookers also highlighted its continuing outperformance of the UK new car market in general, with like-for-like sales down by 1.2 per cent against a UK market decline of 3.4 per cent.

Meanwhile, aftersales revenue grew by 6.2 per cent during the half year from £228m to £247m

Andy Bruce – ‘We have made good progress’ – with a gross profit increase of 2.9 per cent to £109.9m. Lookers, which operates 165 franchised dealerships representing 31 manufacturers across 110 locations, also reported that its net debt had risen by 35.6 per cent to £73.9m, although it was down from the £86.9m figure at the end of 2018.

Chief executive Andy Bruce put a brave face on things, saying in the interim results announced to the London Stock Exchange on August 14: ‘Our performance for the first half reflects an ongoing backdrop of challenging UK market conditions for the sector. Whilst we are reporting lower profits year-on-year, we have made good progress on a

number of strategic initiatives and have a clear investment plan to restructure and strengthen our regulated activities. Our balance sheet remains strong, including our valuable property portfolio.

‘Working closely with our brand partners, I am confident in the long-term prospects for the business. The board’s current outlook for the full year at the underlying profit before tax level remains unchanged.’

Looking ahead, the company said that it would be investing about £10m this year and next year as part of a ‘restructure and strengthening of regulated activities’, including establishing a revised sales process. This, it said, would create ‘a stable platform for future growth and an enhanced customer experience’.

It added that ‘ongoing underlying costs in 2020 and beyond are expected to increase by c£3m per annum to deliver best practice and an enhanced customer experience’.

‘Working closely with our brand partners, I am confident in the long-term prospects for the business.’

INCHCAPE

UK retail business benefits from improved stock management amid continued pressures INCHCAPE suffered a dip in profit, it announced in its interim results for the first half of 2019.

The global distributor and retailer of premium and luxury vehicles saw its pre-tax profit slide by 3.3 per cent like-for-like from £158.9m to £153.7m in the six months to June 30, on revenue that went up from £4.614bn to £4.725bn – a rise of 2.4 per cent. Operating profit, meanwhile, fell from £196.2m to £177.2m like-for-like – a drop of 9.7

per cent – while its pre-exceptional profit before tax of £156m was 13 per cent down year-on-year.

Commenting on the interim results, Stefan Bomhard, group chief executive of Inchcape, said: ‘Whilst trading in the first half of 2019 was challenging, as we had anticipated, we are reiterating our resilient outlook for the full-year excluding a transactional yen headwind.’

He added: ‘Progress in retail has been

encouraging with continued growth in Russia, driven by Ignite, and a broadly stable performance in the UK and Australia. The UK retail business benefited from improved stock management and Australia retail from cost control measures taken, despite the continued pressures in both markets.

‘We have now launched the next phase of our plans to improve the span of performance across our UK business.’

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28/06/2019 13:55

‘Clear strategy’ needed from Pendragon.

Analysis, p22

have a clear plan

SMMT STATISTICS

MARSHALL

Strong financial performance in a challenging marketplace MARSHALL Motor Holdings revealed a ‘strong financial performance in a challenging market’ when it published its interim results for the first six months of the year.

Although profit before tax was down nine per cent at £14.8 million, revenue was up to more than £1.18 billion.

The ‘underlying’ figures showed profit before tax was down 5.3 per cent at £15.2 million, with revenue up year-on-year from £1.15 billion to more than £1.16 billion.

Gross margin was maintained at 11.4 per cent, the same as for the first six months for 2018, with higher new vehicle margins offsetting pressure in used vehicles and aftersales.

The company, the seventh-largest motor dealer group in the UK with 106 franchised dealerships representing 23 brands, reported it had outperformed the market in all key areas.

Like-for-like new unit sales to retail customers were down 0.4 per cent compared with a market decline of 3.2 per cent, like-for-like new unit sales to fleet customers were down 1.1 per cent

Used car market shrinks by nearly three per cent

Daksh Gupta – ‘Strong first-half unit sales’ compared with a market decline of 3.6 per cent, and there was continued strong used car sales growth of 7.2 per cent, while aftersales revenue was up 1.8 per cent. The company’s balance sheet continued to be strong with net assets of £200.7m – equivalent to £2.57 per share.

Marshall announced an interim dividend of 2.85p per share (2018: 2.15p) – up 32.6 per cent.

Daksh Gupta, chief executive officer, said: ‘Despite challenging market conditions, the group has delivered a strong first-half unit sales performance, ahead of both the new and used car markets, and underlying profit before tax in line with the board’s expectations.’

Interim results supplied by the groups Inchcape

Lookers

Marshall

Revenue H1 2019

£4,725m

£2,646.4m

£1,183.3m

Revenue H1 2018

£4,614m

£2,576.5m

£1,162.9m

Difference

+2.4 per cent

+2.7 per cent

+1.8 per cent

Profit before tax H1 2019

£153.7m

£24.9m

£14.8m

Profit before tax H1 2018

£158.9m

£41.3m

£16.2m

Difference

-3.3 per cent

-39.7 per cent

-9.0 per cent

THE UK’s used car market declined by 2.8 per cent in the second quarter of the year, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

Drawing on data from the DVLA, the industry body said 2,034,236 transactions took place, representing a shortfall of fewer than 60,000 units compared with the same period last year as the market showed signs of slowing.

Used car sales have fallen every month this year apart from March, when they rose by 1.9 per cent. In the second quarter, drops in the north-west and south-east of England as well as in Scotland drove the decline, while all other regions experienced increases in demand. Cities topping the list for used car sales were London, Birmingham and Sheffield.

Demand for petrol and diesel models declined in the second quarter, down by 3.7 per cent and 2.5 per cent respectively.

However, combined sales of the fuel types still made up 98.3 per cent of the market.

Meanwhile, demand for hybrid, plug-in hybrid and pure-electric cars continued to grow, up 24.8 per cent, with 33,492 models changing hands. Of these alternatively fuelled vehicles, pure electrics experienced the largest growth – up 32.8 per cent – with hybrids rising 25 per cent to 29,321 units, but this growth was unable to offset losses elsewhere. Reflecting trends in the new car market, superminis remained by far the most popular used buy.

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CarDealerMag.co.uk | 21

Dashboard.

Automechanika will return to NEC.

Aftermarket, p64

ACQUISITION

Stratstone JLR outlets are sold to Sinclair Group

ANALYSIS

Troubled Pendragon ‘must adopt cohesive strategy’

P

endragon has to produce a clear strategy to reassure potential investors and the wider industry.

That’s the view of Mike Jones, chairman of dealer profitability specialist ASE Global, after the Sunday Times published a piece detailing the group’s woes and warning people to avoid its shares.

The troubled motor retailer – whose brands include Evans Halshaw and Stratstone – has predicted a major loss when it releases its half-year results on September 18 and is suffering a serious drop in its share price.

It is also currently without a chief executive after Trevor Finn’s replacement, Mark Herbert, quit suddenly in June after less than three months in the role.

However, despite the widening losses in its Car Store vehicle supermarket arm, which are expected to reach £25m, high levels of used car stocks left to shift, one-off costs to its bottom line and the impact of price cuts to boost new motor sales, it said it was set to return to profit in its second half, adding that a turnaround plan would be outlined in detail alongside the results in September.

Pendragon has seen its share price halved since the beginning of the year – it was 10.6p at the time of going to press – and the Sunday Times’ advice to potential investors was to steer clear of it, despite many

by JOHN BOWMAN john@blackballmedia.co.uk

making a killing a few years ago after taking the plunge with a 10p-per-share cash call that it made to lower its debts then of £300m.

Jones told Car Dealer Magazine: ‘If you’re looking to invest as a shareholder in a business, you’d want to know what the strategic direction of the business is.

‘Anyone can have a tough time at any particular time, but you want confidence in the leadership team and the management of the business that it can be turned around, and you want to know what their strategy is, and you can either buy into it or not. They haven’t got that at the moment. There was clearly a disagreement between the chief executive and the chairman on strategy.’

He added: ‘The share prices across the board have been knocked by the current trading performance, the current registration levels and also the FCA investigation into Lookers, so it doesn’t surprise me that they’re down, but I think a shareholder would want to know what the strategy is.

‘And the query now would be who is providing the strategic update, because there’s no chief executive – they’ve not announced one yet.’

Last year’s Pendragon interims came out on August 7 – when it

‘If you’re looking to invest as a shareholder in a business, you’d want to know what the strategic direction of the business is.’

ASE Global chairman Mike Jones 22 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Former CEO Mark Herbert reported a pre-tax profit drop of more than 40 per cent – and there had been speculation that this year’s delay was further evidence of boardroom troubles, but a source close to Pendragon told Car Dealer that there was nothing untoward about it and it was quite usual when there was a change of management.

Jones said that any calculations shouldn’t have held up the results.

‘I think it’s more likely to have been held up by the strategic review and what the heck they’re doing with everything.’

He added: ‘There are plenty of car dealers or business owners in the UK who’ve made some money out of Pendragon when they were back being a penny stock and making a significant return on that.

‘But for me, I just need to know what the strategic direction is and how they are going to turn around the performance of the business – who’s leading the business and what’s the plan?

‘Pendragon’s a big public face and it will be better for the entire industry as their performance improves and they get a cohesive plan together.’

Market Insight, p73

PENDRAGON has sold its Swansea-based Stratstone Jaguar and Land Rover outfits to the Sinclair Group.

The acquisition – for an undisclosed sum – follows Sinclair’s buying-out of Likes Land Rover in Hay-onWye last December.

All 65 of the Stratstone staff are understood to have been retained.

In a statement, Sinclair Group managing director Andy Sinclair said: ‘The opportunity to acquire this business fitted perfectly with our ongoing expansion plan – adding the illustrious Jaguar brand to our portfolio and strengthening our association with Land Rover in the wake of our recent purchase of Likes from the Walters Group.

‘The Land Rover and Jaguar operations have been trading on Swansea Enterprise Park for 27 and 12 years respectively so are extremely well established.’

Pictured is the Stratstone Land Rover showroom in Swansea. Image: Google Street View.

MOTORPOINT

Majority call for car vaping ban OVER 70 per cent of motorists would like to see vaping banned in cars, according to a new survey

by Motorpoint.

The web-based poll found 73 per cent of drivers would like to see use of the hand-held devices outlawed on the roads. A total of 350 people took part in the survey at motorpoint.co.uk

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CarDealerMag.co.uk | 23

Dashboard.

What’s holding back self-driving cars?

Special report, p50

SPONSORED CONTENT

Join the growing SsangYong family L

ooking for a franchise to represent?

Thinking of a first step into franchising?

Becoming a SsangYong dealer could be the best decision you’ll ever make.

SsangYong is looking to add more dealers to its UK network – and with a range of excellent cars and a reputation for being an easy franchise to work with, it’s an option well worth considering.

Whether you already represent another manufacturer, are looking to build on a successful used car operation or are branching out to a new location, SsangYong wants to hear from you!

The quality and reliability of its SUVs and 4x4s such as the all-new Korando, pictured above, and Rexton is second to none – not forgetting Musso, the multi-award-winning pick-up.

David Rose, UK dealer recruitment and development manager, said: ‘Getting set up with us is easy – and ongoing it’s easy as well.

‘The start-up costs are minimal, our requirements are very modest and there are no politics involved – all we’re looking for dealers to do is to look after customers, sell and service cars!

‘Being a SsangYong dealer works well with other brands and it works well for somebody who’s looking to take their first step into franchising and who already has a successful used car operation.

‘We’ve taken on some groups recently as well.’

‘Being a SsangYong dealer works well for somebody who’s looking to take their first step into franchising.’

David Rose What about the product? ‘The cars are very good value,’ David told us. ‘They are extremely reliable. The build quality is excellent and there is a lot to look forward to which will keep interest

in the brand at a very high level. New Korando is coming on board shortly followed by a full electric version of that. All our cars come with a sevenyear warranty too, which is a big selling point.’

We spoke to a couple of dealers new to the network who are loving life with SsangYong…

Bassetts

Haven Motors

THE South Wales motor group Bassetts has just added SsangYong to its operation in Swansea, where the brand has joined Honda in an impressively large showroom.

Dealer principal Dylan Bryer told us: ‘Before SsangYong came on board, our Swansea Honda showroom was a massive site, capable of holding 25 cars. Honda volumes are dropping and we were looking for something else to help our business along and offer to our customers.

‘We were looking at something with a low start-up cost and a manufacturer that wouldn’t fight against the Honda brand but complement it. SsangYong has given us another string to our bow.’

How did things go when the dealership explored the option of getting on board with the South Korean brand?

Dylan told us: ‘The brand is very simple and straightforward – and there’s very little in the way of start-up costs. The support you get from them is very good and aftersales-wise, although they have quite a small team, the knowledge they have is phenomenal.’

MULTI-FRANCHISE and used car dealership Haven Motors of Horsham, West Sussex, went live with SsangYong last December. When we caught up with managing director/owner Stephen Surrey, he was more than happy to tell us what drew him to the brand.

‘The quality of the product is very good,’ he said. ‘When we were shown the quality of the cars that they were going to be offering us, I was impressed with the range.

‘And with the bells and whistles that they’ve got compared to a lot of the other manufacturers, such as the seven-year/150,000-mile warranty, for the price point they’re at, they’re very competitive.’

If any other dealerships were thinking of taking on a SsangYong franchise, what would Stephen say to them? ‘I wouldn’t hesitate! It can’t really be the mainstay of any business with the volumes that they’re expecting, but the margins are respectable. At the end of the day, we got what we expected. It’s not a volume brand at the moment but I think they’ve got aspirations of becoming that.’

Interested in finding out more? Visit the SsangYong website at ssangyonggb.co.uk for more information or contact David Rose on 07964 806938 or via david.rose@smotor.co.uk

24 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 25

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26 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Big Mike Our man on the inside shares his thoughts on the car business

A tale that gives a whole new meaning to the word hatchback...

T

hey say you shouldn’t count your chickens before they’ve hatched, but recently my grandson has been doing just that.

As part of a school project, he’s been learning all about the incubation process and in his classroom they have an incubator plugged into the mains, all set to crack out a few chicks and teach the kids a little about the circle of life, as well as get them to question which came first…

It also stirred up a wonderful old memory from my past, so please forgive me for donning the rose-tinted specs this month.

This was the late-1980s and I’d just left my post as sales manager at a Fiat dealership for a much easier job. Admittedly, managing the current Brexit negotiations or being Donald Trump’s media secretary would be an easier job than selling Fiats back in the 1980s, but this particular role involved a rather run-down car lot outside an old warehouse in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter – a rather grand name for one of the least glamorous bits of the West Midlands.

My job was to value and buy in the partexes while my colleague, Silver Stanley, smooth-talked punters into driving away in something shinier and brighter (but probably no better) than what they turned up in. One of those customers was the wife of a farmer from Staffordshire, who’d ventured into the city having seen a Renault Extra van listed in our newspaper ad – back then, in the pre-digital summer of 1989, we’d throw the feelers out over a 50mile radius to try to get the customers in, and this one had driven over from the other side of Cannock Chase for something more appropriate for farm use than her current car.

She was a fan of French motors, their famously supple ride being ideal for the rutted farm tracks on which she drove, but her most recent car wasn’t as practical as those she’d owned previously. It was a Renault Fuego – a car with the styling of a sports coupe mated to the performance of a Citroen 2CV6. Admittedly, there were less stylish ways of getting from 0-60mph in 17 seconds, but the glass-tailgated Fuego was nevertheless a bit of a dud and not an easy sell.

With that in mind, I marked down the part-ex value to £350 and eventually the farmer’s wife was on her merry way, as Stanley flipped another grand into his money clip, where the taxman couldn’t see it. The

arrangement we had was simple. If I got the PX price down and Stanley made his profit out of the ‘valuable’ cars, I could keep whatever I made on top of the stand-in value of our PXs, and it worked quite well.

The Fuego, though, was as hard a sell as I expected, and sat in the corner of the yard for about three weeks with barely a sniff.

Then, out of the blue, I got a call from a chap who was interested in the rakish Renault and would be over the following morning for a look. Knowing it hadn’t turned a wheel in three weeks, I decided to pop back to the yard that evening to ensure it was ready and that neither the tyres nor the battery were flat.

Apart from a slightly off smell, it was all in order, firing up on the first turn of the key, so I rolled down the electric windows (a big selling point back then) and took it for a blast up and down the Queensway to give it an airing.

With the eggy smell no longer detectable, I parked it back up and walked home via the pub.

Had I not got a thirst up on the way home, this one may have worked out differently, but I’d made a couple of good sales that day and I had a couple of tenners to get rid of before my wife clapped eyes on them, so I was a little late into work the following morning.

Indeed, my arrival was at five to ten and my punter was due to arrive at 10am to have a look around the Fuego, which was parked exactly where I had left it the previous evening – but now looked a bit like a murder scene.

Not to put it too delicately, the inside of the glass tailgate was covered in a mixture of blood and yellow goo, with the occasional feather sticking out. I opened the door to be confronted with some rather ruined velour and half a dozen chicklets strutting their funky stuff around the upholstery where the previous owner had left a basket of farm-fresh eggs in the boot. The Fuego’s glass tailgate had spent the past three weeks doing a convincing impression of a hen’s arse and kept them all nice and warm, just like the school incubator.

Needless to say, what I thought was a guaranteed sale turned out to be as dead as a couple of the egginhabitants that didn’t make it.

Which makes the proverb 100 per cent true – you certainly shouldn’t count your chickens before they’ve hatched. But it pays to check the boots of your part-exes...

‘The Fuego was parked exactly where I had left it the previous evening – but now looked a bit like a murder scene.’

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.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 27

Feedback.

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

Our website at CarDealerMag.co.uk

How can you shift a car I HAVE a Fiesta Titanium in stock that we can’t shift for the life of us. It’s been up for sale since March and is in good condition with 37,000 miles on the clock. It is a category N but that’s nothing new to us and does not normally affect our sales too much as we do a fair few of them.

What can we do to try to change it up and sell it? I have lowered the price and have taken some different photos. I had originally put 12 months’ MOT on the car but that is now more like nine months. (I have offered to put 12 months on it again for any customer.) I’m not hearing a whisper on this car. I’m just wanting to see if there is anything else I can do.

JA Trader I’ve got a cat D here. Nobody even peered into the interior in three months so I put the price up and I now have an appointment on it – so reducing isn’t always the answer.

My advice would be as follows: change all the photos, completely rewrite the advert and see if the car needs another deep detailing. Advertise it as having a long MOT. (You can always offer a new MOT as a sales tool face-to-face.) jason doyle motor sales Fiestas are strange cars for selling. Supposedly the most popular car on the road, I tend to get landed with them for a while (my fault I know for buying them!). I have just sent out a 63-plate one this morning which had been here for eight months. I think the problem is there are so many around, no matter how you price them, there’s always another one somewhere close by that will undercut you. The category N factor on yours won’t be helping, I’m afraid.

CRW I’ve had a 1 Series M Sport in since early December. It’s been here so long it’s decided to

Picture of the month

OUR boys and girls in blue have a tough job what with one thing and another – and sometimes a weird one, too, like rescuing an inflatable killer whale that somehow ended up on the M27 near Fareham! Swiftly nicknamed ‘Kevin’, the plastic orca was taken into protective custody by Hampshire’s Roads Policing Unit to await collection by its owner. throw a wobbly and start over-heating. It goes back into the garage next week to have another MOT. Then it will receive a fresh detail, new pics and a new description and be put back up at full price. Lowering the price doesn’t always work. We ended up knocking £1k off the retail value but it just attracted even more lowballers who were unrealistic.

Mikey360 Had an Audi A3 S-Line in the right colour and spec – it had everything going for it and I didn’t have a sniff on it. It had been here since midJanuary – one call last Wednesday and it’s gone.

That’s just the way it is, unfortunately. Somebody will have it eventually.

Tony911

While we are talking about Fiestas, I just traded one to a local dealer, 2007, 1.2, one owner, 31k miles, FSH. Had been here for about three years!

It became like part of the family. I miss it.

CRW I’ve got a black Mini Cooper S wedged up my a*** with the doors open! It’s in lovely condition, has a new MOT, full dealer history and has covered 50,000 miles. It was fairly priced to start with but over time, I knocked a grand off it and still haven’t taken a single call on the thing. It has been here for three months now. It really should have received a bit of interest.

JDM1983 We had a 2007 Audi TT Roadster S-Tronic in red.

Full-screen nav, 19-inch alloys, two owners, 133k with FSH. Proper car in A1 original condition.

Had it about four months... lovely car.

After three eBay auctions, we had three ‘buyers’ (none of whom even viewed it). #1 @ £5,150 didn’t contact us. #2 @ £4,350 had to pick it up within three hours after the auction ended as was going to Poland the next day (didn’t check that was okay with me first – which it wasn’t). #3 at £3,700 ‘didn’t expect to get it that cheaply’ and then asked, ‘Is there anything wrong with it?’ Turns out the poor man ‘bought it for his wife as a surprise’ in an ‘attempt to save his marriage’ but ‘she doesn’t like the colour’ (can’t make this stuff up...) Now advertised at £4,895 or best offer. Not a sniff... premi-motor It’s gone! Took some new photos and compiled a new listing. I relisted it at the most expensive price I have had it up for sale at and it went yesterday. I am so happy to see the back of it.

JA Trader

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Mazda Motor Europe @Mazda_Europe 63 per cent of Britons admit to eating junk food when driving according to new research

28 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

conducted by @SEATofficial. Are you one of the people who’s partial to an on-the-road snack?

Swansway Group @swanswaygroup Our Summer Release is here! We’re excited to introduce the new features and updates now available across our apps.

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More and more of our readers are joining the debate – and it couldn’t be

On Twitter: Follow @CarDealerMag

Forum: CarDealerMagazine.co.uk/forum

that simply won’t sell?

WHAT DO WE MISS?

Even the ice cream man wants to be a car dealer!

I MISS motor traders with a personality. I swear to God everyone on my Facebook and that I’m vaguely connected to is starting a car sales business. A guy with a courier firm, some double-glazing fella, the guy that does carpet cleaning, a musician, the ice cream man... seriously? It’s not that I’m afraid of the competition, but stay in your own lane! I don’t start serving ice creams when times are hard thinking the grass is greener, do I? Not to mention they’re drips. All of them. Poncing around on their social media page telling you how ‘cool’ a particular Mini Cooper Clubman is and how they take it home every night. They come up to you at auctions asking ‘How much would you spend on this?’, ‘Where’s best to advertise?’, ‘How many cars do you sell?’ and so on.

