Car Dealer Magazine: Issue 158

Issue 158 | May 2021 | CarDealerMag.co.uk | £6

VW FIRST DRIVE

DOES THE SUPERCAR-BEATING ‘R’ LIVE UP TO EXPECTATIONS?

NEWS • VW’S APRIL FOOL SLIP-UP • ’OWZAT FOR VERTU! • BUMPER APRIL FORECAST • CATERHAM SOLD TO IMPORTER • ‘WILLY WONKA’ MAGIC • VAUXHALL IS BRITISH • VOLVO UK’S BEST RETAILERS

INTERVIEW

STEVEN

EAGELL KEEPING IT SIMPLE IS KEY TO SUCCESS

PLUS

WHY LOCKDOWN 3.0 WASN’T BAD NEWS FOR ALL MANUFACTURERS

PLUS: DEALERS’ JOY AND RELIEF AS SHOWROOMS FINALLY REOPEN TO THE PUBLIC

The UK’s Best Used Car Warranty

02 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

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THE BOSS FOUNDER James Baggott

james@thebaize.com Twitter: @CarDealerEd

EDITORIAL CHIEF SUB-EDITOR John Bowman

john@blackballmedia.co.uk

HEAD OF CONTENT Jack Evans

jack@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @jackrober

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

HEAD OF DESIGN Graeme Windell

graeme@blackballmedia.co.uk Twitter: @graemewindell

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

FINANCE

FINANCE MANAGER Kate Gordon

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ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER Kevin Day

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ACCOUNT MANAGER Michelle Searle

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WELCOME. A

fter a winter of enforced hibernation, car dealers have thrown open their doors once again to the general public. For many, the third lockdown was particularly painful personally, but juxtaposed with success in the showrooms.

With the short, cold days and Netflix already exhausted, many found lockdown three tough at home, but with little else to do many consumers instead used the time to work out ways of spending their lockdown savings.

I was chatting to one independent dealer this week who told me he’d ‘had it away’ during January and February. Despite his showroom doors being closed, he’d sold a record number of cars via click-and-collect and home delivery and said he wasn’t really looking forward to going back to ‘normal’.

Since opening his doors on April 12, he said he’d tried to continue using the same sales patter he’d used after the government shut down showrooms once again – he just didn’t want time-wasting customers returning.

‘We’re based next door to a pub and I’m dreading the weekends when people wander on, want to browse cars and test-drive this and that – it just wastes so much time,’ he said.

‘With the lockdown and the need to take a deposit in advance before they visited the showroom, there was commitment from the customers and none of the faff. They were there to buy and it was a nicer way to do business. I don’t want to go back to how it was before.’

I think that’ll be the most interesting thing about the reopening.

How will customers want to buy cars going forward? Yes, there’ll be those who refuse to buy a car without trying it first, but for many – and the lockdowns have proved it – a test drive really isn’t that important.

But now customers can drop into showrooms, will they want to revert to the tyre kicking they used to do, or will they, as the dealer I chatted to thinks, decide not to waste time and continue to buy remotely instead?

This new hybrid way of selling is likely to be something dealers will need to get used to. I’m a believer in the fact many car buyers have delayed purchasing during the third lockdown unless they really needed to swap because of the difficulty surrounding test drives.

Would I buy a used car, especially a model I’d never driven before, if I hadn’t tried one before? No chance, and I think there are many people out there just like me.

So what does that mean for dealers reopening their doors now? Well, I think any that just go back to how they were selling before would be making a huge mistake.

The online opportunities and benefits might not work for everyone but for many they do, and the fact that they can reserve the car they want online at midnight should they wish should be seen as a gigantic leap forward.

Just as the pandemic was an opportunity to fast-forward years of development for online selling, the reopening should be seen as a chance to reset the way dealers do business forever.

Mixing online opportunities to ease the sales process with the benefits of completing the deal in a showroom should be grabbed with both hands. This is a chance to make car sales even better and shouldn’t be an opportunity overlooked.

Enjoy the issue.

Reopening should be seen as a chance to reset the way dealers do business forever.

JAMES BAGGOTT Founder, Car Dealer CarDealerMag.co.uk | 03

04 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

IGNITION. ISSUE 158 | MAY 2021

40 CONTENTS

30 6

12

55 ‘A lot of people have more disposable income now and they want to spend some of it.’

6

COMMENT

‘It’s like the normal rules of sales simply don’t apply to estate agents when it comes to selling houses.’

15

6 8 22 24 36 38 43 44 46 48

COMMENT James Baggott Big Mike James Litton

15 16 19

FORECOURT Volkswagen Golf R BMW 128ti Suzuki Across

28 30 32

INVESTIGATIONS Lockdown successes 12 Most depreciating used cars 40

32

INTERVIEW

Interview: Steven Eagell Dealerships reopen Car news round-up News digest Feedback Supplier news Cool stuff Business news Car Dealer Live Finance

FEATURE

We’re incredibly proud of how our dealer network has risen to the challenge.’

12

DATA FILE The Statistics LCV news Suppliers Guide Long-termers

50 52 54 55

DATA FILE

‘The past year has been the toughest in modern history and the automotive sector has been hit hard.’

50 CarDealerMag.co.uk | 05

INTERVIEW

‘It was a risk to take but I didn’t hesitate and it was a no-brainer really’

Steven Eagell talks exclusively to James Baggott about how he’s made his dealership empire the success that it is.

F

or a dealer group that works with just two manufacturer partners, Steven Eagell hasn’t exactly been held back.

The modest operator started his Toyota and Lexus business in 2002 and it’s grown to become the largest dealer partner for the brands in Europe – and one of the most profitable in the UK. From his first Milton Keynes dealership, he’s expanded into 10 counties across the southeast, the east of England and, more recently, West Midlands.

Last year, he completed the acquisition of two more Lexus and four Toyota sites from the Vantage Motor Group, taking his dealership count to 30.

Concentrating on just two brands has been a huge success for Eagell. Last year, had his accounts arrived in time, he’d have been placed just inside the top 20 of the Car Dealer Top 100 list of most profitable car dealers at 19th.

In 2019, the group turned over £448m with an EBITDA profit of £12.6m – for 2020, he says the numbers will be even better.

‘We had a record year last year,’ revealed Eagell in an exclusive Car Dealer Live interview.

‘Turnover went through half a billion and our profitability was well in excess of three per cent return on sales.

‘That is a cracking year and it’s humbling because the whole team pulled together. I can’t praise them enough.’

Three per cent return on sales is quite simply staggering. The industry average is around half that and few franchised dealers in our Top 100 list can better it.

So what’s Eagell’s secret?

‘This industry is sometimes overcomplicated – we just like to keep things simple,’ he says. ‘We like to give the best experience to our customers at every single touch point of the business, learning when we get it wrong. And we concentrate on selling – sell, sell, sell – without spending too much along the way.’

Eagell thinks the fact he works hard to promote internally and ensure his staff are engaged in the culture of the business is critical, too. The group currently employs 1,100 people, of whom 156 are in management positions.

‘Of those 156 managers, I think we recruited three – we don’t recruit managers, we only promote from within. That way, they understand how we do things and we can teach them all the detail.’

Eagell works hard to ensure that coaching staff is at the centre of his business’s ethos and he says he doesn’t look to hire ‘superstars with lots of history and experience’, instead opting for people with the right attitude.

‘We bring in people whom we can mould from the bottom, who can work their way up the business and understand our culture and be coached and developed,’ says the CEO. Eagell originally launched his business thanks to the Toyota-sponsored operator scheme that helped entrepreneurs get a foot on the ladder. He remortgaged his home and bought his first dealership – seven years later, he’d paid off the loan and has never looked back.

06 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

2019 group turnover

£448m EBITDA profit

£12.6m Toyota King’s Lynn

That is a cracking year and it’s humbling because the whole team pulled together.

I can’t praise them enough.’

Steven Eagell

Inside Lexus Milton Keynes

‘It’s grown significantly since then,’ he said. ‘It was exciting, rather than nerve-racking.

‘I’d been in a role a while, being a regional manager and a managing director for a group, and I’d always managed to make it work for other people so I thought why shouldn’t I make it work for myself? It was a risk to take but I didn’t hesitate and it was a no-brainer really – I haven’t looked back since.’

Eagell is acutely aware that as Europe’s biggest Toyota partner, the chance of taking on any more franchises from the same manufacturer is remote. No car maker likes one dealer partner to hold too many of its franchises. So would he consider another brand partnership instead?

‘I knew that question would come! At this stage of the game, we still have a lot to do rather than growing for the sake of growing, as we can still fine-tune what we’ve got,’ he said. ‘Our turnover has grown now and we’ve reached half a billion in 2020, so if you can squeeze 0.1 per cent here and there, that’s equivalent to buying a few more dealerships.

‘Would we ever expand with another manufacturer? Of course it’s wrong to say no we wouldn’t. Who knows? Possibly.

‘But from my point of view, I’m not interested in having businesses for the sake of businesses. However, if we did ever expand with another brand, it would be with Toyota’s blessing first.’

Despite the growth, Eagell still likes nothing better than getting out and about, spending time in his showrooms. He says he turns up with ‘no agenda or clipboard’ as he just wants to chat to staff.

‘You can’t beat being there and seeing and hearing what is going on,’ he said.

‘The frustration side of the growth is that I don’t get to spend as much time with everyone in the business. When we were smaller I knew every single person, I knew their wives, their cats, their dogs and their hobbies, but as you get bigger that gets difficult.’

That desire to get out and about meant Eagell found the pandemic quite difficult, but he knew business would be okay when the government put its hand in its pocket and introduced the furlough scheme and scrapped business rates for a year.

‘I tried to put a positive attitude on it and looked at what we could do to make things better going forward,’ he said. ‘In a way, it’s actually worked.’

Eagell has refined his online sales processes, which he says has seen the firm achieve ‘six years of progress in six months’.

New car sales for the first quarter of 2021 were down just five per cent and used car sales down 1.7 per cent – and that’s with his showroom doors closed during lockdown.

‘The way we’ve adapted to click-and-collect has been incredible,’ he said. ‘We have had to change significantly. Our whole digital offering has completely transformed.’

He said the fact that dealerships have been closed while supermarkets have been operating without queues, little social distancing and selling non-essential goods was ‘frustrating’ but he said instead he’s concentrated on the positives and how the group could ‘emerge as a fitter, leaner business’.

Now he’s simply enjoying the renaissance Toyota has been experiencing with products such as the Yaris GR, which has seen ‘phenomenal interest’ and an 18-month waiting list, and he’s looking forward to regaining lost ground during the rest of the year.

‘I do think there’ll be pent-up demand,’ he said. ‘You can’t go on holiday and can’t go out to restaurants – a lot of people have more disposable income now and they want to spend some of it. What better than to go and buy a car?’

Click here to see the Steven Eagell interview

Lexus Birmingham

A lot of people have more disposable income now and they want to spend some of it. What better than to go and buy a car?

Steven Eagell

Toyota GR Yaris CarDealerMag.co.uk | 07

DASHBOARD

Joy and relief as showroom doors reopen to public Dealers talked exclusively to us about what the easing of lockdown meant to them. James Batchelor and John Bowman report.

C

ar dealers across England and Wales have thrown open their showroom doors again after months of pandemic-enforced closure.

Restrictions eased across England and Wales on April 12 and non-essential retail – including car showrooms – was allowed to welcome people back indoors once more. It came a week after car dealers in Scotland were allowed to resume trading after lockdown restrictions eased there.

There was no change in guidance for retailers in Northern Ireland, with people still being told to ‘stay local’ where possible. However, contactless click/phone-and-collect was being allowed for all non-essential retail businesses from April 12, and outdoor businesses such as vehicle retailers were also able to reopen then.

The news of showrooms reopening was met with widespread joy and relief across the industry.

Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders chief executive Mike Hawes said: ‘After one of the hardest years in living memory for everyone, reopening showrooms today takes the handbrake off UK Auto.

‘As the automotive sector counts the cost of £22.2bn lost in turnover during the pandemic, we hope today marks the start of that recovery, as well as giving consumers ever more choice for their motoring needs.’

Paul Philpott, Kia Motors UK president and CEO, said: ‘The first months of this year have been tough for the industry as a whole and March stood in stark contrast to previous years.

‘Our dealer network has worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic, coming up with new ways to give customers the tools they need to complete a purchase remotely and in line with the latest guidance and the evolving expectations of buyers.

‘That said, we are excited about the prospect of our showrooms across the rest of the UK opening their doors again for the many customers who prefer to purchase a car in person.’

BACK TO WORK Meanwhile, Chris Wiseman, managing director of Wessex Garages, is pleased his dealerships in both England and Wales are reopening at the same time – something that hasn’t always been a feature of the past 12 months, with different restrictions in each country.

‘We are obviously delighted that we will be open in England and Wales at the same time and have spent the last couple of weeks booking in test drives, particularly for new product and conquest business,’ he told Car Dealer.

‘March proved to be very successful, particularly with used cars, where we achieved over 90 per cent of our budget and exceeded last year, albeit we lost the end of the month in 2020.

‘With new cars I think it will be a case of March in two halves, so a much better April performance than normal but not to the same level as a normal March.

08 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

We are obviously delighted that we will be open in England and Wales at the same time.

Chris Wiseman

As a dealership we are ready, prepared and excited but there is an air of nervousness around.

Andrew Iveson

Reopening showrooms today takes the handbrake off UK Auto.

Mike Hawes

‘Hopefully as we transition out of lockdown and more people get the second vaccine jab, then we will see a more normal pattern of sales start to emerge.

‘So much has been done within the industry to adapt to the “click-and-collect model”, which means we are well equipped to be able to provide a more blended approach between pure online and showroom visits.

‘This is probably where I see the new normal.’

Looking ahead, he said: ‘Clearly, the government approach to travel will impact on the second half of the year as that pent-up spend and demand for holidays increases.

‘But overall I am hopeful of a quick return to normal trading levels in sales – slightly slower in April and May for aftersales due to the extensions on MOTs in 2020.’

Hull Mitsubishi organised a Willy Wonka-style reopening event for between April 12 and 30, and general manager/director Andrew Iveson told us: ‘As a dealership we are ready, prepared and excited but there is an air of nervousness around.

‘We have a duty of care to our customers and staff to be safe, and we are committed to keeping to this duty.

‘I personally cannot wait. We have surpassed my expectations over the past few months and have proved how versatile the motor trade can be, but there’s nothing like the buzz of people in the showroom and helping the customer choose their dream car.’

He added: ‘The showroom looks better than ever. Our reopening event is already proving popular and takes away some of the elements of the big question of how much pent-up demand is there.

‘I wanted a structured event that would put everyone at ease as soon as they walked through the door. We have 70 appointments so far over a longer-than-normal event period, so all fingers crossed!

‘I think most of the motor trade feel like racehorses that have been able to exercise in the paddock but in reality are desperate to get back on the course.’

Business has been strong too for Umesh Samani, the owner of Specialist Cars in Stoke-onTrent and chairman of the Independent Motor Dealers Association.

