When Michael Bell took the chief executive’s chair of the family business, Available Car, in 2019, he could never have anticipated quite the baptism of fire that was coming.
As the new car market declines and EV ownership becomes more widespread, dealer groups are increasingly turning their attention to older vehicles to keep workshops full.
Even the traditionally slender margins that car dealerships make on new and used car sales once all the overheads have been factored in, aftersales is key to profitability.
Aftersales departments have been kept busy for the best part of a decade by a buoyant new car market with each dealerships’ own customer base keeping workshops full.
The coronavirus pandemic accelerated the pace of change in the UK’s motor retail industry and some observers now question whether many of the new habits will stick with consumers when everyday freedoms return.
Demand for used hybrid cars has risen in the last quarter, pushing wholesale prices up by 18.7% to an average of £17,591.
Motor finance companies and car dealers have borne the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic, but how well have they overcome the challenge of motorists' 1.8 million requests for finance forbearance.
Six months on from the introduction of new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulations, automotive retailers should be starting to see an impact on average commission levels as they adapt to a new way of working.
Valuation experts and AM100 retailers have conceded that they do not know when this year’s “unprecedented” used car price rises will end.
Used car retail has long been an area of the market for retailers to show their entrepreneurial flair. But the focus on this area of the business could be even more important in the coming years.
Car dealership sites are set to undergo a major transformation over the next decade.
The benefits of an agency-style model, where the new car journey is managed online and manufacturers pay a handling fee to retailers, largely outweighs the disadvantages, according to senior executives at dealer groups already experiencing mixed commissions at work in their businesses.
Motorists have shown uncertainty about the transformation of car makers into tech companies and dealers could be left to explain their franchised partners’ ‘surveillance capitalism’, it has been claimed.
Strong financial reports from across the car retail sector have reaffirmed that businesses have weathered the COVID-19 crisis without the “Darwinian evolution” predicted 12 months ago.
The intentions of the Government in relation to the environment and the UK's switch to elelctric vehicles (EV) have certainly become a lot clearer.
Car manufacturers are looking at model rationalisations, reduced trims and increased co-operations in a bid to comply with clear air targets. Tom Seymour reports...
Forced by the COVID-19 pandemic to adapt to changing restrictions including showroom closures and shifting sales online, most dealers have unlocked new ways of working, many of which will be here to stay.
It’s fair to say the past 12 months have been challenging for the car retail sector.
Consumer uncertainty is the main hurdle to the car retail sector’s revival after showroom doors reopen on April 12, according to industry leaders.
Following the cinch platform's re-launch as an online car retail rival to the likes of Cazoo and carzam, AM Magazine's Tom Sharpe sat down with retail director, Jason Cranswick, to learn more about its new direction.
Volkswagen Financial Services (VWFS) chief executive, Mike Todd, predicts that - aside from the impact of Brexit - three other key areas will continue to influence the automotive sector’s response post COVID-19.
Some car retailers are feeling the pressure as manufacturers demand they to get their digital houses in order to take advantage of any market recovery ahead of what is expected to be a tough Q4, according to delegates at AM’s first virtual round table (held before 'Lockdown 2').
Icon is a much over-used word in our modern world. Things that have only existed a few years are described as iconic, without having had the time to cement their place in their particular pantheon.
As part of AM's regular '10 minutes with...' automotive retail supplier interview series, Tom Seymour, discussed 2020's rapid shift towards online car retail and what the future might hold with Silver Bullet managing director, Cameron Wade.
BCA has been met with a backlash from car dealers following its decision to relaunch its cinch marketing platform as an online car retailer perceived to be in direct competition with its traditional remarketing customers.