After a month or so they get their first screamer. Immediate refund. No

questions asked. Please don’t harm my precious reviews.

‘We really went above and beyond for that client.’ What? You’re flogging cars on Facebook from a bit of space you rent in an oversized car park. Where are the sheepskin coats and that guy who smokes a pipe? An auction and the motor trade shouldn’t be welcoming places. It wasn’t when we started. Now it’s a creche.

Mojo121 I miss... scrounging last month’s (if I was lucky) dog-eared Glass’s Guide off the local tame main dealer and putting it in its leather cover.

Thumbing through it for insurance groups etc, reading the write-up at the front each month. Looking through it and finding the actual name of an underwriter up-country that you could call and get a bid on something.

Getting up early to buy the local rag and AT magazine to scour for bargains.

Going to the block and knowing I’d buy something but no idea what. Breaking

down on the way back. Vinegar and newspaper to clean windows. Calls on landlines only. Putting stripes on cars.

Tax discs and cashing them in.

Removable car stereos and fitting them yourselves. Speakers on parcel shelves.

Going to scrap yards and actually going inside, climbing up, in and around cars to get the bits you needed. Delight if you found a body panel or door etc. in the colour you wanted. Cash.

NOACROSS Dictating your ad down the phone to the local paper. Going into a main dealer and buying a px. Having a fault on a car and knowing what it was.

Getting the paper on a Saturday and seeing they had got something in the ad wrong. Chrome wheel trims.

Vinyl roofs. Ringing up the paper on a Monday and getting a discount on next week’s ad because they got it wrong.

Waiting for cheques to clear. Having unlimited energy and enthusiasm.

David Ayers

How do we handle these storage requests?

I HAVE had a really strange couple of inquiries about a few vehicles I have had for sale over the past few weeks, always over the phone and generally from people who sound like they are members of the older generation.

People have been asking me to store cars for them for two to four weeks offering to leave large deposits, sometimes more than 80 per cent.

Various different reasons are given.

My question is, does anyone offer anything along these lines to customers? Do you charge for it? If so, how much? I have stuck with the answer ‘no’ at the moment as we don’t have space to have a car sitting around that long and I also could do with 100 per cent of the price sooner.

JA Trader Take the money on the proviso a reasonable chunk is non-refundable, then tax it for a month and park it safely. In my opinion, you’re crazy not to accept.

Arfur Dealy

I have got plenty of space so no problem for me.

If they pull out, I keep the deposit. In fact, I hope they do back out!

Mojo121 So you have a car. Someone can’t get all their funds at once because they are locked in to some bank-type scheme. You won’t take the money because you don’t want to hold the car for a few weeks. Just wow. There must be another trader you know or even Uncle Bob where you can stick it on his drive until the day comes. I’ve never turned money down if it’s a cert. jason doyle motor sales Once had this with a customer who although paid in full kept dragging his feet about collection. Our order form now states we will store the car for 14 days following the sale free of charge, then £35per-week storage charges apply.

Willoughby

That, my friend, is an important comment. People do treat us as a storage unit sometimes. I have the same clause in our terms and conditions, too.

I had a guy a while ago who waited two weeks then emailed me to say he was leaving the car till the end of the following month for tax purposes.

‘You won’t save anything,’ was my reply, ‘as you will incur storage charges for the month that are equal to the tax.’

He fetched it the next day.

David Horgan Very interesting to hear other people’s thoughts on this and I definitely think I will be more flexible going forwards.

I particularly like Arfur’s idea of taxing it and leaving it sat on the road near my house.

(Not an issue for me as it’s a quiet cul-de-sac but there has been an increase in tax check vans around our area lately.)

JA Trader

easier to get involved! Sign up to our forum at CarDealerMagazine.co.uk/forum

The publisher reserves the right to edit submissions.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 29

Dashboard.

INTERVIEW

An amazing five years NextGear Capital has certainly been reaching some pretty significant milestones recently.

Dave Brown caught up with managing director Liam Quegan to find out more.

I

t was quite an announcement: the fact that NextGear Capital had provided an incredible £3 billion of vehicle funding.

The leading provider of stock-funding plans, part of the Cox Automotive family, hit the landmark figure in July, just over five years after launching in the UK and Ireland.

With almost 1,800 dealers on board, NextGear Capital has funded more than 420,000 vehicles and agreed 1,700 limit-increase requests to help customers expand their businesses.

They’re big numbers – and provided a very positive backdrop when we caught up with managing director Liam Quegan recently.

Looking back at the growth of NextGear Capital, he said: ‘It’s been amazing. The appetite for our product is really strong, and of that £3 billion we’re proud that we’ve delivered £1 billion in the last year.

‘We really feel as though we are helping car dealers to succeed, which is great.’

NextGear Capital works with franchised ‘but mainly independent’ dealers, said Quegan, pictured right. And stock funding – where dealers buy cars up to a financial limit set in agreement with the company – is proving ever more popular.

‘It’s become a lot more mainstream,’ Quegan said. ‘I wasn’t in the industry 10 years ago, but I gather it wasn’t something that happened that much back in the day.

‘Many of our dealers see it as a core part of how they do business these days, whether they are working with NextGear or a different provider.

‘And the thing that has definitely changed in the last 18 months is that independent dealers have become more sophisticated in the way they use funding.

‘They may use certain funding streams for certain kinds of stock. We have dealers who use us when they are expanding but maybe use one of the High Street banks day to day, and we have other dealers who use us for everything.’

Another change in the market that Quegan has noticed recently is that dealers are mixing it up in terms of sourcing stock.

‘Ten years ago, auctions and part-exchanges were the two main options,’ he explained.

‘Now, dealers are buying digitally and they’re 30 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Many dealers with whom NextGear Capital works are ‘actually relatively buoyant’ buying privately off Auto Trader – that’s a modern-day phenomenon. It goes without saying that used cars have grown in importance now that new cars are struggling.

‘It’s also causing used car dealers some issues, because as the big franchised dealers have got more into used cars, the competition for goodquality stock has become even more intense.

People are having to adapt.’

One obvious benefit of using a stocking plan is that rather than being tied up in the metal on the forecourt, a dealer’s own money can be freed up for other projects.

‘Exactly,’ confirmed Quegan. ‘Certain dealers might use their capital to build a great showroom, for example. Those things cost money. If they would rather divert some capital to do that and use funding from us to put cars on their forecourt, there is a mutual benefit there. We see that with all sorts of dealers, but particularly dealers who are selling really nice cars and want their

dealership to become a bit of a destination and enhance the customer experience.’

So, what does the future hold for NextGear Capital? ‘I think we still have room to grow,’ said Quegan. ‘We have existing dealers who will partner with us more strongly, but there are plenty of dealers who are not using our product yet who would benefit from it.

‘We’re going through some technology upgrades this year and next year which will enhance certain aspects of our already-impressive customer service. We’ll probably look at some other products as well.

‘We recently introduced a product that specialises in supercars. That was rolled out at the start of the year and has been a real success. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that we will look at other variants.

‘I could see us doing something in the recreational vehicle space. I could also see us doing something with motorbikes – there are

Liam Quegan on…

Becoming established

Working at NextGear Capital

‘The fifth anniversary of the company was in May – we definitely feel like we’re no longer a start-up, let’s put it that way!’

‘I spend a lot of time at our head office in Chester but visit plenty of dealerships as well as travel to Ireland. It’s all good.’

Sales of pure EVs almost triple.

SMMT stats for July, p58

but still room to grow! some really fantastic dealers who deal in both.’

If dealer behaviour when it comes to sourcing stock is changing, there are huge developments taking place in the market as a whole. New powertrains, mobility as a service, Brexit… there’s no shortage of talking points.

Quegan told us that NextGear Capital works with a couple of EV dealers and that they were doing ‘fantastically well’.

‘EV is really exciting,’ he said. ‘And the other thing that’s really interesting is how younger people are using vehicles.

‘Millennials are using cars less. So we need to find a way as a market about how we encourage those people to use cars.

‘I’m not saying all millennials don’t drive. Of course, that’s not true, but proportionally, they are less likely to drive. We’re going to have to see what sort of products attract them.’

We couldn’t conclude our chat with Quegan without mentioning the B-word – and Brexit is definitely having an effect on the car market with the new deadline of October 31 getting ever closer.

Although he conceded that the current state of flux was leading to some ‘pessimism’ in the market, Quegan continued: ‘A lot of the dealers we work with are actually relatively buoyant. It’s not all doom and gloom, and there’s a danger that we could talk ourselves into a problem that isn’t really there.

‘Of course, we shouldn’t be naïve, but there are plenty of reasons for optimism.’

Liam’s career ALTHOUGH an engineering graduate, father-of-two Liam Quegan, 41, decided to enter financial services when he left university, joining Capital One. ‘My detour into automotive came when I left Capital One,’ he told us. ‘I joined Close Brothers in 2015, where I was chief operating officer for their motor finance division, which is heavily focused on the independent space.

‘I grew to understand and love the independent dealer base as a consequence of that and I got to learn what independent dealers needed.

‘In 2017, the opportunity with NextGear came along and I knew the product because it competed with what we were doing at Close Brothers. I liked the idea of working with Cox Automotive and it’s a great business to work in.

I’m very lucky.’

Having a positive outlook

The NextGear approach

‘Not everything is rosy but there are plenty of dealers out there doing really good business. Long may that continue.’

‘We think it’s really important that we help independent and franchised dealers succeed.

We take it very seriously.’

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 31

Dashboard.

Around the world Dealer news from somewhere other than here

DENMARK

A DANISH car dealer got into trouble for the unauthorised use of a piece of art for a commercial in a magazine. Skandinavisk Motor Company, an importer of Volkswagen cars from Germany, used an image by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei of more than 3,500 lifejackets collected from refugees and migrants who landed on the Greek island of Lesbos.

USA

A CAR dealership worker in Phoenix, Arizona, had a truck stolen from him at gunpoint. The Bill Luke Dodge lot attendant had just parked the Chevrolet Colorado when he was approached by a man claiming to be a coworker and asking for the keys, reported ABC 15 Arizona. When the staff member refused, not recognising him, the man took out a gun to force him to hand over the keys. He was subsequently arrested and charged with theft and armed robbery.

32 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

GERMANY

A WOMAN was arrested after trying to buy an Audi A3 with €100 notes that she’d printed at home. The 20-year-old from Pirmasens attempted the con at a dealership in Kaiserslautern, reported the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung, but was quickly rumbled after producing €15,000 of obviously fake notes, with a staff member asking her if she wanted to play Monopoly!

INDIA

SINGAPORE

MOTOR group Wearnes has been made Lotus representative for the island city-state. It follows Richburg, which is based in Hong Kong, leaving the republic in 2018 after five years of having the iconic Geely-owned franchise.

Just two Lotuses were registered in Singapore in 2018, according to The Straits Times, which reported Wearnes as saying it would open a new showroom and workshop in Leng Kee Road. Victor Kwan, Wearnes’ prestige division managing director, said: ‘We are confident that it is a completely changed company under Geely.

The brand has been around for a long time.’

STAFF at a Jeep dealership in Mumbai treated Bollywood star Taapsee Pannu to a surprise dance when she collected a Compass. The 31-year-old had bought the SUV as a birthday present for her sister Shagun, and when she arrived, seven members of staff performed a routine to music from some of her films, culminating in the reveal of the vehicle.

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Finance.

MOTONOVO

Adapt to survive, lenders and dealers are warned

STARTLINE

Hard Brexit ‘will be bad for the economy’

L

enders and dealers need to adapt as motor finance companies face changing pressures in the months ahead.

That’s the view of MotoNovo chief executive Mark Standish, pictured right, who said significant decisions were being made by major lenders, such as Barclays Partner Finance who are quitting the market.

‘The automotive sector must pay attention to developments like this which further indicate the importance of the market becoming more buoyant and sustainable in order for dealerships to thrive.

‘While recent years have seen new entrants move into the market, the current economic climate is not as favourable for lenders. We are beginning to see a reversal of this trend, with exits and consolidation among the lending community.

‘The signs are emerging that the pressure is most definitely on for the sector.’ The key industry pressure points identified by Standish include: l

Reducing margins as a result of

increased competition and rising costs; l

Investor concerns about residual value products in light of environmental changes; l Expectation of regulatory changes and increasing compliance costs; l The uncertain economic outlook.

‘We’re sorry to see major players unwind their operations, as we believe healthy competition is crucial in driving the innovation and change required to make used car finance a

leading choice for consumers,’ said Standish. ‘But we should expect further reshaping of the industry in the months ahead and during this market shift it will be crucial for dealers and lenders alike to embrace change, flex with the market and always strive towards continual improvement of customer outcomes to ensure fewer exits from the market and avoid restricting the level of liquidity within the sector.’

SANTANDER CONSUMER FINANCE

Support expands with online loan application launch SANTANDER Consumer Finance is set to launch its online loan application platform with e-sign capability in a major expansion of its support for dealers.

Selected dealerships have started testing the system, which will be rolled out across the country within the next month for partners already using its free online finance calculator.

The new system is integrated into the dealer’s website and customers will be able to source a finance quote

34 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

on the calculator before applying in Santander’s secure online platform.

Customers receive a real-time decision on their selected product and if accepted can then choose to sign their documentation at home or at the dealership. It builds on the success of its partnership with Volvo Car UK, launched in April, enabling customers to configure and order their car and sign a finance agreement online. Stewart Grant, Santander Consumer Finance commercial

director, said: ‘This is a significant step in our digital marketing strategy and underlines our commitment to supporting our dealer network in maximising sales and profitability within the growing digital market.

‘It is a huge achievement for the teams involved at Santander Consumer Finance to be able to launch two online application systems in less than four months and within a year since the project was first planned.’

A HARD Brexit in October will make flexible motor finance far more important.

That’s according to Startline Motor Finance, whose chief executive, Paul Burgess, pictured, said: ‘It is not a political comment to say that even the best hard-Brexit outcome would be bad for the economy and the worst could be very damaging.

‘This is likely to influence all aspects of the used car market, and motor finance will not be unaffected.

‘Given historical precedents, underwriting rules are likely to be tightened just when used car retailers need some additional flexibility.’

He added that matters could become even more acute if a hard Brexit caused noticeably higher unemployment or an increase in loan defaults, explaining: ‘All of these will impact on used car buyer credit scores.’

Burgess explained that Startline’s flexible approach was based on identifying customers who the company believes to be strong credit risks but may not meet the requirements of prime lenders because of their work patterns or socio-economic factors.

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Time is money BEN GARSIDE

A monthly look at the world of automotive finance and marketing

Dare to be diversely different and you could really pull in the punters

L

ast month I discussed how a car dealer in America named Carvana was differentiating itself by building car vending machines – a route to cutting costs and standing out from the crowd.

Continuing this theme, I’ve recently visited a dealer in the UK that is really branching out, and may give used car dealers some ideas.

A while back, I was told I needed to visit a motorbike dealer as it was doing something different. The dealer in question is Jem Speed Shop, based in Batley, West Yorkshire.

I didn’t really put much more thought into it until I saw a Facebook post advertising one of its bikes. I clicked through and had a look, and thought, ‘Wow – this is a decent Facebook page, I need to go and visit this dealer.’ So, when I was out visiting DealTrak in Leeds for a meeting, I decided to head to Batley straight after.

As I headed up the stairs, my first thought was, ‘This looks fun’.

The building is best described as being over two floors with the top floor being dedicated to Jem’s Pit Stop – an American-style diner/restaurant with lots of memorabilia, motorbikes in each window and scooters on the wall alongside Mod collectables.

There was a VW Camper van that had been recycled into a reserved seating area, a vintage motorised pushbike in the rafters and half an old-style Mini crashing out of the wall, fully lit up.

Jem’s serves a wide selection of lagers, craft beers and designer gins. Meanwhile, the food on offer includes pizzas named after

motorbike racing legends, burgers named after famous bikes and cars, plus sharing platters and salads named after F1 racers.

Finally, the breakfasts are named after racing tracks. I had to go for the Calzone Agostini though, as I love pizza.

Downstairs, there are approximately 100 used motorcycles costing from £2,000 to £20,000. These included cruisers, tourers, sport and classic bikes. It’s safe to say there was a lot of choice!

That wasn’t the end though. As I walked through, there was an indoor street full of shops to suit every bikers’ needs, from a barber shop to parked-up bikes for sale – and even a tattoo studio. Both the barber shop and tattoo studio are great for getting potential customers to view Jem Speed Shop’s motorcycles. There is also a craft shop with quirky furniture including road signs, upcycled oil canisters, wall art and motor racing memorabilia-style art.

Jem’s also has a chill-out area with a pool table, nice leather sofas, etc – all of this plus a café, clothing and accessories shop, and most importantly, an MOT and service centre.

Maybe this is too extreme for some car dealers.

However, I’ve talked in the past about holding fun days, including food, or doing things alongside other local businesses, and how you could use free space to keep other visitors occupied.

Jem Speed Shop has it all. It truly does have diversification under one roof, hopefully bringing in a great range of consumer types, both old and young, to purchase their bikes today and in the future.

‘Jem Speed Shop has it all. It truly does have diversification under one roof.’

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

Turn over the page for more finance stories

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 35

Dealfinder.

Finance.

YOUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO ALTERNATIVE EXECUTIVE CARS

Peugeot 508

Kia Stinger

PEUGEOT’S image has changed drastically in recent years as the brand has become more stylish and upmarket. Few cars show this more vividly than the new 508.

The stunning new design has taken advantage of Peugeot’s ‘i-Cockpit’ interior and digital cockpit.

We’ve chosen the 508 in range-topping GT grade and equipped with a turbocharged 222bhp 1.6-litre petrol engine.

A £1,500 deposit contribution is made by Peugeot, to which the customer adds £4,950. This is followed by 36 monthly instalments of £531.40, bringing the total payable at the end of the deal to £24,080.40. If they want to own it, a final payment of £14,625 can be made, taking the overall sum to £38,705.40.

Despite the deposit contribution, this is still £1,850.40 more than the cash price because of the 4.9 per cent APR rate.

WITH its stunning looks, punchy engines and high-quality interior, this is a genuine rival to cars from BMW, Audi and Mercedes. And while it’s the 3.3-litre GTS model that grabs the headlines, the 244bhp 2.0-litre petrol engine chosen here offers plenty of punch.

It’s a perfect fit with the GT-Line S specification, which is laden with kit including a head-up display and panoramic sunroof.

Kia is offering a £2,500 deposit contribution, to which the customer adds a further £4,900. This is followed by 36 monthly payments of £504.88, which means that at the end of the threeyear deal, the customer will have spent £23,075.68.

An optional final payment of £14,220 can then be made to own the car, bringing the final total to £37,295.68. But despite Kia’s contribution, this is £1,320.68 more than the cash price because of the 5.9 per cent APR rate.

PARTNERSHIP

Underwriting and lending programme is an industry first B MW Group Financial Services has launched a new Underwriting Excellence and Responsible Lending Programme in partnership with the Institute of the Motor Industry.

The first of its kind in the industry, the new certification programme opens the door to a higher level of expertise and professionalism for senior underwriters at BMW Group Financial Services.

Underwriters play a crucial role in the motor finance application process, making the final decision on whether or not to approve customer finance applications. The new Underwriting Excellence and Responsible Lending programme will enhance the knowledge and skills of senior

36 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

by DAVE BROWN @CarDealerDave

BMW Group Financial Services underwriters, improving their ability to accurately assess customers’ current and future financial situations.

The programme has been developed in partnership with the IMI. Assessment takes place for up to three years from the date of enrolment, and will be compulsory if underwriting managers are to qualify for the maximum credit authority level.

Amanda Powell, head of new business at BMW Group Financial Services, said: ‘We are proud to be the first lender in the industry to offer IMI certification of this type, with

the thorough assessment programme ensuring our underwriters will continue to work to the highest possible standards.’

Steve Nash, pictured, chief executive of the IMI, said: ‘The new Underwriting Excellence and Responsible Lending Programme has been developed to establish a kitemark of excellence. It is designed to safeguard those buying a vehicle on finance, and provide customers with greater reassurance and confidence that they have been treated fairly and that their financial situation has been assessed as accurately as possible.’

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU CAN PROPOSE TO US

Volvo S60 VOLVO took the bold lead with the S60 to abandon diesel engines in its line-up, meaning that the only options available are a T8 plug-in hybrid and the T5 petrol, which uses a turbocharged 247bhp 2.0-litre unit.

We’ve picked the more affordable T5 here in the sporty R-Design Plus grade.

Alongside the customer’s £5,000 deposit, Volvo is contributing an additional £2,000. These sums are followed by 36 monthly instalments of £495.53, which means that at the end of the three-year contract, the customer will have spent £22,839.08.

If they then decide to buy their S60, an optional final payment of £15,136.88 can be made. This takes the total amount payable up to £37,975.96.

Thanks to Volvo’s contribution and the 2.9 per cent APR rate, this works out at just under £41 more expensive than the £37,935 cash price.

BRAND DEVELOPMENT

CONTRACT

Result! Leasing.com becomes official title sponsor of EFL Trophy

Moneybarn signs exclusive three-year deal with BCA

LEASING.COM has become the official title sponsor of the EFL Trophy after signing a three-year deal with the English Football League.

The exclusive partnership sees the competition become known with immediate effect as the Leasing.com Trophy, with the deal running until the conclusion of the 2021/22 season.

As well as the title sponsorship, which encompasses all 127 matches across six rounds, culminating in a showpiece final at Wembley Stadium, Leasing.com will be an official partner with a portfolio of rights across the EFL and its digital network.

David Timmis, founder and managing director of Leasing.com, said: ‘We’re delighted and immensely proud to have secured sponsorship of the EFL Trophy as part of our ongoing brand development campaign. We want Leasing.com to become a household name, and what better way to achieve that than to sponsor one of the most high-profile tournaments in English football?’

VEHICLE finance company Moneybarn has appointed BCA to a three-year exclusive remarketing deal that will manage 21,000 vehicles over the contract term.

