Yesterday we held one of our regular AM/Shell Lubricants breakfast briefings. As with previous briefings, the gathered dealers agreed that the biggest issue for the industry is the quality of staff.
Subaru is retraining the sales executives in its UK dealer network in order to tackle the mindset change that comes with selling its new hatchback Impreza.
The European Parliament has voted by a large majority to introduce legislation to cap average emissions from all new cars at 125g CO2/km from 2015.
Evans Halshaw has appointed Mark Watson as dealer principal at its Livingston Renault dealership.
Mercedes-Benz South West’s corporate sales department has clinched an order to supply 45 vehicles to Thrifty Car & Van Rental for an undisclosed sum.
British workers have shown a French carmaker how to build more reliable models.
Work needs to be done to simplify the motor trade’s Block Exemption in 2010 and make it applicable across all of Europe, according to Professor Garel Rhys.
After a slight increase in average values of part exchanges in July 2007, prices fell slightly in August from £2,092 to £2,034, but recovered ground again to £2,065 in September according to Manheim’s latest market bulletin.
The used car market has experienced a marked downturn in activity over recent weeks, with the usual seasonal weakening in trade demand and prices coming more suddenly than dealers had anticipated.
It’s been a difficult year for Renault dealers. Unrealistic sales targets have forced them to push cars into the market to achieve bonus while high list prices have seen heavy discounting. And sales have still fallen 10.43% year-to-date.
Six dealer groups made bids for Dutton Forshaw with Lookers triumphing to take its turnover above £2bn.
Nissan is deciding whether to create stand alone high performance dealerships for its Skyline replacement, the GT-R, when it goes on sale in the UK in March 2009.
Audi will compete directly with the Mini with its new Metroproject quattro concept which made its world debut at the Tokyo Motor Show this week.
Volkswagen has revealed the possible successor to its modern Beetle range at the Tokyo Motor Show.
Car production has risen by 13.9% in September to 139,283 units.
Inchcape has signed a deal to standardise the operating software for all its dealerships globally.
Dealers are losing money by not managing leads effectively and choosing ineffective forms of advertising, according to used car marketing service 2nd Byte.
Aston Martin has gone live with APAK’s automated WFS finance system, which replaces its manual system.
The European Court of Justice has ruled illegal a German law which protected Volkswagen from takeover.
Harwoods has strengthened its presence in Hampshire with the purchase of Webbers of Basingstoke, which has Jaguar, Land Rover, Subaru and Isuzu sales points on a two-acre site.
A third quarter trading update from Inchcape this morning reported trading performance “in line with expectations”, and it remains confident of the full year prospects.
Ford has added a limited edition trim to its Fiesta range following the success of its Anniversary model which was launched in March.
Subaru has launched a new accessory range for its new Impreza which went on sale earlier this month.
Administrators are attempting to restructure Braylake Motors, a former Suzuki dealer of the year winner with three sites representing the brand.
Honda will be extending its range of hybrid models to two within two years according to the manufacturer’s president.
An exclusive group of dealers will be selected to sell Fiat’s revived sports brand in the UK next year.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders is confident of announcing a new chief executive before Christopher Macgowan steps down at the end of the year.
Chinese manufacturer Landwind has received European type approval for the two vehicles it plans to launch in the UK next year.
Automotive Skills, a division of the Institute of the Motor Industry, will be holding a series of consultations to draft a sector qualifications strategy (SQS) as part of the Government’s plan to overhaul vocational qualifications.
Representatives from the aftermarket industry launched a European-wide Right to Repair campaign at Equip Auto in a bid to ‘safeguard consumer choice and effective competition for the vehicle replacement parts market’.