He told us: ‘April 12 opening – what the whole industry has been waiting for. In reality, business has been good for me and the best 12 months in my 24 years of trading!’

But while Samani and other dealers have performed well with showrooms locked and having to rely on online sales, he believes business will go back to traditional ways.

A WAVE OF OPTIMISM ‘I believe as car sales go back to “old-fashioned” sales as such, 65/70 per cent of buyers will revert to viewing, test drives and wanting to visit rather than the “click-and-delivery”, while 35/30 per cent will be more than happy to buy unseen and opt for the home delivery, but I don’t believe that’s the future,’ he said.

MARSHALL

Businesses have changed for better MARSHALL Motor Group boss Daksh Gupta told Car Dealer the pandemic had taught dealers to change their businesses for the better and he was bringing all his staff back to work.

‘The pandemic has forced both dealers and customers to adapt to new online sales methods including click-andcollect – this has been the one big thing to have come out of the past 12 months,’ he said. ‘It has also allowed us to take on the new disrupters in this industry.

‘Everyone is coming back to work on Monday – there will be no-one left on the bench. Some companies will want to milk the furlough scheme but we’re not doing that. Everyone is ready and really excited.’

Looking ahead to the rest of the month and into the summer, Gupta said: ‘There will be a bounce back for sure, but it won’t be like anything we have seen in the last year as we are now in a different position.’

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 09

DASHBOARD

Adam Turner, managing director of Chorley Group, has seen a real pick-up in inquiries and demand for used cars. But while he’s thrilled at reopening on April 12, like others he was also disappointed at the lack of common sense shown during previous lockdowns.

He told Car Dealer: ‘We are expecting a strong performance in used cars across the businesses after many customers have wanted to reserve and finalise the deal in person on site.

‘Web traffic has increased by 15 per cent over the past two weeks and inquiry levels are also encouragingly increasing.

‘Our click-and-collect/home delivery has delivered over 90 per cent of Q1 2020, with profits at 100 per cent year on year.

‘We feel optimistic it’s going to be a positive time for the car industry, and we are expecting to see trade increase for the next two to three months ‘The lack of effectiveness of the lobbying has been disappointing for many in the industry as it does seem the industry voice wasn’t heard.

‘Overall, April 12 should be a huge leap towards the light at the end of the tunnel for everyone and a switch back to normality for the industry.’

Spencer Gray, director of Norwich-based used car dealership Spencers Car Sales, which was highly commended in the Used Car Dealership of the Year (Over 100 Cars) category in the 2019 Car Dealer Used Car Awards, told us: ‘We are really looking forward to getting back open on April 12.

‘We feel optimistic it’s going to be a positive time for the car industry, and we are expecting to see trade increase for the next two to three months as customers are looking forward to getting back looking around on the garage forecourts.

‘This will also encourage our sales team to have customers back in front of them.’

RETURN OF PENT-UP DEMAND Not only will showrooms be unlocked but also consumer confidence and pent-up demand, believed Hendy Group boss Paul Hendy.

‘Will there be pent-up demand? Yes, I believe there will be,’ he told Car Dealer.

‘What we as an industry have been able to achieve in quarter one is little short of remarkable in terms of unit sales with showrooms and forecourts closed – a real testament to everyone’s ability to adapt.’

When asked if April will be the new March, Hendy said: ‘In my opinion, April will not be the new March, it will be the new April, and will be the start of a hugely energised quarter!’

SW Car Supermarket was expecting a wave of pent-up demand too.

Speaking to Car Dealer, operations director John Marshall said: ‘Pent-up demand 10 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

TRUSTFORD

Customers will flock to the showrooms STUART Foulds, chairman and chief executive of TrustFord, the world’s largest dealer group for Ford, was expecting business to be very busy.

‘I think the public will flock to dealerships, having been unable to visit since before Christmas,’ he told Car Dealer.

‘Our online sales have been and continue to be extremely strong – but overwhelmingly our research tells us that customers still love the theatre of visiting and having their car “unveiled” at collection time.’

He added: ‘[It’s] a “cautious” huge sigh of relief to get back to some degree of normality and it will be great to see many colleagues back in the dealership in a Covidsafe environment for both them and our customers.

‘Let’s hope talk of a third wave in August/September is contained and lockdown becomes a thing of the past.

‘I am really proud of the team at TrustFord and blown away that our Q1 performance is significantly ahead of the same period in 2020 before the full impact of the lockdown – an amazing achievement!’

is going to be cross-industry. That means renewed consumer confidence will drive a wave of the “want to change” customers into the showroom who may not have needed to change but now showrooms are open will take the plunge.’

Like Hendy Group, Swansway doesn’t expect April to be the ‘new March’ as predicted by some in the industry, but director Peter Smyth is still optimistic – there’s even some nervous excitement within the business.

He told us: ‘April is a short month if you take the Easter break into consideration.

‘It is also the start of a new quarter for the OEMs, so there isn’t as much pressure to sell as many cars as you can before the month and quarter-end like there is in March.

‘We were also surprised by the amount of units we sold across new and used cars in March and we can only hope this continues after we reopen fully.’

Smyth added: ‘We are relieved to be reopening, yes. The other directors and I have been out visiting our sites this last week to ensure they are all ready and safe for reopening.

‘There’s an element of nervousness for reopening, but it is definitely that of nervous excitement.’

Will Blackshaw, the managing director of dealer group Blackshaws, is hopeful of a strong few months, too.

He said: ‘Looking at March 1 to April 8 web traffic versus the same period in 2019, we have seen a 59 per cent increase.

‘Our used March business outperformed 2019 used, so I would say all the signs are there for a strong April, May, June.’

He added that with holidays still uncertain, many people would be spending cash on home improvements and new cars.

‘It’s nice to have cars back in the showroom for Monday – but we must continue to remember Covid-19 isn’t over and we shouldn’t become complacent with our customer and staff safety during this period.’

Meanwhile, Simon Close, director of Close Motor Company, which has dealerships in Corby and Peterborough, told us: ‘I’m absolutely delighted and thrilled to be able to open our doors fully, offering a Covid-safe environment for our customers old and new to visit.

‘Launching two new brands – Suzuki and Isuzu – in lockdown and maintaining good sales with our existing partner Mitsubishi wasn’t ideal, and although we’ve invested heavily in our online showroom and can completely transact remotely, it only reaches a certain percentage of buyers.

‘We’re a company that prides itself on “being human” not robotic and are really looking forward to the future.

‘However, it’s not a given right that customers will come and buy off us – we need to make sure we are not complacent and do things even better than before lockdown 3.’

What we as an industry have been able to achieve in quarter one is little short of remarkable.

Paul Hendy

I would say all the signs are there for a strong April, May, June.

Will Blackshaw CarDealerMag.co.uk | 11

Q1WINNERS INVESTIGATION

WHY A SHUT-UP SHOP WASN’T BAD NEWS FOR EVERYONE The third lockdown brought a significant amount of hardship to the automotive sector but a few brands still managed to flourish.

W

hen Boris Johnson announced the UK’s third and ultimately longest lockdown on January 4, collective sighs of misery were heard throughout car dealerships across the UK. The announcement was yet another hammer blow for an industry that had already taken its fair share of heat on the back of closed dealerships, disrupted supply chains, stunted manufacture and uncertain logistics.

For most of them, the freedom to reopen to the public in April will have come as a huge relief, as getting customers across the threshold remains more than half the battle of sealing a deal in a physical sales environment.

But there are some manufacturers that have marched their way through lockdown 3.0 with their heads held high, outperforming the first quarter of 2020 when they had a free run at the market.

Who are they, and why have they outperformed the market?

12 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Subaru

Volvo

Registrations in Q1 2020: 253 Registrations in Q1 2021: 310 Sales increase: 22.53%

Registrations in Q1 2020: 12,105 Registrations in Q1 2021: 13,964 Sales increase: 15.36%

A sales increase of just 57 units might not sound a huge amount year on year but the Subaru story needs to be put into perspective.

The brand ended 2020 with just 951 registrations, its worst year since it debuted in the UK, so the uplift is a positive story, especially for a brand that relies more than most on its network of local and independent dealers to deliver results.

The uptick in sales will be good news to the company’s new UK boss, John Hurtig, who made a commitment in late-2020 for Subaru to stay in the UK despite rumours to the contrary, and who is making a renewed focus on dealer performance the main driver behind the growth of the Subaru brand once again.

‘2020 was a horrible year,’ he said. ‘We’ve now changed a lot of things within Subaru UK. We also need to change the structure of our dealer network entirely.’

Volvo’s 15.36 per cent increase in sales in the first quarter of 2021 can be put down to the brand’s focus on removing dealers from the equation altogether in some areas.

For example, anyone who wants to buy a new XC40 EV can only do so online, while the brand’s ‘Care by Volvo’ concierge-based service means that online services for its other cars and products are core to their appeal, too.

In the brave new Volvo world, the dealer is there as a service to the owner and the business model for franchise success is based largely on aftersales services rather than physical car sales, with ordering Volvo models becoming an increasingly online phenomenon.

Confusing it may be, but for the manufacturer the idea seems to be working.

It’s certainly one to watch as we move into a world where dealerships are open again and the playing field levels out once more.

Land Rover Registrations in Q1 2020: 20,075 Registrations in Q1 2021: 20,551 Sales increase: 2.37% Any increase in registrations has to be good news for Land Rover, which is seen to be a barometer of the UK car industry’s health as much it is a simple business.

The Green Oval enjoyed a slight uplift in sales over Q1 2020, shifting 20,551 cars against 20,075 in the first quarter of 2020, the increase largely as a result of the new Defender finally coming on stream and deliveries being made against previously placed orders.

The new model, along with a facelifted Discovery, should hopefully see a strong sales performance for the rest of the year, too.

Peugeot

MG

Registrations in Q1 2020: 15,053 Registrations in Q1 2021: 15,705 Sales increase: 4.33%

Registrations in Q1 2020: 5,465 Registrations in Q1 2021: 6,161 Sales increase: 12.74%

Peugeot recorded an impressive 4.33 per cent rise in sales in Q1 despite dealers remaining physically closed, thanks in no small part to a crafty but clever price cut for the e-2008 model, allowing customers to still take advantage of the zeroemissions car grant and giving the model a useful edge over its key rivals.

A commitment by PSA before its merger with FCA to become Stellantis was to make Peugeot the company’s volume brand across Europe and it appears to be working – the Peugeot 208 was the best-selling car across the EU in Q1 2021, with the UK market figure reflecting the same level of commitment to the growth of the Peugeot brand.

All other Stellantis brands were down in Q1.

MG reported its best March figures, after January and February performed below the previous year’s results.

The boost put the company in its strongest position, with a 1.45 per cent market share and Q1 sales substantially stronger than established rivals such as Honda, Fiat and Suzuki. It’s time, then, to take MG seriously.

There are two key reasons behind its success.

The first is its commitment to affordable electric cars, with all of its EVs still eligible for zeroemissions grant funding. The second is an increased presence in the fleet/user chooser market thanks to those electric models. MG sold more EVs than Mercedes, Vauxhall and VW in Q1.

Guy Pigounakis, MG’s commercial director, said: ‘We’re incredibly proud of how our dealer network has risen to the challenge of operating in an environment where dealerships have been forced to remain physically closed.’

See the latest registration figures on page 50

We’re incredibly proud of how our dealer network has risen to the challenge of operating in an environment where dealerships have been forced to remain physically closed.

Guy Pigounakis, MG’s Commercial Director CarDealerMag.co.uk | 13

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Sales@WMSGroup.co.uk

www.WMSGroup.co.uk

What estate agents are allowed to get away with is beyond belief

C

It’s like the normal rules of sales simply don’t apply when it comes to selling houses.

ar dealers, as we all know only too well, get a poor rep. Like us journalists, we’re both relegated to the bottom of the most-trusted professions lists time and time again – mostly unjustifiably and because a few bad eggs spoil it for the rest of us.

But both car dealers and journalists alike can take solace in the knowledge that there’s one profession that overwhelmingly beats us on the disliked profession scale time and time again: estate agents.

The housing market, just like the car business, has been pretty buoyant in the past year.

One of the successes of the government during this Covid crisis has been keeping the housing market not only moving but thriving.

Most people’s wealth in the UK, and more importantly their perceived wealth, is tied up in the bricks and mortar we reside in. The knowledge that you’ll invariably be able to sell whatever you’re living in for more than you bought it is at the cornerstone of consumer confidence. With the stamp duty holiday and boost to the housing market that followed, the government has ensured no huge losses have been incurred by home owners, despite a fall in employment and all the other triggers that would usually result in a housing market crash. Unfortunately, though, with these booms comes unscrupulous behaviour from a few, and from friends and family I’ve heard from estate agents are reverting to type and using every nasty trick in the book to turn a few extra quid in profit.

One recent example involved a first-time buyer who had made an offer on a house they’d seen, only for the estate agent to refuse to put it to the vendor. Their reason? That the firsttime buyers would have to get approval and a quote from their in-house mortgage adviser first. This was despite them already having a mortgage agreed in principle with a bank.

Can you imagine if car dealers did similar? Oh, you’d like to test-drive the Ford Fiesta, sir? No problems, but before we can give you the keys, we need to get you approved for finance with our finance company to ensure you can afford the car if you decide to buy it, and then we may put the offer in, but can’t guarantee it will be accepted, unless, you know, wink wink, you use our finance.

The stink that would cause would be astronomical. But yet it’s happening, in an industry we all have to dabble in, right now.

Then there’s the prices. Another friend spent the day looking at houses and found one she liked. She put an offer in £2.5k under the asking price and it was immediately refused – the agent refused it so quickly they couldn’t have had the time to call the vendor.

Undeterred, she offered the asking price instead – £220,000 – but this was refused too.

Hang on, said my friend, it’s advertised at that price and the vendor is saying they don’t want to sell it at that? The estate agent explained that actually the seller was looking for offers in the region of between £220-230k.

Surely that’s false advertising? You couldn’t offer a car for sale at £5k and when someone turned up to buy it for that price say actually you wanted £6k. You don’t go into a supermarket, pick up a chicken for a fiver and then at the checkout the assistant tells you that actually if you want to buy it you need to pay £6. Doesn’t make any sense, does it? But estate agents are getting away with it. It’s like the normal rules of sales simply don’t apply to them when it comes to selling houses, especially in a pandemic.

I get that there are probably time-wasters out there and they’ll be just as frustrating to estate agents as they are for car dealers, but there are better ways of weeding out the frontdoor kickers from the cash buyers than this.

I suppose the fact estate agents don’t really need to rely on repeat business means they can get away with shady tricks that in other industries would be stamped out quicker than an ill-timed VW-renaming April Fool’s Day joke. So next time you’re down the pub (remember those?) and someone rolls their eyes when you tell them you’re a car dealer, remind them it could be worse – you could be selling houses.