Regular sales will be held at BCA’s centres in Leeds, Walsall, Bedford and Kinross. Moneybarn will also use BCA’s Inspect and Collect service.

Paul Green, remarketing manager at Moneybarn, said: ‘BCA brings the national reach we need to support the continued growth of our operation.’

Melissa Seckington, major account manager for corporate sales at BCA, said: ‘Moneybarn is an award-winning finance provider that has built a strong reputation for great customer service.

‘We share this approach and have put in place an integrated remarketing solution that supports Moneybarn’s growth strategy and volume needs.’

ONLINE? SAY YES TO A

PROCESS THAT IS: QUICK EASY EFFICIENT

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 37

“A terrific night for a good cause�

Shop floor closed.

Dance floor open.

The Ben Ball is a chance to party with colleagues, network in style and help raise funds so we can continue providing life-changing support across the automotive industry.

Celebrate Christmas with the automotive family ben.org.uk/benball #BenBall

38 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Forecourt.

FIRST DRIVE

THE KNOWLEDGE

Nissan Navara Nissan has introduced a series of updates to bring its Navara pick-up into line with rivals. Jack Evans headed to Iceland to see how they’ve helped.

What is it?

The growing demand for pick-ups is showing no sign of abating. In fact, Nissan sold more than 230,000 one-tonne trucks worldwide last year, with markets such as America and China snapping up these commercial vehicles.

The UK is no different. The Navara has been one of the most popular models in the country, and following the influx of new pick-ups on to the market, Nissan has seen fit to update it to help keep up with the pack. We headed out to the wilds of Iceland to see what it’s like.

What’s new?

It’s a subtle update here, that’s for sure, but the changes made to the new Navara are just enough to bring it into line with newer rivals. The engine has been upgraded, the five-link rear suspension refined and the brakes beefed up. Tech-wise, there’s a new, larger screen that runs the firm’s latest software, while the towing capacity has been increased.

Exterior-wise, it’s blink-andyou’ll-miss-it similar to the truck it replaces, but the small number of refinements made to the visuals do give it a little more edge.

What’s under the bonnet?

The Navara is powered by a 2.3-litre twin-turbocharged diesel engine with 188bhp and a useable 450Nm of torque. It’s more efficient than the one it replaces, now emitting

a respectable 194g/km of CO2, and driving power to all four wheels through either a seven-speed automatic gearbox (as was the case with our test vehicle), or a newly refined six-speed manual.

Performance figures are decent, with Nissan quoting a 0-60mph time of 10.9 seconds, but the reality is that for workhorse pick-ups such as the Navara, acceleration isn’t the beall and end-all. Its range of off-road systems are far more useful, with features such as hill descent control, a proper locking rear differential and the choice of three different fourwheel-drive modes.

What’s it like to drive?

As with most vehicles based on a ladder chassis, you can’t expect limousine-like levels of refinement, but the Navara does surprisingly well to isolate a lot of the exterior chatter. There’s a little wind noise, but engine drone is kept well isolated from the cabin – providing you’re not being too harsh with the throttle, that is.

The Navara feels most comfortable off road, where its fivelink rear suspension system copes handsomely with myriad different surfaces and assorted potholes.

How does it look?

As we’ve already mentioned, the changes that have been made to the way the Navara looks are few and far between. The rear lamp units are

now smoked, while the front ones have been given a subtle refresh. The standard alloy wheels size has been bumped up from 17 inches to 18 too, giving it a little more presence.

In truth, Nissan didn’t need to overhaul the exterior of the Navara – it was a good-looking truck before, and it remains so now.

What’s it like inside?

The Navara has managed to deliver a winning combination of consumerfriendly comfort and utilitarian solidity for some time, and it’s still the case now. Yes, many an SUV owner would baulk at some of the interior plastics used here, but they’re hard-wearing and likely to stand up to years of abuse – which is just what you want from a pickup. The leather seats fitted to our test car were comfortable though and, thanks to eight-way electrical adjustment, it was easy to get comfy.

What’s the spec like?

The biggest change when it comes to in-car tech on the Navara is the inclusion of Nissan’s new eight-inch infotainment screen – up a full inch on the previous-generation system.

It may sound like a trivial increase but it makes a big difference. The new operating system is the biggest benefit here, however. It’s far easier to use than the system it replaces, with smooth graphics and not much in the way of delay when changing through menus.

Model: Nissan Navara Price (as tested): N/A Engine: 2.3-litre

twin-turbocharged diesel Power: 188bhp Torque: 450Nm Max speed: 112mph 0-60mph: 10.9 seconds MPG: 40.9 Emissions (CO2): 194g/km TARGET BUYERS: Those who want a go-anywhere pick-up with a degree of comfort.

THE RIVALS: Mercedes X-Class, Volkswagen Amarok, Isuzu D-Max. KEY SELLING POINTS: 1. Off-road capability.

2. Improved infotainment.

3. Relatively good on-road manners.

DEAL CLINCHER: New infotainment system complete with eight-inch screen is a winner.

You also get a full navigation system, while top-spec trucks receive over-the-air map updates too. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are thrown in as standard, meaning it’s far easier to integrate your smartphone into the car’s system.

What do we think?

The Navara has been brought firmly up to date. Though they may be relatively minor, the changes made have done enough to help the big Nissan retain its edge. One of the biggest changes is that new infotainment system – it makes the cabin of the Navara far more userfriendly – while the adjustments to the suspension and engine mean it is even more refined.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 39

Forecourt.

On the road

FIRST DRIVE

Mercedes-AMG A 45 S

The car is lithe, well balanced and not intimidating when you’re behind the wheel.

Merc’s new fire-breathing A 45 S packs well over 400bhp – but does outright power mean it falters elsewhere? Jon Reay finds out.

What is it?

This is the fire-breathing new Mercedes-AMG A 45 S: the most powerful A-Class on sale today, and one of the fastest hot hatches on the market.

Now in its second generation, the A 45 found plenty of fans the first time around, seduced by its premium badge and preposterous (at launch) 350bhp power output.

Since the previous generation’s appearance in 2013, though, rivals have got more powerful and – crucially – more engaging to drive. Can this latest generation show them what’s what?

What’s new?

Everything, effectively. Based on the new fourthgeneration A-Class launched last year, not much has been carried over from the old car. Its engine, though the same size as before, has been totally reworked. It still has four-wheel-drive, but a new clutch-based rear differential – similar to that on the Focus RS – means it’s able to pull off party tricks like a ‘drift’ mode.

The new car also gets Mercedes-Benz’s latest tech, including the MBUX infotainment system that debuted on the A-Class, complete with augmented reality sat nav and a clever (if slightly too eager) voice recognition feature.

What’s under the bonnet?

As with the previous A 45, this one gets a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine, now with two different power outputs depending on trim level.

The ‘normal’ A 45 gets 381bhp – a shade more than later versions of the old car – while the A 45 ’S’ gets an obscene 415bhp.

Each engine follows AMG’s traditional ‘one man, one engine’ principle, with every one adorned with a signed plaque from its builder.

You can see why the craftspeople of AMG would be proud, too: this is a truly spectacular engine.

To extract this kind of power from a 2.0-litre is one thing, but to make power delivery as linear and turbo lagfree as it is here is something else.

Around town in comfort mode it’s as placid and smooth as any other petrol40 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

powered A-Class – more so, in fact – but stretch the A 45’s legs a little and you’re rewarded with unrelenting acceleration and a wave of torque.

What’s it like to drive?

With so much power on offer and aggressive looks to match, you’d expect something special from the A 45’s chassis too. Thankfully, those clever AMG engineers have more than delivered.

Starting with the basics, everything feels just right: steering is quick without being frenetic, the brakes are progressive but with plenty of bite, and ride comfort – in our car with adaptive dampers at least – seems very impressive.

The real revelation here are the changes AMG has made to the four-wheel-drive system. A new active rear differential – with an electronicallyactuated clutch on each side – can push as much as 100 per cent of the rear axle’s power to either wheel. The result is an incredibly nimble-feeling car indeed: one that pushes you into every corner

Full colour

Outlandish paint options – varying from bright yellow to matte grey – are available.

and – with a little encouragement – is happy to playfully slide.

Unlike its larger AMG brothers and sisters, the A 45 doesn’t feel like the big brute of the family: it’s lithe, well balanced and despite the performance on tap, not intimidating to drive.

As with Ford and BMW before it, Mercedes has seen fit to give the A 45 a ‘drift’ mode too – enabled with a complex combination of button and paddle presses. We weren’t able to try this first-hand, but if nothing other than for performance car bragging rights, it ticks a box.

How does it look?

AMGs aren’t generally masters of subtlety, and the A 45 is no different. Wide front and rear bumpers with extra air intakes, a rear diffuser and quad exhaust pipes are a pretty good indication as to the AMG’s prowess. UK cars get even racier bits as standard: an ‘Aerodynamic Pack’ consisting of extra fins ahead of the front wheels,

Interior design

It’s an attractive and well-made place to spend time.

THE KNOWLEDGE Model: Mercedes-AMG A 45 S Price as tested: TBC Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol Power: 415bhp Torque: 500Nm Max speed (limited): 155mph 0-60mph: 3.9 seconds MPG: 34 Emissions (g/km CO2): 189 TARGET BUYERS: Performance-oriented hot hatch buyers.

THE RIVALS: BMW M2, Audi RS3, Volkswagen Golf R. KEY SELLING POINTS: 1. Daft performance.

2. Sublime handling.

3. Attractive interior.

DEAL CLINCHER: The fastest, and possibly the best, performance hatch on sale today.

‘The A 45 is a fabulous all-rounder with crisp and rewarding handling backed up by outrageous levels of performance.’ and a rear boot spoiler that wouldn’t look out of place on a touring car.

Red brake callipers, black alloy wheels similar to the C63 and some outlandish paint options – varying from bright yellow to matte grey – complete AMG’s more aggressive additions.

What’s it like inside?

While the outside is very much all show, AMG has left the A-Class’s interior relatively intact.

That’s no bad thing – it’s an attractive and well-made place to spend time, with plenty of pleasant touches and a classy feel.

The A 45 does get a few garnishes though: the most obvious being an AMG-badged steering wheel with some extra toggle switches. It does the job, but said switches – which have integrated screens and control driving modes and exhaust

loudness – feel flimsy and like a bit of an afterthought. Still, that’s a minor niggle in an otherwise very pleasant interior.

What’s the spec like?

Pricing and specification for the UK have yet to be confirmed, but we’d expect the usual Mercedes rules to apply: plenty of kit available, and most of it optional.

As with the standard car, there are plenty of ways to spend your cash: a 12-speaker Burmester stereo, larger screens for the MBUX infotainment system, augmented reality sat nav and so on.

There’s also an ‘AMG Track Pace’ data logging system for use on track days, should you wish to stretch the A 45’s legs. Using GPS, it can plot your racing lines on a circuit map – with famous tracks like the Nurburgring pre-installed.

What do the press think?

Auto Express said: ‘Mercedes-AMG has combined the savagery of a true performance car with the civility of a small family hatchback.’ What Car? said: ‘The A 45 is more than just a one-trick pony.’

What do we think?

The A 45 is a fabulous all-rounder with crisp and rewarding handling backed up by outrageous levels of performance, but more than happy to settle down into stop-start, day-to-day driving.

What’s harder to judge right now is whether all that talent will come with a high price, and whether a standard A 45 – devoid of options like adaptive dampers, and that extra 34bhp – can strike the same balance.

Nonetheless, specified in the right way, the A 45 is a very talented car indeed.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 41

Forecourt.

Engine

You’ve got a choice of petrol and diesel – with plug-in hybrid to come.

FIRST DRIVE

BMW 330d Touring Following the release of BMW’s all-new 3 Series, there’s a fresh Touring version.

Jack Evans tests it out...

What is it?

The BMW 3 Series Touring has come to define sporting practicality in the estate segment since it was introduced in the late ’80s. Since then, more than 1.7 million examples of the 3 wagon have rolled off the production line. Now, following the release of the all-new 3 Series, there’s a fresh Touring version. We headed to Munich to try out the current range-topping 330d version.

What’s new?

This new Touring is based on the updated 3 Series, which means it boasts all of the significant improvements that the saloon does. It’s wider, longer and taller than the model it replaces, so can offer more interior space and a better load area size – key elements for any estate car. Meanwhile, there’s a variety of new petrol and diesel engines, along with a plug-in hybrid version due to be introduced next summer.

The car’s chassis has been re-engineered for better handling, and the whole car is lighter than the one it replaces, meaning that not only is it better on fuel, it’s better in the bends too.

What’s under the bonnet?

This particular 3 Series Touring is powered by a 3.0-litre turbocharged straight-six diesel, which sends 261bhp to all four wheels through BMW’s xDrive all-wheel-drive system. It uses an eight-speed Steptronic gearbox, which handles the delivery of all 580Nm of torque to the road.

Flatten the throttle and the Touring will hit 60mph in just over five seconds, and it’ll carry on accelerating to a top speed of 155mph.

Despite the brisk performance, BMW says that the 330d will return up to 52.3mpg, while emissions are 140-146g/km CO2 depending on wheel size. Our test car rode on adaptive M 42 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Chassis

Re-engineering means handling is better and the car is lighter as well.

Sport suspension too, which helps to deliver a comfortable ride and gives the driver the ability to adjust its firmness to their liking.

What’s it like to drive?

The wagon has a slightly different suspension set-up to the regular 3 Series (to help when it’s fully loaded), but it still manages to be just as accomplished as the saloon. The ride is well judged around town, while at speed it becomes even more composed. When you’re travelling more quickly, very little external noise intrudes into the cabin, making it very quiet indeed.

Switch to Sport mode and the throttle response gets sharper, which means that thanks to the hefty supply of torque the 330d picks up and goes with little hesitation. However, in this mode the steering becomes overly weighty and artificial – it feels just about spot-on in comfort mode instead.

How does it look?

The new 3 Series Touring is a sleek evolution of the previous-generation car. In our eyes, the estate

version has always trumped the saloon in the looks department, and we’d argue that the same is the case here. Our test cars were finished in a particularly classy blue shade, with chrome accents that helped to give them a distinctly premium look.

At the rear of the car you’ll find twin exhaust pipes (on 330d models, that is) which give an indication of the car’s performance. Although the new 3 is longer than the one it replaces, it hasn’t lost the older model’s spot-on proportions. We would argue that the fake intake vents at the rear of the car don’t add much to the car’s appearance though – if you’re going to add vents, we’re adamant that they should have a function.

What’s it like inside?

The cabin of the Touring is a great place to be, with wide and open architecture, although the relatively high dash means it still feels sporty.

There’s plenty of adjustability too, but the steering wheel is simply far too chunky on the M-Sport trim.

‘The ride is well judged around town, while at speed it becomes even more composed.’

Capacity

The load area has been upped to 500 litres and 1,510 with the rear seats flat.

THE KNOWLEDGE Model:

BMW 330d xDrive Touring Price as tested: £46,063 Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged straight-six Power: 261bhp Torque: 580Nm Max speed (limited): 155mph 0-60mph: 5.1 seconds MPG: 50.4-52.3 Emissions (CO2): 140-146 TARGET BUYERS: Those who want a car that’s capable of eating huge miles but delivering thrills in the bends too.

THE RIVALS: Audi A4 Avant, Mercedes C-Class Estate, Skoda Octavia vRS. KEY SELLING POINTS: 1. Impressive refinement.

2. Loaded with equipment.

3. Confident driving style.

DEAL CLINCHER: Families, executives or couples – anyone will feel at home in BMW’s latest Touring.

There’s plenty of legroom and headroom in the back, so even taller passengers should be able to get comfortable.

The boot, meanwhile, has been upped in size over the previous-generation car. It’s only been increased by five litres, which isn’t a lot, but it now bumps the total load area to 500 litres, or 1,510 litres with the rear seats folded flat.

What’s the spec like?

This latest 3 Series comes loaded with tech. One of the most popular specifications in the UK will undoubtedly be M-Sport, which features a range of standard equipment including a full aerodynamics

package, adaptive LED headlights and sportstuned suspension.

The new infotainment system is easy to use, too. Standard cars get a 9.0-inch screen, while high-spec vehicles (like our test car) benefit from a larger 10-inch unit. It’s simple to navigate, good to look at and incorporates BMW’s latest voice-recognition technology. You can say ‘I’m cold’ and the car will automatically increase the interior temperature. Clever stuff!

What do the press think?

Parkers said: ‘Unless that high SUV driving position is essential to you, the 3 Series Touring sets an exceptional standard once again and genuinely offers buyers the best of many worlds.’

Autocar said: ‘Top-rung diesel Touring has towering everyday appeal. Arguably the best allrounder sensible money can buy.’

What do we think?

The BMW 3 Series Touring builds on the solid foundations made by the saloon and adds a healthy dose of practicality for good measure.

It’s good to drive, quiet, comfortable and well appointed both inside and out. Although this diesel engine will more likely suit those who drive longer miles, a variety of engines means there’s likely to be a powertrain for everyone – and a plug-in hybrid due next year ticks the electrification box too. It comes perilously close to being all the car you could ever need – and it certainly felt that way during our initial time with the 3 Series Touring.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 43

Forecourt.

Gearbox

It’s far from being unresponsive, but is noticeably hesitant under hard acceleration.

The updated Audi Q7 remains one of the best SUVs on sale today. Ted Welford heads to Ireland to put the updated model through its paces.

What is it?

Look at Audi’s SUV model range today and the choices seem endless. The current line-up includes eight SUVs – and that’s before the rugged Allroad and sportier ‘S’ models are considered.

Cast your eyes back 14 years, and the only ‘Q’ model on sale was the Q7. As more Audi SUVs have filtered into the market, there was always one aspect of continuity – that the Q7 remained the German manufacturer’s flagship SUV. However, as of last year, that’s no longer the case, as the range-topping gong now goes to the flagship ‘coupe-like’ Q8. Time for a game of catch-up, then, for the Q7?

What’s new?

If you looked at what was new about the Q8 when it reached showrooms last year, it really is a case of control-C, control-V for the Q7.

The highlight of the update is undoubtedly the cabin, with its prominent, stylish, twintouchscreen set-up.

Mild-hybrid technology has also been rolled out across the range. By fitting a 48-volt electric motor, small fuel savings are made throughout the line-up. The engine choice itself has been cut back, though, because of strict new WLTP emissions-testing regulations.

As for styling changes, the light facelift brings

in a raft of features to help the model fit in with the rest of the ‘Q’ range, which has been overhauled in recent years. This grants it the Q8’s fancy LED lights, a larger octagonal grille and two-tone exterior styling.

What’s under the bonnet?

At launch, the engine choice is limited to three 3.0-litre V6 units – two diesel and one petrol.

Despite the constant decline in sales of new diesel cars, oil burners remain popular in large SUVs such as this. Hence an astonishing 90 per cent of new Q7s will still be diesel.

It certainly seems the better option, if our 50 TDI test car is anything to go by.

Producing 282bhp and an impressive 600Nm of torque, it allows for a 0-60mph time of 6.3 seconds and a top speed of 150mph.

Not bad for a 2.2-tonne SUV. Power is sent to all four wheels via an eight-speed S tronic automatic gearbox.

This gearbox lets the side down, though.

While far from being unresponsive, it’s noticeably hesitant under hard acceleration.

That said, this refined, smooth and torquey engine is a delight.

The only petrol option currently is a 335bhp, 3.0-litre unit that’s incredibly smooth and holds the performance edge over the diesel. A cheaper 241bhp 3.0-litre diesel is also available.

What’s it like to drive?

What initially strikes you about the Q7 is how it feels relatively small to drive even though it dwarfs other large SUVs. Despite that, it’s easy to manoeuvre – more so for cars fitted with the all-wheel steering.

Minimal input is needed

‘The highlight of this update is undoubtedly the cabin, with its twin-touchscreen set-up.’

44 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

FIRST DRIVE

Audi Q7 around town, which also aids the Q7’s usability factor – important given how many cars such as this reside in cities.

However, what is most impressive about the Q7 is its refinement. Hushed engines help initially, but with sound-proofing to rival the best luxury saloons, very little road noise makes its way into the cabin. Also, once a pricey option, adaptive air suspension is now fitted as standard. This is a superb feature.

There’s a surprising lack of roll in the corners for such a hefty SUV, although a BMW X5 will prove more involving behind the wheel.

How does it look?

Taking on Audi’s latest ‘family face’, the updated Q7 gains all the styling cues found in the latest raft of Q models. Most notable is the new octagonal single-frame grille, which brings new chrome vertical slats to give the model more presence on the road.

Matrix LED headlights are also included as standard and come with a lighting signature

Inside

The fit and finish are superb throughout the Q7 – there’s not even a sniff of cheap plastic.

Standard kit

Highlights include 19-inch alloys and adaptive air suspension, plus electrically operated and heated leather seats.

THE KNOWLEDGE Model: Audi Q7 50 TDI Sport Price as tested: £62,500 (est) Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 diesel Power: 282bhp Torque: 600Nm Max speed (limited): 150mph 0-60mph: 6.3 seconds MPG: N/A Emissions (CO2): N/A TARGET BUYERS: Families wanting the utmost in comfort and quality this side of £100,000.

THE RIVALS: BMW X5, Mercedes GLC, Volvo XC90.

KEY SELLING POINTS: 1. Outstanding refinement.

2. Tech-laden interior.

3. Practical cabin.

DEAL CLINCHER: A premium SUV at its finest.

mirroring that of its Q8 sibling. They’re a bit overcomplicated, though – one simple LED bar gives a far more effective look in our opinion.

The lower areas of the car now come in a twotone painted finish, which Audi says is to draw attention to the ground clearance.

What’s it like inside?

The fit and finish throughout are superb – you don’t even get a sniff of cheap plastic. It feels every bit as premium as a £60,000 SUV should.

But it’s the new twin touchscreen system that feels like the biggest step forward.

Replacing one 8.3-inch system is a 10.1-inch screen looking after the sat nav and phone pairing etc, and a lower 8.6-inch screen taking care of the climate control.

It’s the same layout seen in the Q8 and looks and feels far more modern than before. Unlike other markets, UK Q7s come with seven seats as standard, although you can choose to have it as a five-seater. Space in the second row is plentiful, with acres of headroom and legroom. The third

row is best reserved for children though, as there isn’t that much room back there.

