Auto Retail Network
Join Us

Agenda: 31st May 2011


BREAKING NEWS

Motor Codes to consult on used car code

Motor Codes is seeking the views of the auto retail sector on the development of a code of practice for used car sales via a formal consultation starting in June.

Motor Codes is looking to set up the code in order to complete the set of automotive self-regulatory frameworks that it was established to operate.

Motor Codes director Chris Mason commented: "In line with the Motor Codes approach to self-regulation, a robust code with appropriate compliance measures and effective advisory and dispute resolution services will form the backbone of the operation. It will be further supported by an online customer survey generating real time feedback and business performance ratings."

DEALERSHIP DIGEST

Glass’s announces "Valuations Next Generation"

Glass’s is to greatly increase the accuracy and level of detail in its valuations through the introduction of a new Statistical Analytics Engine (SAE).

In a rolling programme over the next 12 months, Glass’s will launch what it views as the most significant changes to its valuations system for a generation.

Changes resulting from the launch of "Valuations Next Generation" will include mileage adjustments customised for each model, as well as a new system of three condition-based wholesale values. These will directly reflect the recently introduced condition grades used by auction houses.

Developments for 2012 will include more regular updates, and the inclusion of vehicle options valuations.

JCT600 hails graduate training scheme

JCT600 is celebrating the success of the first six months of its new sales executive recruitment and training programme aimed at graduates.

Last October, the company recruited six graduates who have undergone rigorous training in the motor industry and customer service, and are now being placed in customer-facing positions.

JCT600 group sales director Andy Coulthurst commented: “In order to attract and nurture the brightest young talent, we felt that we should invest in our graduates by providing a dedicated six month training programme and rewarding them with a salary-only package during their training, so removing the pressure to sell whilst they are learning all aspects of the profession.”
http://bit.ly/mCpDV9

AF Noble support Prince's eco-village

Edinburgh Nissan retailer AF Noble is supporting the establishment of the UK's first electric car village, which when it is built will have charging points outside every house.

Knockroon in East Ayrshire is Prince Charles' new eco-community. AF Noble, sole stockist in Scotland for Nissan' Leaf, will have a demonstration model on site and promotional materials for the car in the visitor office.

Noble's head of electric cars, Jim Rowan, said that if he sold his cars to even just a quarter of Knockroon's planned 700 homes it would be a "huge" achievement.
http://bit.ly/ikL1De

Becks Peugeot sponsors stadium club lounge

Becks Peugeot has been named as sponsor of an exclusive club lounge at Brighton and Hove Albion's multi-million pound new home.

Becks has sponsored the Upper Gold North Lounge, which will be named the Becks Peugeot Lounge at the Seagulls' American Express Community Stadium, just outside Brighton.
http://bit.ly/jdiaZ8

Carrus Wins Perodua 'Dealer Of The Year' Award

Carrus Automotive in Vale, Guernsey has been named Perodua Dealer of the Year 2010 in recognition of its performance and high level of customer service.

Mike Wager of Carrus Automotive was presented with the award by Tim Slaughter of Perodua UK Limited. Tim Slaughter said: “We have had a long association with Mike . He has always been totally committed to Perodua and has consistently outsold dealers on the mainland."
http://bit.ly/jhxyXV

MG seeks driver views on MG3 design

MG is seeking the views of UK drivers to help them finalise the design for the European version of its MG3 supermini.

MG spokesman Doug Wallace said: “We want to get feedback from people to see what their views are. Some of that feedback will go into a much bigger document that could have some bearing on the car when it comes back to the UK.”
http://bit.ly/igLGRV

RRG runners raise £8,000 for Japan disaster

RRG Group's employees raised almost £8,000 in the Bupa 10K Great Manchester Run on 15 May in aid of the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami relief fund.

Joint managing directors Tony Cliff and Arran Bangham joined the chairman and other members of staff in the RRG Group to make up the 55 strong team taking part in the run.

Phoenix Mitsubishi helps council go electric

Phoenix Mitsubishi Edinburgh has delivered 12 Mitsubishi i-MiEV vehicles to North Lanarkshire Council for its urban transport pool.

“We expect to generate savings of more than £150,000 in the next 18 months through our pool car scheme as a whole” said Kenneth Wilson, Head of Land Services at North Lanarkshire Council.

Warm North Eastern welcome for electric cars

Motorists in the North East England are more interested in switching to an electric car than those in other regions of Britain according to new research by TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk

While just 2% of the total surveyed would consider opting for an EV as their next car, in the North East this rises to 5%. People in Scotland and Wales are the least likely to consider an electric model.

Of the 1752 respondents to the survey, none of those from Wales and Scotland said they would opt for an electric car.

Lack of Servicing fuels calls to Forté

Forté has seen a 12 per cent increase in calls to its helpline during the first quarter of the year as a result of motorists avoiding vehicle servicing.

Calls from technicians have generally related to problems brought on by engine contamination.

Phil Dugmore, technical manager at Forté, said: “We get an average of 400 calls to our technical helpline a month and there’s no doubt that we’ve seen an increase concerning driveability problems and mechanical repairs which have been brought on by contamination."

Toyota launches social network for cars

Toyota is introducing a social network that will allow owners to become "friends", as well as receive electronic reminders for maintenance checks and other services.

The private social network, named 'Toyota Friend', will be offered in Japan from next year in Toyota's electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.
http://bit.ly/jo9GWH

ROAD TEST ROUND-UP

A weekly snapshot of the latest car reviews from the UK’s motoring pages.

