SMTA Monthly Bulletin December 2023

BULLETIN Your monthly news round-up of the Scottish Motor Industry

DECEMBER 2023

SMTA & SCOTSURE OFFICES WILL BE CLOSED FROM MIDDAY ON FRIDAY 22ND DECEMBER AND RE-OPEN ON WEDNESDAY 3RD JANUARY AT 8AM The approved insurance broker to the Scottish Motor Trade Association

SMTA ANNUAL DINNER 2024 – DATE FOR YOUR DIARY & GUEST SPEAKER SMTA is delighted to advise that our Annual Dinner & Awards will be held on Thursday 24th October 2024 at the Hilton Glasgow! Tables will be available to book in the New Year!

We are so excited that we’re announcing our guest speaker in this bulletin, and it is none other than……… THE STIG! Yes, it is the man in the white suit from Top Gear also known in real life as Ben Collins will be our guest speaker.

As a respected figure in the world of motorsports, Ben has additionally been the stunt driver to some of the biggest blockbuster films in modern cinematic history, including The Dark Knight Rises, Quantum of Solace and most recently Skyfall.

OU HAVETO Y , R E B M E M RE H 2024 L C R A M T S 1 3 UNTIL ETE YOUR ANNUA COMPL ER TRAINING! TEST is easily with do th IMI. ws is you can The good nein conjunc tion with the SMTA b o.uk to ook Email accoun

ts@smta.c

DVSA MOT ANNUAL TRAINING & ASSESSMENT 2023/24 S M TA M E M B E R P R I C E P L U S VAT

£53.00

NON-MEMBER PRICE P L U S VAT

£61 .0 0

A log-in code and full instructions will be given once payment is received.

Testers registering for Group A and Group B Training & Assessment at the same time will qualify for our Two for One offer and will get both registration codes (one for each group) for the price of one.

CONTACT: Email: accounts@smta.co.uk Telephone: 0131 331 5510 With SMTA & the IMI you will be able to complete the annual assessment and CPD package at a time and place that suits your business and print out a certificate as proof of completion.

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GREATER REGULATOR SCRUTINY EXPECTED AS FINANCE COMPLAINTS DOUBLE Dealers should prepare for a potentially higher level of scrutiny from regulators following news that complaints about motor finance agreements have doubled, according to automotive ecommerce specialist iVendi..

The Financial Ombudsman Service reported that complaints increased by 115% to 4,622 in the third quarter of 2023, saying they were increasingly hearing from people worried about whether they can pay for motor finance.

Richard Tavernor, COO at iVendi, said that the figures were worrying for dealers who provided motor finance – and stressed the need to ensure watertight processes were in place that didn’t just ensure consumers were being treated correctly but could also evidence this fact.

“With Consumer Duty having been in place for several months, the retail motor industry is paying more attention to responsible lending than ever before and these complaints will largely have been related to deals made under older regulations.

“However, they are still likely to create a degree of impetus for the regulator to ensure that responsible lending is taking place and dealers should be ready for the possibility of a much higher degree of scrutiny as a result.

“We’re clearly in a time when the cost of living

“Processes need to be sound and robust, with impartial audit trails available that evidence how dealers are doing everything that the regulations demand to ensure that consumers are treated with transparency and fairness.”

rate suggests that most of the drive for the

Tavernor pointed out that the Financial Ombudsman Service’s report indicated that more than 90% of complaints were being raised by “professional representatives”, meaning claims management companies, but that the percentage upheld from this source was very low at 8%, compared to 42% for those brought directly by consumers.

– but the fact remains that these complaints

CONSUMER APPETITE GROWING FOR AFFORDABLE SUVS TOP TEN MODELS BY RETAIL MARGIN NOVEMBER 2023

crisis is having a massive effect on personal finances and some people will be struggling to pay their motor finance every month.

Those people deserve sympathy and most motor finance companies recognise the situation and will provide them with help in a variety of ways.

“However, the high rate of professional representation allied with the low uphold complaints themselves are coming from claims management companies. It would be understandable to take a cynical view of this – and the Financial Ombudsman Service itself is launching a consultation on this issue will be dealt with in the same manner as any other by the regulator and dealers need to be prepared for investigations.”

Read the full article at AM Online

Dealer Auction’s Retail Margin Monitor for November saw the Hyundai Tucson breaking into the top three, demonstrating a growing appetite for more affordable mainstream SUVs. The Range Rover Evoque reclaimed the top spot, with an average retail margin of £5,100, the joint-highest average margin since the launch of the monitor in January 2022.

But it was mainstream models that caught the eye of Dealer Auction’s analysts. The Hyundai Tucson rose from joint-tenth in August to fifth place in October and third place in November, with an average retail margin of £3,300.

November also saw the first-ever entry for the Ford Kuga SUV, in seventh place with an average retail margin of £2,975.