Speaking out

COMMENT

JAMES BAGGOTT

AGAINST OUR BETTER JUDGMENT, WE LET THE CEO HAVE HIS SAY EACH MONTH James Baggott founded Car Dealer Magazine and is the chief executive officer of parent company @BaizeGroup, an automotive services provider. He now spends most of his time on Twitter @CarDealerEd and annoying the rest of us.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 15

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

Who is Big Mike?

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

16 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

COMMENT

It’s truly eye-opening the ‘accessories’ you can find tucked away

I

recently sold a Volvo estate to a clergyman – a pillar of the local community and someone fairly well known in the area near my dealership.

He’s a good customer and has had three or four cars off me over the years, so I won’t go naming him here, partly because that would be bad for business and partly because I’d probably end up getting sued, but it was (to say the least) an eye opener when I went to valet his V70 trade-in only to find some interesting items in the spare wheel well.

Admittedly, the spandex outfit may simply have reflected an interest in wrestling, while the handcuffs and ball gag could have been there for protection in road-rage incidents, but nevertheless my eyebrows are still somewhere close to my bald patch as a result. The only downside of it was that, as the pubs are still closed, I wasn’t able to discuss my findings with other members of the local community for the purposes of research. I did mention it to a few of my mates in the trade, of course, and we had a very amusing discussion via WhatsApp that I encourage you to perhaps replicate on the Car Dealer Forum. After all, we’ve all found some interesting things in cars we’ve taken in part-ex or picked up at the auction and I’m sure some of you can out-trump the ball gag and spandex.

One of my fellow traders, for example, recalled in our chat the time that he took a Jaguar XJ8 in PX against a newish Range Rover. The previous titled owner was a member of the House of Lords –and was also the proud owner of a dainty red suspender belt and some white stiletto heels (or was, until he chopped them in against one of Solihull’s finest), while another mate of mine, who deals in high-end performance cars, took a Mitsubishi Evo in a three-car deal with a professional footballer, who had left in the glovebox a selection of photos of him and an unidentified lady and gent presumably getting ready for bed, which would have been worth a fortune to the gutter press. Needless to say, the next time the footballer wanted to bargain him down by £20k on an Aston Martin they were slid across the desk and my mate ended up getting the full asking price plus a healthy tip…

Another car trade colleague recalled a Sierra Cosworth he bought from a police auction after the car had been used in a bank job. During their search, the investigating officers hadn’t checked the bag containing the jack and wheelbrace, which yielded my friend a fistful of fifties that he spent very sparingly afterwards, lest the notes were marked. He still hasn’t told us exactly how much he made on the deal, but I do recall him buying a speedboat soon afterwards. He sold the Cossie for a tidy mark-up as well.

Dodgy Dave meanwhile (and every town in Britain has a car dealer called Dodgy Dave, right?) once took a Jeep Cherokee that was chopped in rather urgently by two shifty-looking blokes in large coats, which he thought was a bit unusual given it was a hot summer’s day.

But being Dave and being dodgy, he turned an eye as blind as that of his MOT tester to the rather unusual circumstances.

What was more obscure, though, was the false hatch he found in the bottom of the armrest cubby, beneath which were two handguns. He immediately alerted the local constabulary with a description of the two men that turned out to be as useless as most of his forecourt stock and the Jeep was seized, never to be seen again, although a likeness of it did appear on an episode of Crimewatch six months later, being used to hold up an offlicence in Stoke-on-Trent. Dave lost about four grand on that deal, which in his terms isn’t that bad a deal – I’ve known him to take a bigger hit on cars he bought in good faith.

Meanwhile, a mutual mate of ours who runs a bombsite banger lot in north Essex had an even better story.

He’d bought a Peugeot 106 at a customs and excise sale, which was offloading cars that had been seized at the port of Harwich for reasons undisclosed by HMRC but patently obvious when his Jack Russell started slavering all over the radio-cassette.

The officers hadn’t checked the bag containing the jack and wheelbrace, which yielded my friend a fistful of fifties.

The spandex outfit may simply have reflected an interest in wrestling, while the handcuffs and ball gag could have been there for road-rage protection.

Led by the dog going bonkers, he decided to remove the stereo only to find two white blocks attached to the back of it, which hastily fell apart. In order to check he’d not just unearthed a big chunk of washing powder, he apparently decided to take a hefty hooterful of it and (according to his business partner) spent the next three hours babbling incoherently and proclaiming how damned good he felt to anyone who would listen. He then spent three days off work with the mother of all headaches and (so he tells us) handed it over to a ‘responsible party’, who allegedly advertises his wares in the small ads under the name of ‘Charlie’.

Of course, I’ve never done anything illegal with any of the things I’ve found in cars (not even the ball gag), and on discovering a quantity of white powder in a 5-Series BMW a few years ago I did the decent thing and called the police, only for them to identify it as a substantial quantity of Coffee Mate that had obviously exploded inside a carrier bag and leaked down the back of the seat.

I also had a BMW 7-Series for a while that had got an interesting past, as I once found out when driving through Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter. I pulled over in a side street to pop to the corner shop for some cigars, but as I parked up, two young men in hoodies came out of nowhere and got in the car with me, proffering a handful of notes each and wondering why I didn’t pass them anything in return.

‘Are you Danny?’ one of them asked.

‘No,’ I replied.

‘Oh, right,’ he said ‘Well, you got any gear anyway?’

I bought that one an el cheapo private plate from the DVLA’s £99 bargain bucket before selling it on, as the last thing I wanted was a customer getting mistaken for the local Pablo Escobar. Such things aren’t good for business, really. Well, not the car sales business anyway.

Of course, I’ve found far more boring things in sales cars, too, including an entire collection of the Encyclopaedia Britannica and a very furry Cadbury’s crème egg that had obviously escaped the clutches of its owner and started a new cult of its own beneath the passenger seat, but such stories don’t have quite the same tabloid appeal.

As for the vicar, I decided not to embarrass him and disposed of the wrestling outfit via my private eBay account, only to find the winning bidder had a different name to the reverend but the very same address. I hope he finds it a snug fit.

Dodgy Dave once took a Jeep Cherokee that was chopped in rather urgently by two shiftylooking blokes in large coats.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 17

together Let’s do more

Part of the drive to reach your goals, we’re a partner to grow your business and help you thrive.

Finance

Compliance

Funding

Insight

Delivering finance solutions for your customers

Navigating regulation and compliance changes to keep you safe

Providing access to the funding you need

Sharing data and information to help you make decisions

Giving you more, so you can do more.

We’re stronger together. closemotorfinance.co.uk/together 18 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Finance Compliance Funding Insight

Farewell, franchised retailing – you’re not the sector you used to be

I

Covid has forced people to re-evaluate their priorities, whether it be as a result of tragic, forced or lifestyle circumstances.

t is almost a decade since I wound up my used car business and went back to franchised retailing. I thought I had found my spirit animal with the business I went to work for: family-owned, a real focus on profit, customer service and quality, but most importantly for me, an opportunity to make strategic decisions at a middlemanagement level. Sadly, that business was gobbled up by a more numbers-focused conglomerate within a matter of months and the role changed.

A few years later, I was fortunate to be given my dream opportunity with another family-owned business with a real eye on detail. Brand director roles with complete autonomy are rare and I relished the challenge afforded me.

However, ‘uneasy lies the head that wears a crown’, and for a number of reasons – some personal and some external – I left that business.

In November 2019, I agreed a short-term contract with a group I had previously worked for while I figured out what I wanted to do. Then Covid hit and things changed.

This past year has put us all under immense mental pressure. Whether it be the uncertain financial climate, lack of contact outside of your immediate family or a mortal fear of Covid itself, the past year has been an emotional rollercoaster for everyone.

Speaking personally, I have come to the conclusion in the past few months that franchised motor retail really isn’t for me. The trade today is unrecognisable from that which I joined 23 years ago. Yes, there was pressure, terrible basic salaries and sweat-shop working hours, but if you were talented and hungry, you could make a difference. Sales managers were responsible for marketing (with varying degrees of success) and sales people were trusted to get deals done within an established set of parameters.

Over the past two decades, pressure from manufacturers has essentially outlawed lots of creative, entrepreneurial practices in the pursuit of ‘progress’. Many of the creative, charismatic owners are gone: either gobbled up in mergers and acquisitions activity, out of business due to squeezed margins and high operating costs, or simply lying on a beach letting the kids get on with it.

This isn’t some old man shouting at the clouds – I get a sense that I am not alone. Having recently asked my LinkedIn connections if they too were tired of the franchised motor trade, I had a lot of private messages agreeing with my sentiment.

Covid has forced people to re-evaluate their priorities, whether it be as a result of tragic, forced or lifestyle circumstances. Employers (and not just the motor trade) really need to think about staff retention and engagement, particularly those who are now working remotely. This is especially true for the franchised motor industry, which was already struggling with high staff turnover and morale problems.

So off I go back to the independent sector, trying to right the wrongs of my first go round but this time with a focus on my young children, my busy wife and my own well-being.

Trader Tales

COMMENT

JAMES LITTON

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

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

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 19

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DASHBOARD PEUGEOT

Striking and spacious new 308 revealed PEUGEOT’S new 308 has arrived with a dramatic new look, a more spacious interior and new electrified powertrains.

Replacing one of its most popular models, the new Ford Focus-rivalling 308 has been given a drastic redesign.

A bold new grille has been incorporated alongside new ‘claw’ headlights. In the middle of the car’s nose sits Peugeot’s new logo – the first time it’s been used on a production vehicle. The wheelbase is 55mm longer, and the car sits 20mm lower than its predecessor, too.

CAR NEWS ROUND-UP Manufacturers have been busy refining existing models and producing new ones. We look at 10 of the results...

VOLVO

SUBARU

Facelifted XC60 goes on sale in UK

European-spec Outback debuts

VOLVO’S facelifted XC60 has gone on sale in the UK, ahead of first deliveries this summer.

Priced from £41,745, it has a new grille plus lower front and rear bumpers.

The exhaust pipes have been hidden as Volvo heads to complete electrification.

New alloy wheel designs are available, and three paint colours have been added.

Inside, it now has a solely Android-powered infotainment system, while Android Auto and Apple CarPlay integration systems are included as well.

SUBARU has revealed the Outback in European specification, after having been on sale in America for well over a year.

It's a rugged estate model designed for people who live outdoorsy lifestyles, combining the styling and practicality of a traditional estate with the lifted ride height and off-road abilities of an SUV. Improved safety equipment comes in the form of the latest of the firm’s EyeSight technology with, at its base, a collision-avoidance system.

22 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

SKODA

SportLine trim is added to electric Enyaq iV range THE electric Skoda Enyaq iV has been given a sporty makeover with the addition of a highly equipped SportLine trim.

There’s a black finish for the grille, window frames, roof rails and rear bumper diffuser. Inside, SportLine models get unique sports seats with Alcantara and leather upholstery, leather steering wheel and aluminium-look pedals.

It comes with an 82kWh battery that has a range of up to 327 miles in official tests.

RANGE ROVER

Ultimate editions for luxury line-up

A PAIR of special-edition Range Rovers have been released to sit at the top of Land Rover’s luxury SUV line-up.

The Ultimate models build on the SVAutobiography and SVAutobiography Dynamic vehicles and are intended to showcase the personalisation services on offer.

They boast a vintage tan leather interior trim with copper carbon-fibre accents plus optional leather upholstery from Poltrona Frau, and come with a 557bhp supercharged V8 engine or plug-in hybrid powertrain.

DS AUTOMOBILES

JEEP

DS 9 flagship saloon looks to take on might of executive segment DS Automobiles' new flagship saloon the DS 9 has gone on sale in the UK starting at £40,615.

It expands the French firm’s line-up to three models and sits above the DS 3 Crossback and DS 7 Crossback SUVs. The DS 9 is designed to take on the likes of the BMW 5 Series and MercedesBenz E-Class in the executive saloon segment.

There are two engine options, starting with a 222bhp petrol engine. The second option is a plug-in hybrid with the same power output as the regular petrol but with an additional 11.9kWh battery providing up to 34 miles of range.

TOYOTA

Another name and more power for entry-level sports model TOYOTA’S entry-level sports car has been given an upgrade for 2021 with a new name, new engine and more performance.

Now called GR 86 rather than GT86 – the firm’s sporting models are built by its Gazoo Racing division, so these cars get the GR moniker – it has again been built in collaboration with Subaru.

The engine is now a 2.4-litre unit, making 232bhp and 249Nm of torque – up from 197bhp and 205Nm. It’s a ‘boxer’ four-cylinder design from Subaru, and remains naturally aspirated.

FIAT

Compass updated plus plug-in hybrid

JEEP has released an updated version of its Compass SUV. The exterior has been lightly revised, bringing sharper headlights and a series of restyled bumpers.

It’s a crucial model for the brand, with Jeep stating that the Compass accounts for more than 40 per cent of its sales in Europe. One in four of vehicles sold is a plug-in hybrid variant, which is why the electrified set-up has been retained for this revised model – although further details surrounding the powertrain have yet to be revealed.

BENTLEY

500s bolstered by Hey Google tech

650bhp Continental GT Speed unveiled

FIAT has announced a new series of 500-badged models with Google’s latest in-car connectivity features.

The Hey Google range of vehicles sees the Fiat 500, 500X and 500L models equipped with the voice assistant, allowing owners to interact with the vehicle – even when away from it.

Using their smartphone or a Google Nest Hub, drivers will, for example, be able to check how much fuel is left. The system can also notify them if a theft is being attempted.

BENTLEY has revealed its Continental GT Speed, hailing it as its ‘most capable, performance-focused’ model.

The Speed sees increased performance, upgraded chassis technology and updated exterior styling.

The iconic 6.0-litre W12 unit gets a 24bhp boost to 650bhp, while torque is a ridiculous 900Nm. The 0-60mph time is just 3.5 seconds and the top speed is 208mph. Handling is improved via a new all-wheel steering system.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 23

DASHBOARD DATA

NEWS DIGEST

HERE ARE TASTERS OF STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED

CLICK ON THE PICTURES FOR THE FULL STORY That’s one ‘L’ of a low licence figure THE number of young people with a driving licence has reached a record low, according to latest data from the DVLA. Just 2.97m people in Britain aged 16 to 25 held a full licence as of March. That’s down from 3.32m in March 2020, and is the lowest according to records dating back to November 2012 when there were 3.42m.

AA president Edmund King said it was partly a result of lessons and tests being halted for much of the past 12 months because of lockdowns.

EXPANSION

DEAL

Caterham Cars boss tells of firm’s excitement after manufacturer bought by Japanese importer BRITISH sports car brand Caterham Cars has been bought by its Japanese importer VT Holdings for an undisclosed figure.

VT Holdings also operates more than 200 showrooms, and CEO Kazuho Takahashi said: ‘VT Holdings is proud to welcome Caterham to the group. We have not only purchased a globally renowned performance car manufacturer but become custodians of a motoring legend.’ Graham Macdonald, chief executive of Caterham Cars, said: ‘We’re all excited about starting to write the next chapter for this very special brand.’

RETIREMENT

Perrys adds MG brand to portfolio PERRYS has opened an MG dealership in the West Yorkshire town of Huddersfield.

