Dealer websites should be designed so that buyers have a reason to visit them, according to Martin Dew, digital solutions director at website developers Autoweb Design. Dew was addressing the Motor Trader Summit held at Edgbaston. “It’s the most important thing and often missed. You need to give people a reason to enquire,” said Dew. He said most dealers had ...

Applying pre-internet era sales and back office functions to web-based platforms is a waste of time, according to Rockar managing director Martin Sewell. He was addressing the Motor Trader Summit which took place at Edgbaston. “A really key point is about re-inventing the template. Digitalisation of 100-year-old dealer processes just won’t work,” said Sewell. “I urge you if you have ...

Dealers could see significant stock turn reductions and profit increases by revising their on-line vehicle marketing and data mining policies, according to Cambria Automobiles’ marketing and innovation head Ian Godbold. He was speaking during the Motor Trader Summit in Edgbaston. “Focus on making your business simpler, leaner and more data-oriented,” said Godbold. “There are three key inefficiencies worldwide: Stocking, optimising ...

Digital platforms are changing every aspect of car sales from vehicle movements to how buyers view stock, believes Auto Trader business development director Ed Hummel. He was speaking at the Motor Trader Summit which took place at Edgbaston. He said that this was why Auto Trader was the UK’s 16th biggest website for page views, attracted 10m monthly unique users, ...

Skoda has revealed a vRS performance version of its large Kodiaq sports utility vehicle. The model uses four-wheel-drive and a 240ps diesel engine, which is the most powerful production oil burning power unit fitted to a Skoda. The company is claiming 0-62 in 7 seconds and a 138mph top speed. The car is one of a number of go faster sports ...

Security is vital for businesses handling customer data and historically, it‘s rare that they experience breaches, but a recent ICO Information Commissioner’s Office prosecution was a wake up call. It resulted in a six month jail sentence for a rogue motor trade employee who stole work-related data, and highlighted the need for vigilance. The vast majority of staff are trustworthy but risks remain. Although individuals ...

Ford’s compact sports utility EcoSport was Britain’s fastest selling used car last month, according to data from the Indicata used vehicle management portal. It found that the EcoSport, which was recently facelifted, spent an average of 38 days on used dealer forecourts. The second placed Ford Kuga took a day longer to find buyers. However in volume terms the EcoSport ...

Half of Britain’s used vehicle dealers are seeing demand still outstripping supply, according to the latest Manheim dealer sentiment survey. It found that three fifths have adjusted buying strategies as a result of stock shortages and nearly 60% said they’d ‘taken steps’ to mitigate the supply shortfall. A third said they were buying from ‘additional or alternative sources and a ...

New finance products are needed to maximize PCP sales penetration, according to Startline Motor Finance chief executive Paul Burgess. “There has been rapid expansion of used car PCP in the last few years and probably something like 40% of used car motor finance is now PCP-based. This is a high level but is still some way behind the new car ...

Richard Parry-Jones will be joining Marshall Motor Holdings as non-executive chairman from the New Year. He succeeds Peter Johnson. Parry-Jones spent three decades with Ford, latterly as group vice president of global product development and chief technical officer. He has also been co-chair of the UK Automotive Council, chair of Network Rail, Kelda Group Holdings and Yorkshire Water, and has ...