What’s the spec like?

The Q7 range kicks off at £56,500, which pays for a Sport trim with the 45 TDI engine.

You could write short stories with the list of standard equipment the Q7 comes with – highlights include 19-inch alloy wheels, adaptive air suspension and electrically operated and heated leather seats.

Next up is the best-selling S line, which will start from £61,500. This adds the desirable sports styling, 20-inch alloy wheels, Valcona leather upholstery and sports seats. The stealthy Black Edition (from £66,000) brings a full gloss black styling kit, along with a sportier adaptive air suspension set-up and 21-inch Audi Sport wheels.

Sitting at the top of the Q7 range is Vorsprung, which comes with more kit than most will ever need. It adds clever all-wheel steering to reduce the turning circle, laser LED headlights to double the standard headlights’ vision, ventilated seats, a

Bose sound system and a vast number of safety features. Just a few highlights here include turn assist, adaptive cruise control and a 360-degree camera that can detect an accident all around the vehicle.

But there’s a big catch – the price. Vorsprung will set a buyer back £82,500 as a minimum. At that price, the Q7 looks remarkably expensive.

What do the press think?

Top Gear said: ‘As far as being a nicely appointed seven-seat SUV with real practical appeal if you regularly haul multiples, the Q7 meets the brief.’

Auto Express said: ‘Audi has focused its attention on aesthetics, technology and mild-hybrid efficiency to bring its largest SUV up to date.’

What do we think?

Even before this facelift, the Q7 was one of the best luxury SUVs on sale today. It’s pretty hard to take a backwards step from that, so unsurprisingly this facelift has only improved on a winning formula.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 45

Forecourt.

FIRST DRIVE

Mini John Cooper Works Clubman

THE KNOWLEDGE

Mini has updated its quirky Clubman model, which means we get a new and improved JCW version. Darren Cassey went to Frankfurt to give it a go.

What is it?

New-age, BMW-owned Mini has long traded on the heritage of the British brand to sell cars, and the John Cooper Works Clubman is the perfect example of this.

The Clubman name refers to an estate-like shape in a relatively small package with rear doors that open like a van’s. Then there’s John Cooper Works, which is the name of the firm’s performance brand, named after the Mini racing legend.

Brought together here, they form an intriguing proposition in the ‘hot hatch’ market.

(and the new BMW M135i), but Mini’s engineers have made plenty of improvements to give it proper top-end hot hatch performance.

Power is now measured at 302bhp and torque is 450Nm – up about 75bhp and 100Nm on before. That’s a healthy gain that puts it on a level pegging with another premium performance rival, the MercedesAMG A35, which the firm said it considers a direct competitor.

To achieve this increase in power there’s a new crankshaft, uprated internal components and a bigger, boostier turbocharger.

What’s new?

What’s it like to drive?

Mini has given the JCW Clubman a surprisingly thorough going-over for what is actually a facelift upgrade.

The engine has had a big boost in power, making it and the updated JCW Countryman SUV, which has received similar fettling, the most powerful road-going Minis ever.

There’s a new eight-speed automatic gearbox, all-wheel drive that features a mechanical locking differential on the front wheels to improve front-end grip, and a reinforced body structure that makes it stiffer (and theoretically more responsive) than before. There’s also a new exhaust system.

The defining feature of this updated JCW Clubman is the engine – the increased power output is noticeable. You quickly discover that this is a car that doesn’t like to be chucked about though, instead preferring you to find a smooth rhythm on a winding road. It feels quite heavy, particularly under brakes, so although it’s capable in corners it perhaps lacks that highly responsive ‘go-kart’ fun that fast Minis tend to have.

What’s under the bonnet?

The engine is essentially the same 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol unit that we’ve seen in the Cooper S models 46 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

How does it look?

The Clubman’s unique selling point is that it truly does offer something different. This lovable Mini manages to mix retro-inspired styling with a quirky-looking, perfectly usable rear hatch that’s just so much more interesting than a regular estate.

In JCW trim, its looks are amplified with a sporty body kit and a spoiler above the rear hatch, while the optional Union Flag rear taillights are a fun nod to the brand’s heritage.

What’s it like inside?

Something Mini has long nailed is interior ambience. Everything looks and feels premium, from the dashboard materials to the satisfying feel of the aeroplane cockpit-like buttons in the centre console. The large central infotainment screen is divisive, though. There’s a large circular light bar, which takes some getting used to, but the actual screen itself is clear and easy to use.

What’s the spec like?

Opt for a John Cooper Works Clubman and you’re looking at a hefty premium over the Cooper S, which is next in the trim hierarchy.

That model starts at £23,900 compared with £34,250 for the JCW. Aside from the extra performance and mechanical upgrades that are provided, there’s also a decent amount of equipment offered to justify the price tag.

On the outside there are 18-inch alloy wheels, a JCW-specific body kit, performance brakes and a sports exhaust. Interior equipment includes sports seats, leather steering wheel, piano-black interior trim, satellite navigation and a suite of driver aids.

Model: Mini John Cooper

Works Clubman Price (as tested): £34,250 Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder

turbocharged petrol Power: 302bhp Torque: 450Nm Max speed: 155mph 0-60mph: 4.7 seconds MPG: 38-40 Emissions (CO2): 161-169g/km TARGET BUYERS: People looking for a premium family car and who don’t want anything too predictable.

THE RIVALS: Mercedes-AMG CLA 35 Shooting Brake, VW Golf R Estate, Ford Focus ST Estate.

KEY SELLING POINTS: 1. Spacious for a small family car.

2. Premium interior.

3. Quirky styling.

DEAL CLINCHER: One of the best interiors in the segment, and the van-like rear doors are genuinely useful.

What do the press think?

Autocar said: 'If something like a Volkswagen Golf R or BMW M135i is too straight-laced for your liking, we reckon the Mini Clubman JCW is definitely worth a look.’ Top Gear said: ‘Space in the back is tight for taller adults, but the seats are comfy enough wherever you’re sitting.’

What do we think?

The Mini JCW Clubman is a unique proposition – a small family car with estate-like looks, genuine character and hot hatch performance. It has character in spades plus enough performance to keep most happy.

83% of dealers

rate our funding options for their business good or very good

Our account manager introduced us to a stock funding plan, “taking us from selling 30 cars a month to 80. Thanks to Close Brothers

Motor Finance, we’re buying more cars, selling more cars, and we’re now a lot more profitable.

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CarDealerMag.co.uk | 47 Insight | Compliance

Feature.

GOODBYE TO ICONIC V8

Emissions impossible

The seventh-generation Corvette and sixth-generation Camaro – both powered by General Motors’ famed LT1 6.2-litre V8 – will no longer be imported after August 31. Oliver Young says farewell to the muscle cars at the country’s only authorised Chevrolet dealer

I

an Allan Motors is currently the sole official UK home for new Camaro and Corvette models – or rather it will be until strict new EU emissions regulations render the cars ineligible for import.

The root of the problem lies with the General Motors 6.2-litre V8 powerplant which drives not only the Camaro and Corvette but also the Cadillac Escalade – another car that the dealership based in Virginia Water, Surrey, has on its books. It’s not clean enough to comply with new legislation, which means that any cars that use it won’t be able to be imported into the UK any more.

It’s a crying shame, because the Camaro and Corvette provide some welcome relief from the ubiquitous German performance cars.

They’re fast, look great and sound fantastic – what more could you want?

So, while it’ll be sad to see the seventhgeneration Corvette and sixth-generation Camaro leave us, the pair won’t be forgotten.

And with the next Corvette, the C8, set to arrive in the UK in early 2021, the future isn’t all doom and gloom. Chevy’s all-new muscle car features a cleaner, more efficient engine – so it won’t be turned round and sent packing when it arrives on our shores.

To find out more and to learn how Ian Allan Motors plans to deal with the new regulations, I visited the dealership and sat down with dealer principal Kevin Hurl.

Hurl said the dealership’s main goal at the moment was to sell all the 6.2-litres it has left before the deadline, which amounted to 40 cars at the time of my visit. If they aren’t gone by close of play on August 31, they’ll have to be registered and sold as pre-owned vehicles – which is something the dealer is willing to do.

But what exactly draws people to the Camaro and Corvette? Hurl believes it mainly comes down to looks, sound and the raw emotion these V8 muscle cars give not only the driver but passers-by too. Rarity was also something he thought was a factor. People like to stand out, and what better way to do it than by driving around the UK in one of America’s finest performance cars?

‘They’re not necessarily trophy cars, but they are definitely something someone else hasn’t got,’ he said. ‘This is a real niche within a niche within a niche. We just deal in iconic cars.’

Despite the Chevys being left-hand drive even in UK spec, Hurl said people who were genuinely interested in the cars didn’t care about the inconvenience.

‘It’s lovely to get involved with something people are passionate about,’ he added.

How did Ian Allan Motors get involved with Chevrolet and fellow iconic US brand Cadillac in the first place though?

In fact, the arrangement originated from the dealer’s link with Saab.

Initially a Volvo dealership back in 1976, the business eventually represented Saab before

‘They’re not necessarily trophy cars, but they are definitely something someone else hasn’t got.’

Dealer principal Kevin Hurl 48 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Facts at a glance Model: Price: Engine: Power: Torque: Max speed: 0-60mph: MPG: Emissions:

Chevrolet Camaro V8 From £41,290 6.2-litre V8 453bhp 617Nm 180mph 4.4 seconds 25.5 252g/km

the manufacturer went bankrupt in 2011. Hurl described the failure of Saab as ‘awful for us’.

At the time, Saab’s parent company was General Motors, which also owned Cadillac – indeed, it still does – and as a number of the brands’ cars were somewhat similar, Ian Allan Motors began servicing Cadillacs. This was followed by selling some used models and servicing Corvettes.

With the relationship already formed, it wasn’t long before Ian Allan Motors became an authorised Chevrolet dealer – and is the only remaining one in the UK. The past and present now covered, it was time to turn to the future and the upcoming C8 Corvette, which, as mentioned before, has been confirmed for UK shores in early 2021 – and Ian Allan Motors will be at the forefront of the

Oliver gets a feel for an American classic

The engine facing the import ban

Chevrolet Corvette Stingray From £72,945 6.2-litre V8 466bhp 630Nm 180mph 4.2 seconds 23 284g/km introduction. At the time of our visit, the C8 Corvette hadn’t been fully revealed. However, Hurl was quick to display his enthusiasm for the new model, and showed off videos of the all-new Corvette wearing full camouflage while being tested against the outgoing car.

The forecourt of the dealership may not be the largest in the world but it certainly displays some striking vehicles.

Most notably, there was a convertible Corvette Grand Sport – a wider and more track-focused model that fills the gap between the standard Stingray and lairy ZO6.

We got a closer look at a white, manualtransmission Camaro. Firing up the 6.2, it was immediately apparent why the engine has so much appeal – and in turn why it’ll be so sorely missed. The hot-rod-like burble then savage roar

when you press the throttle is intoxicating, and the cherry on top is the immense crackles and pops of the quad exhausts.

The Camaro is said to be the most popular model in terms of numbers. Speaking of figures, Hurl explained that in their best year, 70 cars were sold – which in the UK is a fair amount for brands such as Chevrolet and Cadillac.

Sitting in a Corvette, this time a white one with an automatic transmission, overall it felt similar to its four-seater sibling.

It does have a more driver-orientated layout and the cabin is much smaller, though. The exhaust note is actually slightly more docile than the Camaro’s, which came as a bit of a surprise.

That’s not to say it was terrible – the Vette still sounded like a beast – but it wasn’t quite as loud or produced as many pops and bangs.

And with that, it was time to say goodbye to the Camaro and Corvette – for now.

With their 6.2-litre naturally aspirated V8s too dirty to pass the new regulations and homologation ‘not worth it for the amount of sales’, said Hurl, the UK is left with the supply it has before August 31 and no more after that.

The bright side, however, is that the regulations don’t stop Chevrolet bringing over any cleaner future creations – and with the C8 Corvette already confirmed ahead of the reveal, the prospects of that happening don’t appear to be entirely off the table.

New C8 Corvette

WITH a newly developed naturally aspirated 6.2-litre V8, the C8 Corvette is now finally out in the open. It uses a mid-mounted motor, dubbed the LT2, which develops 488bhp and 637Nm of torque, sending the Vette from 0-60mph in under three seconds. Unfortunately, there’s no manual available – a quick-shifting dual-clutch automatic is the only transmission – but that said, this Stingray is all about performance.

Another attractive trait of the Corvette is its attainable price tag, which is why Chevrolet has stated this new mid-engined iteration will start at under $60,000 (circa £49,500) in the US. Official UK pricing has yet to be announced, but the manufacturer will be sending the car across the pond in right-hand drive for the first time – so that price tag might just turn out to be the factor to win over on-the-fence buyers or be the icing on the cake for UK Vette enthusiasts.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 49

Feature.

What’s holding back self-driving cars?

With a new poll revealing that 70 per cent of motorists wouldn’t trust an autonomous car, James Baggott investigates what’s delaying the introduction of the game-changing technology.

T

o some it sounds like automotive utopia, to others a dystopian nightmare: Cars that drive themselves around without any input from the occupants.

While it might seem like something from a science-fiction film, cars that park themselves or drive along roads while you read the paper are a very real thing indeed and, if predictions are to be believed, are coming far sooner than you might think.

Manufacturers have been working on the necessary systems for years – in fact, some four years ago, I was driven round a test track by a Nissan Leaf that could overtake and slow down at junctions all by itself.

Tesla – which didn’t respond to our request for comment – has been at the forefront of autonomous driving technology, rolling out a suite of self-driving features across its model range. But that hasn’t been without problems.

A series of high-profile crashes, some of which sadly led to the deaths of the drivers, have thrown a spotlight on the technology.

In a poll of more than 2,000 DriveTribe.com users, some 70 per cent of respondents said they wouldn’t trust an autonomous car to drive them.

So, is it public wariness of the technology that’s holding them back, legislation or the fact systems just aren’t quite ready yet?

50 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

A spokesman for Kia believes it’s far more complicated than that.

‘Much of the in-car technology exists,’ he said.

‘Kia vehicles are operating at our R&D centres with remote parking capability, emergency avoidance technology and self-driving technology – but that is useless on its own without safe operating conditions on our roads and the infrastructure to allow these systems to be widely rolled out.’

While the cars’ systems work very well in the confines of a test track, where the white lines are freshly painted and pedestrians and cyclists few and far between, out in the real world it’s a very different story.

Autonomous systems rely on good infrastructure and well-maintained roads – something most countries simply don’t have.

Throw in the quirks of driving – such as busy zebra crossings in cities, letting people out at junctions or merging in traffic – and robotic driving begins to struggle.

And that’s before you even begin to consider

the simple issue of poor road markings. How often have you driven along a road and noticed the white lines are broken or faded? While that’s fine for humans, self-driving cars rely heavily on good markings to navigate.

A spokesman for the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said: ‘The automotive industry is investing huge amounts in CAVs (connected autonomous vehicles), and increasing their number on our roads promises to bring wide-ranging benefits, especially on safety.

‘To realise this potential, however, the conditions must be right, and sustained support from governments is vital.

‘Crucial will be updating road traffic laws, improving 5G coverage across all road networks, encouraging local authorities to work with industry to implement urban mobility services and future harmonisation of international regulations to ensure these new vehicles can operate seamlessly between the UK and abroad.’

And it’s this investment that’s so desperately needed across the globe for autonomous cars to

'Helping ease the anxiety behind a fully autonomous vehicle is the introduction of driver-assist technologies.’

Ford spokesman

‘The technology can work just as effectively on a Somerset country lane as it can on a California freeway but only if the infrastructure is there to support it.’

Kia spokesman

really flourish. ‘The technology can work just as effectively on a Somerset country lane as it can on a California freeway but only if the infrastructure is there to support it,’ added the Kia spokesman.

‘A mobile phone is just a collection of wires and components if there is no signal; the same applies to autonomous vehicle technology.’

Ford plans to launch a ‘commercial service’ with a purpose-built, self-driving vehicle in the US in 2021.

A Ford spokesman said: ‘Right now, the roads aren’t as important as making sure the selfdriving software is done right. If you have the right software, you will be able to navigate within geo-fenced areas.

‘Each market has its own challenges and we have seen that in the US within the five areas where we have been testing – Pittsburgh, Detroit, Miami, Washington DC and Palo Alto in California. The more we test and the more challenges we face, the more our software learns.’

While infrastructure needs to improve across the globe – including the roll-out of 5G networks that will allow autonomous cars to communicate quickly between each other – one of the biggest hurdles that still remains is public acceptance.

‘The public’s safety must remain the highest priority in developing this technology or we run the risk of never being able to make it a viable tool for resolving so many different transportation

issues,’ added the Ford spokesman.

‘In order to gain the public’s trust and acceptance, we need to make sure we are operating safely and communicating regularly.’

What is clear is that while there are currently risks associated with self-driving technology as it integrates with humans on the roads, the benefits in the long term – when all cars are autonomous – have the potential to eradicate deaths on the roads.

A Volvo spokesperson said: ‘Ninety-four per cent of crashes today are due to humanrelated reasons, with behavioural issues such as speeding, intoxication and distraction the prime contributors. Autonomous driving will eliminate the risks of such human-related reasons in driving and take safety into a new era for society as a whole.’

How, then, do car companies – and governments – persuade motorists to ditch their steering wheels and take a back seat, especially considering 70 per cent of people refused to even entertain the idea of self-driving cars?

‘Two decades ago, similar numbers would not have trusted sat navs or cruise control systems,’ countered the Kia spokesman.

‘Exposure to these systems will bring acceptance. Also, the insurance industry will welcome increased autonomy as it will reduce

Autonomous motoring, Google-style accidents – cheaper car insurance for autonomous vehicles will drive acceptance too.’

Ford thinks that by slowly introducing concerned drivers to autonomous functions they’ll be truly won over.

The spokesman said: ‘Helping ease the anxiety behind a fully autonomous vehicle is the introduction of driver-assist technologies.

‘In the last decade, we have implemented more and more driver-assistance technologies which take over certain tasks while the driver remains responsible and fully in the loop.

‘With this increased offer of supporting systems, people learn how and to what extent they can rely on the technologies, start to build confidence and finally get used to them.’

Throw into the mix big-tech firms such as Google, Apple and Dyson, which are all desperate to get in on the self-driving action, and predictions of full autonomy by 2025 look more likely than ever.

Whether we – or our roads – will be ready for them, though, remains to be seen.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 51

INCREASE YOUR SALES AND MARGINS WITH WHAT CAR? NEW CAR BUYING

car r? every year to research their next Ca at Wh it vis le op pe m 20 n tha More

Find out how you can reach these in-market buyers with the What Car? New Car Buying service.

Avoid a race to the lowest price; deals are based on What Car?’s Target Price, which represents a fair price for the consumer and the dealer

A pricing model that gives you a far more cost-effective ROI compared with other channels

For more information go to

whatcar.com/increasemysales

52 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

We encourage more leads for you by protecting consumer privacy with direct communication on our platform

Focus on.

Consumer-facing advertising

What Car? New Car Deals platform – the retailer solution for the digital marketplace HAYMARKET

W: whatcar.com/increasemysales

I

n just five years’ time, more than one in five new car buyers expects to purchase their next car online, with 44 per cent of buyers already confident they can get a final price on a vehicle from the internet.

This shift is challenging the traditional relevance of retailers to the research process, with retailers at risk of becoming places customers visit only at the very end of the process.

The What Car? New Car Deals platform helps put trusted retailers in touch with customers early in their research phase, creating an end-toend experience for both.

Every new car review on What Car?’s website is complemented by a recommended Target Price.

Unique to What Car?, Target Price is based on daily mystery shopper data and new car price research, giving an accurate and fair price on new models for both consumers and retailers.

Buyers who want to inquire about a new car purchase only need to submit minimal information, which is shared with an approved list of retailers. The Auto Response feature allows franchised dealers to create an automatic reply to quote inquiries by setting prices either at or below Target Price.

With a tailored quote immediately in the prospective buyer’s inbox, retailers are then perfectly placed to pick up the conversation via the What Car? platform.

This helps connect the right seller to the right buyer in a secure environment where consumer privacy is protected. The Target Price guarantee also takes the hassle and haggle out of the purchase process for both retailers and buyers.

The quick response time from Auto Response ensures franchised dealers become a crucial part of the research process for customers – helping them choose the right model, trim and purchase options – rather than just competing for the lowest price after a customer has made up their mind. Retailers benefit from a greater return on investment than on other buying platforms.

Given that 48 per cent of consumers are worried about getting a good deal according to What Car?, communication early in the

less pressured research phase of reviews and shortlisting models helps retailers build valuable trust.

The What Car? New Car Deals platform solves the major issue facing both customers and retailers in the digital era by simplifying the buying process, matching the right buyer with the right seller at a price that is fair to both parties rather than competing in a race to the bottom.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 53

Focus on.

AX Innovation

Build for the future by making the most of now AX INNOVATION

E: vpowell@ax-uk.com T: 0844 415 2400

E

very year, the new vehicle registration plates that hit the market in March and September play a defining role for dealerships across the UK, usually seeing new registrations hit their twice-yearly high as thousands of buyers flock to the forecourts.

In a challenging year for the UK’s automotive industry, the new number plates that land in September are more pivotal for dealerships than ever. The new plate in March this year saw nearly 500,000 new car registrations – accounting for well over a third of registrations during the first half of 2019 – and the introduction of September’s new 69-plate will mark another opportunity for retailers to bolster their sales.

While September presents an enticing opportunity for sales executives across the UK, retailers who go the extra mile are increasingly likely to capitalise on the increased footfall.

Offering extended test drives and recognising the longer-term benefits of delivering an excellent aftercare programme to the influx of buyers could give you that edge.

Stand out by stepping aside With so much competition to make the most of the seasonal sales uplift, dealerships need to do more to stand out. It’s tempting to simply add discounts or incentives, but by improving the customer journey itself, retailers can secure both sales and longer-term loyalty.

The demo fleet is often used more as a perk for dealer staff, and while we shouldn’t deny employees a benefit of working in automotive retail, this costly fleet of vehicles must be put to work as an effective tool for the business.