Based in Northgate, close to the town centre, it has an indoor showroom including sales, aftersales and used car facilities, plus EV charging.

The franchise joins its other businesses in the area, including Vauxhall and Kia. Perrys general manager Steve Vickers said: ‘MG offers great-value cars that are good quality, well equipped and backed by the reassurance of a brilliant seven-year warranty.’

24 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Andy says farewell after 54-year career

CREWE Seat head of business Andy Barnes has said goodbye to the motor industry after retiring following a 54-year career that saw him start out by washing cars.

After providing holiday cover for a used car sales executive, he soon realised what a good living he could make selling cars, said the 67-yearold, and he never looked back, with promotions and advancements taking him around England. Visiting Italy is among his retirement plans.

SPONSORSHIP

Estate agents are reverting to type and using every nasty trick in the book to turn a few extra quid in profit.

James Baggott p15

Vertu goes in to bat for county clubs

VERTU Motors has signed a two-year sponsorship deal with Yorkshire and Durham county cricket clubs.

Chief executive Robert Forrester said: ‘Like many other sectors, sport has been hit by the pandemic, and to forge partnerships with these two high-profile county championship cricket clubs will be mutually beneficial.’

It will see Vertu Motors shirt sponsorship as well as its branding on the clubs’ stadia.

‘This is a fearsomely quick car that is both easy to live with and easy to get the best from, too.’

Forecourt: p28

PENTAGON MOTOR GROUP

Former Peugeot boss to join as MD

FORMER Peugeot boss David Peel is to become Pentagon Motor Group’s new MD later this year.

Current MD David Lewis, pictured left with Peel, retires in July, and the group has confirmed that Peel will take up the reins. Pentagon was established in 1991 with just one Vauxhall dealership in Derby and now has 46 franchises across 26 sites. Peel said: ‘The chance to work across a number of the most important brands in the UK market will be a refreshing challenge.’

SALES

USED CARS

April ‘poised to be bumper month’

Average values stay above £8k at BCA

APRIL could be on course to be a bumper month for car sales now showrooms have fully reopened, new data suggests.

Auto Trader says strong levels of demand so far, along with an uplift in buyers intending to purchase a new car in the next three months, point to it being a ‘significant step forward’.

The week of April 5 to 11 saw an average of 2.4m daily crossplatform visits to Auto Trader – a 38 per cent increase on 2019.

CLOSE MOTOR COMPANY

Immediate success as Isuzu welcomed

CLOSE Motor Company has added the Isuzu brand to its Peterborough showroom – and it’s got off to a flying start!

Director and dealer principal Simon Close told Car Dealer they would be working in partnership with Mitsubishi at the Newark Road site, which it bought in 2016, saying: ‘We sold three in three days since going live, so it’s a very encouraging start.’ There’s space for one vehicle in the showroom and 10 outside.

USED car average values at BCA kept above £8,000 in March as its online sales programme saw record buyer activity ahead of showrooms reopening in the UK. The auctioneer said the £8,039 average price maintained the steady performance seen during recent months, with sold volumes rising significantly versus January and February. They’re now comparable to pre-pandemic levels and activity is likely to increase further over the coming weeks, it added.

T S A C D PO

OM R F M A E THE T EALER CAR DBOUT TALK ATEST THE LAAND NEWSVIEWS IN INTER EGULAR THIS R ST PODCA

BACKLASH

I have come to the conclusion in the past few months that franchised motor retail really isn’t for me.

James Litton p19

VW red-faced over April Fool slip-up

VOLKSWAGEN suffered a backlash over an ill-timed fake name change in the States that led to it issuing an apology.

The company told US media on March 30 it would be changing its name to ‘Voltswagen’ to showcase its electric range. That was widely reported as fact but it transpired it was an April Fool’s Day joke leaked two days early. However, it maintained it was true then admitted it was a hoax, angering reporters.

E R E H K C CLI

PAST O T N E T TO LIS ES OF THE EPISODEALER CAR DASTS PODC Turn over page to catch up on more stories

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 25

DASHBOARD HEARING

NEWS DIGEST

HERE ARE TASTERS OF STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED

CLICK ON THE PICTURES FOR THE FULL STORY Man denies £100k damage charge A 35-YEAR-OLD man is to go on trial accused of causing some £100,000 of damage to 13 cars at a Scottish dealership.

Roberto Tudora appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court on a charge of malicious mischief at Murray Motors in Fraserburgh, reported the Aberdeen Evening Express. Tudora, of Charlotte Street, Fraserburgh, pleaded not guilty via defence solicitor Sam Milligan. He was released on conditional bail, and a pre-trial hearing will be held at Peterhead Sheriff Court in September.

ACQUISITION

THEME

Dealership conjures up ‘Willy Wonka magic’ for special event to put people at ease for reopening A DEALERSHIP in East Yorkshire went all ‘Willy Wonka’ as it prepared to open its doors again and put people at ease at the same time.

Hull Mitsubishi has been done out specially for an extended reopening event, drawing on the 1971 film adaptation of the famous Roald Dahl novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. General manager and director Andrew Iveson told Car Dealer: ‘if any customers have a little bit of anxiety about coming through the doors it’s instantly fun and more relaxed than it probably has been before.’

SURPRISE

Halfords buys tyre and garage firm HALFORDS has bought Universal Tyre and Autocentres in a deal worth £15m.

The Kent-based firm has 20 sites across the south-east and runs 89 response vans. Last year, it generated £31m revenue, with Ebitda earnings of around £1.5m.

Halfords CEO Graham Stapleton said: ‘We have a strategy of building a marketleading motoring services offer, and the acquisition of Universal is another important step forward in helping us to achieve that goal.’

26 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Narrow squeak for baby wood mice

A TECHNICIAN got a big surprise while carrying out a service on a car when he uncovered a quartet of baby wood mice!

He was working on a Mini Cooper at Five Lamps Auto Centre in Derby when he made the discovery while removing the air filter. There was no sign of their mum, who it is believed made the filter their home during lockdown as the car was hardly being used, and the RSPCA took them to a wildlife centre.

13.1

The percentage drop in value last year of a Mercedes-Benz GLA Class.

Top 20 most depreciating used cars of 2020 p40

ADVERT

Vauxhall is British, rules watchdog

A TV advert for the Vauxhall Corsa proclaiming that the Stellantisowned manufacturer has been British since 1903 isn’t misleading, it has been ruled.

The Advertising Standards Authority received four complaints that the ad ended with ‘British brand since 1903’. But the watchdog said that although the Corsa and other models were manufactured elsewhere, it was only possible to buy a Vauxhall-branded car here.

Cool stuff: Some great items to seek out as restrictions start to ease and we think of holidays.

‘Quote.’

Feature: p43

Feature: pXX

DEVELOPMENT

£1.5m Motornation site joins Macklin

VERTU Motors-owned Macklin Motors has completed a £1.5m development of a new Motornation dealership in Glasgow.

Macklin Motors Motornation Glasgow, based in Darnley, is next to Vertu’s other Ford and Nissan dealerships, and will provide seven new jobs. Already operating click-and-collect and home delivery services, it’ll open fully when lockdown restrictions ease.

It has space for more than 150 cars and a workshop with ten ramps.

BLAZE

New Defender destroyed in fire

A NEW Land Rover Defender was destroyed in a devastating blaze at a Wiltshire dealership.

It’s believed the fire was caused as the 21-plate Defender was being charged inside the Dick Lovett showroom on the outskirts of Melksham. The dealership windows were shattered and ‘tens of thousands of pounds’ worth of damage caused to the site. More than 20 firefighters tackled the incident. Picture via Facebook

AWARDS

The last thing I wanted was a customer getting mistaken for the local Pablo Escobar.

Such things aren’t good for business, really.

Big Mike p16

LEADERSHIP

TrustFord doubles intake of hopefuls

DEALER group TrustFord has more than doubled the intake of its leadership programme following a high quality of applicants.

Successful finalists were invited on to a call to be told that the calibre had been so good, 46 would be given a place instead of the planned 20 on the 12-14 month course.

They have come from across the business, with 35 per cent women.

A total of 150 staff applied, with 50 making the interview stage.

Volvo UK names best retailers of the year

VOLVO has announced the winners of its 2020 retailer awards with Ray Chapman Motors given the top gong.

The Malton-based dealership was named Retailer of the Year for ‘consistently exceeding the market opportunity and surpassing all targets’. Regional award winners included Clelands of the Borders, which scooped Best Volvo Retailer in Scotland, while Fawcett’s Garage in Newbury was named best retailer in London and the south-east. Click on the image for the full list

HONDA

New owner of plant at Swindon named

A BUYER has been found for Honda’s Swindon manufacturing plant.

The Japanese firm said industrial logistics firm Panattoni, which has already developed the site next door, will be buying the factory.

Panattoni has already committed to spending £700m on redeveloping the Honda plant. A legal handover is expected next spring after the plant has been decommissioned, and Panattoni will work with the borough council on redeveloping the site.

BITE-SIZE Click on the text box for the full story

UPGRADE: Motor trade analysts have upgraded their forecasts for Lookers as the dealer group continues to turn a corner. Zeus Capital says it could achieve a share price of 100p (70.7p at present) and predicted a £34.8m profit for 2021.

ONLINE: Motorpoint says sales via its online channels in the past 12 months have exceeded expectations. In a trading update to the London Stock Exchange, it said that of its retail sales, 52 per cent were online, equating to more than 22,000 vehicles.

SALE: CarSupermarket.com’s holding company Motor Depot Ltd has sold a majority stake to the Stellantis-owned Aramis Group. The European online sales group said it would use its expertise to accelerate CarSupermarket.com’s growth.

LISTING: Cazoo has confirmed it will list on the New York Stock Exchange in a deal it hopes values the online used car dealership at $7bn (£5bn).

It has agreed to merge with publicly traded special purpose acquisition company Ajax.

PROFIT: Pendragon turned its fortunes around during the Covid-19 pandemic to post a full-year pre-tax profit of £8.2m for 2020, swinging from an underlying pre-tax loss of £16.4m in 2019. It is now aiming for up to £90m profit in four years’ time.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 27

FORECOURT

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF R

THE KNOWLEDGE Volkswagen Golf R

Price (as tested): £42,300 Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol Power: 316bhp Torque: 420Nm Max speed: 155mph O-60mph: 4.5 seconds MPG (combined): 36.2 Emissions: 177g/km CO2

Power

The R’s 2.0-litre engine pumps out 316bhp and 420Nm of torque, giving a 0-60 mph of 4,5 seconds.

The new hatchback arrives on a wave of expectation – Jack Evans discovers if it’s still an all-weather warrior.

WHAT IS IT? The previous VW Golf R earned itself a serious reputation with its all-weather ability, supercar-beating performance and everyday practicality. Underpinned by the latest eighthgeneration Golf platform, the new R has a crushing amount of expectation on its shoulders.

WHAT’S NEW? There’ve been some serious reworkings of the fundamentals. It also has the latest Golf’s tech-heavy cabin, and its exterior boasts all the style touches of the new-gen hatchback.

Added performance tweaks help differentiate it from the rest of the range as well.

WHAT’S UNDER THE BONNET? The 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine is fundamentally the same unit that powered the older R but with more oomph, taking the new R from 0-60mph sooner.

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO DRIVE? The Golf R is now quicker than anyone reasonably needs a car to be on the public road.

It’ll outpace many far more flamboyant – and expensive – cars, with a level of performance that’s nothing short of revolutionary. It’s backed by an all-wheel-drive system that keeps you on the straight and narrow or clinging on through the bends.

The most notable addition is torque vectoring, which allows power to be split between the rear wheels for the first time, rather than just the front and back axle. It means the car will tighten its line far more easily than before when turning in. It’s properly impressive and wonderfully easy to exploit – this isn’t a car you need to ‘learn’ to get the best from.

HOW DOES IT LOOK? The previous Golf R was a masterclass in understated design and it’s the same here. Sure, you still have the quad exhaust pipes that have become a Volkswagen R hallmark, but apart from that there’s not an awful lot to show just how quickly this car will go.

It sits considerably lower than the regular car, while ‘our’ car’s 18-inch diamond-turned alloy wheels gave it a slightly more premium edge, but this is one under-the-radar car.

WHAT’S IT LIKE INSIDE? We’ve already experienced the regular Golf’s interior and found it to be an extremely tech-

28 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

TARGET BUYERS:

Those who want fearsome performance from a practical and good-looking hatch.

THE RIVALS:

Mercedes-AMG A35S, Renault Megane R.S., BMW M135i.

KEY SELLING POINTS: Dynamics The R is fearsomely quick and both easy to live with and drive.

Interior The cabin quality is generally good but feels a touch too ‘normal’ for a sporty car such as this.

1. All-weather capability.

2. Understated looks.

3. Brutal acceleration.

DEAL CLINCHER:

The Golf R is a supercarbeating hatchback that’ll manage the weekly shop just as easily as a B-road blast.

heavy place. The R’s cabin is little different, albeit with the introduction of more sporty seats and a range of blue accents. It does, however, feel a touch too ‘normal’ for a car like this – we’d like to see just a little more excitement added to the mix, given just how exciting the powertrain running underneath the R is.

That said, the everyday fundamentals are done well. The material quality is largely on the money, while there’s a decent amount of space for those sitting in the back, too. Boot space is reasonable as well, offering 374 litres with the rear seats in place. You can increase it by folding those seats down, of course.

WHAT’S THE SPEC LIKE? Sitting atop the Golf range means that the R benefits from an impressive level of standard equipment. Prices start at just over £39,000, and for that you get important performance aspects such as the torque vectoring system plus sport suspension.

‘Our’ car came with optional Dynamic Chassis Control – priced at £300 – and this is something we’d highly recommend if buying an R. It allows you to vary the amount of support giving by the suspension and when put in ‘Comfort’ mode makes the car pliable enough to deal with the UK’s roads.

Elsewhere, standard-fit highlights include Volkswagen’s digital cockpit with configurable dials, a 10-inch infotainment display with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus matrix LED headlights. You’re unlikely to feel shortchanged by the R’s level of standard equipment, that’s for sure.

The Golf R is now quicker than anyone reasonably needs a car to be on the public road.

WHAT DO THE PRESS THINK? Autocar called it the ‘most potent Golf to wear the R badge’ and ‘a deliciously powerful yet well-balanced hot hatchback’. Evo said: ‘The new Golf R is more refined and capable than ever, but driven hard exposes a genuinely wild side.’

WHAT DO WE THINK? Volkswagen has hit the nail on the head again. This is a fearsomely quick car that is both easy to live with and easy to get the best from, too. It’s almost unnervingly easy to drive, in fact.

It might not be the last word in driver involvement, but the older Golf R never was either.

No, this is a car that provides all the performance you could want in all weathers.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 29

FORECOURT

Under the bonnet

BMW 128ti

BMW’s 128ti is looking to deliver lightweight performance but Jack Evans wants to know if it can rival key hot-hatch competitors.

