Tag Archives: Agency

This month we look at two key topics, the emerging and established Chinese brands and the way agency is adapting in the market. We catch up with Pendragon CEO Bill Berman who talks about his confidence in the Chinese giant BYD and its technology. “We are fully committed and fully invested. It is going to be exciting,” he told Motor ...

Over the last three years, since both manufacturers and dealers discovered that they can make more money by selling fewer cars, we have been assured that lessons had been learned and that we would not return to the bad old days of oversupply. Pushing product drives discounts and campaign spending that amounts to billions of euros annually for a major ...

  The National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) has taken part in what it described as “productive discussions” with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Topics under the spotlight included of the UK motor vehicle block exemption (MVBEO) and its guidelines. The NFDA was invited to submit additional information in respect of an industry transition to agency-type models. Sue Robinson, NFDA ...

Ford outlined its plans to roll out the agency model across Europe to dealers attending the Bring On Tomorrow Live event in Copenhagen, Denmark. It said that research showed 77% of car-buyers prefer fixed prices, so that they know upfront how much they will pay, and for what. Ford has already introduced transparent pricing in the Netherlands and plans to ...

Writing this after a four day holiday weekend in the UK, when I had the chance to more or less put work to one side and do other things, it would be easy to start thinking about the options of everyday being a holiday and retiring or at least slowing down on the work front. This was also brought home ...

Over half of car buyers would prefer to purchase their next car directly from the manufacturer. According to What Car?, buyers would prefer an ‘agency’ model with fixed prices rather than buying from a traditional dealer. As part of its latest industry research, 55.4% of 1,221 in-market buyers surveyed by What Car? said they would rather purchase their next car ...

I do try to keep the topics of my blogs varied, covering the whole spectrum of ICDP research and the various conversations that I have around not only sales but also aftersales and other related areas such as mobility.  However, there is so much going on at the moment in respect of changes to franchise dealer agreements, restructuring of dealer ...

Mercedes-Benz UK said last week it was “delighted” with the initial feedback on the Agency model introduced in January. The new agency dealer model launched in January was achieving a customer rating of 4.7 out of five. In a release to highlight the new model Savage said it was a “highly exciting” time for the brand and its dealers. “The ...

The number of dealer outlets across Europe fell in 2022, marking  the 14th consecutive year of decline . That’s a key finding of the European Car Distribution Handbook, produced by ICDP, which outlines the size and shape of franchised dealer networks each year across Europe. The report, updated for 2023, includes data of the name and ownership status of sales ...

As we look to the year ahead in motor retailing, we can see there are a lot of issues to be sorted, people to be placed, and companies under the spotlight in a tougher market. One question hangs over Pendragon and the future for Pinewood, its software business. Swedish dealer group Hedin had tabled a bid for Pendragon, which responded ...