The idea of extended, unaccompanied test drives or real-time customer-driven online booking systems has turned heads but not always changed minds – a good idea but not worth the risk.

Test drives are the ultimate platform to build interest but aren’t always used to their potential.

Make the most of your footfall and set yourself up for longer-term success Gone are the days of offering customers brief drive-along test-drives. Customers expect more these days and facilitating this approach is now much easier.

Platforms like AX Manage will handle the vehicle bookings at the dealership and online, performing all the relevant checks to ensure the customer is properly insured without putting the dealership’s motor trade policy at risk, while allowing the retailer to integrate connected telematics to track and protect demo cars.

Today’s car buyers are more likely to engage and take a test drive if they can book online, while offering extended or unaccompanied drives can help build a pressure-free customer journey that can increase sales. One dealer group reported that 60 per cent of its customers that took an extended test drive converted to a sale.

With the right supplier of telematics, when the vehicle is safely returned the dealership can see if and how the vehicle was used during the loan, which in turn delivers useful insight into what is important to the customer’s personal driving experience and needs.

Appealing to customers by offering a pressurefree environment, opening up improved test-drive opportunities could reap the rewards, improving the customer journey and helping a dealership stand out from the crowd to capitalise on the increased interest.

After the sale The new plate uptake isn’t just a short-term opportunity to deliver some easy sales; it’s also a chance to earn longer-term business and loyal returning customers. Getting a smart picture of a new car in front of consumers is one thing, but the journey starts earlier than that and, more importantly, goes far beyond the sale itself.

In a challenging year, accident aftercare can be a crucial part of a dealership’s business, helping to bolster aftersales and providing another touchpoint to cement the customer relationship.

Offering an accident aftercare service that keeps customers well cared for not only helps build your service offering – protecting valued customers with quality customer care – but extends the relationship between buyer and dealer beyond the initial sale. With the right accident aftercare service, if the unfortunate occurs, customers will be properly taken care of with a seamless extension to traditional dealer services. Dealerships can earn a satisfied customer, commission from any potential hire, bodyshop and parts revenue, and even a retained customer in the event of a write-off.

Retailers that think outside the box – particularly as the new plate arrives in September – and stand out from competitors will make the most of their footfall, setting them up for longerterm success.

For more information, get in touch with Vince Powell, managing director of AX Innovation, at vpowell@ax-uk.com or on 0844 415 2400 54 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

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Ask the experts.

Six of the best: Top

News, updates and guidance from some of the companies BUILDING TRUST

WARRANTIES

FINANCE

How you can make sure your dealership prospers

Advise customers of extra benefits and protection

Your finance provider can help you meet challenges

IN 2019, the new digital environment is changing the auto retail market, and many automotive consumers prefer the convenience of buying online rather than negotiating one-on-one with a salesperson.

New studies have found that 20 per cent of all UK cars are expected to be sold online within the next 10 years, representing a £41 billion revenue shift to online sales.

Overall, fewer dealerships are visited, and consumers are doing more and more research online. In fact, Google found that 95 per cent of car buyers now source vehicles on the internet. That’s why your website should be easy to navigate and your customer experience as enjoyable as possible – but what about trust?

In a world where 75 per cent of car buyers would travel up to 60 miles to do business at a dealership with good reviews, and 92 per cent of global consumers read reviews online, building trust with consumers has become essential.

Trustpilot research discovered that 87 per cent of consumers find ads featuring the Trustpilot logo more trustworthy than ads without any social proof.

And when leveraged on-site, Trustpilot’s review widgets can increase conversions by up to 130 per cent. The next few years promise big changes and with competition tougher than ever, retailers need to ask themselves – how will they achieve success in a crowded marketplace?

WITH changes in vehicle technology, the fact that consumers are increasingly turning to digital channels, and the ongoing uncertainty that surrounds the UK’s relationship with the EU, times are somewhat uncertain.

As a result, margins are under pressure, but 2019 has already shown that those dealerships that have risen to these challenges are benefiting, whilst the rest play catch-up.

Car buyers will always demand a warranty solution that means that they are properly covered, but in 2019 we have noticed that customers are demanding longer periods of warranty cover, with sales of warranties over three years increasing significantly.

The WMS Group believes that the best way a dealer can secure warranty upsales is to introduce them early in the sales process, preferably at the first encounter. Educating the customer of the benefits and the protection provided is key to gaining a sale.

Dealerships should look to be innovative when supplying warranty products to the discerning car buyer, but the initial building of trust between customer and dealer is of the utmost importance. Direct contact with the customer is key.

Lastly, present a clear overview document explaining what the warranty does and does not cover, removing any ‘grey areas’ should a claim ever be made.

THE next 12 months will see continued challenges for our industry; with as yet unknown implications should we leave the European Union in October; further outcomes from the FCA Motor Finance review and the European Banking Authority draft guidelines on customer on-boarding.

Customers must remain at the heart of all we do. Providing full, accurate, timely and, vitally, transparent information will be key to good customer outcomes.

Empower your team with the knowledge they require using sources such as the FLA’s Specialist Automotive Finance (SAF) pathway. Northridge Finance is an SAFaccredited company and has a GB sales team all accredited with the professional SAF Advanced qualification, delivering enhanced expertise.

Work with your finance company to ensure your customers are provided with comprehensive ‘adequate explanations’ and understanding of their specific financial product, including items such as any ownership opportunities, guaranteed residual value, and mileage restrictions and charges.

Rely on your finance partner to help you navigate the current regulatory landscape.

The existence of commission should always be disclosed, bearing in mind that commission amounts must be disclosed if it could affect the impartiality of the credit broker (motor retailer), or impact on the customer’s decision (see CONC 4.5).

Phone: 0203 889 8444 Website: uk.business.trustpilot.com

56 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Email: sales@wmsgroup.co.uk Phone: 01844 293810 Website: www.wmsgroup.co.uk

Contact our support services team on 0345 607 6775

What’s happening with employment law?

Ask Lawgistics, p66

suppliers at your service who do great work with dealerships of all shapes and sizes VIDEO

CRIME PREVENTION

PROVENANCE

Host of improvements to imagery and video apps

A cost-effective way of fighting rising car crime

Accurate, real-time insight on which cars to purchase

CitNOW has released its summer update, introducing several new features to its suite of apps. The imagery and video tech specialist has developed a host of improvements to its platform which aim to save time, enhance quality control and further improve the customer journey.

The tranche of updates includes a brandnew ‘Session Continuation’ feature, which gives retailers the ability to pause and resume the video-making process at any time, offering greater flexibility.

CitNOW’s Web app – which helps retailers capture and upload assets to easily produce high-quality online listings – has also received significant updates.

The update not only expanded Android compatibility with advanced Web app features but also improved control over asset quality. With ‘Approve’, users can review vehicle assets in any order that suits them from within the CitNOW dashboard to deliver improved, streamlined quality control of their online listings.

Vehicle processing has been made more efficient too, with the new ‘ANPR/ VIN Capture’ feature allowing retailers to identify a vehicle by simply scanning the registration, VIN barcode, or QR code via the app – saving crucial dealer time.

‘Vehicle Collect’ for Workshop Plus has also been introduced, which allows workshop customers to specify a collection time slot via their eVHC after a service.

CAR crime is always a headache for UK dealers. On average, a vehicle is stolen in Britain every five minutes – and the number of vehicles targeted has almost doubled in the last five years.

Leading telematics supplier Meta Trak, one of the largest producers of vehicle safety, security and info systems in the world, has a new product designed to combat the problem. With the launch of the Meta Trak S5 Deadlock, the company aims to provide a cost-effective solution to the problem, giving security, connectivity and peace of mind.

The new deadlock provides automatic immobilisation along with all the benefits of Meta Trak’s new-generation, insuranceapproved tracking technology. It also comes with ID tags, 24-7 control room monitoring and an easy-to-use app and web portal.

For first-line defence, the wireless immobiliser prevents the vehicle starting without the ID tag present. The advanced wireless immobiliser kicks in automatically after the engine is turned off and can be disarmed with the driver ID tag.

Additional security is provided by the ability to lock down the vehicle remotely via the smartphone app or web with the ‘Deadlock Immobilisation’ feature.

Lots of other features come as standard such as low battery alerts, service reminders, a car finder feature and UK and European coverage.

THOUSANDS of motor traders across the UK will be able to perform a provenance check and value a vehicle using a new one-stop portal from Cazana and Experian.

In this fast-changing market, dealers need accurate, real-time insight on which cars to buy, their provenance and how to price vehicles appropriately to attract consumer demand. The companies’ new joint offering combines Experian’s AutoCheck with Cazana’s award-winning Companion pricing tool to offer dealers a single product for vehicle acquisition and pricing.

The system is being launched to thousands of dealer customers to help them better understand the vehicles they are working with.

The product includes a new version of Experian’s AutoCheck platform which, now powered by Cazana, includes Cazana Companion’s valuation and vehicle market research technology.

The availability of these stock insights and the dynamic pricing data within the tool help retailers target the right vehicles to stock, respond to market changes quickly and maximise profit.

Experian’s AutoCheck product itself now also includes Cazana’s vehicle valuations to help dealers understand the real market value of vehicles when they buy from auction or via part-exchange.

This is the second partnership entered into by the two companies.

Email: help@citnow.com Website: citnow.com/products/

Phone: 0208 867 2340 Website: metatrak.co.uk

Email: sales@cazana.com Phone: 0203 4751 492

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 57

Data file.

Thestatistics

| SMMT SALES DATA | TAKING STOCK | NEW CAR FIGURES

The lowest July market since 2012 – but sales of pure EVs almost triple

T

he UK new car market declined again in July, with 157,198 vehicles leaving showrooms, according to figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

Registrations fell by 4.1 per cent – the fifth consecutive month of decline – as political and economic uncertainty and confusion over government policy on different fuel types continued to knock consumer and business confidence.

The industry body added that it was the lowest July market since 2012, when 143,884 cars were registered.

Private demand fell two per cent, while deliveries for fleet and business customers were down 4.7 per cent and 22.5 per cent respectively.

Luxury saloons and specialist sports cars experienced a rise in registrations in the month with volumes driven by increased demand for dual-purpose vehicles – up 12.8 per cent to take nearly a quarter (24.4 per cent) of the market.

All other segments declined.

Registrations of diesel vehicles fell for the 28th month, down 22.1 per cent, while petrols remained stable, with 2,646 more registrations than in July 2018. Hybrid-electric cars increased by a

substantial 34.2 per cent, with 7,758 of these low-emission vehicles joining UK roads. Meanwhile, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles continued their recent decline, down 49.6 per cent. Demand for batteryelectric vehicles shot up by a massive 158 per cent, resulting in a 1.4 per cent market share – the highest monthly market share on record.

Manufacturers have invested heavily in a growing range of powertrain options, with British drivers now having the choice of advanced low-emission petrols and diesels, and an ever-greater number of hybrid, plug-in hybrid, battery-electric and even hydrogen cars.

There are currently more than 350 models available in the UK – around 80 of them alternatively fuelled, including 21 battery-electric, with more expected to arrive in showrooms later this year.

The SMMT forecasts this ongoing investment into new, ever more advanced powertrain technology will result in battery-electric vehicles doubling their market share next year, with 51,000 registrations in

2020. However, this will still represent only 2.2 per cent of the overall market.

For the UK to meet its zero-emission ambitions, world-class, long-term incentives, supportive policies and substantial investment in infrastructure are needed, it said.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, below, added: ‘Despite yet another month of decline in the new car market, it’s encouraging to see substantial growth in zero-emission vehicles.

‘Thanks to manufacturers’ investment in these new technologies over many years, these cars are coming to market in greater numbers than ever before.

‘If the UK is to meet its environmental ambitions, however, the government must create the right conditions to drive uptake, including long-term incentives and investment in infrastructure.

‘The fastest way to address airquality concerns is through fleet renewal, so buyers need to be given the confidence to invest in the new, cleaner vehicles that best suit their driving needs, regardless of how they are powered.’

Best-sellers, p10

SMMT sales data July/year to date

5

Top

Most-improved manufacturers in July

Alpine +163% Jeep +50% Lexus +42% Infiniti +35% Citroen +29%

5

Bottom

Worst-performing manufacturers in July

SsangYong -37.8% Bentley -37.4% Fiat -35% Maserati -34% Mitsubishi -33%

‘We need a Brexit deal which provides clarity to everyone’ REACTING to the July new car registration figures from the SMMT, Sue Robinson, director of the National Franchised Dealers’ Association, said: ‘The decline of 4.1 per cent in new car sales in July shows that the government must secure a Brexit deal which provides clarity to businesses and consumers. Our data suggests that almost one in three UK consumers are undecided about 58 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

the fuel type of their next car. While franchised retailers continue to work hard to inform their customers, a stable political and economic environment, with clear policies, is essential.’

Auto Trader commercial director Ian Plummer said: ‘While the figures show a 4.1 per cent drop, these numbers don’t give a real representation of the market. The best way to describe it is it’s like

a calm swan on the surface but actually there’s been a furious amount of paddling by retailers and manufacturers just to get us here.

‘It’s clearly not all doom and gloom for the industry, though.

‘Despite the challenges thrown at UK car buyers, they remain resilient and still as keen to regularly renew their cars.’

Suzuki

Lexus

-22% July 2019 Marque

2019

+42%

July 2018

% market share

2018

Year-to-date (YTD)

% market share

% change

2019

% market share

2018

% market share

% change

Abarth

221

0.14

305

0.19

-27.54

2,108

0.15

3,344

0.23

-36.96

Alfa Romeo

235

0.15

261

0.16

-9.96

2,097

0.15

2,798

0.19

-25.05 936.36

Alpine Audi Bentley BMW

29

0.02

11

0.01

163.64

114

0.01

11

0.00

10,322

6.57

13,460

8.21

-23.31

91,451

6.41

102,723

6.95

-10.97

154

0.10

246

0.15

-37.40

966

0.07

1,079

0.07

-10.47

9,198

5.85

9,978

6.09

-7.82

99,219

6.96

102,374

6.93

-3.08 -17.86

2

0.00

0

0.00

0.00

23

0.00

28

0.00

Citroen

4,435

2.82

3,431

2.09

29.26

33,857

2.37

31,678

2.14

6.88

Dacia

1,445

0.92

1,366

0.83

5.78

20,013

1.40

14,983

1.01

33.57

Chevrolet

DS

268

0.17

216

0.13

24.07

2,099

0.15

4,112

0.28

-48.95

Fiat

1,475

0.94

2,286

1.39

-35.48

19,224

1.35

22,232

1.50

-13.53

Ford

17,049

10.85

16,028

9.78

6.37

144,838

10.15

161,569

10.93

-10.36

Honda

2,970

1.89

3,636

2.22

-18.32

28,049

1.97

33,293

2.25

-15.75

Hyundai

5,649

3.59

5,966

3.64

-5.31

51,565

3.61

57,007

3.86

-9.55

Infiniti

38

0.02

28

0.02

35.71

241

0.02

579

0.04

-58.38

Jaguar

2,515

1.60

2,234

1.36

12.58

22,263

1.56

20,386

1.38

9.21

451

0.29

299

0.18

50.84

3,688

0.26

3,800

0.26

-2.95

7,115

4.53

7,369

4.50

-3.45

60,347

4.23

58,875

3.98

2.50

4,153

2.64

3,843

2.34

8.07

46,245

3.24

45,275

3.06

2.14

Lexus

1,118

0.71

784

0.48

42.60

8,550

0.60

7,692

0.52

11.15

Lotus

12

0.01

13

0.01

-7.69

143

0.01

145

0.01

-1.38

Jeep Kia Land Rover

77

0.05

117

0.07

-34.19

611

0.04

847

0.06

-27.86

2,772

1.76

2,522

1.54

9.91

24,215

1.70

24,403

1.65

-0.77

12,056

7.67

11,395

6.95

5.80

105,046

7.36

102,737

6.95

2.25

MG

1,040

0.66

813

0.50

27.92

7,326

0.51

5,099

0.35

43.68

Mini

2,983

1.90

3,351

2.04

-10.98

36,233

2.54

37,476

2.54

-3.32

Mitsubishi

1,005

0.64

1,513

0.92

-33.58

10,789

0.76

11,644

0.79

-7.34

6,191

3.94

6,312

3.85

-1.92

58,934

4.13

65,893

4.46

-10.56

Maserati Mazda Mercedes-Benz

Nissan Peugeot

5,666

3.60

5,561

3.39

1.89

50,010

3.51

50,550

3.42

-1.07

Porsche

777

0.49

758

0.46

2.51

7,562

0.53

9,632

0.65

-21.49

Renault

2,187

1.39

3,196

1.95

-31.57

34,300

2.40

37,832

2.56

-9.34

Seat

5,391

3.43

5,689

3.47

-5.24

43,169

3.03

41,585

2.81

3.81

Skoda

5,302

3.37

5,546

3.38

-4.40

46,566

3.26

47,943

3.24

-2.87

Smart

388

0.25

535

0.33

-27.48

3,530

0.25

4,366

0.30

-19.15

82

0.05

132

0.08

-37.88

1,171

0.08

1,757

0.12

-33.35

Subaru

103

0.07

112

0.07

-8.04

1,466

0.10

1,739

0.12

-15.70

Suzuki

3,490

2.22

4,519

2.76

-22.77

23,827

1.67

24,983

1.69

-4.63

Toyota

8,134

5.17

6,632

4.05

22.65

64,818

4.54

63,031

4.26

2.84

10,398

6.61

11,781

7.19

-11.74

104,962

7.36

109,731

7.42

-4.35

Volkswagen

15,183

9.66

16,761

10.23

-9.41

126,074

8.84

130,147

8.81

-3.13

Volvo

22.48

SsangYong

Vauxhall

4,288

2.73

4,381

2.67

-2.12

34,277

2.40

27,986

1.89

Other British

199

0.13

240

0.15

-17.08

1,653

0.12

1,707

0.12

-3.16

Other imports

632

0.40

272

0.17

132.35

2,804

0.20

2,821

0.19

-0.60

-4.09

1,426,443

Total

157,198

163,898

1,477,892

-3.48 Figures supplied by SMMT

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 59

LCV news.

Fullyloaded

| LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLES | FLEET | REVIEWS |

DIGITAL

PREMIUMS

VW launches online van leasing service

Van drivers face more insurance price gloom

by DAVE BROWN dave@blackballmedia.co.uk

VOLKSWAGEN Commercial Vehicles and Volkswagen Financial Services UK have launched a digital platform to lease vans on contract hire from a home or office.

Contract Hire Direct lets customers pick a model and calculate a suitable finance quote online. They can then speak to a member of the contract hire team to place an order.

Once finance is approved, the customer selects a Van Centre for collection or arranges delivery direct to their door.

Users will be able to search for vehicles and configure quotes based on the term, mileage, deposit and maintenance package. The aim is a complete online process, from quote to delivery.

Funding directly with the manufacturer gives customers peace of mind that they are dealing with industry experts, says VW. What’s more, it adds, the partnership between its group brands and financial services arm ensures customers have competitive rates and unbeatable levels of service.

Sarah Cox, head of marketing for Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, said: ‘The typical customer journey has changed and we are excited to be launching this new system to keep up with demand.

‘We would expect to see more direct sales options coming on line in future.’

60 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

V

an insurance premiums have risen by 8.3 per cent over the past 12 months – and drivers across the UK may see further increases in the coming months as a result of the government’s recent reset of the Ogden rate.

That’s according to data analytics company Consumer Intelligence, which says that after months of speculation, the rate has now officially edged up from -0.75 per cent to -0.25 per cent. While a higher rate generally means insurers paying out less in compensation, the new rate falls short of insurers’ expectations of it being between zero per cent and one per cent – a figure many had been working to.

The last time the Ogden rate changed – in March 2017 when it fell from 2.5 per cent to -0.75 per cent – data from Consumer Intelligence showed that premiums spiked by more than 20 per cent in just six months. While the July 2019 adjustment isn’t on that scale, any Ogden rate change is usually significant for premiums.

The latest Consumer Intelligence Van Insurance Price Index reveals

that average premiums for van drivers now stand at £1,171.

Drivers operating their vans for business continue to attract higher premiums than those using their vans as a car substitute, with average premiums of £1,202. For those in the social, domestic and pleasure (SDP) category, an annual premium typically costs £1,046.

In the absence of a strong telematics presence in the van market, younger drivers – who benefit most from ‘black box’ insurers – continue to attract eyewatering prices. The average annual premium for a van driver aged 17 to 24 is currently £3,958, against £823

for those aged 25-49, and £508 for over-50s.

John Blevins, Consumer Intelligence pricing expert, said: ‘As we’ve now had confirmation of the Ogden changes, we’ll be monitoring with interest the impact on pricing.

‘Depending on how insurers have managed their claims reserves in preparation for the change, this will dictate if we see any painful increases in premiums or, indeed, some welcome price reductions.

‘Drivers using vans for work are more likely to make bigger claims, as it’s not just damage to bodywork but lost business and damaged equipment they’ll be claiming for.’

Top-selling LCVs in July Ford Transit Custom Ford Transit Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Volkswagen Transporter Ford Transit Connect

Source: SMMT

3,798 2,304 2,148 1,303 1,206

Peugeot Partner Renault Trafic Ford Ranger Citroen Berlingo Mitsubishi L200

1,108 1,062 1,022 883 697

LCV registrations, p62

‘Fears that the van won’t be as good to drive as the hatchbacks are quashed.’

Ted Welford tries out the Fiesta Sport Van, p63

Sliding doors WITH CRAIG CHEETHAM

A look at the world of buying and selling vans and pick-ups

PSA showing the way when it comes to tackling scourge of overloading

O

ne of the reasons vans are still selling well in a challenging market is a pretty simple one – demand is strong, not least because of a downturn in the heavier goods vehicle sector, where hauliers and logistics companies are rapidly turning towards larger vans to make deliveries in lieu of HGVs. It makes a lot of sense to do so, too. There’s a growing driver shortage in the heavy goods sector, and sending out a few vans in place of one truck means that ‘just-in-time’ deliveries can be carried out more efficiently. Yes, the labour cost of employing more drivers is a consideration, but this is often offset by vans being cheaper to run and customer deliveries being more resourcefully carried out.