WHAT IS IT? The 128ti is focused on that link between driver and machine while being targeted at a rather well-known name in the business – Volkswagen’s Golf GTI. WHAT’S NEW? The change to front-driven wheels has caused quite a stir, while the performance-orientated M135i’s all-wheel-drive setup represents quite the departure from the norm. It’s ditched the four-wheel-drive layout but retains its 2.0-litre turbo plus firmer anti-roll bars and mounts.

WHAT’S UNDER THE BONNET? BMW has fiddled with the traction control system to ensure all the power can be put to the road. There’s no manual gearbox option, however, just BMW’s go-to eight-speed automatic.

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO DRIVE? The 128ti picks up speed remarkably, with a small amount of disruption sensed through the wheel as all that power gets sent to the front wheels. It’s not distracting but adds to the excitable character you get from the car in general. The steering is pleasantly weighted too while the suspension, though firm, does well to deal with the worst of the lumps and bumps on the road. It’s exciting to drive but also impressively settled on motorway stretches.

HOW DOES IT LOOK? The 1 Series caused a bit of a commotion when first launched, but given BMW’s recent efforts it looks remarkably undercover these days. The ti gets some special treatment, too, with a distinct lack of chrome touches replaced by gloss black accents. The 18-inch wheels are unique to the model, too.

There are go-faster red highlights alongside matching red ti badging at the rear wheelarch sections. The front air intakes receive red ‘blades’, too. This is no Honda Civic Type R when it comes to wild hot-hatch styling, but the 128ti’s design is distinctive enough to separate it from the crowd. It’s an attractive thing indeed without being too gaudy.

WHAT’S IT LIKE INSIDE? The 128ti’s interior is largely similar to that of a regular 1 Series, which means you get very good build quality backed up by high-end materials and solid ergonomics. The sports 30 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

The 128ti uses a 2.0-litre turbo engine and pumps out 261bhp and 400Nm of torque.

THE KNOWLEDGE BMW 128ti Price (as tested): £35,480 Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol Power: 261bhp Torque: 400Nm Max speed: 155mph O-60mph: 5.9 seconds MPG (combined): 44.1-46.3 Emissions: 148-139g/km CO2

seats are extremely figure-hugging but have controllable bolsters, while the steering wheel remains slightly too thick to us – but this is a common trait across the BMW range. That said, it’s peppered with useful controls that are convenient and easy to use.

Furthering the classic hot-hatch requirement, the 128ti is practical, too. There’s 380 litres of boot space, for instance, rising to 1,200 litres with the rear seats folded flat. It’s slightly more than the 374 litres of space you’ll find in the Golf GTI, in fact.

WHAT’S THE SPEC LIKE? Prices for the BMW 128ti start from £31,875 and for that you get a comprehensive range of standard equipment. Highlights include an M Sport suspension setup plus aerodynamic styling package as well as heated sport seats, multi-function steering wheel and automatic air conditioning. A 10.25-inch infotainment screen is included too, incorporating media and navigation functions as well as Apple CarPlay.

Our car also had a few choice optional extras, chief of which was the technology pack for £1,500. This added adaptive LED headlights, head-up display and wireless phone charging.

In truth, you could probably just about live without these extras, but the technology pack’s price is competitive and does bring a lot of kit for the money.

WHAT DO THE PRESS THINK? Top Gear said: ‘BMW’s made a rival to the Golf GTI – and quite possibly beaten it.’ Evo said: ‘BMW’s first front-wheel drive hot hatch isn’t only good, we think it will have a Golf GTI beat.’

WHAT DO WE THINK? BMW has resisted the weight of change with the 128ti. It’s a refreshing take on the hot hatch, bolstered by the firm’s technical know-how, which makes this car not just an exciting prospect on paper but one backed by sound on-road dynamics.

Whereas the more powerful M135i can sometimes feel a touch heavy, the 128ti is pleasingly light, agile and – most importantly – fun.

However, this is a car that can be enjoyed day in, day out thanks to its refinement when you’re not on twisty, open roads. Should the Golf GTI be scared? Absolutely.

Inside The cabin has a high-end feel with great build quality and a high level of standard equipment.

Driving The steering is well weighted while the suspension setup deals well with bumpy UK roads.

The 128ti is pleasingly light, agile and – most importantly – fun.

TARGET BUYERS:

Those who want a lightweight, nimble and exciting performance 1 Series.

THE RIVALS:

Volkswagen Golf GTI, Hyundai i30N, Renault Megane R.S.

KEY SELLING POINTS: 1. Involving handling.

2. Well-made cabin.

3. High level of standard equipment.

DEAL CLINCHER:

The 128ti is the performance version of the 1 Series we’ve always wanted – and it gives the Golf GTI more than a run for its money.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 31

FORECOURT

SUZUKI ACROSS THE KNOWLEDGE Suzuki Across 2.5 PHEV E-Four CVT

This plug-in hybrid SUV is Suzuki’s first model to come from a partnership with Toyota but Ted Welford finds a glaring problem.

WHAT IS IT? It’s a big, well-equipped and powerful plug-in hybrid SUV, which is rather different to the rest of Suzuki’s line-up, and is also accompanied by a rather steep price.

WHAT’S NEW? This might be a new model for Suzuki but it’s part of a ‘collaborative agreement’ with Toyota – meaning it’s essentially a Toyota RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid.

WHAT’S UNDER THE BONNET? The Across’s powertrain combines a big 2.5-litre petrol engine with an electric motor on the front axle – just the latter alone produces 182bhp. It’s also four-wheel-drive and uses a CVT automatic gearbox. The 18.1kWh battery allows for a class-leading range of 46 miles.

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO DRIVE? The Across is a big, sturdy SUV, and that’s very much how it drives. There’s a solid weight to everything, from the steering to the controls, and it’s a very safe and secure-feeling model.

HOW DOES IT LOOK? It’s the front that gets all the design changes that set it apart from the RAV4, with a bolder and larger grille plus slimmer new LED lighting. Gloss black on the lower trim and around the wheel arches adds further appeal, while 19-inch alloy wheels give extra street cred.

WHAT’S IT LIKE INSIDE? Everything from the controls to the seats and switchgear are a more-or-less straight copy.

There’s a real ‘built-to-last’ feel, but we’d argue it doesn’t feel like a £46,000 car inside. The touchscreen isn’t as slick or modern as other units either, but rear space is exceptional.

Price (as tested): £45,599 Engine: 2.5-litre petrol engine with electric motor Power: 302bhp Torque: 227Nm (engine) 270Nm (electric motor) Max speed: 112mph 0-60mph: 5.8 seconds MPG: 282.4 Emissions: 22g/km CO2 Electric range: 46 miles

TARGET BUYERS:

We’re not really sure who’s going to spend some £46,000 on a Suzuki. Company car drivers at best.

THE RIVALS:

Toyota RAV4 Plug-in, Peugeot 3008 Hybrid4, Ford Kuga PHEV.

KEY SELLING POINTS:

1. Long electric range.

2. Benefit-in-kind of six per cent.

3. Big and roomy interior.

DEAL CLINCHER:

The long electric range and ultra-low CO2 emissions will tick plenty of boxes for company car drivers.

WHAT’S THE SPEC LIKE? The Across has just one guise – and a very well-equipped one at that. Highlights include a heated steering wheel plus heated front and rear seats, while all manner of safety equipment is fitted too, such as blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert.

WHAT DO THE PRESS THINK? Auto Express said: ‘Suzuki has used its relationship with Toyota to good advantage.’

WHAT DO WE THINK? The swift and well-resolved powertrain is really impressive, as is the class-leading electric range, which could allow for some especially low running costs. But there’s a glaring issue and that’s the price. Had the Across been £10,000 cheaper, it would likely prove a convincing purchase, but it’ll always struggle next to more premium opposition.

32 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Interior

The cabin has a ‘built-to-last’ feel but the interior doesn’t have the premium finish for a car costing some £46,000.

DRIVE SALES ONLINE AND ON THE FORECOURT Become an RAC Approved Dealer

Now more than ever, car buyers are doing their research online before they step onto the forecourt. That means it’s crucial for dealerships to earn their customers’ trust on their website – before confirming they’ve made the right choice in the showroom.

The RAC Approved Dealer Network is here to help independent dealerships stand out – on screen and on the forecourt. As one of the UK’s most trusted motoring brands, car buyers instantly know they can trust a dealership when they see the iconic RAC name.

It confirms they can buy with absolute confidence.

INCREASE BUYER TRUST

OFFER YOUR CUSTOMERS MORE

GET EXPERT DIGITAL SUPPORT

Iconic RAC branding enhances trust in independent dealerships, online and on the forecourt

As an RAC Approved Dealer, your customers will get 12 months free RAC Breakdown Cover with their vehicle*

You’ll have access to digital assets to add to your website and social channels

Get in touch to register your interest today

Visit rac.co.uk/OfferMoreOnline Call 0330 100 3807 *12 months free RAC Breakdown cover is provided following the purchase of a vehicle from one of our RAC Approved Dealerships and applies to the vehicle purchased at the RAC Approved Dealership. If this condition is not complied with, we reserve the right to cancel this membership.

RAC Approved Dealer Network is managed by Assurant. RAC Warranty is a non-regulated product, provided by an Assurant company: The Warranty Group Services (Isle of Man) Limited (TWGSIOM), Company No. 94279C, whose registered address is Third Floor, St George’s Court, Upper Church Street, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 1EE.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 33 MS.DRIVECAR.LFLT.0321.CRS-1217

IMAGINE REMOVING BIRD D E P O S I T E TC H I N G W I T H

BY APPOINTMENT TO HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN SUPPLIER OF CAR CARE PRODUCTS AUTOGLYM, LETCHWORTH, ENGLAND

BY APPOINTMENT TO H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES SUPPLIER OF CAR CARE PRODUCTS AUTOGLYM, LETCHWORTH, ENGLAND

NO WET SANDING NO BUFFING MACHINE N O H O LO G R A M S

REFLOW

NO SWIRL MARKS N O P I G TA I L S NO RISK

Reflow is a breakthrough treatment that permanently removes etching marks and dull spots, caused by bird deposits, from car paintwork*.

Developed by Autoglym, Reflow is an innovative solution to one of the most common problems in car care – paintwork damage caused by bird deposits. Reflow is safe, easy to use and requires no specialist tools and takes just 30 minutes to effectively heal vehicle paintwork, leaving a perfect finish once again.

W AT E R A C T I VAT I O N

THERMAL TRANSFER

PA I N T H E A L I N G

Cold water is added to pack to activate, pack is placed on affected area and left for 30 minutes.

Pack heats surface to optimum temperature allowing paintwork to reflow and fill imperfections.

As pack cools, paintwork sets effectively healing affected area, pack is removed − etching disappears.

*Important note: Reflow works best on new or nearly new vehicles, with clear coat, that are up to three years old. If paintwork is aged, Reflow will significantly improve the appearance of the etching but might not remove it completely.

autoglym reflow 34 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

FOCUS ON Autoglym

autoglymprofessional.com

Mr Clean

Autoglym case study: Chris McCleery

‘I

found a pot of Autoglym in my dad’s garage when I was 16 and decided to try it on my motorbike,’ recalls Chris McCleery.

That was the start of a relationship that has seen him move from construction sites to concours lawns, having turned his love of Autoglym into a shining career.

Today, he is one of the highest-profile car valeters in the UK, looking after some of the most valuable concours exhibits in the world as well as the official cars used in the British Touring Car Championship.

‘I transformed my bike and my dad’s cars with that pot of Autoglym, so I went round our neighbours offering my services as a car cleaner,’ he said. ‘I showed how smart my dad’s cars were as an example of my services. I soon had a car cleaning round that put some money in my pocket and I’d started a relationship with a product that – at the time – I had no idea would be the basis of my future career.’

When he left school, Chris took a job as a bricklayer, which led him into the construction industry – to the point where he became a site manager for a major housebuilding company – but his passion for cleaning cars never left him.

‘I used to love cleaning my own cars at weekends and ended up doing a few jobs for friends as well.

Then I had people asking me to do their cars by word of mouth. I was eventually offered a contract by a sports car company that would take up at least one day a week, so I decided to leave my job and become a sub-contractor, splitting my time between bricklaying one day and car cleaning the next.’

What Chris didn’t know at the time was how quickly his business would grow. Within a year, he’d laid down his trowel and was valeting cars full time, using the Autoglym Professional range to clean and detail cars from private driveways to large dealerships.

‘I’m a big fan of BTCC,’ said Chris. ‘I used to go to the meetings and clean a few cars in the paddock, including a Porsche belonging to the series director, Alan Gow. I joked to Alan that I’d like to clean the official cars, pace cars and safety car as well. A few weeks later, I had a contract in my hand. That came as a surprise!’

Chris’s profile has really grown in the eight years he’s been operating full time.

He – and by association Autoglym Professional – now look after some of the world’s most exclusive car collections and concours entrants, while he is often sought out to detail cars that need extra-special attention.

One of Chris’s more unusual jobs was the Beast of Turin – the oddball 28-litre Fiat S76 racing car of 1910, which starred at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2015. ‘Watching it spit flames all over the paintwork I’d just spent hours detailing was one of the highlights of my career!’ he said.

Luckily, the paintwork was heavily protected by Autoglym, a brand to which Chris has remained loyal ever since that motorbike detailing session as a teenager.

‘I’d never use anything else,’ he said. ‘Nothing is better, and everything that Autoglym produces just works. I know if it has the Autoglym logo on the bottle then whatever’s inside it will be the best you can get.’

Despite cleaning all sorts of cars – from the Beast of Turin to Nick Mason’s Ferrari 250 GTO – the one that Chris remembers most fondly is a humble Citroen C1.

‘A customer had bought the Citroen for her daughter’s birthday to give it to her with ribbons on. But when she picked it up my customer phoned me in tears. The birthday was just a few days away and the car was filthy inside and smelled strongly of stale tobacco smoke.

‘She really didn’t think there was anything that could be done, but I convinced her to leave it with me for a day or so. I cleaned everything, got all the smoke residue out of the fabrics, valeted it to within an inch of its life and when it was finished it looked – and smelled – just like a new car.

‘My customer couldn’t believe it was the same vehicle. She sent me a video of her daughter receiving it and both she and her mum were in tears. Knowing the part I’d played in that little story was more special than cleaning a Bugatti on a concours lawn, as it’s as much about the people as it is the cars.’

Find out more at autoglymprofessional.com CarDealerMag.co.uk | 35

FEEDBACK TOP TWEETS About dealerships reopening on April 12

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

What’s the warranty situation if they want to use a car as a taxi?

We have a hybrid car that someone down south wants to use as an Uber, aka taxi. I’m wondering if the warranty would be void. Just want to make the customer aware before making travel arrangements.

Tony911 I would think it depends on the provider and their T&Cs. Most taxis would fail on servicing schedules in my experience.

Petrol head

Robert Forrester @vertumotorsCEO

Well the big day has arrived and our showrooms in England open for practically the first time this year. Still find it hard to fathom being forced closed by the state but let’s hope this is it now and we can get back to the Old Normal.

