Retailers and consumers both rank Lexus as the top carmaker, according to recent surveys. That suggests a direct correlation between dealer satisfaction with their franchise and consumer satisfaction with their local showroom: Happy dealers give good customer service; dissatisfied dealers give poor service – yes?
'OEMs are now going to have to play fair'
What do your sales staff think when an OAP walks into the dealership? Do they hide behind their desks shuffling papers? Or do they see the pound signs? Most, I hope, see the pound signs – the grey pound, that is. Over 50s account for a staggering two-thirds of all retail car sales, yet the industry seems reluctant to sell them its products
The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) has acted to stop motor traders importing cars from outside the European Union that do not meet European standards on brakes, lights and emissions
Hyundai Motor confirmed today that DaimlerChrysler would sell its entire 10.5% stake in South Korea's biggest carmaker
MoTs in Northern Ireland are to be disrupted from May 17, as a civil service strike already affecting vehicle licensing in the province spreads, warns the Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMI)
Retailers are facing a renewed attack by fleet service customers just two weeks after a report said they were offering unacceptable standards of customer service and aftersales
Carmaking in the UK is on course for a record year, with 1.7m vehicles set to roll out of the factory doors by the end of 2004. Full-year forecasts from the Office for National Statistics have been revised upwards after car production increased 7.4% last month to 163,123 – the highest March total since 2000
Retail giant Reg Vardy is to open a high-tech training academy at its Sunderland headquarters to address the skills shortages that is crippling the motor industry. The AM100-listed dealer group plans to create a world-class centre of learning offering a wide range of opportunities to its 5,400 employees
New UK laws could see British bosses charged with corporate manslaughter if cars bought by employees using a cash allowance are unfit for business use, warn employment law experts
Ford has reshuffled its senior management team and moved two key British executives following years of political infighting
Renault UK says most of the 49 additional satellite points will be servicing outlets. “We have identified some of the areas, and they will all come from territories where we have shortfalls in service coverage or capacity in the network,” says a spokeswoman
Although still the blue chip choice for luxury saloon buyers, the Mercedes-Benz S-class is now the oldest car in the segment. BMW, Audi, Jaguar and even VW have all launched high-tech, high quality rivals within the past three years, and in Britain it faces tough competition from Range Rover
'These days, we get as many phone calls about bodyshops as service and parts put together'
It's the cat that's got the cream
With the first quarter of 2004 over, it's a good time to review some features of the used market.
Outback looks to consolidate brand position
Just Car Clinics, the collision repair chain that has lost hundreds of thousands of pounds since being bought by BikeNet in January last year, is about to launch a major legal offensive against former owner Dixon Motors
Used car dealers are benefiting from a dramatic fall in the number of people taking company cars as drivers opt out of traditional schemes and head for the showroom
Technician licensing could become a reality later this year, according to the Institute of the Motor Industry
Toyota has become the first Japanese company to turn in net profits of more than one trillion yen
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) chief executive Christopher Macgowan (pictured right) is to be the next president of BEN, the motor and allied trades benevolent fund. The news follows the departure of Vincent Oddie of Castrol UK Ltd who has had to stand down following his promotion to a new role in the United States
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) is confident of a fourth consecutive record year for the new car market, despite a 3.8% dip in new car registrations in Apri
Visitors to The Sunday Times Motor Show Live at the NEC in Birmingham this year, will have their first chance to see two new Seat models. Taking centre stage will be the new Altea (pictured right), Seat's Multi Sports Vehicle (MSV), and the Seat Ibiza Cupra
Audi has launched more EU4 emission compliant A4's to its existing range
ADF chief executive, Brain Spratt, has been installed as vice-president of the Institue of Association Management (IAM)
Following a global reorganisation of its business groups structure, Mahle Group has appointed Claus Hoppen as general manager of its worldwide aftermarket activities.
European Motor Holdings, recently tipped by the City as a possible acquisition target for Inchcape, is set to embark on its own acquisition spree after notching up record profits
MG Rover expects to supply the West Bromwich Building Society with “hundreds” of cars under a new exclusive supply deal