That has led to growth in the 3.5-tonne large van sector, which is good news for van manufacturers as these are the models that attract the highest profit margin. They’ve cottoned on to it, too, as the days of a £50,000-plus delivery van are well and truly with us.

There’s money to be made and the vehicles are getting more and more technologically advanced.

But with this boom in large van sales comes a problem in that there are increasing numbers of overloaded vans on our roads.

In a recent campaign, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) stopped almost 11,000 vans and found that 89 per cent of them were overloaded.

While that might sound a truly shocking statistic, it doesn’t mean that nearly nine out of every 10 vans on our roads are running with too much weight on board. These are the ones the DVSA saw fit to stop, so there would have been visual clues that they were running heavy.

But even so, 89 per cent of 11,000 is 9,790 – and that’s 9,790 vans too many.

It’s something that the Freight Transport Association (FTA) is very keen to raise awareness of, with its ‘Van Excellence’ initiative allowing operators to use the scheme’s logo if they commit to following set

guidelines, which include drivers’ daily checks and remaining well within weight limits.

Yet even with schemes such as this in place, it’s easy for van drivers to go over their limits, often without realising. After all, the latest generation of high-roof, long-wheelbase vans are truly vast inside, but even the butchest of the lot can only carry around 1,700kg with a 3.5-tonne GVW limit. That’s no more than you can carry in a Land Rover Defender based on weight alone, and means a large panel van could be overloaded when it only appears half full, which is an easy enough mistake to make – and is reflected in the DVSA’s fines structure. Usually (but not exclusively), if a van is less than five per cent overloaded, the driver is given roadside advice and sent on their way. If overweight by five to 10 per cent, there’s an on-the-spot £100 fine, 10-15 per cent and it’s £200, 15-30 per cent and it’s £300, while over 30 per cent and it’s off to court.

The onus is on the driver, too, and not the operator, although courts will consider extenuating circumstances if the driver is ‘forced’ to drive an overloaded van by its owner.

Of all the van makers then, PSA should be applauded for taking the lead on making our roads safer with its overload indicator, which is now fitted as standard to all small and medium-sized Peugeot, Citroen and Vauxhall vans and is gradually being rolled out across the rest of its LCV line-up.

It’s blindingly simple and operates a bit like a luggage scale – once you get within 10 per cent of the van’s load capacity it lights up amber. If you go over, it turns red.

It’s a wonderfully straightforward idea that means neither operators nor drivers have an excuse for tipping the scales, even if it does mean that not all vans can take the loads they’re expected to. The answer to that is for operators to buy even more vans, but if you’re reading this, that’s probably good news…

Craig Cheetham is an experienced automotive journalist with specialist knowledge of the LCV sector.

Turn over the page for the latest LCV registrations CarDealerMag.co.uk | 61

LCV news.

JULY REGISTRATIONS

Upward trend for year continues with 11 per cent rise THE UK new light commercial vehicle market rose in July by 11 per cent, according to the latest figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

The market has grown in every month of 2019, with 25,862 new models registered in July for use on UK roads as operators were enticed by the

range of new models and attractive offers. Growth in July was driven by demand for medium vans, weighing 2.0 to 2.5 tonnes, and large vans, weighing 2.5 to 3.5 tonnes, those segments rising 17.2 per cent and 16.9 per cent respectively.

Meanwhile pick-ups, 4x4s and smaller vans weighing less than 2.0 tonnes all saw declines in

the month. In the year to date, the market has risen by nine per cent and the SMMT’s latest 2019 forecast has been revised up accordingly, to 363,000 units. Chief executive Mike Hawes said: ‘Another month of growth for the new van market is welcome relief for the automotive sector as it faces multiple challenges simultaneously.’

Registrations of new commercial vehicles less than 3.5 tonnes

Figures supplied by SMMT

July 2019 Marque

2019

July 2018

% market share

2018

Year-to-date (YTD)

% market share

% change

2019

% market share

2018

% market share

% change

Ford

9,037

34.94

8,111

34.80

11.42

74,825

33.66

72,504

35.54

3.20

Mercedes

3,047

11.78

819

3.51

272.04

21,415

9.63

13,320

6.53

60.77

Volkswagen

2,681

10.37

2,908

12.48

-7.81

25,317

11.39

24,633

12.07

2.78

Peugeot

2,182

8.44

2,760

11.84

-20.94

20,159

9.07

21,360

10.47

-5.62

Citroen

1,831

7.08

1,952

8.37

-6.20

16,984

7.64

16,292

7.99

4.25

Vauxhall

1,747

6.76

2,085

8.95

-16.21

17,962

8.08

14,504

7.11

23.84

Renault

1,630

6.30

734

3.15

122.07

12,409

5.58

8,873

4.35

39.85

Nissan

853

3.30

858

3.68

-0.58

7,484

3.37

7,875

3.86

-4.97

Mitsubishi

727

2.81

558

2.39

30.29

7,014

3.16

6,144

3.01

14.16

Fiat

663

2.56

556

2.39

19.24

5,845

2.63

5,196

2.55

12.49

Toyota

473

1.83

1,122

4.81

-57.84

4,703

2.12

5,919

2.90

-20.54

Isuzu

255

0.99

282

1.21

-9.57

2,545

1.14

2,710

1.33

-6.09

Iveco

191

0.74

111

0.48

72.07

1,638

0.74

1,807

0.89

-9.35

MAN

141

0.55

82

0.35

71.95

878

0.39

261

0.13

236.40

Land Rover

112

0.43

122

0.52

-8.20

882

0.40

748

0.37

17.91

Renault Trucks

99

0.38

101

0.43

-1.98

821

0.37

916

0.45

-10.37

Isuzu Trucks

77

0.30

39

0.17

97.44

484

0.22

365

0.18

32.60

LDV

54

0.21

50

0.21

8.00

323

0.15

235

0.12

37.45

SsangYong

45

0.17

43

0.18

4.65

415

0.19

170

0.08

144.12

Fuso

14

0.05

11

0.05

27.27

116

0.05

96

0.05

20.83

Hyundai

3

0.01

0

0.00

0.00

61

0.03

25

0.01

144.00

Dacia

0

0.00

5

0.02

0.00

0

0.00

48

0.02

0.00

0

0.00

0

0.00

0.00

0

0.00

4

0.00

0.00

25,862

100.00

23,309

100.00

10.95

222,280

100.00

204,005

100.00

8.96

Great Wall Total light CV

Registrations of new commercial vehicles 3.5 tonnes to 6.0 tonnes July 2019 Marque

2019

July 2018

% market share

2018

Figures supplied by SMMT

Year-to-date (YTD)

% market share

% change

2019

% market share

2018

% market share

% change -15.31

Peugeot

211

38.57

228

37.32

-7.46

1,388

31.66

1,639

30.46

Fiat

182

33.27

160

26.19

13.75

1,201

27.40

1,170

21.75

2.65

Mercedes

80

14.63

68

11.13

17.65

953

21.74

976

18.14

-2.36

Citroen

27

4.94

6

0.98

350.00

117

2.67

73

1.36

60.27

Iveco

17

3.11

17

2.78

0.00

316

7.21

180

3.35

75.56

Volkswagen

17

3.11

3

0.49

466.67

51

1.16

43

0.80

18.60

Ford

5

0.91

116

18.99

-95.69

112

2.55

1,183

21.99

-90.53

Vauxhall

3

0.55

2

0.33

50.00

121

2.76

53

0.99

128.30

Isuzu Trucks

3

0.55

0

0.00

0.00

12

0.27

7

0.13

71.43

MAN

2

0.37

4

0.65

-50.00

59

1.35

10

0.19

490.00

Renault

0

0.00

7

1.15

0.00

48

1.09

45

0.84

6.67

Renault Trucks

0

0.00

0

0.00

0.00

5

0.11

1

0.02

400.00

Nissan

0

0.00

0

0.00

0.00

1

0.02

0

0.00

0.00

547

100.00

611

100.00

-10.47

4,384

100.00

5,380

100.00

-18.51

Total heavy CV

62 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

FIRST DRIVE

Fiesta Sport Van

THE KNOWLEDGE

Can Ford’s award-winning Fiesta transfer its talents across to the commercial vehicle sector? Ted Welford grabs the keys to find out.

What is it?

The number of supermini-based vans on sale has plummeted, with firms such as Peugeot, Renault and Fiat all exiting this sector. This leaves Ford in a unique position with its latest Fiesta van.

What’s new?

As with the new seventh-generation Fiesta, the van benefits from a new ‘Sync 3’ infotainment system, a bolder look and the latest engines.

Gone are the rear seats, and instead the space has been opened up to reveal one cubic metre of cargo that stretches 1.3m front to back, with a payload of 511kg. The rear side windows have also been replaced by painted panels.

What’s under the bonnet?

The Sport Van is offered with one petrol and one diesel engine. The petrol unit is the ever-popular 123bhp 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine, but those carrying a bit more weight and covering more miles will likely appreciate the extra torque from the 1.5-litre diesel fitted to our test van, which sends its power to the front wheels via a slick six-speed manual gearbox.

What’s it like to drive?

Any fears that the van won’t be as

good to drive as the hatchbacks are quickly quashed, with the Sport Van feeling just as sharp as the normal car, with superb grip levels and little roll in the corners. It’s only the combination of the lowered sports suspension and optional 18-inch alloy wheels on the Sport Van model that can make the Fiesta feel a notch too firm, but it’s still comfortable over long distances.

How does it look?

Vans are known for being slab-sided boxes of dullness but the Fiesta, being a smaller model, is quite the looker. The Sport Van also takes that up a gear with its sports styling kit and gloss black front grille, which make it look impressively car-like.

Our test van was also fitted with numerous styling extras to make it look somewhat like a hot hatchback.

Options included LED headlights, a larger rear spoiler, 18-inch alloy wheels and the fantastic Race Red body colour, making it look particularly cool.

What’s it like inside?

Sitting in the cockpit, there are still few giveaways that you’re in a van.

Just like the hatchback, you sit in comfortable sports seats, with clear dials and a very intuitive layout lending itself nicely to that car-like

feel that the Sport Van relishes in.

That’s until you look in the rear-view mirror, when it can seem as if you’re staring through a dog cage, thanks to the mesh bulkhead that separates the cockpit area from the load area.

What’s the spec like?

Standard equipment on the £19,794 entry-level model is decent, with features including 16-inch alloy wheels, keyless start, lane-keep assist and an eight-inch touchscreen with Bluetooth. Our test car came with a select few options, such as the aforementioned styling extras, along with the FordPass Connect connectivity for fleet users and an upgraded touchscreen with satellite navigation and smartphone connectivity – taking the total up to £22,026.

What do the press think?

Auto Express said: ‘With its racy looks inside and out, the Fiesta Sport Van is a step ahead of most other small commercial vehicles available.’ What Van? said: ‘This is a welcome comeback for this agile and urban-friendly little load-lugger from Ford.’

What do we think?

Take such a great formula like the Ford Fiesta and apply it to other

Model: Fiesta Sport Van 1.5 TDCi Price (as tested): £22,026 inc VAT Engine: 1.5-litre turbo diesel Power: 118bhp Torque: 230Nm Max speed: 121mph 0-60mph: 8.9 seconds MPG (combined): 64.2 Emissions (CO2): 111g/km TARGET BUYERS: Couriers not wanting to sacrifice driving fun.

THE RIVALS: Vauxhall Corsa Van, Ford Transit Courier, VW Caddy.

KEY SELLING POINTS: 1. Looks the same as the ST-Line Fiesta.

2. Identical cockpit to the standard Fiesta.

3. Doesn’t feel like a van to drive.

DEAL CLINCHER: Other motorists don’t even notice it’s a van.

sectors – such as the van market – and the result is, unsurprisingly, very good. The Sport Van might not be the most useful van on the market – its load bay will prove to be too small for many – but for its sheer car-like feel and ability to not diminish any of the driving fun of the standard Fiesta, it deserves high praise. It will be a great companion for smaller businesses that need something more practical than a normal car but find something the size of a Transit unnecessary.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 63

Workshop.

Aftermarket

SERVICING & REPAIRS | PRODUCT NEWS | PEOPLE & PLACES

IAAF

Packed agenda for next briefing event

POSITIVE FEEDBACK

Automechanika will be back at the NEC in 2021

by JOHN BOWMAN john@blackballmedia.co.uk

THE Independent Automotive Aftermarket Federation’s next industry briefing session will be held at Haynes International Motor Museum in Sparkford, near Yeovil, on October 31.

Guest speakers will include Steve Carter, director of Train 4 Auto Consultancy, and Quentin Le Hetet from GiPA UK. Carter will be presenting a talk entitled ‘Fact and Fiction’, giving an insight into the rapidly evolving changes taking place with hybrid, PHEV and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles.

He will unveil some significant facts and statistics to highlight the advancement in technology for the ‘PHEV revolution’ and the huge shifts afoot for both the aftermarket and drivers alike.

Le Hetet will also be taking the stand to illustrate what the next five years hold for the independent aftermarket, examining the development of mobility, PHEVs, and the strategies adopted by vehicle manufacturers.

In addition, members will be brought up to date on current industry issues, including the latest developments with the connected car, type approval legislation and the Your Car Your Choice campaign.

IAAF head of membership development Mike Smallbone said: ‘We have a packed agenda in store, and we’re really looking forward to hearing from Quentin and Steve.’

64 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

A

utomechanika Birmingham 2019 has been hailed a record-breaking success, attracting more than 12,000 visitors from the UK automotive industry – the highest-ever attendance.

Five hundred exhibitors from 23 countries were at the largest aftermarket industry gathering of the year, with 120 new suppliers showcasing their products to a fully receptive market. Ninety per cent of the 12,145 visitors who visited were from the UK. Leading names from the aftermarket helped to attract aftermarket visitors that comprised 88 per cent of the overall audience, from a roster that included Euro Car Parts, Halfords, the AA, GSF Car Parts and Kwik Fit. There was also very strong representation from the vehicle production sector, with key names such as Jaguar Land Rover, Bentley, Aston Martin, McLaren, Ford and Toyota all flying the flag for the UK automotive industry.

The show attracted a high-quality audience, with 84 per cent of visitors having purchasing authority.

Visitors to the show said their

reasons for going included finding new suppliers, meeting existing suppliers, sourcing new innovation and upskilling their teams with the latest training.

Jack Halliday, Automechanika Birmingham event director, said: ‘The feedback we received after the event proved that Automechanika Birmingham is the market-leading event for the UK automotive industry, with 91 per cent of visitors saying they were very satisfied with the show, and 83 per cent of visitors

stating that they would recommend the event to a colleague in the industry.

‘With these stats in mind, and the fact that the industry’s largest names have already rebooked to attend in two years’ time, it means that 2021 is boding extremely well just after 2019 draws to a close.’

Automechanika will return to the NEC from June 8-10, 2021. Leading suppliers have already confirmed their stands for 2021, including Schaeffler, ZF and GS Yuasa.

TrustFord celebrates opening of PartsPlus sites TRUSTFORD is celebrating the official opening of two new PartsPlus sites, as the dealer group nears the completion of its wholesale parts network expansion.

The new sites, in Hull and Lincoln, were both opened by Stuart Foulds, chairman and chief executive of TrustFord, accompanied by Dean Kemsley, general manager, and members of the board.

The openings bring the total number of TrustFord-

operated PartsPlus sites to 14 across England, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Foulds said: ‘Our new sites give us the scale and resource to meet our customers’ parts needs in new parts of the country.

‘At TrustFord, we’re committed to driving the standard in customer care, and our new expanded parts offering will enable us to do just that.’

SUPPORT

£10,000 raised for vital charity work AN OXFORDSHIRE garage has now raised a staggering £10,000 as it continues to deliver on its pledge to donate £1 to the Teenage Cancer Trust for every MOT it undertakes.

Scotlands Ash Garage in Didcot has long been a keen supporter of the life-saving charity, after proprietors Peter and Ruth Welch experienced first-hand how cancer can affect young people.

Their daughter, Libby, was diagnosed in 2015 with a malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour at the age of 20.

Thanks to pioneering treatment and the skill and dedication of the NHS alongside the support of family and

friends, she received the allclear and the tumour is now in remission. Around seven young people aged between 13 and 24 are diagnosed with cancer every day in the UK. The Teenage Cancer Trust is the only charity committed to providing worldclass cancer services for this age group in the UK. More than £1,000 of the total amount has been raised by the TerraClean service network of independent garages, which chose the trust as its dedicated charity for the year.

Peter said: ‘We’re delighted to have raised this amount for Teenage Cancer Trust to date.

‘We would like to thank the community, customers and of course the fabulous TerraClean brand for getting behind our initiative and donating where possible.’

Dealers could do more to remind motorists about upcoming MOT tests, says What Car? MD Rachael Prasher

RESEARCH

Dealers losing out over missed MOT deadlines D

ealers are losing out on £2.89 million of business every year, as 144 drivers a day miss their MOT test deadline, according to new research.

What Car? found 210,886 drivers were caught by the UK’s police forces between 2015 and 2018 for driving without a valid MOT certificate. Police Scotland caught 55,000 drivers in the four-year period – an average of 37 drivers fined per day. The Metropolitan Police caught the second-highest number of drivers, with 40,462 fined, and West Yorkshire recorded the third highest at 12,022.

Every missed MOT represents up to £54.85 in lost business for garages and the tests are a vital aspect of maintaining road safety.

by DAVE BROWN @CarDealerDave

Last year, more than a third of all cars failed their initial MOT, with a worrying 9.2 per cent failing because of dodgy brakes, while another 19 per cent failed because of faulty suspension or illegal tyres.

In 2017, vehicle defects, including illegal tyres, defective brakes and missing mirrors, which are all components inspected as part of the MOT test, were a contributing factor in 1,539 road accidents that required police attendance.

Rachael Prasher, managing director of What Car?, said: ‘Dealers could be doing more to remind motorists about an upcoming

MOT test. Not only are they losing out on potential business, but an unroadworthy vehicle on the road is a significant safety risk for drivers and other road users.’

The research also found that drivers are more likely to fail to renew their MOT in the winter months from November to February than in the summer between May and August. The winter months saw 17.3 per cent more drivers on average fined for not having a valid MOT certificate.

Prasher added: ‘The onus is always on the driver to ensure their vehicle meets the legal roadworthiness requirements, but a friendly reminder from a dealer that their MOT is due could help prevent an accident on our roads.’

BMW and Mini offer flexibility and convenience BMW Group UK has partnered with EMaC to provide a new ‘Pay Monthly’ service plan for sales and service customers. The initiative is in line with the brand’s strategic commitment to delivering ‘Best for Customer’ products and programmes.

The BMW and Mini ‘Pay Monthly’ service plans focus on offering customers convenience and flexibility to enhance their ownership experience.

Crucially for BMW and Mini customers, the plans

help owners spread service and maintenance costs to give them financial peace of mind. BMW & Mini ‘Pay Monthly’ will also provide flexibility – should a customer choose to replace their car, the agreement can simply be amended to suit their upgraded vehicle.

Yvonne Holden, general manager for aftersales development, said: ‘Our partnership with EMaC allows us to market a product which offers more flexibility and convenience than ever before.’

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 65

Data File.

Ask Lawgistics .com

Car Dealer Club lawyers at Lawgistics answer dealers’ legal questions. Join for £49.99 a year to get advice like this when you need it

What’s happening with employment law?

Q

We’ve been told all our employment contracts will have to be changed by April 2020. Is that true, and does it have anything to do with Brexit?

The anticipated impact of Brexit has been summarised succinctly but not very helpfully in a recent Acas guide: any changes to workplaces will depend on the type of future relationship between the UK and the EU. Leaving Brexit and its uncertainties aside, employment law has seen significant developments in recent years, with great influence from the EU. Some five years ago, it was not set that commission should be included in holiday pay. Gig-economy contractors weren’t classed as workers either.

Employment law is adapting to modern working practices, and to see how well it has been coping, the government appointed a team led by Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the Royal Society of Arts, to find out. The Taylor

A

Review recommended a number of important changes in many areas – sick pay, holiday pay, zero hours and agency work to name but a few. They are focused on tuning the law to the challenges of modern work practices, rather than suggesting fundamental changes top to bottom.

The government produced the Good Work Plan in response to the review, although not all of the recommendations were accepted. Some new or amended regulations have already been tabled and adopted, however.

From April 2019, all workers including zero-hours and casual workers and not just employees are entitled to payslips. Part-timers need a statement on their payslips of the paid hours they have worked. The maximum penalty for an ‘aggravated’ breach of employment law has been increased from £5,000 to £20,000.

In April 2020, the next and bigger round of changes is coming into force. Among them, the right to a written statement of particulars of

ADVICE

employment will be extended to all workers – currently, only employees have this right.

In addition, if someone seeks agency work, it will have to provide key information before agreeing an engagement. This should include the type of contract under which they will be engaged, the minimum rate of pay and annual leave entitlement.

These changes are a fraction of the Good Work Plan, with many more on the way. The government is currently consulting on reforming maternity, paternity and all other family-related leave and pay, for example.

To help businesses stay compliant with the employment law changes, Lawgistics has developed a comprehensive tool – the HR Manager portal – which takes care of most issues: employment contracts, holidays, absences, appraisals and disciplinaries among others.

HR Manager gives peace of mind – as changes to employment law are introduced via the Good Work Plan, your business will be covered.

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Click Dealer is a performance partner for dealerships, with over 15 years’ experience and a portfolio of award-winning, integrated products and services, including websites, SEO, DMS, lead management, online sales software and a reputation management platform.

As the digital dealership experts in an industry in which inertia has been a long-standing problem for forward thinking, Click Dealer has continued to innovate to stay ahead of its competitors and provide products and services for used vehicle dealers before

they even know that they want them! n Make 2019 your year by ensuring that your website and digital showroom is the very best that it can be! Click Dealer’s team of in-house experts will look over your website and advise on any recommended changes to improve your visibility online! n At Click Dealer, we ALWAYS put our customers first! That’s why we’d like to offer Car Dealer Club members £100 off their first bill when they take out any of our products or services!

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66 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

A free telephone consultation and other great benefits, too n A free telephone consultation worth £100. n Lawgistics’ Basic package worth £95. n Twenty-five per cent off the ‘pay-on-use’ legal helpline and casework service. n Up to 25 per cent off any stationery or warranty products. n Upgrade the Basic package and receive £100 off the Small Business package or £250 off the Professional package.