Jardine Motors Group @jardinemotorsuk

Can you tell we’re excited to safely welcome you back into our dealerships? Partying face.

For information on how we’re operating under Covid-19 guidelines, visit our website.

Thank you for your continued support and we can’t wait to see you soon. #WeAreJMG

Marshall Motor Group @MarshallGroup

Scenes @Marshall_BMW #Bournemouth ... it’s great to see customers face-to-face (but socially distanced) in our showroom today. We’ve missed you so much!

36 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

This will obviously depend on the warranty provider, so best ask them for a definitive answer.... But in my honest opinion, it’s unlikely it’ll be covered.

Halfpenny

PICTURE OF THE MONTH

Elsewhere, we report on VW’s April Fool that backfired but this one really tickled our funny bone. Budget brand Dacia said it was launching an affordable space programme and released an impressive video showing a Duster – cleverly renamed Dustar – apparently going into space. In truth, it was a model car on a balloon. Nice one, Dacia!

Isn’t a sale as a taxi classed as a business-to-business transaction, thus avoiding a lot of the consumer protection a customer would otherwise be entitled to?

Paul C At a guess I’d have thought so. Taxiing is for hire and reward, so I struggle to see how it can’t be. Hidden in the small print: ‘If this vehicle is sold to, or used in the course of a business, then the Consumer Rights Act 2015 does not apply and as such is excluded from this purchase contract.’ That said, I’ve sold to plenty of taxi drivers over the years and never had any comeback. Not a single phone call. My guess is, rather like van buyers, they just want a decent motor but understand once they’ve bought it they own it.

BHM It’s a business-to-business sale, ie, you to taxi man. CRA doesn’t apply. No warranty need be given as warranty is your choice. Plus, who in their right mind would warrant a taxi?

David Horgan The Sale of Goods Act and Supply of Goods Act still apply. You need to make a watertight invoice before selling this, as they have advised you about its intended purpose. Surely you can find a better customer?

It’s me

There are specific warranty products for taxis. They are horrifically expensive, but I can see why. The only two taxi sales I ever did....both went sour. I swore I’d never deal with a taxi driver again and haven’t done. The best advice above is avoid.

Frank Cannon Speak as you find. We’ve found taxi fleet operators to be a great source of business and met some interesting characters as well. There was a guy from Teesside who’d devised some loophole whereby his drivers picked up and dropped off on bus routes for a set fare. All were easy to deal with.

Trade vet

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

Our website at CarDealerMag.co.uk

On Twitter: Follow @CarDealerMag

Forum: CarDealerMagazine.co.uk/forum

REOPENING

People, get ready – and good luck to all!

Good luck to those who will reopen on April 12. Make sure to emphasise to prospective buyers the potential risks of buying blind from those online-only operators who advertise on TV. Remember, their advertising is aimed at discouraging buyers from using the likes of us.

Trade vet

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

Yes good luck all. Not sure about the change. I’ve been doing click-and-collect/delivery.

Already had one call this weekend that he will come down tomorrow with his ‘mechanic’ son and will look to make an offer. I haven’t missed that.

DCS01 Good luck all! Will be interesting times. We’ve been operating by click- and-collect since January and I’ve been stunned at how many customers have been happy to buy cars this way.

My salesmen who were dubious at first now don’t want it to go back to how it used to be. They love the ease and simplicity of the process now they’ve perfected it.

Given we’ve probably had the best start to the year ever, I can’t work out how much pent-up demand there will actually be. The serious inquiries we’ve had this week have been dealt with and taken out of the market. We’re expecting some forecourt footfall but worry that a good proportion could be very bored serial test-drivers/dreamers.

BMX Bandits Today I suspect the punters were more interested in selfies in beer gardens or queueing up outside Primark. What on Earth is that all about?

BHM

Weighing up machines against bank transfers What is the best card payment machine to use for us as dealers?

Obviously we sell valuable objects so surely the transaction fee could be considerable.

Does anyone know the best way, best one or cheapest one to use?

Colacharlie Barclaycard deals with payments as a terminal provider and has got some great rates but I do put £200,000 a month minimum through it and how much makes a difference to rates. The debit charge here is small, too.

David Horgan I have the same setup, and although I only use it for holding deposits and the odd payment, they were still by far the best rates on offer.

SC Derby

Best one by a country mile is this tried-andtested way: bank transfer. That’s it. We do not and will not accept anything else.

Holmfirth Cars I couldn’t live without the card terminal, I really couldn’t. Fast, instant, great for NOWPayments and over-the-phone deposits.

The trouble I’ve had with bank transfers being slow drives me insane. Two hours, four hours, security checks, only send £5k then wait two hours. It drives me nuts.

Good luck if you do get on with transfers, though. At least it’s free.

David Horgan It’s free, safe, simple, no legal issues, debit back, clause 75, etc…

Holmfirth Cars

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

Search for Car Sales Memes on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and give them a follow!

Car Dealer reserves the right to edit comments CarDealerMag.co.uk | 37

DASHBOARD

SUPPLIER NEWS

A ROUND-UP OF WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING ACROSS THE COUNTRY HÄNDLER PROTECT

Grand figure reached for platform usage

WARRANTY provider Händler Protect saw active dealers using its product grow by 66 per cent in 2020 and that number has now surpassed 1,000 on its platform.

The business said that 400 new active dealers signed up last year to offer its products, with many attracted to the simplicity of the app and data available. It is currently the only warranty provider that offers an app so dealers can set up new warranties from the forecourt.

RAC DEALER NETWORK

Used car warranty claims ‘staying consistent’ THE pandemic may have seen far fewer miles being driven but the number of used car warranty claims has stayed largely the same, according to the RAC Dealer Network.

Kellie Grocott, RAC director of sales at Assurant, which partners with the RAC in the warranty sector, said: ‘RAC research suggests 49 per cent of motorists have driven less. That’s quite a fall and we’ve been watching for an accompanying reduction in claims but it isn’t happening.’ The biggest factor was probably that mileage reductions weren’t consistent across all drivers.

CD AUCTION GROUP

Andy becomes MD after record quarter for firm

CD Auction Group has announced the appointment of a new managing director.

Andy Pearce takes the leading role after ‘guiding the company’s record performance over the last quarter as operations director’.

His appointment comes as the firm set new records for volumes of vehicles sold, conversion rates and the number of dealers using its digital channels to source stock over the first three months of 2021.

38 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

LAWGISTICS

When I think about these next few months, I get excited about the opportunities ahead.

Ben Garside p49

WMS GROUP

Here’s how to avoid distance sales rules

Neil is made sales head as Malcolm retires

DEALERS can avoid distanceselling obligations by asking for a reservation fee instead of a deposit.

That’s the advice from Lawgistics in its latest update. Legal adviser Nona Bowkis said: ‘If you take an online reservation fee, the customer hasn’t committed to buy and can change their mind. In this scenario, the customer only commits when they pay a deposit or the full price once they have seen the vehicle and therefore it’s not a distance sale.’

WARRANTY supplier WMS Group has made Neil Monks its new head of sales.

It follows the retirement of Malcolm Mcintosh, pictured left, after more than three decades in the industry. Monks, right, has worked in sales, leadership and management, gaining knowledge from OEMs, fleet and leasing.

His role will include creating a new dealer proposition and implementing product launches.

Cartotrade is a company you can rely on with a wealth of experience and a desire to help your business make and save money in these uncertain times.

Kevin Watson – Co-Founder Over 40 years in the motor trade

Laura Cannon – Co-Founder Over 20 years in B2B remarketing

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Run by experts with over 20 years of online trading experience

INVESTIGATION

THE TOP 20 MOST DEPRECIATING USED CARS OF 2020 The second-hand market generally saw prices rise last year but there were some notable exceptions. James Baggott reports.

M

ercedes fills the top two spots of the Top 20 list of biggest depreciating used cars last year, according to new retail pricing data from Auto Trader.

The search giant has compiled exclusively for Car Dealer the list of the cars that dropped the most in value last year when compared with 2019.

The Mercedes GLA was the biggest faller, dropping 13.1 per cent from an average price of £25,551 in 2019 to £22,206 in 2020.

Auto Trader’s data shows the second-biggest depreciator was the Mercedes C-Class, which dropped by 13 per cent.

Luxury car brands make up the majority of those in the list – which you can see on the right – with BMW, Porsche, Range Rover and Jaguar models all featuring in the Top 20.

Overall, used car prices rose last year as a combination of increased demand – thanks to many people wanting to avoid public transport – and short supply pushed prices up.

However, there were some casualties, as the list from Auto Trader reveals.

Richard Walker, data and insight director for the firm said: ‘Since very early on in the pandemic, retailers have largely held firm with their pricing strategies and resisted the urge to slash prices to entice consumers on to their digital or, when permitted, physical forecourts.

‘With such high demand in the market, there’s simply been no reason to do so.

‘Coupled with varying supply constraints, these factors meant that by the close of 2020 we’d tracked nine months of consecutive price growth for used cars across the market.

‘This included consistent growth in every body type, age group and, with the exception of AFVs, every fuel type.

‘However, at a more granular level we did see notable drops in average retail prices for some models and derivatives last year.’

Walker said that as dealerships reopen on April 12 and consumer pent-up demand is realised, prices are likely to remain strong.

He added: ‘With levels of consumer demand accelerating significantly since January and now at record levels, we’ll watch with interest as to whether these models are able to reverse their negative trajectory.’

We did see notable drops in average retail prices for some models and derivatives last year.

Richard Walker 40 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

1

Mercedes-Benz GLA Class Down 13.1% Type: Petrol, Auto Age: 1 – 3 years Price 2019: £25,551 Price 2020: £22,206

2

Mercedes-Benz C-Class Down 13.0% Type: Petrol, Auto Age: 1 – 3 years Price 2019: £37,895 Price 2020: £32,980

3

BMW X3 Down 11.5% Type: Diesel, Manual Age: 10 – 15 years Price 2019: £3,967 Price 2020: £3,510

4

Lexus RX 400h Down 11.1% Type: Petrol Hybrid, Auto Age: 10 – 15 years Price 2019: £6,581 Price 2020: £5,848

5

9

13

Fiat Tipo Down 9.0% Type: Petrol, Manual Age: 1 – 3 years Price 2019: £8,273 Price 2020: £7,528

Range Rover Velar Down 8.6% Type: Diesel, Auto Age: 1 – 3 years Price 2019: £45,809 Price 2020: £41,861

6

10

14

18

7

11

15

19

8

12

16

20

Ford Grand C-Max Down 11.1% Type: Diesel, Manual Age: 5 – 10 years Price 2019: £6,506 Price 2020: £5,785

Mazda CX-5 Down 10.6% Type: Diesel, Manual Age: 5 – 10 years Price 2019: £9,963 Price 2020: £8,904

Peugeot 308 Down 10.5% Type: Diesel, Manual Age: 10 – 15 years Price 2019: £1,989 Price 2020: £1,781

Jaguar F-Type Down 10.1% Type: Petrol, Auto Age: 1 – 3 years Price 2019: £49,710 Price 2020: £44,683

Toyota C-HR Down 9.8% Type: Petrol, Manual Age: 1 – 3 years Price 2019: £18,368 Price 2020: £16,564

Land Rover Range Rover Sport Down 9.6% Type: Petrol, Auto Age: up to 1 year Price 2019: £101,970 Price 2020: £92,148

Nissan Qashqai Down 9.5% Type: Petrol, Manual Age: 10 – 15 years Price 2019: £3,508 Price 2020: £3,176

Toyota Auris Estate Down 9.4% Type: Petrol, Auto Age: 1 – 3 years Price 2019: £17,886 Price 2020: £16,197

Nissan Qashqai+2 Down 8.9% Type: Diesel, Manual Age: 5 – 10 years Price 2019: £7,510 Price 2020: £6,838

Porsche Macan Down 8.7% Type: Petrol, Auto Age: 1 – 3 years Price 2019: £53,792 Price 2020: £49,100

Seat Leon Down 8.7% Type: Petrol, Manual Age: 10 – 15 years Price 2019: £3,686 Price 2020: £3,367

17

BMW 1 Series Convertible Down 8.6% Type: Diesel, Manual Age: 5 – 10 years Price 2019: £7,821 Price 2020: £7,148

Range Rover Evoque Down 8.5% Type: Diesel, Auto Age: 5 – 10 years Price 2019: £17,826 Price 2020: £16,306

Jaguar E-Pace Down 8.4% Type: Diesel, Auto Age: 1 – 3 years Price 2019: £32,424 Price 2020: £29,685 CarDealerMag.co.uk | 41

Whatever’s next, let’s do it together When the world changes quickly, it can feel hard to know what your next move is. That’s why our Account Managers take the time to really understand your business. With their knowledge of customer service and innovative solutions, they can help you simplify finance and keep your business moving forward.

Get up-to-date business support at blackhorse.co.uk/dealer/home/resource-hub 42 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

FEATURE.

A COLLECTION OF COOL STUFF TO BUY WITH YOUR LOCKDOWN SAVINGS! As restrictions start to ease and people can entertain the idea of holidays in the UK once again, we’ve picked out some cool items you might want to head out and have a look at now that non-essential retail is starting to reopen.

Tumi McLaren luggage Bentley Breitling limited-edition watch

£39,900

If we’re going to do watches, there’s no point doing them by halves. Bentley has a longstanding partnership with Breitling and the Premier B21 Chronograph Tourbillon 42 Bentley Limited Edition watch is one of the latest tie-ins.

As well as a colossal price tag, it’s limited to just 25 units – so seeing one for real will be a rare thing indeed.

Suzuki Joan Mir MotoGP celebratory T-shirt

EVOC tailgate pad

Let’s bring things back down to Earth for a bit with a T-shirt celebrating Suzuki motorcycle rider Joan Mir’s MotoGP world title last year. Featuring the ‘100 years of excellence’ logo, it’s got a distinctly retroinspired theme to it.

There’s also a baseball cap to go with it, which is priced at £15.31.

Being able to travel around the country means those of a twowheeled persuasion are more likely to venture about, too.

Bike transportation is tricky, but if you drive a pick-up then EVOC’s tailgate pad is just the thing. Strap it to the back, drape your bike’s front fork over the pad, securely attach it and you’re away – simple!

£20.51

Car dealer new strip ad Revised

4/4/18

12:01

If you’re moving around a bit more then you’ll want the right luggage for the job and USbased Tumi has you covered.

Following a partnership announcement with McLaren, Tumi has produced a special range of luggage designed specifically with the Wokingbased manufacturer in mind.

All get the same attention to detail you’d expect from a McLaren, and lightweight motorsport materials such as thermoplastic have been used in their design, too.

Page 1

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Call 01530 833535 or go online for account application CarDealerMag.co.uk | 43

DASHBOARD

BUSINESS NEWS

A ROUND-UP OF WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING ACROSS THE UK SURVEY

Almost one in 10 have started investing

NEARLY one in 10 adults have begun investing since the start of the pandemic, a survey has found.

Eighteen-to-24-year-olds are particularly likely to have turned to investments for the first time, with 16 per cent of 2,000 people polled having done so, according to Halifax Share Dealing. Having more spare time was the main factor for people becoming interested in investments.

