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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 Hedin Mobility, the Swedish dealer group, walked away from its bid for the group, citing “challenging market conditions and uncertain economic outlook”.
Pendragon said it is “confident” about the long-term prospects of the group and that it will continue to explore opportunities to maximise value for its shareholders. Whether this means the sell off of its Pinewood software arm remains to be seen.
In this issue we take a look at electric vehicles and the fastest and slowest selling EVs on forecourts. We also take a look at how EVs compare to the rest of the market in terms of time to sell and attractiveness. The cost of living crisis and negative publicity surrounding rising electricity costs may be beginning to take a toll on demand for EVs.
This month our Dealer Insight looks at Llanelli Motor Company (LMC), which has begun work on a new development that will see its forecourt double in size over the coming months. The one-acre expansion will increase its used car capacity to 350 by the spring of 2023. The business had been looking at 2020 as a start date for the developments, but the Coronavirus Pandemic put the brakes on plans.
Check out the winners of the Motor Trader Industry Awards, now in their 32nd year. The awards recognise professionalism and excellence in motor retailing. Our team of judges interviewed and assessed finalists across the UK to decide the winners and highly commended entries in each category. The judging panels also acknowledged the exceptionally high quality of this year’s finalists.
Finally, I would like to wish all readers of Motor Trader a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.