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‘Fault’ finders

WHY I LOVE LAWGISTICS

Q

Minor mix-up over Fiat 500’s MOT test led to major problems with the DVSA

What can I do if I am confident a vehicle has no fault but the customer has presented me with a report saying there is?

This is a frequent issue we encounter that is very frustrating for dealers and one that you may have to invest a bit of money in to successfully defend.

There are numerous nationwide companies that offer independent and impartial third-party diagnoses.

Many of them even visit wherever the vehicle is currently located to inspect it, therefore avoiding any inconvenience to the customer and yourself.

What’s more, the report they compile is usually enough to bring an end to the dispute.

The bonus of these type of companies is that they usually produce reports compliant with civil procedure rules, so should the situation progress into court action you will have the strongest possible evidence to rely on.

Obviously, there will be a cost involved. However, it is the best way to bolster your chances of a successful defence.

A

AS A smaller garage, you might think you’d never need a legal service. And that was certainly the case for Barnsley-based Dootson Motors – a family-run sales and servicing centre that’s been going for more than 30 years.

However, after the garage made a minor error with an MOT, it drafted in Lawgistics to help.

Valerie Dootson, owner of the firm, said: ‘We had a car where we managed to mix up two digits of the registration when entering the details into the computer for its MOT. ‘Unluckily for us, the incorrect car was the same as another car that we had put through an MOT – and they were both red Fiat 500s.’

The mistake was purely a typo on the garage’s behalf, but the

WANT TO UPGRADE?

DVSA (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency) didn’t view it that way.

Dootson continued: ‘We had done wrong really, but the situation soon snowballed. Thankfully, Lawgistics got involved to help send letters, explain what had happened and could show the DVSA that it was purely a mistake.

‘As a small garage, we’re not used to dealing with issues like this or knowing the correct terminology to use.

‘You always think you know the rules, but when it comes to it, you sometimes don’t. It’s great dealing with Lawgistics and knowing that they’re completely up to date with the law.’

Dootson said that since the issue last year, they hadn’t had to use Lawgistics, but she added that knowing they were always on hand gave them peace of mind.

‘Lawgistics has been excellent, and I would absolutely recommend them to any other garage in a similar boat to us,’ she concluded.

Ted Welford

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Dragon2000’s dealer management system is one of the most versatile and easy-to-use products on the market. The software can help manage supplier and customer details, help you keep on top of your costs, and ensure that your business is running as smoothly and as profitably as possible. Car Dealer Club members are eligible for a 10 per cent discount on their first year of a Dragon2000 software subscription – and they get the free Vehicle Health Check app too.

WMS Group are one of the UK’s leading business-to-business car warranty suppliers, providing extended warranty cover and other motoring protection to more than 3,500 dealerships across the UK. Club members who sign up to our flagship used car scheme Safe and Sound (endorsed by former Stig and Hollywood stunt driver Ben Collins) will receive a promotional warranty video, starring Ben and tailored round your dealer’s needs, at zero cost.

We’ll even come out to your dealership to film it!

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LAWGISTICS’ Basic membership – which you receive as a member of Car Dealer Club – is a cracking deal, but what if you need something that has extra clout? Larger dealer groups or a dealer embroiled in a big legal battle may require some more firepower, and the good news is that club members get discounts on Lawgistics’ other packages. You’ll receive a £100 discount off the Small Business package (normally £795) – perfect for sole traders, a partnership or a small dealer group – and £250 off the Professional package (normally £1,595). This is ideal for franchises, a dealer group or a car supermarket and covers all relevant legal areas and documentation.

There really is a package for everyone with Lawgistics.

To join go to cardealerclub.com or call 023 9252 2434 and speak to one of the Car Dealer team Fifty per cent off your first video shoot or PR package Video has become a must-have for dealers, with branded, broadcastquality video for corporate messaging and social media outlets now the industry standard.

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CarDealerMag.co.uk | 67

Auctions.

Where next for innovation?

Key Notes with Traka, p72

Pearson

AUCTION STATIONS

Unique stock management solution will boost profits

A

BCA PRESTON

Centre wins top award for second consecutive year

B

CA Preston has received more national recognition from Toyota and Lexus after winning their remarketing auction quality programme award for the second successive year.

The triumph underlines BCA Preston’s ability to deliver strong results and top customer service.

Toyota and Lexus defleet and remarketing manager Andrew Yellop said: ‘Very many congratulations to all of the team at BCA Preston, who have worked tirelessly to achieve the top spot in our prestigious award programme.

‘Their friendly and helpful can-do attitude has often been the key differentiator in what has proved to be a tricky period from an operational perspective.’

Lisa Grimsley, regional operations

director at BCA, said: ‘We are delighted that the dedication and hard work of our remarketing team in Preston has been recognised.’ The news follows a period of ongoing investment by BCA to improve and upgrade facilities nationally and develop digital tools to make the auction experience easier for customers.

BCA officially launched its Buyer App to help users find the vehicles they need more quickly and easily while on the go, while the award-winning Dealer Pro service was also launched as an app and integrated with BCA Partner Finance.

Pictured from left are BCA Preston branch manager Howard Ryder, BCA account executive Mark Woodman, Andrew Yellop, and BCA Preston business operations manager David Prosser.

CD Auction Group wins pool fleet deal CD AUCTION Group has been appointed to look after Marshall Leasing’s requirements for the in-life vehicle management of its clients’ spare vehicles.

Marshall Leasing, which is part of Bank Ireland UK Northridge Car ofdealer newsubsidiary strip ad Revised Finance, operates a fleet of more than

8,000 vehicles with a net book value of approximately £100m, and through CD Auction Group’s pool fleet management service, it will have access to cost-effective secure vehicle storage, vehicle inspection reports, body repairs, 4/4/18vehicle 12:01 Page 1vehicle maintenance and valeting.

Stuart Pearson is BCA UK’s chief operating officer for remarketing. Visit bca.co.uk or call 0345 600 6644.

Fixed cost buyers premium User friendly website & stock locator. On-line bidding

Professional Vehicle Auctions for Professional Vendors & Buyers

68 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

‘Sorting the wheat from the chaff will be critical to trading profitably.’

Excellent variety of weekly stock from premium sources

The Fleet Auction Group

www.fleetauctiongroup.com

s sourcing good-quality stock becomes ever more competitive for dealers, identifying and retaining those retail-quality part-exchange cars is essential.

In the September plate-change period, dealers will see increasing numbers of PX vehicles, and sorting the wheat from the chaff will be critical to trading profitably.

BCA Dealer Pro allows dealers to appraise, get daily adjusted valuations and remarket PX vehicles, and maintain inventory at the touch of a screen, with the freedom to see what is available across the entire dealer group where applicable.

Available as an app, BCA Dealer Pro allows for the part-exchange process to be managed quickly and easily, helping dealers to close the deal with their retail customer with full transparency, minimum fuss and maximum efficiency.

In partnership with BCA Partner Finance, the PX itself can be funded, helping cashflow and freeing up capital. Operating within the Dealer Pro platform, it allows dealers to appraise the vehicle and then apply for funding based on the BCA valuation.

This creates a unique stock management solution for the market. The Dealer Pro platform enables dealers to monitor stock levels, refresh valuations and decide which vehicles to remarket through BCA, while BCA Partner Finance offers dealers secure funding to purchase used cars at BCA and through part-exchange.

Together, Dealer Pro and Partner Finance create a stock management solution that is flexible and scaleable, allowing dealers to react quickly to market conditions and make the most of any profit opportunities that arise.

Fleet Car Sales every Tuesday at 1pm & Thursday at 10am Van sales every Wednesday at 10:30am Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles fortnightly, Wednesdays at 10am Truck, Trailer & Plant fortnightly, Wednesdays at 12noon Collection of vehicles 24 hours a day, 7 days a week Purpose built 15 acre auction complex Enclosed and heated auction halls and viewing area Vehicle refurbishment facility The UK’s finest auction restaurant Central UK location (Leicestershire) NAMA Vehicle Grading

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Taking Stock.

Air conditioning: The extra that makes selling vans a breeze!

Jon Gilbert, BCA’s business development director for LCVs, reveals how a feature common in cars but not always seen in the van sector makes such vehicles very desirable for buyers.

W

ith LCVs being an integral part of the dealer landscape, finding desirable, attractive used light commercial vehicles at the right price is increasingly important.

When it comes to sourcing LCVs, BCA sells many thousands of LCVs in specialist sales staged around its nationwide network and continues to expand its commercial vehicle auction programme.

New regular sales have commenced in Bridgwater and Leeds in 2019, complementing the existing sales programme at Blackbushe, Manchester, Measham, Glasgow and Wolverhampton.

As market leader for LCV auction sales, BCA has drawn on a huge sample of sold data to show that LCVs fitted with air conditioning outperform those without this option by a considerable margin in values achieved, performance against guide values and conversion rates.

While air con for cars is commonplace, it remains an option for LCVs and is not widely fitted across the UK’s van parc.

However, this makes LCVs with air con very desirable at remarketing time and values typically outstrip standard vehicles by a considerable distance – well over £1,000 on average according to BCA’s data.

LCVs with air conditioning are highly valued

£12,000

LCVs sold at BCA in 2019 £10,514

£10,000 £8,000 £6,000

£6,440

£7,975 £5,374

£8,783

Air-con No air-con

£6,319 £4,912 £3,499

£4,000 £2,000 £0

Large panel

Small panel

by professional buyers at BCA because these are the vehicles their retail customers want to buy.

For vans that are doing longer-distance delivery work, or in a tradesman’s vehicle that doubles as the family transport at the weekend, air con is exceptionally appealing.

This is particularly apparent in the car-derived van and 4x4 double-cab pick-up sectors, where values increased notably.

Across all large panel vans sold by BCA during 2019, vehicles sold with air con averaged £6,440, equivalent to 102 per cent of CAP clean, while those without averaged £5,374 (97.3 per cent CAP clean). The sales conversion uplift for large panel vans with air con was a substantial 15.5 per cent.

For small panel vans, vehicles with air con averaged £7,975 (104.7 per cent CAP clean),

4x4 double cab

Car-derived

compared with £6,319 (99.3 per cent CAP clean) – a £1,656 increase in value (over 26 per cent). The sales conversion improved by nearly five per cent.

Car-derived vans averaged £4,912 (103.7 per cent CAP clean) at BCA during 2019 if fitted with air con and £3,499 (98.9 per cent CAP clean) without air con – a substantial 40.3 per cent increase in value.

Car-derived vans with air con also saw a large increase of 11.5 per cent in conversion rates.

The biggest value differential in favour of vehicles fitted with air con was seen in the 4x4 double-cab pick-up sector.

Values increased from £8,783 (99.8 per cent CAP clean) without this option to £10,514 (101.1 per cent CAP clean) with air con, generating a £1,731 uplift in value and a 3.8 per cent improvement in conversion rates.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 69

Real Deals.

Why the underrated Peugeot 208 GTi is a hot hatch bargain Ted Welford explores the hot hatch that helped to reignite Peugeot’s GTi spirit – and finds a fine example for sale.

O

ne of the hardest things for a manufacturer to do is ensure its cars never stop improving.

Just think of Porsche with its 911. Each time it launches a new generation, it has the challenge of trying to improve on the last model (which was usually brilliant).

But let’s put this into a more everyday scenario with Peugeot. The French manufacturer set itself a precedent that would prove to be exceptionally hard to follow when it debuted its 205 GTi in 1984. This fun-to-drive, lightweight and massively appealing hatch was one of the cars to have in the ’80s and ’90s, and it’s still regarded as one of the greatest hot hatches ever produced.

You only need to look at today’s values for evidence of this, with these cars selling for as much as £30,000 now – such is their desirability.

But how could Peugeot improve on the 205 GTi formula? Well, it couldn’t. What followed were the 206 GTi and 207 GTi – both decent cars in their own right, but not true successors to the iconic 205. Thankfully, this was remedied in 2012 when Peugeot revived the GTi nameplate once again for the 208 GTi. It was offered solely in three-door hatchback form, and Peugeot’s aim was clear – ‘to create a playful and chic sports car, a contemporary interpretation of the legend that is a Peugeot GTi’.

This it achieved. When it went on sale in 2013,

the Peugeot 208 GTi was one of the most powerful superminis in its class, with its turbocharged 1.6-litre THP petrol engine producing 200bhp and 275Nm. That allows for a 0-60mph time of just 6.6 seconds and a top speed of 143mph – and makes it a worthy rival to the Fiesta ST and RenaultSport Clio – two benchmark hot hatches.

Peugeot engineers also paid special attention to the steering response, chassis dynamics and rigidity of the suspension, and added a sportier exhaust to give the GTi more of a barking call.

Its six-speed manual gearbox is another hallmark of a great hot hatch, as is a low kerbweight – the 208 GTi weighs just 1,160kg.

And while the need for modern technology and safety features means it will never be able to replicate the 205’s genius, it was the closest Peugeot had got to doing that at the time.

The other great thing about the 208 GTi today is the price – particularly the car you see on this page, which was the most affordable example we could find at the time of writing, with a price of £5,645. That’s a good £1,500 cheaper than what a similar Ford or Renault would cost you.

The spec is superb, with equipment including a touchscreen with sat

nav, rear parking sensors and cruise control, along with sporty extras such as 17-inch alloy wheels, half-leather sports seats and a rear spoiler.

This 13-plate car has covered 73,500 miles, which might seem a lot for a newish motor, but that works out at less than 12,500 miles each year.

It’s also been serviced at a Peugeot dealer each year since new.

The car is up for sale with Isaacs Car Company in Billericay, Essex – an independent dealer specialising in affordable low-mileage cars all sourced direct from main dealers, as well as dealing in reasonably priced hot hatchbacks.

While the 208 GTi might not be destined for the hot hatch hall of fame in the same way the 205 has, it’s an enjoyable car that is an easy rival for the class best.

This example here also looks to be one of the best available, and because 205 GTi prices only continue to head upwards, the low price of this 208 just makes it all the more appealing.

‘Peugeot engineers also paid special attention to the steering response, chassis dynamics and rigidity of the suspension.’

70 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

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CarDealerMag.co.uk | 71

Key Notes.

...in association with Traka

Use the technology of tomorrow to help you sell more cars today Where next for innovation – mega-fast underground trains or autonomous flying cars? Over to Paul Smith.

T

he autonomous vehicle revolution is undoubtedly under way – and it’s one area of innovation which OEMs are already building product roadmaps for.

But what about ‘further out’ innovations such as flying cars and ‘hyperloop’ underground urban mass transit systems? Where do they fit into the future of the car and is it too early to take these plans seriously? Let’s take a closer look.

Firms like Tesla, Google and Uber have big aspirations and access to vast R&D budgets which are moving ‘vehicular innovation’ along at a rapid pace. You may have read about Uber and Tesla’s public spat last year: Uber’s then CEO provocatively asserted: ‘Why go to the effort of building tunnels for a hyperloop [Tesla’s big push] when you can take to the sky?’

Since Elon Musk’s Space X declaration in 2012 that Hyperloop will be the fifth mode of transport, using pressurised vacuum pods to transport passengers at high speeds via a tunnel network, eight hyperloops have been put into development in the US, India, Dubai and Europe.

The Uber Elevate team, on the other hand, has focused its efforts on designing an electric VTOL (vertical take off and landing) ride-sharing aircraft to alleviate ground congestion. Uber plans to launch its flying Uber Air taxi service via a three-city test pilot in Los Angeles, Dallas and Melbourne during 2020. Uber could launch commercial VTOL operations as early as 2023.

To put these financial stakes into figures: Uber spent a whopping $457 million last year on the research and development of autonomous vehicles, flying cars (eVTOL) and other ‘technology programs’ out of a total R&D spend of more than $1.5 billion in 2018. Tesla also quoted a

$1.5 billion investment in R&D last year.

Looking beyond these tech megaliths, Dutch manufacturer PAL-V has unveiled Liberty, the world’s first production flying car, on a limited run of 90 and the aerospace giant Boeing recently completed the first test flight of its autonomous passenger air vehicle (PAV) prototype.

What’s more, the California-based start-up Opener announced that its flying car – the BlackFly – will hit the market this year, while German car manufacturer Audi, the aviation giant Airbus and the design company Italdesign have joined forces to create a futuristic flying taxi prototype.

At this point, it seems only a matter of when, not if, flying cars will start buzzing over our heads.

Investment bank Morgan Stanley estimates that the value of the global autonomous urban aircraft market could reach $1.5 trillion by 2040.

Cars are increasingly becoming smart, internetconnected devices with sensor-driven automatic braking and self-park capabilities.

LiDAR offers increasingly sophisticated and accurate 3D maps of the environment around autonomous vehicles that are now being tested in the US, China and the Middle East. And new ‘Mobility as a Service’ (MaaS) offerings are also

being launched around the world. So, what does this all mean for your car dealership planning for future success?

There is a potential to harness access to a wealth of driving behaviour and OBD (on-board diagnostics) ‘big data’ to offer a more proactive and personalised service geared to replacing parts, retuning engines and (in the future) replacing batteries just before they start to affect the car’s performance and fuel economy.

Shared mobility service offerings will create opportunities for dealerships to secure servicing contracts for large fleets run by those companies.

MaaS businesses like Drover are already offering dealerships opportunities to derive revenues from any under-utilised approved used stock that they are holding (and otherwise losing money on). Perhaps more dealerships will decide to dedicate a percentage of their own approved used car parc to MaaS/rental stock.

It’s also valuable to be associated with all the exciting innovation that comes with the ‘future of the car’ debate. Why not work with your manufacturer(s) to find out exactly what their roadmap is and find a way of presenting this vision to customers – perhaps drawing them into the dealership by offering them a virtual reality ‘test drive’ of your OEM’s flying car of the future?

Many of your future customers are likely to be influenced and impressed if you can show that your manufacturer has a concrete plan to lead rather than follow vehicle innovation trends.

Use the technology of tomorrow as a great talking point for selling cars today, while inspiring their loyalty for their next vehicle purchase in a few years’ time, whatever that vehicle of the future might be.

Paul Smith heads Traka Automotive, part of the Assa Abloy Group brand Traka. Assa Abloy bought the electronic key management software provider eTag Solutions, which was founded by him. Traka is a leader in intelligent access control, key management control solutions and keyless electronic lockers.

Keys can make you money…

Find out how at www.traka-automotive.com The only viable key management solution for automotive Email automotive@traka.com or call 0845 225 2910 72 traka-auto | CarDealerMag.co.uk 1-6pg.indd 1

15/12/2016 09:56

Market Insight.

...in association with ASE-global.com

In an AGM update, Motorpoint blamed an underperformance in margins on unusually high supply levels

July proves quieter month but retailer share prices still down Sector is affected by general retail gloom as notes of caution are sounded, reports Mike Jones.

A

fter the hits to motor retailer share prices in June caused by the FCA investigation into Lookers and change in management at Pendragon, July was a much quieter month.

There were a few interim results announcements and forecasts, which sounded notes of caution, and the sector was still hit by the general gloom hanging over the wider retail arena. This, allied to the succession of year-onyear reductions in registration levels, fears over the sector-specific impact of Brexit and continuing digestion of the announcements in June, produced some share price drops.

Share price performance Pendragon saw another significant drop in its share price, with continued fall-out from the announcements during June.

It disposed of its Mission Viejo JLR business in the month for slightly less than initially forecast.

However, the wider uncertainty over its strategy and future was the reason for the second month of significant share price falls, leaving the stock more than 40 per cent down on the year.

Lookers is now down nearly 55 per cent on the year with the market digesting the impact of the FCA investigation and the half-year performance of the business. It is likely that we will only see a significant recovery once the scale of any fine can be reliably quantified. Vertu also saw a 10 per cent drop in the month, offsetting recent gains,

Share price movement during July 2019

Share price movement since the start of 2019

Pendragon

-20.8%

-42.7%

Vertu

-10.2%

2.4%

Lookers

-18.3%

-54.9%

Inchcape

1.4%

13.2%

Cambria

-2.5%

5.5%

Caffyns

0.0%

9.3%

Marshall

-5.3%

-8.4%

Motorpoint

-4.9%

6.1%

BCA

-0.4%

9.9%

Auto Trader

-1.1%

19.1%

with the market processing the recent results announcement and implications of the Lookers investigation. Outside of the motor retailers, it was a much quieter month, with BCA going through the process of being bought out.

Financial performance Vertu provided a results update at its AGM. The board is cautious over the near-term outlook but confident in the medium and long term.

The results for the four months to the end of June saw significant drops in new volumes

partially offset by fleet growth. Used vehicles have shown a mixed picture, with volume growth offset by a weakness in margins. The announcement also signalled the expectation of acquisition activity over the coming months.

Lookers announced a half-year trading update to the end of June. This also reported challenges in Q2, with new volumes and used car margins highlighted. Meanwhile, Marshall reported a better picture in its review of the first six months of 2019. While recognising the same challenges as the other groups, growth in used sales and aftersales helped mitigate the issues elsewhere to deliver a result in line with the board’s expectations.

The theme around used car margins was further confirmed by Motorpoint in its AGM update, with an underperformance in margins blamed on unusually high supply levels.

We also saw a half-year report from Inchcape that was slightly down on the previous year. UK retail profit stabilised, with confirmation of the site disposals rumoured the previous month.

Other announcements Vertu said ex-JLR, Porsche and Toyota executive Andy Goss was to become chairman after nearly a year as a Vertu non-executive, while Lookers said chief financial officer Robin Gregson was leaving, to be replaced

by Marshall CFO Mark Raban.

Mike Jones is chairman of dealer profitability specialist ASE plc. You can read his column here every month.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 73

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Recruitment.

GROUPE PSA

SENIOR ROLE

Vertu Motors appoints non-executive chairman VERTU Motors has appointed Andy Goss as non-executive chairman.

Goss, pictured, was previously a nonexecutive director and has been on the automotive retailer’s board since September 2018. He has held senior positions at Jaguar Land Rover, Porsche and Toyota, and before joining Vertu was group sales director and a board member at JLR. He replaces Peter Jones, who is retiring from the board. In a statement, Vertu thanked Jones for his service and contribution to the group during his time as chairman.