RETAIL

Footfall down on 2019 in recovery ‘first step’ TOTAL customer footfall on the day non-essential retail reopened in England was down 15 per cent on two years ago, new figures show.

However, that was a significant improvement on March, when total UK footfall was down 68.7 per cent on 2019, according to the British Retail Consortium. Week-on-week statistics, meanwhile, showed a 266.5 per cent increase. Chief executive Helen Dickinson said April 12 ‘was the first step in the recovery of both retail and the wider economy’.

OIL & GAS

Greens call for end to ‘reckless’ subsidies

TRADE BARRIERS

Firms are facing fall in exports, study suggests TWO out of five firms that export goods have seen sales fall in recent months, new research suggests, leading to calls for trade barriers with the EU to be reduced.

Caterers, retailers and wholesalers are most likely to have reported decreased sales, said the British Chambers of Commerce. Advance bookings and export orders show no signs of improvement, indicating that recovery is ‘distant’, said the report, based on a survey of more than 2,900 exporters for the first quarter of the year.

SUBSIDIES for oil and gas exploration are ‘reckless’ and should be abolished, the Scottish Greens have said.

Co-leader Patrick Harvie criticised the UK government for funding the search for fossil fuels and called for the money to be invested in renewable energy alternatives. He described the oil and gas industries as being ‘in their dying days’.

WE HERE FOR FORYOU YOU WE ARE HERE 44 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

AID

Co-op will pay back furlough but not rates relief

MORE THAN JUST A

FINANCE COMPANY THE Co-op says it’ll repay the government £15.5m it received in furlough support during the height of the pandemic – but it’s stopped short of handing back the £66m it secured in business rates relief.

More than £2bn in rates relief was given back by other essential retailers that continued trading during lockdown. The Co-op also revealed that its profit after tax and discontinued items more than doubled to £77m in the year to January 2.

TALK TO US TODAY. 0115 946 6260 enquiries@frfl.co.uk frfl.co.uk/car

SAFETY

Warning given amid rebound hopes FIRMS were being urged not to drop their guard on safety as more people returned to work on April 12 amid hopes of a rebound in business activity.

The Federation of Small Businesses said around half of those in a poll of almost 1,700 business owners expected revenue to increase over the coming three months, but TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: ‘If workplaces aren’t Covid-secure, coronavirus cases could spiral out of control again.’

just a phone call away.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 45

DASHBOARD

INDUSTRY VIEWS NEWS AND THOUGHTS FROM SOME OF OUR CAR DEALER LIVE GUESTS CD AUCTION GROUP

New generation of buyer is emerging

A NEW generation of auction buyer is emerging, with a propensity to shop only and get information fast and easily, according to CD Auction Group’s James Dower.

‘I’ve seen and done it myself the old way,’ he said. ‘And I’ve seen just how easy it is to do with the digital route with no travelling, no wind, no rain, and very accurate descriptions.

‘We’re starting to see some of the more traditional people embracing it quite happily.’

DS UK

People need choice of online or showroom

NEW DS managing director for the UK Jule Tilstone explained how offering a showroom experience to customers was ‘crucial’ for a brand such as theirs.

‘In terms of acceleration, the plan is to upgrade the Salons into Stores to really give that pure DS experience, which our customers are looking for and expect,’ he said.

‘Now, it doesn’t mean that everyone values that relationship – some like to be managing the whole process online. But I think there is a part of our audience who do still value that personal interaction. And for me, having the choice of both is absolutely the right thing to do.’

CAPGEMINI

Covid has accelerated pace of change

CAPGEMINI’S Markus Winkler said the automotive industry has a history of constantly transforming and will continue to do so.

‘There is so much happening in the automotive industry – it’s in constant transformation,’ the executive vice-president of global automotive said. ‘The Covid situation, however, has accelerated the pace of change. We are now convinced the industry has to refocus and tackle this transformation.’

46 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

MARTEC EUROPE

There is so much happening in the automotive industry – it’s in constant transformation.

Markus Winkler Capgemini

Lessons must be learnt – as well as revisited

CAR dealers must be aware of the skills they’ve gained and may have lost as they prepare to reopen showrooms to the public.

‘The biggest danger is that the skills dealers used to have in the showroom may well have been diminished,’ warned Neil Pursell, MD of Martec Europe. ‘Just as much as they need to make sure that they’ve learnt these lessons from the last few months, they also need to revisit the lessons that they used to know.’

The latest from our fleet.

Long-termers: p55

Watch our Car Dealer Live broadcasts as they go out or catch up on any that you’ve missed at: cardealermagazine.co.uk/live CAPGEMINI

So long, digitalisation.

Hello, sustainability!

THE 1970s saw the end of the industrialisation era while 1979 saw the start of globalisation. 2014 was the year of the digitalisation era – but now the industry is entering the ‘sustainability age’.

Rob Pears, Capgemini’s UK vicepresident, head of automotive and manufacturing, said: ‘We are exiting from the journey of digitalisation.’

Capgemini believes that a netzero CO2 impact for the car industry will be the norm by 2030.

CD AUCTION GROUP

Removing a target in its entirety is probably not a good thing.

Andrew Humberstone Nissan GB

Embracing part-ex sector has paid off

ST A C D O P THIS MONTH’S HIGHLIGHTS

SNOWS MOTOR GROUP ‘CD Auction Group was, up until the latter part of last year, trade-totrade only,’ said commercial director Graham Howes.

‘Up to now, we have stayed away from the part-exchange environment on the basis of consistency. But we have seen what other firms have been doing and we wanted to do something different. This is how Vehicle Tradex came into being,’ he said. ‘We’ve seen some good traction and good acceptance.’

Agency model is looking more likely MORE manufacturers are hinting towards an agency sales strategy, and Snows chief operating officer Neil McCue said: ‘The next two to three years will be fascinating and the biggest change to our industry ever.’

The current sales model had ‘many challenges’ and was ‘a bit messy and old-fashioned’.

Moving to an agency model was a ‘sensible thing’ but dealers needed to be ‘fairly compensated’ for their time.

WAYLANDS

Opportunity knocks with Volvo in Bristol

NISSAN GB

Targets are an encouragement not a deterrent IN A wide-ranging interview, Nissan GB boss Andrew Humberstone shared his views on agency sales. Asked if he thought it was right for manufacturers to impose targets on dealers during the first quarter of this year, he said he believed it was.

‘Removing a target in its entirety is probably not a good thing. It’s there to give us a sense of direction, a sense of purpose, and we still need to drive the business forward.

‘But we were very flexible, we were very reasonable, and had a huge amount of dialogue with our dealer association and our network about how we could best work on these things together.

At the end of the day [targets] are meant to be a source of encouragement not a deterrent.’

WAYLANDS boss John O’Hanlon revealed that a new Volvo site was being built near Carshop Bristol on Gloucester Road.

‘We have been lucky enough to be granted Volvo for Bristol, so as and when the new site is completed we will move into it.

‘That should be mid-August when we take over the franchise.’ The Waylands chief executive said he was extremely excited about the opportunity in Bristol as it was ‘a big area with a big potential’.

Click here to listen to more Car Dealer Podcasts CarDealerMag.co.uk CarDealerMag.co.uk| |47 47

DASHBOARD

FINANCE NEWS PLEDGE

Ombudsman outlines plans to cut customer waiting times

T

he Financial Ombudsman Service has vowed to resolve more complaints than it receives in the coming year and reduce the number of consumers left waiting for answers.

It follows criticism of the service over complaints backlogs building up.

But its outgoing chief executive, Caroline Wayman, said the service was likely to receive thousands more complaints from borrowers who couldn’t afford to repay money they owed – some of whom should never have been lent the cash at all.

Customers turn to the service to resolve disputes when they have already made a complaint to their financial firm but are unhappy with the outcome.

It has been dealing with issues such as the huge PPI (payment protection insurance) misselling scandal, which was just tailing off as cornavirus-related gripes about firms started to be logged. Many borrowers had been taking coronavirus-related payment holidays on products such as personal loans, mortgages and credit cards, and the deadline for applying for a deferral was Wednesday March 31. The service said that day that its plans for the year ahead included a focus on cutting customer waiting times and investing in its complaints handling capacity. It expects to receive 170,000 complaints and resolve 220,000.

Wayman made the comments in the service’s plans and budget for 2021/22.

She was due to leave on April 16, after 22 years at the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Wayman said: ‘It’s clear from what our stakeholders have told us, as well as from our own insight, that we’ll continue to see disputes rooted in the pressures of the pandemic on consumers and small businesses across the UK. We’re also likely to see thousands more complaints from people who can’t afford to repay money they’ve borrowed – some of which, based on our experience, it’s likely shouldn’t have been lent at all.

‘Across these areas, there’s clear potential for consumer detriment. The Financial Conduct Authority’s most recent research suggests the proportion of adults with characteristics of vulnerability rose to 53 per cent in the six months to October 2020.’

The FOS said it would ensure it was equipped to respond to an increasing complexity in complaints, including those arising from coronavirus.

MANN ISLAND

Milestone £500m lending reached – now for next one MANN Island Finance is celebrating notching up its total lending passing the £500m mark.

Managing director John Hughes said: ‘While we are proud of our broker origin and the cultural ‘‘can-do’’ ethos embedded deeply into the business, today our primary activity is as a lender, and the past year has been a breakthrough period for us.

‘As other lenders retrenched, we kept lending and, indeed, accelerated our activities.’

Mann Island Finance was founded in 1991 and bought by international banking and wealth management group Investec in 2014, and Hughes said that with its parent company’s backing and investment, notably in technology, the business was looking forward optimistically.

‘Standing side by side with our dealers and brokers over the past year has enabled more people to discover our approach and appetite. It is a springboard we will be building upon as showrooms reopen.

‘Having achieved one milestone, we are already eyeing up the next.’

WE HERE FOR FORYOU YOU WE ARE HERE 48 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

TIME IS MONEY BEN GARSIDE

A MONTHLY LOOK AT THE WORLD OF AUTOMOTIVE FINANCE AND MARKETING

Don’t forget the old ways as you look to attract custom

T

Ben Garside is marketing manager for First Response.

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

he first quarter has been and gone, the financial year is over, and now thankfully we are starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel.

While we all have differing opinions on what should or shouldn’t have happened at the start of the pandemic and throughout the past year, one thing I’m sure we can all agree on is we can’t wait to get back out selling cars!

If you’ve read my column before, you will know that I have a ‘glass half full’ personality and that it takes a lot to shake that mindset, and I can usually find positivity in most situations. So, when I think about these next few months, I get excited about the opportunities ahead.

In my opinion, there has never been a better time to go ‘all in’ as a car dealer. It’s time to start pushing every available channel at your disposal – especially those you may have paused during the pandemic.

A high proportion of the UK consumer population will be going back to work in some form this month or next, which could be just two days a week or up to five days a week.

Some of our prospective customers may be hoping to get in some much-needed overtime, working six or seven days a week to make up for lost time.

There will be people travelling to pubs and restaurants to meet friends and family, visiting the town or city centre to get their ‘Covid haircuts’ fixed following a disaster in the garden with the scissors, and people will be visiting the gym for some much-needed exercise and energy release – the list goes on.

These are activities that we used to take for granted and they’re returning to not only you but also your potential customers, and they present opportunities to share your messages and promotions and eventually fill your forecourts.

Let’s think of the options now available to us – for instance, people going to work.

This gives you opportunities to advertise via local radio, billboards, poster boards, public transport and local press. These are all great media for prospective car buyers.

People going to another local business or to the town/city centre is very similar.

However, you have some great additions here. Working with local businesses such as hairdressers, cafés and independent clothes shops is a terrific way to grow.

Build mutual benefits by sharing flyers/leaflets they can place in bags or on counter tops and reciprocate, maybe putting them in the glovebox or alongside handover documents. You could also team up with some like-minded businesses to do a mass door drop. There are many opportunities just like these that will assist, and while I know we are always looking at the latest social media such as TikTok and Instagram, etc, sometimes the old ways are just as important!

You will know that I have a ‘glass half full’ personality and that it takes a lot to shake that mindset.

just a phone call away.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 49

DATA FILE

STATISTICS

THE LATEST REGISTRATION FIGURES

SMMT

SALES DATA

MARCH/YEAR TO DATE

TOP

OPTIMISM

Record-breaking growth on the cards for April, says SMMT

THE CARS SOLD IN MARCH 2021

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

N

ew car registrations rose by 11.5 per cent in March 2021 compared with the same month last year, latest figures show.

Data published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders on April 6 revealed that 283,964 cars were registered – up 11.5 per cent.

It’s the first time registrations have grown since August 2020, but the figures are still 36.9 per cent adrift from a 10-year March average of 450,189 registrations.

The SMMT says that for the sector to return to its pre-pandemic levels, around 8,300 new cars will need to be registered every single trading day for the rest of the year.

By comparison, it said, the industry has averaged around 7,400 a day during the past decade and current levels are closer to 5,600 a day.

The body says showrooms reopening in England will allow dealers to recover some of the £22.2bn lost in turnover since March 2020.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: ‘The past year has been the toughest in modern history and the automotive sector has, like many others, been hit hard. However, there is optimism that consumer confidence – and hence the market – will return.

‘We know we will see record-breaking growth [in April] given April 2020 was a washout, but a strong and sustainable market is possible if customers are attracted to the choice and competitive offer the industry is able to provide within the safest of showroom environments.

‘New plug-in models are already helping drive a recovery, but to convince more retail consumers to make the switch, they must be assured these new technologies will be convenient for their driving needs and that means, above all, that the charging infrastructure is there where they need it and when they need it.’

Plug-in vehicles reached their highest volume ever. Registrations of battery-electric vehicles increased by 88.2 per cent to 22,003 units, while plug-in hybrids rose by 152.2 per cent to 17,330. Hybrid-electric vehicles rose by 42 per cent to reach 21,599 registrations.

Model

Regs

Vauxhall Corsa

7,927

Ford Fiesta

7,406

Mercedes-Benz A-Class

7,012

Tesla Model 3

6,585

Nissan Qashqai

6,583

BMW 3 Series

5,681

Volkswagen Golf

5,194

Toyota Yaris

4,910

Ford Puma

4,886

Mini

4,883

Corsa regains best-seller crown as Alfa Romeo and Honda suffer THE Vauxhall Corsa has regained its place at the top of the 2021 best-selling new car sales chart after finishing March as the month’s most popular car.

Vauxhall shifted 7,927 Corsas, taking the number registered so far in 2021 to 12,413.

The Corsa’s perennial rival, the Ford

Fiesta, finished a few hundred behind at 7,406, pushing it back down into second place after being top in February. Ford has registered 11,645 Fiestas so far in 2021, again placing it second.

Smart was the best-performing brand in March with registrations up 85 per

cent, while Peugeot and Citroen also performed strongly – up 55 and 53 per cent respectively. Alfa Romeo performed the worst, with registrations sliding by 39 per cent versus March 2020. Honda saw sales slump by 34 per cent and SsangYong suffered a fall of 31 per cent.