AGENDA SCORING SYSTEM
Doesn’t like it, says it’s okay, likes it, loves it

Chrysler Ypsilon
Lancia hasn’t sold cars in the UK since 1993. But now the make’s back with a new supermini. While elsewhere in Europe it’ll be a Lancia, here the newcomer will wear a Chrysler badge. Fiat, of course, owns Chrysler and Lancia. The car’s based on the 500 and Panda but is longer and has a roomier cabin.
Top Gear magazine likes it. It’s quiet and feels light and the styling’s distinctive, so you won’t ever mistake it for anything else. http://bit.ly/lboMWj
Car says it’s okay. The Ypsilon mayn’t be the luxury supermini that Chrysler wants it to be but it’s an honest little runabout. It’ll find the 6000 buyers Fiat intends for it. http://bit.ly/jbKT2l
Autocar also says it’s okay. At an expected £14,500 for the mid-range Ypsilon, it’s in a very competitive market but it doesn’t work as a luxury model. It’s too noisy and the interior plastics aren’t good enough. http://bit.ly/lglx37
What Car? says it’s okay, too. With five doors it offers generous space inside for its overall size. Its high-set driving position is good but the high-waisted cabin is dour and feels ordinary. http://bit.ly/muGUdR

Group test: family estates
Peugeot 508 SW vs Ford Mondeo vs Skoda Superb vs Vauxhall Insignia vs VW Passat.
Auto Express pits the just-launched 508 against rivals. It’s a close run, but the Superb wins the contest for its space, quality and fine driving responses. The 508 manages no better than fourth place, despite is sleek styling, high-tone cabin and keen price. The Passat is refined and (surprisingly) the cheapest here while the just-updated Mondeo remains the best to drive. The Vauxhall looks good but has the smallest load space.
1: Skoda Superb
2: VW Passat
3: Ford Mondeo
4: Peugeot 508
5: Vauxhall Insignia
http://bit.ly/k5odag

MONEY MATTERS

Inflation is top threat

Inflation remains the strongest threat to the UK economy, a leading figure has warned. Spencer Dale, who is the Bank of England’s chief economist, told the BBC that cost of living rises – currently running at around 5% - promise to stay at that level for some time.

Raising lending interest rates is the usual tactic to put a brake on inflation. And the current 0.5% rate set by the Bank of England will have to rise, although Mr Dale could not say when.

He also conceded that economic growth was ‘subdued’. He wasn’t confident about the strength of recovery, particularly because of the way household spending remains under pressure.

Long-term jobless totals hit 14-year high

There are now 850,000 people who have sought work for a year but found none, according to a new report. The figures, from analysis by the IPPR political think-tank, are the worst since 1997.

The report said this group’s numbers began to rise sharply in 2009. For men, the long-term unemployed account for almost 40% of those jobless; while for women the figure is now 27%.

IPPR said long spells without work affected people’s health and make it harder for them to obtain a job. The Government will introduce its Work Programme next month, which will pay firms to take on those who were unemployed.

Lobby group asks for inquiry into fuel prices

With forecourt fuel prices hitting record highs, a Europe-wide coalition of motoring groups is lobbying the EU to investigate the cost.

The body, led by the Federation International d’Automobile (FIA) and including the AA and RAC, is demanding an inquiry into how prices are set. There are widespread feelings that they respond quickly to rises in the wholesale price of oil but are slower to react to decreases.

In April wholesale oil prices climbed above $125 per barrel. On Friday they had dropped back to $114 but for most drivers the pump prices did not fully reflect that change.

COMING UP

On Tuesday, the Department of Energy will give its weekly update of petrol and diesel pump prices.

Starting Monday 6 June for six days, Motorexpo at Canary Wharf is Britain’s only large-scale public motor show. Range Rover’s new Evoque will number among its stars.

Also on Monday 6 June, the SMMT will release new car and CV registration totals for May.

On Tuesday 28 June, the SMMT holds its International Automotive Summit at the Park Plaza Hotel, Westminster Bridge in central London.

On Thursday 30 June, Auto Retail Network’s Web Workshops: ‘Beyond the Basics of Online Retailing’ is held at Henry Ford College, Loughborough. If you miss these (or if Loughborough is too far to travel), they’re repeated on Thursday 7 July at ADP, Hungerford. To take part contact Francis or Emma on 01572 724687 or email francis@auto-retail.com.

On 1-3 July, the Goodwood Festival of Speed is held at the Goodwood Estate, Chichester, West Sussex. The annual event is billed as the world’s largest motoring garden party.

THIS WEEK

Tesco must know what it’s doing, right?

Despite interviewing the management of Tesco Cars in an exclusive interview for Auto Retail Bulletin, I’m still none the wiser as to why the retailing giant actually went into used rather than new car sales, which to many, would have made more sense.

The reason new cars would have made more sense is the uniformity of product. Everything would have been the same. In the used car market nothing is the same. Even the same make and model with identical mileage could be very different vehicles with different values depending on condition.

For a brand that’s stated aim is to offer a better service with better levels of trust, offering used cars doesn’t make sense.

With new cars the quality can be guaranteed.

What’s also odd is that despite saying they’ll offer a better quality service, some of the stock available isn’t very high quality as Tesco admits with its “warts and all” line.

Why wouldn’t Tesco put a higher level of minimum standards in place for its stock? It’s all very well having an RAC inspection, but if that reveals the car’s got minimal tread left and warning lights on, doesn’t that dilute some of that trust in the Tesco brand?

Tesco must know what it’s doing, right? After all, it’s the UK’s biggest supermarket brand, so it must have thought this through. Either way, we’ll keep asking them questions whenever we get the chance to see if there is something the rest of the auto retail industry could learn from.

Tristan Young

 

Auto Retail Report
Franchising Report 2012
FRANCHISING REPORT 2012 is the only complete guide to the structure and sales performance of franchised auto retail networks in the UK. It details new car sales points and trends by carmaker, giving a complete picture of the current state of UK car sales and authorised repair franchise networks.