Goss said: ‘I am very excited to be leading the board in what promises to be a fascinating period in the sector in the next few years.

‘With its strong balance sheet, best-in-class systems and processes, and strong and stable management team, Vertu is well positioned to benefit from the challenges and opportunities in the motor retail market.’

Andy is new network development director

G

roupe PSA UK has appointed Andy Robson as its new network development director.

He will be responsible for developing representation of the four group brands – Peugeot, Citroen, DS and Vauxhall – in the UK and their networks’ performance.

Robson has served Vauxhall for many years, originally as a business apprentice.

He has worked across many roles within sales, marketing and aftersales and has been an aftersales director and, more recently, network development director for Vauxhall.

‘Groupe PSA has fantastic brands with an exciting list of new product launches that will

New roles announced for David March, left, and Andy Robson ensure both Groupe PSA and its investors will grow,’ he said.

‘With such a great and future product portfolio, Groupe PSA is an excellent partner for future investment. This is a fantastic time to be leading group network development.’

Robson takes over from David March who becomes the

new customer experience and strategy director at the group.

Discussing his new position, March said: ‘It’s an exciting role working closely with all members of the senior team to help develop our future business strategy and drive our total customer experience forwards across all metrics.’

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Data file.

James Litton

TRADER TALES

Things are set to change in private-to-trade sales world

I

f I had a pound for every time a customer said ‘Webuyanycar have offered me more money’, I might be in a financial position to buy the business from current parent company BCA. You might be aware that Webuyanycar was founded in 2006 by the then owners of the car supermarket chain Carcraft, and if you didn’t know that, you will definitely recall the famously simple television ad from 2009 which featured a ridiculously annoying techno beat with the words ‘we buy any car dot com’ with a melodic chorus of ‘any any any’.

After a while, it became clear as a dealer that you could combat the threat of losing the part-exchange by using anecdotes from previous users of the site who had experienced webuyanycar.com’s ruthless appraisal and revaluation process, some of which were true, some of which may have been embellished.

But in 2013, BCA bought the business. As a business move, it was very clever. As a dealer, it did little to endear BCA to me. Not only was I losing profit from part-exchanges, I was then essentially having to pay buyer’s fees to buy them back. It felt like the worst kind of complicit ransom heist, where you delivered the victim to the hands of the captor.

Like any good idea, there have been many imitators, one of the most visible and successful being the Sell Your Car service run by Evans Halshaw, but for many smaller groups and independents, viable alternatives for private sellers have been slow to develop.

However, it looks as though that is about to change.

Currently, there appear to be three competitors vying for a share of the private seller-to-trade market: Motorway, Wizzle and Tootle. Motorway recently announced an £11m funding round from investors and venture capitalists, proving that the City believes there is a viable market there.

These sites essentially offer a valet-style sales experience for the private seller.

Securing bids, reassuring nervous buyers and, crucially, converting the sale – that is what you pay a premium for.

Given that the purchase fees are less than those of major auction vendors, these sites offer huge potential for all motor dealers.

As the motor retail model develops a greater dependence on used cars, having access to as many cars as possible is vital. With the increase in personal leasing, we have seen our volume of part-exchanges decrease steadily over the past three years, and whilst all manufacturers have a dearth of late-plate stock, it is still important to get the vehicle age mix balanced and profitable.

‘We have seen our volume of partexchanges decrease.’

James Litton is general manager – director of Volvo Cars Poole. He always has something to say about the industry he loves.

76 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

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Time and tide wait for no man (or his new girlfriend)

I

’ve always loved living by the sea. Some people say they’ve no need for it but that’s not something that applies to me. I was brought up on the coast, and although I’ve moved around a fair bit in my fairly long and fairly undistinguished career, I’ve never been more than five or 10 miles away from the nearest beach.

One dealership I was working at a number of years ago was pretty close to a spectacular stretch of sand. It had a huge car park and a vast tidal reach, so if you timed it right you could drive on to the beach (slowly and sensibly of course) and maybe watch the sun set or have a bit of a picnic before the tide came back in.

At the time of my story, I was somewhat younger than I am now – my early 20s to be precise – and had a new girlfriend I was keen to impress. Even though I was a youngster, I was allowed the use of a car for weekends and evenings on account of the fact I was as keen as mustard – always the first to arrive and the last to leave, you know the sort of thing.

Anyway, one fine evening during a long, hot summer, I decided I would treat my new girlfriend Alice (not her real name) to a trip to the beach.

I’d even checked the tide tables so I knew we would be okay with a little jaunt on to the sand if we were careful.

Alice was thrilled by the idea so off we went. I packed some cans of soft drink plus some snacks and we headed down to the huge car park and gingerly across part of the sand. Parking up, we watched the sun go down while sitting there hand in hand. It was all rather beautiful.

Trouble was, all these early starts and late finishes had left me feeling rather tired and I started to doze off. Alice, too, must have been a bit weary, and before long we were both fast asleep. Then – aargh!

We woke with a jolt to find ourselves surrounded by a couple of inches of water. Low tide had passed, and although Alice and I could get to the shore, the car was on soft sand and at risk of being submerged. Just then I had a brainwave and rang a work pal. ‘Quick, get the breakdown truck to us now,’ I screamed down my mobile.

‘We need an urgent tow!’ Alice and I got away with it – just. My workmate arrived in the nick of time to save an expensive car belonging to the dealership from a watery grave. And no one at the business was any the wiser, thanks to a pact of silence between the three of us. I never ventured further than the car park after that...

‘Trouble was, all these early starts and late finishes had left me feeling rather tired...’

Tell us your story

Have you something to confess? Email us on editorial@blackballmedia.co.uk or post it on our forum – cardealermagazine.co.uk/forum CarDealerMag.co.uk | 77

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78 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

BEST MODEL

Long-termers.

LATEST FROM THE FLEET...

Skoda Kodiaq SE L The Kodiaq may have only just arrived on the fleet, but it’s already being put to good use.

by JACK EVANS @jackrober

I

remember being on the international launch of the Skoda Kodiaq back in 2016.

Even though I was relatively new to this racket at the time, I was impressed by the amount of kit it offered for the money and how well it drove bearing in mind it was such a big car.

Fast forward to the present day and although I may be a little older and (unfortunately) a little greyer, the Kodiaq is no less an appealing prospect in the large SUV segment.

So when Skoda got in touch with us to see if we’d want to try one on a long-term basis to replace the Fabia we’d been running, I was quite keen to get behind the wheel to see if my initial impressions were on the money – or whether I’d been way off the mark.

Our car comes in mid-spec SE L trim level, which means it gets an impressive amount of standard equipment. Features such as 19-inch alloy wheels, leather upholstery and dual-zone climate control all come as part of the £34,855 price tag. You may baulk at the price of it to begin with (and in truth, I did too), but when you remember that this is a seven-seat SUV bristling with technology and four-wheel drive, it’s far better value than rival offerings.

A smattering of options have been fitted too, although nothing to break the bank. A heated windscreen comes in at £340, while the metallic black paint costs £595. Finally, there’s a steel space-saver wheel – a relatively rare sight in these days of inflation kits – for £150. And that’s it. All in, we’re looking at £35,940.

Initially, I’d planned to give the Kodiaq a light weekend of domestic use. A set of painting ladders were set and ready to go on the Skoda’s roof bars, while the boot had been packed with boxes containing various bits and bobs.

But a change in circumstances and a longoverdue visit to a family member meant that I found myself hoofing up country towards Lancashire – a pretty significant trek from my home near Chichester in West Sussex, but one I’ve done plenty of times before.

I hadn’t, however, done the journey there and back in a single day – but previously arranged commitments meant that almost as soon as I reached my destination near Preston, I was

Our time with the Kodiaq is not only going to be comfortable but inexpensive too, says Jack

THE KNOWLEDGE Model: Skoda Kodiaq SE L Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged diesel Price (as tested): £35,940 Power: 148bhp Torque: 340Nm Max speed: 119mph 0-60mph 9.8 seconds Fuel consumption (combined): 37.7-39.2 Emissions (CO2): 145g/km Mileage: 896 THIS MONTH’S HIGHLIGHT: Discovering that our newest addition to the fleet is a very capable mile-muncher. bombing back down south again. And guess what? The Kodiaq practically chewed through the miles. It doesn’t have adaptive cruise control (there’s a more old-school ‘set a speed and stay at that speed’-type system) but I found the miles zinging under the car’s wheels with a minimal amount of fuss.

The first-level ride isn’t the best, so little imperfections in the road do unsettle the car a touch, and it can feel like a large dinghy in the wind when it comes to undulating road surfaces, but save for these slight gripes, it’s a mightily accomplished thing for tackling long distances.

Before setting off, I’d kept my teeth firmly gritted ahead of the refuel at the end of the journey. After all, when you see a large, relatively heavy seven-seater with four-wheel drive powered by a diesel engine, efficiency isn’t often the first word that springs to mind.

I arrived in Lancashire with just shy of half a tank remaining – this was having already travelled more than 260 miles.

The dash was displaying 46mpg, which showed that the Kodiaq was being far from over-thirsty with its fuel, however – and it’s particularly impressive when you consider Skoda’s claimed economy figure of 39.2mpg.

And although I always like to imagine driving south as going downhill, that little fuel needle continued to move at a sedate pace on the trip back. It was, unsurprisingly though, well into the reserve with just 40 miles left when I got home.

It was then time for the fill-up, and I anticipated a loud ‘ker-thunk’ as a sizeable wedge of cash flew out from my wallet in return for a fresh tank of diesel. But it wasn’t to be.

Three clicks of the fuel filler in and I had to fork out just £67. I understand that’s still a fair chunk of money, but for 532 miles? That seems like witchcraft to me. It’s just another thing that has led me to believe that our time with the Kodiaq is going to be not only comfortable but inexpensive too – and who doesn’t like a frugal SUV? CarDealerMag.co.uk | 79

Long-termers.

LATEST FROM THE FLEET...

Audi A6 Avant Early excitement for our handsome new estate’s arrival quickly turned to frustration.

by DARREN CASSEY @darrencassey

I

f you’re looking for a handsome executive car with lots of space and lots of kit that’s also dripping in badge appeal, the Audi A6 is a pretty good bet.

I probably wasn’t alone, therefore, in looking forward to the arrival of KY19 NPA. It was to be run by our boss, James Baggott, who would swap out of the Volvo V90 T8 he’d been driving for the best part of six months for what is essentially the Swede’s better-established rival.

However, one month into our time with the Audi and James is still in his Volvo with absolutely no interest in switching into the German model. The keys have been thrown my way with the task of getting my head around just why an automatic gearbox issue in what should be a highly sought-after machine has left the whole editorial team rather cold.

We’ll do a deep dive into the specifics of our test car at a later date, because there are more pressing matters to discuss. But let’s just have a quick overview of some positives.

Firstly, boy, does this thing look good. We’ve got the Audi A6 Avant, which means it’s the estate version. I’d argue it actually looks better than the saloon, and when you add that extra practicality, it seems like the no-brainer choice.

The interior’s lovely, with high-quality leather upholstery and some of the best infotainment screens in the business.

This is the 50 TDI, which means we’ve got a 3.0-litre turbo-diesel engine under the bonnet making 282bhp and getting anywhere between 38 and 42mpg, which is encouraging.

Positivity out of the way, let’s get into the nitty gritty of what’s gone wrong here.

Over to James: ‘The Audi had a dreadful lag on the gearbox – so much so it felt dangerous.

Now, I’m used to Audi gearboxes having a slight delay, but this was profound. Put your foot down to accelerate away from a junction or roundabout and it would hunt for a gear, often for nearly three seconds, which doesn’t sound much but when you’re going for a gap feels like an eternity.

‘I sent it back to Audi to be checked over. It just didn’t feel right. Their engineers reset the software and gave it the once-over, but three weeks later it returned and was much the same.

80 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

There’s so much to love about this handsome Audi – but the gearbox has been causing concerns

THE KNOWLEDGE Model: Audi A6 Avant S line 50 TDI Price as tested: £62,115 Engine: 3.0-litre turbo-diesel Power: 282bhp Torque: 620Nm Max speed: 155mph 0-60mph: 5.5 seconds MPG: 47.9–48.7 Emissions (CO2): 155–151g/km Mileage: 6,725 THIS MONTH’S HIGHLIGHT: Forgiving the frustrating gearbox foibles and learning to love this good-looking estate.

Apparently, Audi gearboxes ‘‘learn’’ your driving style and you had to give it time.

‘By this point I’d lost confidence in it and gave it up. Maybe it was my driving style, but I doubt that – I just didn’t feel comfortable in a car with such a delay in response.’

I agree that three seconds doesn’t sound like much, but when you’re slowing for a roundabout, spot a gap, put your foot down, and simply roll out of the junction before the gearbox finally kicks into life, three seconds really does feel like an eternity.

The bit about the gearbox ‘learning’ your driving style is interesting. But I’m inclined to chuck that in the marketing rubbish bin. All it needs to learn is that when I press the pedal on the right, I want to move forwards.

There’s so much to love about this Audi. The way it looks, the way the interior makes you feel, the ease with which it swallows miles. And when the gearbox is playing ball, the diesel engine makes this one damn quick estate. But that gearbox is a constant source of frustration. This

has been something of an Audi – and VW Group – issue for a while. And yet, people keep buying them, and keep going back. After a week of A6 custody, I can kind of understand why.

And after my first impressions of driving it I can’t believe I’m about to say this but I’ve started to care less and less about the gearbox. Or, at least, overlook its foibles. Once you know how it behaves, you start to instinctively drive around its dim-wittedness – I bet a year of driving it every day and you’d forget it was ever an issue.

Don’t get me wrong. In a product like this – specced here to more than £60,000 – with such capable rivals, the fact you should have to learn to drive around an issue is unforgivable. But because of all the positives above, I can also understand why people do forgive it. Time will tell if gearbox grumbles become a distant memory or if fellow team members share my forgiving nature. I hope they don’t, because I’m even annoyed at myself for letting the A6 off easily…

OTHER CARS WE’RE DRIVING

Ford Focus Vignale Mileage: 4,508 Car Dealer Dave experienced a bit of an issue with the sunscreen underneath the retracting sun roof recently. It failed to go back into position but sorted itself out after a day or two.

Mazda6 Tourer It was time for VA18 CRZ to head in for a service but was it a dealer experience worth revisiting?

by RYAN HIRONS @RyHirons

S

peaking from a car buyer’s perspective, handling the actual sale of a new motor isn’t where a dealer really needs to shine.

I tend to appreciate great customer service a little further down the line, when it’s time to arrange servicing, MOTs and all the other gubbins that comes with running a car.

That’s not to understate the importance of the sales team making a new customer feel welcome and delivering an exceptional experience – after all, a snotty exchange could lead to me taking my cash elsewhere. In today’s world, buyers can do their research online, find the perfect car and spend less than an hour in a showroom finalising the details before driving off.

But as good as technology is, you still need that actual physical contact for service work, and that means owners still need to find the right place to have work on their cars carried out.

For dealers, delivering a smooth experience to ensure these customers consistently choose to have this work done at their place is arguably more critical than getting them into a car in the first place.

It’s something that crossed my mind as we geared up to take VA18 CRZ, our long-term Mazda 6, in for its first service. Now, long-time readers may remember we had custody of an MX-5 RF back in 2017 for a similar length of time to our 6

Our Mazda6 was due a service – and everything went smoothly at Snows of Portsmouth, happily and, as a result of being an office favourite, that car soon found itself needing a service.

On that occasion, we headed to Snows Mazda in Portsmouth. It was the closest dealership to our Gosport HQ, but a bad experience could have left us looking elsewhere in future. Fortunately, it was plain sailing all the way.

No issues were had with the car, and there were none with the dealership either. Back there we’d be heading with the 6, then.

I’m happy to report our latest experience was very much the same. Booking in the car had admittedly taken a few tries of getting through on the phone lines, but once contact had been established, things were smooth from there.

We had managed to get a slot for about a week later – a reasonable time frame we think – and were offered a courtesy car too for no extra cost.

On the day, it was a very simple case of rocking up at the dealership, dropping the keys off, paying a £15 insurance waiver for the Mazda2 courtesy car I’d be driving that day and heading off to work with very little delay.

The plan had been to pick up the car around 5.30pm. Things seemed to have been scuppered though, with the combination of a waterpipe burst on nearby Hayling Island and an accident on the A27 causing total traffic chaos.

I had begun to get a little anxious about arriving in time for Snows’ 6pm closure — and the fear of annoying some of their staff on a Friday afternoon. I needn’t have worried though, arriving with 10 minutes to spare.

Of course, if I’d had the brains to connect my phone to the car’s Bluetooth beforehand, I could’ve done away with the anxiety all together.

En route, a salesman had tried to contact me to offer the 2 for the evening at no extra charge as a result of the chaotic traffic – an offer I would’ve been keen to take up. A nice touch indeed.

As for the 6? It breezed through its service with flying colours. Zero issues to report on a new car isn’t huge news in itself, but it’s still a relief to see a sheet full of green boxes.

I’d be more than happy to revisit Snows in future as a result of the impressive service.

For me, that’s the reaction every dealer across the country should be striving for in this digital age of car sales.

THE KNOWLEDGE

Volkswagen Caddy

Mercedes X350d Power

Mileage: 7,984

Mileage: 4,978

It’s been a busy spell for the Caddy – and not in the hands of the video team, for a change. An office move at Car Dealer Towers saw the Tardislike VW called into action on removal duties.

Having neglected the X-Class for a week or two, Darren decided to get reacquainted. He was glad to be back behind the wheel, and the big pick-up’s towing capabilities were put to the test, too.

Model: Mazda6 Tourer 2.5 GT Sport Nav+ Auto Price (as tested): £32,695 Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol Power: 191bhp Torque: 258Nm 0-60mph: 7.9 seconds Max speed: 139mph MPG (combined): 42.2 Emissions (CO2): 153g/km Mileage: 11,735 THIS MONTH’S HIGHLIGHT: A hassle-free service at a helpful dealership to keep the car running without a hitch.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 81

The last word JA M E S B AG G OT T

Against our better judgment, we give our CEO the final say each month

The future may be electric but it’s not being helped by faulty connections

A

t the last count there were more than 80 new electric vehicles on their way to dealer forecourts. Almost every manufacturer has at least one EV, or some electricassisted vehicle, in their plans and whether you, or your customers like it or not, they’re coming.

I’m sure you’ve read my rants before about electric cars and how the public charging infrastructure in the UK is simply not fit for purpose. So, it was without hesitation that when BMW said we could borrow an i3 for a few months I was first in the office to put my hand up to run it. I’m a big fan of electric cars. I love the way they drive, the effortless power and the silent travel – but I’m still not quite so sure what they’re like to live with.

Charging is not the easiest for me. I don’t have a charging point at home, while at work there’s only access to a standard three-pin plug socket – something that would take 15 hours to fully recharge the BMW. That means for larger chargers, I’ll be reliant on the myriad different public charging points.

Swapping to an electric vehicle requires owners to completely transform their mindset. That’s hard enough for me – someone with a good grasp of how the whole EV world works – so I imagine convincing buyers in your showrooms who care very little for motoring that an EV is better must be very hard indeed.

Why on earth someone in charge of all things motoring – Lewis Hamilton or similar – hasn’t got all car manufacturers together in a room and knocked their heads together is beyond me. There is simply no reasonable explanation as to why a charging cable from Japan should be different to one from Germany when they’re eventually sold in the same country.

The fact you can turn up at a public charging point and still not have the right cable to fast-charge your car is ludicrous. The sooner all cables are the same, work with all cars and, importantly, have the ability to fast-charge, the better.

It’s bad enough having to fathom the charging networks and their different subscription models, let alone turning up at one you’ve planned to fully charge at only to find it doesn’t fast-charge your car, merely trickles it in at a rate just above a three-pin plug.

After Hamilton has sorted out the standardisation of cables, next on his hit list has to be sorting out those public charging points. Firstly, there need to be at least 10 in every car park you go to and they all need to be fast chargers capable of getting a battery back to at least 80 per cent in under 45 minutes.

Ideally, they need to be wireless chargers that you simply drive over. A subscription

model that’s paid on direct debit – like your vehicle tax – should take credit from your bank account every time you top up.

Having to log on to countless different apps to start a charge – some of which make you add ‘credit’ to your account rather than simply charge you for the amount you use – is nothing short of a con. It’s as bad as parking machines that don’t give change.

The government has said all new charging points should be able to accept contactless payments by next year. But it hasn’t said anything about ensuring all of the current points are updated to accept payment this way too.

That needs to happen, and it should have happened yesterday.

Another one for Hamilton – he’s going to be busy...

I can’t begin to imagine how difficult it is to explain electric vehicles to non-car people in your showrooms. Not one answer, even to the simplest of questions, is an easy one. The plugs are different, the charging points are different, the ranges are different, the rates they charge at are different – I could go on and on.

I always give these things the Mother Baggott Test. Could I persuade my mum, who is about to change her car, to swap her diesel Fabia for an electric alternative? While it would fit perfectly with her driving habits, she wouldn’t be able to charge at home as she lives in a flat and doesn’t work, so she’d be reliant on public charging points.

The fact these are so complicated to fathom effectively rules that out. The whole thing needs to be easier to understand and there need to be bigger incentives to change. Free parking in every car park for life would be one. OK, that might be difficult when more EVs are on the roads, but as a simple, easy incentive that would make normal motorists sit up and take notice now, it’d work.

Either that or a scrappage scheme that gives buyers an additional £5k off if they chop in a combustion-engined car for an EV alternative. But there’s probably no chance of that, despite the fact it’d no doubt make the government money in VAT receipts.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the BMW i3 I’m driving around in. It’s a brilliant car, but I’m someone who is willing to accept its limitations and try to work around the countless hurdles put in the way of EV ownership. Sadly, I’m probably in the minority. Until they make it easier for every driver to make the change and put up with the quirks of EV ownership, or alternatively give people real, quantifiable benefits to switch, then the uptake is going to be slower than a charge on a three-pin plug.

‘The whole thing needs to be easier to understand and there need to be bigger incentives to change.’

James Baggott is the founder of Car Dealer Magazine and chief executive officer of parent company @BaizeGroup, an automotive services provider. He now spends most of his time on Twitter @CarDealerEd and annoying the rest of us.

82 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

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