Click here to see our top 10 rolling sales chart for March 2020 to March 2021 50 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

Highest increase since system switch LCV news: p52

-39%

+55%

ALFA ROMEO

PEUGEOT

Figures supplied by SMMT

March 2021 Marque

2021

% market share

March 2020 2020

Year-to-date

% market share

% change

2021

% market share

2020

% market share

% change

Abarth

415

0.15

278

0.11

49.28

541

0.13

628

0.13

-13.85

Alfa Romeo

202

0.07

330

0.13

-38.79

316

0.07

644

0.13

-50.93

Alpine Audi Bentley

37

0.01

26

0.01

42.31

42

0.01

37

0.01

13.51

19,105

6.73

16,424

6.45

16.32

29,403

6.91

30,669

6.34

-4.13 -21.74

189

0.07

171

0.07

10.53

306

0.07

391

0.08

21,003

7.40

17,530

6.88

19.81

31,944

7.51

34,262

7.09

-6.77

6,027

2.12

3,950

1.55

52.58

8,605

2.02

9,152

1.89

-5.98

Cupra

633

0.22

0

0.00

0.00

924

0.22

0

0.00

0.00

Dacia

2,149

0.76

3,010

1.18

-28.60

3,276

0.77

5,055

1.05

-35.19

BMW Citroen

DS

233

0.08

292

0.11

-20.21

415

0.10

717

0.15

-42.12

Fiat

2,376

0.84

3,358

1.32

-29.24

3,213

0.76

6,166

1.28

-47.89

Ford

22,237

7.83

18,996

7.46

17.06

36,072

8.48

43,835

9.07

-17.71

Honda

3,055

1.08

4,631

1.82

-34.03

4,520

1.06

9,620

1.99

-53.01

Hyundai

9,065

3.19

7,279

2.86

24.54

13,422

3.15

13,753

2.84

-2.41

Jaguar

3,880

1.37

4,794

1.88

-19.07

5,128

1.21

7,967

1.65

-35.63

567

0.20

379

0.15

49.60

852

0.20

1,006

0.21

-15.31

11,221

3.95

12,957

5.09

-13.40

20,365

4.79

22,295

4.61

-8.66

15,086

5.31

12,381

4.86

21.85

20,551

4.83

20,075

4.15

2.37

2,575

0.91

2,594

1.02

-0.73

3,393

0.80

4,470

0.92

-24.09

95

0.03

83

0.03

14.46

157

0.04

178

0.04

-11.80

Mazda

4,058

1.43

4,193

1.65

-3.22

5,302

1.25

7,166

1.48

-26.01

Mercedes-Benz

21,313

7.51

16,981

6.67

25.51

31,700

7.45

33,856

7.00

-6.37

MG

3,956

1.39

2,736

1.07

44.59

6,161

1.45

5,465

1.13

12.74

Mini

7,567

2.66

8,720

3.42

-13.22

10,794

2.54

12,998

2.69

-16.96

Mitsubishi

1,256

0.44

2,024

0.79

-37.94

1,828

0.43

3,834

0.79

-52.32

Nissan

14,178

4.99

12,524

4.92

13.21

21,086

4.96

23,563

4.87

-10.51

Peugeot

10,824

3.81

6,985

2.74

54.96

15,705

3.69

15,053

3.11

4.33

Polestar

335

0.12

0

0.00

0.00

922

0.22

0

0.00

0.00

Jeep Kia Land Rover Lexus Maserati

Porsche

1,819

0.64

1,838

0.72

-1.03

2,931

0.69

2,755

0.57

6.39

Renault

5,787

2.04

5,684

2.23

1.81

8,066

1.90

9,908

2.05

-18.59

Seat

7,482

2.63

7,772

3.05

-3.73

11,460

2.69

15,669

3.24

-26.86

Skoda

8,911

3.14

9,172

3.60

-2.85

14,242

3.35

17,330

3.58

-17.82

Smart

264

0.09

143

0.06

84.62

407

0.10

248

0.05

64.11

SsangYong

175

0.06

252

0.10

-30.56

239

0.06

435

0.09

-45.06

Subaru

258

0.09

180

0.07

43.33

310

0.07

253

0.05

22.53

Suzuki

2,932

1.03

3,462

1.36

-15.31

3,903

0.92

6,277

1.30

-37.82

Toyota

16,911

5.96

15,363

6.03

10.08

23,783

5.59

27,006

5.58

-11.93

Vauxhall

15,868

5.59

12,473

4.90

27.22

24,826

5.83

26,841

5.55

-7.51

Volkswagen

23,698

8.35

22,950

9.01

3.26

36,219

8.51

45,095

9.33

-19.68

8,996

3.17

6,196

2.43

45.19

13,964

3.28

12,105

2.50

15.36

Volvo Other British Other imports Total

384

0.14

338

0.13

13.61

608

0.14

647

0.13

-6.03

6,842

2.41

5,235

2.06

30.70

7,624

1.79

6,133

1.27

24.31

11.50

425,525

283,964

254,684

483,557

-12.00 CarDealerMag.co.uk | 51

DATA FILE

FORECAST REVISED

LCV NEWS

Biggest rise in sales for more than 20 years

by James Batchelor james.batchelor@blackballmedia.co.uk NEW van sales grew by 85.5 per cent in March – the highest increase since the switch to the twice-yearly system in 1999, new figures show.

Data published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers revealed that 56,122 vans joined UK roads during the month. However the organisation tempered celebrations, as it was still a 10.9 per cent decrease versus the pre-pandemic 2015-2019 average.

Despite all segments experiencing higher demand, total registrations fell a little short of industry expectations, with the latest forecast predicting 360,000 LCVs registered by the end of the year. A total of 97,356 LCVs were registered in the first quarter of 2021 – up 43.4 per cent on 2020.

REGISTRATIONS OF NEW COMMERCIAL VEHICLES LESS THAN 3.5 TONNES Marque

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

Figures supplied by SMMT

March 2021

2021

20,479 6,316 5,149

% market share 36.49 11.25 9.17

March 2020

2020

9,634 3,495 2,080

2021

Year-to-date

% market share 31.85 11.55 6.88

% change

112.57 80.72 147.55

33,936 9,729 9,662

% market share 34.86 9.99 9.92

2020

22,444 6,807 6,641

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

% change

51.20 42.93 45.49

4,210

7.50

3,450

11.41

22.03

8,343

8.57

6,906

10.17

20.81

3,860 3,846 2,790 2,487 2,053 1,238 1,191 624 409 406 364 301 138 124 77 35 14 11 56,122

6.88 6.85 4.97 4.43 3.66 2.21 2.12 1.11 0.73 0.72 0.65 0.54 0.25 0.22 0.14 0.06 0.02 0.02 100.00

2,625 2,301 1,217 1,028 1,142 918 523 226 198 350 630 129 0 136 44 32 89 0 30,247

8.68 7.61 4.02 3.40 3.78 3.04 1.73 0.75 0.65 1.16 2.08 0.43 0.00 0.45 0.15 0.11 0.29 0.00 100.00

47.05 67.14 129.25 141.93 79.77 34.86 127.72 176.11 106.57 16.00 -42.22 133.33 0.00 -8.82 75.00 9.38 -84.27 0.00 85.55

7,735 6,780 3,928 4,256 4,590 2,165 1,856 756 863 819 587 623 188 301 97 68 53 21 97,356

7.95 6.96 4.03 4.37 4.71 2.22 1.91 0.78 0.89 0.84 0.60 0.64 0.19 0.31 0.10 0.07 0.05 0.02 100.00

5,604 5,415 2,607 2,388 2,383 1,847 1,450 374 331 733 1,028 322 0 255 106 54 212 0 67,907

8.25 7.97 3.84 3.52 3.51 2.72 2.14 0.55 0.49 1.08 1.51 0.47 0.00 0.38 0.16 0.08 0.31 0.00 100.00

38.03 25.21 50.67 78.22 92.61 17.22 28.00 102.14 160.73 11.73 -42.90 93.48 0.00 18.04 -8.49 25.93 -75.00 0.00 43.37

REGISTRATIONS OF NEW COMMERCIAL VEHICLES 3.5 TONNES TO 6.0 TONNES Marque

% market share 33.05 10.02 9.78

March 2021

2021

200 152 80 47 41 39 22 11 9 2 1 1 0 605

52 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

% market share

33.06 25.12 13.22 7.77 6.78 6.45 3.64 1.82 1.49 0.33 0.17 0.17 0.00 100.00

March 2020

2020

225 180 148 21 29 259 21 0 5 10 1 0 2 901

% market share

% change

24.97 19.98 16.43 2.33 3.22 28.75 2.33 0.00 0.55 1.11 0.11 0.00 0.22 100.00

-11.11 -15.56 -45.95 123.81 41.38 -84.94 4.76 0.00 80.00 -80.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -32.85

2021

359 364 179 78 77 111 37 39 16 14 6 2 2 1,284

Figures supplied by SMMT

Year-to-date

% market share

27.96 28.35 13.94 6.07 6.00 8.64 2.88 3.04 1.25 1.09 0.47 0.16 0.16 100.00

2020

405 501 337 44 40 419 24 0 77 10 1 2 3 1,863

% market share

% change

21.74 26.89 18.09 2.36 2.15 22.49 1.29 0.00 4.13 0.54 0.05 0.11 0.16 100.00

-11.36 -27.35 -46.88 77.27 92.50 -73.51 54.17 0.00 -79.22 40.00 500.00 0.00 -33.33 -31.08

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 53

DATA FILE

SUPPLIERS GUIDE

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

Finance

Lead Management

Trade Bodies

Warranty Providers

BCA

Forza Finance

iVendi

Ben

Momentum Warranties

Automotive Ecommerce

HR & People Management

Legal & Compliance

Vehicle Photography

Warranty Providers

GForces

HR Manager

Lawgistics

Dealer 360

Warranty Administration Services

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Ideal for franchised dealers, groups and independents.

Data

Insurance

Marketing, PR & Video

Vehicle Tracking

Warranty Providers

Real World Analytics

Tradesure

OnCue Communications

Meta Trak

Warrantywise

Finance

Key Control

Marketing, PR & Video

Warranty Providers

Warranty Providers

Blue Motor Finance

Keytracker

Marketing Delivery

Autoprotect

WMS

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

W: tradesureinsurance.co.uk T: 0121 248 9313 Info: A friendly team in a family-run business, we provide motor trade insurance to full- and part-time motor traders in all areas of the UK.

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

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

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

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

Peace of mind.

W: autoprotect.co.uk

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

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

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

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

Finance

Key Control

Oil & Lubricants

Warranty Providers

Website Design & Digital Marketing

Close Brothers Motor Finance

Traka

Mobil™

Car Care Plan

Bluesky Interactive

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

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

Finance

Lead Management

Recruitment

Warranty Providers

Website Design & Digital Marketing

First Response

GardX AD-Vantage

WeRecruit Auto

Händler Protect

Haswent

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

Get in touch and let us help increase your profits.

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

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

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

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

W: handlerprotect.com T: 0800 088 7889 E: sales@handlerprotect.com Info: Händler Protect is an exclusive dealer warranty provider. Proud to partner and represent more than 1,000-plus ‘active’ independent motor dealers across the UK each month.

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

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

To have your details included email sales@blackballmedia.co.uk and ask for Suppliers Guide listings 54 | CarDealerMag.co.uk

LONG-TERMERS

THE KNOWLEDGE Nissan Juke N-Connecta

NISSAN JUKE The compact crossover has recently been updated – so how does it shape up?

W

e’re all familiar with the Marmite analogy. The ‘love it or hate it’ slogan associated with the savoury spread has been applied to all sorts of things over the years.

It was a phrase many motoring writers wheeled out when Nissan unveiled the first version of its compact crossover Juke more than a decade ago. With its oversized wheel arches, bug-eyed front end and general all-round quirkiness, it certainly divided opinion and was seen by many as, well, a bit unattractive.

Ugly ducklings can grow into handsome swans, however, which brings us to this 69-plate Juke in N-Connecta trim – one of a new generation of Jukes that has been rolling off Nissan’s production lines in Sunderland since late-2019, and a recent addition to our fleet.

Early impressions? Well, to continue the yeast extract analogy, it’s tasty! This car is a looker and no mistake. With sharp lines, dramatic lights and a host of eye-catching design accents including a distinctive floating roof, it really is easy on the eye. Seventeen-inch alloy wheels, privacy glass and a rear spoiler complete the picture.

Inside, the design touches impress further. A cockpit-like environment surrounds the driver, putting you in complete control, while for all occupants it’s a spacious, comfy and airy place to be.

The car is equipped with a capable one-litre petrol engine that develops 115bhp and can go from 0 to 60mph in 10 seconds exactly and reach a top speed of 112mph.

On the road, it would set you back £21,460, but OU69 XDF has a few optional extras that boost the price tag to just shy of £24,000. For a start, its Fuji Sunset Red paint job plus Pearl Black roof, mirrors and shark fin antenna come in at £1,145. In addition, its heated front seats and heated windscreen cost £295 while an Advanced Safety Shield pack is another grand. £23,900 all in.

So what do we think? Well, good looks aside, this is a cracking car and one we’re thoroughly enjoying getting to know, even though non-essential journeys are still off-limits at the time of writing.

The driving position is extremely comfortable and everything you need is exactly where you’d want it.

One minor quibble, perhaps, is that reverse gear wasn’t the easiest to find when we first jumped inside – the low-down cockpit-type driving position and seemingly rather high gear stick made it a little tricky to get the hang of, but once we’d perfected the necessary grip, that issue quickly became a thing of the past and we were heading in the right direction.

Backwards, obviously...

The Juke is a car that is ‘loaded with tech’ as they say. Apple CarPlay and Google Android Auto are useful features and the vehicle can act as a wi-fi hotspot too, letting occupants connect to multiple devices.

It’s designed to keep those inside safe as well, with plenty of clever systems that help avoid mishaps. Around View Monitor is particularly useful, providing a bird’s-eye view when attempting tricky parking manoeuvres.

Overall, it’s a car that deserves to be as successful as its predecessor – although we’ll find out whether or not that’s the case over the next few months.

Price (as tested): £23,900 Engine: 1.0 DIG-T 117 Power: 115bhp Torque: 200Nm 0-60mph: 10 seconds Max speed: 112mph Emissions: 112g/km CO2 Fuel economy: 47.9mpg Mileage: 6,068

This month’s highlight: Our long-term Juke, tech-packed and bristling with safety features, has settled into daily duties nicely.

OTHER CARS WE’RE DRIVING

Audi S4 Avant Mileage: 932 Work-related trips have given us the chance to put some mileage underneath the S4’s wheels.

BMW 4 Series Mileage: 4,411

With lockdown easing, we’ll be able to properly pass judgement on what it’s like to drive.

CarDealerMag.co.uk | 55

During these uncertain times, we wanted to say that...

TALK TO US TODAY. 0115 946 6260

enquiries@frfl.co.uk www.frfl.co.uk/car

just a phone call away.