Blogs

Consolidation was in the air this month with Vertu Motors acquiring the majority of Helston Garages for £120.1m. The acquisition included 28 franchised sales outlets. In a separate deal, Yeomans acquired 12 businesses from Helston Garages. The move saw Yeoman join the VW Group for the first time. It was a significant month for Pendragon, which retained its independence when ...

As the industry starts to wind down towards the Christmas period, many dealers will be anticipating a seasonal dip in enquiries, potentially exacerbated by the current cost-of-living crisis. However, the Christmas period is actually one of intensifying digital activity for consumers, and that presents an important opportunity for the motor retail sector to start 2023 on a positive footing. Sprout ...

The pace of change in EV retailing was the focus of attention at the Motor Trader EV Retailing Summit 2022, which took place at the Eastside Rooms in Birmingham. Sales of EVs in the UK continue to grow and dealers are at the sharp end with consumers, covering all areas of retailing from new and used EVs through to aftersales, ...

  Given the current economic backdrop one would be forgiven for equating the fall in used car sales [in Q3] to a similarly dramatic drop in demand from cash conscious car buyers. But whilst demand is easing on the inflated levels recorded last year, in reality, the market is simply feeling the brunt of the massive dearth in available stock, ...

Findings from the IMI Diversity Task Force Report, published earlier this year, revealed that just 7% of those working in the automotive retail sector are from an ethnic minority, compared to non-automotive industries where the proportion  is 11%. It is important to be specific and precise around the language we use. But one of the challenges of terminology is that ...

This month we take another look at disruptors who entered the used car market over the past few years with big marketing spends, large scale refurbishment centres and a focused, customer driven proposition. There was also a lot of accompanying hype. So, what did they do well, where did they fall down and what are the lessons to be learnt ...

“The old adage ‘what goes up must come down’ doesn’t seem to apply to used cars, at least not for the time being. The unprecedented increase in average used car values that we’ve seen in the last 12 months shows no sign of a major reversal. Our expectation is that this new level of pricing will be the norm for ...

Since I last wrote about the so-called disruptors in the UK used car business in Motor Trader, there have been a few developments. At market level we have seen used car values and demand soften in recent weeks, requiring everyone to be on top of their game to avoid being caught with over-valued, ageing stock. The continuing steady decline in ...

Last week, Arnold Clark filed their financial results for calendar year 2021.  As a private company, there was no press release or media event associated with this – they were just filed with Companies House. We know that the last year or so has been remarkably good for dealers due to the combination of government support during the pandemic restrictions ...

The UK is in a transition to a more sustainable future. Naturally, there is a large focus on EVs, but the infrastructure needed to charge them is just as important. The Climate Change Committee estimates that there will be 18 million EVs in the UK by 2030. We know that the UK car parc is going to change. And we ...