Read the full article at AM Online

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MOT FORECAST VOLUMES JANUARY 2024 POST TOWN

FORECAST TO EXPIRE

EXPIRED – TYPICAL

CHANGE FROM TYPICAL (TESTS)

CHANGE FROM TYPICAL [%]

ABERDEEN

17774

16059

1715

10.68%

DUMFRIES

5700

5073

627

12.36%

DUNDEE

9732

8550

1182

13.82%

EDINBURGH

30054

26872

3182

11.84%

FALKIRK

10372

9336

1036

11.10%

GLASGOW

38071

34776

3295

9.47%

HEBRIDES

968

886

82

9.26%

INVERNESS

10006

8754

1252

14.30%

KILMARNOCK

13260

11661

1599

13.71%

KIRKCALDY

12823

12216

607

4.97%

KIRKWALL

1828

1652

176

10.65%

LERWICK

829

678

151

22.27%

MOTHERWELL

12027

10638

1389

13.06%

PAISLEY

11098

9892

1206

12.19%

PERTH

6809

5924

885

14.94%

TWEEDDALE

4476

4039

437

10.82%

TOTAL

185,827

167,006

265,937

11.58%

Figures courtesy of DVSA (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency)

TRADE SNIPPETS Motor finance complaints at their highest level for five years Article courtesy of AM Online

Jaguar Land Rover launches insurance scheme for Range Rover customers Article courtesy of Motortrader

Pay growth tumbles from record high as clouds gather over jobs market Article courtesy of CarDealer Magazine

4

Garage must pay more than £16,000 after customer was crushed by their own car Article courtesy of CarDealer Magazine

Driver worries on EV battery lifespan could be holding back demand Article courtesy of AM Online

Dealers to see increased website traffic over festive period Article courtesy of Motortrader

CAR FIGURES

NOVEMBER 2023 SCOTLAND MONTHLY:

SCOTLAND YEAR TO DATE:

13,397

UK YEAR TO DATE:

152,467

1,761,962

REGISTRATIONS

BY REGION

FUEL TYPE YEAR TO DATE

98,412

Petrol

589

Highlands

Grampian

1,168

26,020

Petrol/Electric

15,662

Electric

Tayside 895

11,948

Diesel

403

Petrol/LPG

22

Diesel/Electric

Central 1,348

1,552

Strathclyde 6,809

Dumfries & Galloway

657

Fife Lothian

163 Borders

216

TOP 10 MARQUES TOP 10 CARS YEAR TO DATE

YEAR TO DATE

Vauxhall

15,025 (9.85%)

Volkswagen

12,802 (8.40%)

Ford Audi Kia

10,580 (6.94%) 9,849 (6.46%) 8,662 (5.90%)

Vauxhall Corsa

6,900

Ford Puma

3,917

Vauxhall Mokka

3,877

Nissan Qashqai

3,439

Kia Sportage

2,814 2,731

BMW

7,250 (4.76%)

Volkswagen T-Roc

Nissan

7,216 (4.73%)

Nissan Juke

2,636

Toyota

7,064 (4.63%)

Mini Mini

2,568

MG

6,687 (4.39%)

Hyundai Tucson 2,516

Peugeot

6,593 (4.32%)

MG ZS

2,483

Figures courtesy of the SMMT (Scottish Motor Manufacturers and Traders)

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This bulletin is kindly supported by

SMTA CONTACTS ACCOUNT ENQUIRIES:

ISSUE

Telephone – 0131 331 5510 Email – accounts@smta.co.uk

15

EAD ADE INAH THTEDOERO STORE S 2024 HAV KET? WHA D CAR MAR FOR THE USE 120 YEARS OF

THE SMTA:

S FROM CAR ADST THE PA

CELEBRATING

The

Scottish Magazin e for

Motor Professi

onals brought

to you by

TO GIBSONSSAU SERVICE ILE:

MEMBER PROF

Support ed

OUT NOW! SMTA AUTO INSIGHT ISSUE 15 READ IT HERE

by

Incorpor ating

WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR GARAGE TO FEATURE IN SMTA’S MAGAZINE? SMTA produces a quarterly magazine to all our members, if you haven’t got one yet our Territory Account Managers will be visiting your garage soon with a copy for you.

If you’d like your garage to feature please contact: karen.thompson@smta.co.uk

DVLA OPENING HOURS: CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR 2023 Friday 22 Dec Saturday 23 Dec Christmas Eve 24 Dec Christmas Day 25 Dec Boxing Day 26 Dec 27, 28 & 29 Dec Saturday 30 Dec New Year’s Day 1 Jan 2024 Tuesday 2 Jan

8am to 5.30pm 8am to 2pm closed closed closed 8am to 5:30pm 8am to 2pm closed 8am to 7pm

MEMBERSHIP ENQUIRIES/ TRADING PARTNERS: Norman Stirling – 07917 095014 Membership Development Manager Marcus Lawrence – 07375 057561 Territory Account Manager, Western Region Stuart Kennedy – 07375 057560 Territory Account Manager, Northern Region

MOT QMS ENQUIRIES David Innes – 07789 264228 Operations Manager, Support Services Gordon Laing – 07799 732124 Support Services Consultant Wayne Lindsay – 07729 045666 Support Services Consultant

APPRENTICE TRAINING ENQUIRIES Fraser Miller – 07789 264229 Apprentice Training Manager

EMPLOYMENT LAW ENQUIRIES Moira Gaynor – 0131 331 5510 Company Secretary/Finance Manager

SCOTSURE WARRANTY: Claims and Enquiries – 0131 331 5512

EVENTS & MEDIA ENQUIRIES: Karen Thompson – 07922 079889 Membership Communications Manager

ADVERTISING/SPONSORSHIP ENQUIRIES: Wendy Hennessy – 07974 380140

Scottish Motor Trade Association Ltd., Palmerston House, 10 The Loan, South Queensferry EH30 9NS Telephone: 0131 331 5510

www.smta.co.uk

SMTA is proud to support:

Disclaimer: Whilst we endeavour to ensure the information in this bulletin is up to date and correct, we make no representations of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability and suitability. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.