Nick Lancaster was sent down from the dealers' sons' engineering apprenticeship scheme run by Vauxhall because his boredom showed.
There is disagreement among dealers over whether prospective retail customers who challenge showroom staff about cheap prices quoted by import specialists believe the replies. Executives questioned during the preparation of the latest dealer opinion survey were also split over whether internet sales leads needed to be followed-up in a different way to traditional leads.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, reflecting rising confidence in the industry, has raised its forecast for full-year registrations by 25,000 units to 2.225m. That was despite July registrations being down 6.4% to 156,588, though the year-to-date market is still slightly up, at 1,373,033. The SMMT maintained the new car market was healthy.
With manufacturers largely rolling their promotion programmes over for another two months while they decide their pricing strategies, this month's finance analysis table has a familiar look.
Allianz Cornhill plans to expand its approved repairer network to cope with rising business after an increase in policyholders.
Colin Haig, business recovery national director at accountants and business recovery specialists. Baker Tilly, urges bosses of smaller dealership groups to rethink their business strategies.
DaimlerChrysler Finance has launched a flexible personal and corporate finance scheme which allows Mercedes-Benz customers unrivalled control over their loan account. Dealers say the innovative scheme, called Advance, is proving a winner but is not yet widely used in the network.
The direct lenders, high street banks and former building societies are all gearing up to take a bigger slice of motor finance business this September. The past few weeks have seen increased marketing activity in consumer motoring magazines from big direct loan players, such as Alliance & Leicester.
GE Capital Woodchester has created a range of bespoke marketing materials which will allow small and medium sized dealerships to create their own promotional campaigns. The Business Builder pack has been trialled at seven dealerships around the country and dealers can order posters, window slashes, flyers and newspaper advertisements branded with their own name and logo.
Auto Indemnity believes only companies that show a willingness to work with, rather than against, insurers will survive. The company is one of the five founding members of the National Association of Credit Hire Operators, together with Car Crash Line, Motor Claims Direct, Drive Direct and Colegate Vehicle Hire.
The Motor Vehicle Repairers Association has warned insurers that repairers will be unable to cover the cost of courtesy cars this winter. The warning comes as the association plans to launch an in-house courtesy car programme, which replaces the scheme operated with Advanced Vehicle Management.
The UK motor industry has spent more than £1.4bn financing demonstrator cars over the past 12 months. Many of these will have been short-term preregistered cars, on the books to boost manufacturer market share or achieve dealer sales targets.
Forthright Finance is to undertake a month-long trial in centralised finance and insurance selling for a major dealer group in order to try to boost finance penetration. During the month the dealer group will pass on details of any customer who did not take finance or insurance at the point of sale to a Forthright Finance telemarketing team.
Toyota has sparked a fresh round of pressure on the Government to join the euro by forcing its UK suppliers to stop pricing in sterling. Shoichiro Toyoda, honorary chairman and former chief executive of Toyota, called earlier this year for a clear UK commitment to the single currency.
Next month's two-day Automotive Management Autumn Digital Dealer IT Fair 2000 will be “an absolute must”, said Mark Johnson, marketing executive at financial systems specialist Apak Systems, one of the exhibitors. The IT Fair, AM's second this year, will be staged in association with Cyber Car at the National Motorcycle Museum, Birmingham, on September 13-14. ##ITFair--none##
Valeting and preparation firm Autoclenz has launched a smart repair service. AC Smart can be supplied to dealers as a standalone service or a value-added supplement to Autoclenz's valeting service. The scheme has been launched in the Midlands and will be rolled out nationwide by 2001.
Trade and Industry Secretary Stephen Byers' new car pricing order is intended to create more competitive trading rather than specifically force price cuts, according to a DTI spokesman. The spokesman dismissed media reports that said Mr Byers' was demanding carmakers cut prices by 10%, leading to average savings of £1,100.
Dixon Motors outperformed its profit expectations in the first half of the year, while rivals Perry Group and Lex Service - which sold its dealerships in March - struggled in the face of the retail buyers' strike. Chief executive Paul Dixon said: “We have started the current financial year ahead of our forecasts and we have yet to benefit from Jamjar.com or our distribution facility."
Inchcape is expected to buy more UK dealerships now it has its low borrowings and £42.1 coming from the sale of its 49% stake back to Toyota GB. The group announced pre-tax first-half profits of £30m (down from £40.9m) and its UK retailing division's operating profit rose 40% to £5.6m.
Rover will be a “lean, mean and agile” carmaker under new chairman John Towers, operating “in a different way to the one which has existed over the past four years”. Mr Towers, revealing his strategy, believes the keys to success will be to cut costs, centralise production and administration, develop the MG brand to a wider audience alongside Rover and create a flexible, medium-sized business where decisions can be made rapidly.
John Towers warned the BMW board that Alchemy, favourites to buy Rover Cars in the early stages, would “up the stakes at the last minute”. Mr Towers said he studied previous Alchemy takeover deals and could not find a case where the venture capitalist did not walk away from the table during the final days of negotiations “in the hope the seller would come back with a better offer”.
HR Owen chief executive Nick Lancaster has forecast that manufacturers will own most retail car sites and lease them to talented entrepreneurs. He said a number of dealer groups were under “enormous pressure” from manufacturers to consolidate. “We are in for a period of sweeping changes,” said Mr Lancaster, whose group is in the top 20 of the AM100 group of leading UK motor retailers.
Motoreasy, the one-stop-shop motoring services operation, has collapsed and the directors were this week forced to call a meeting with their creditors. Sales and marketing director John Highfield said the meeting was taking place on Thursday of this week, but was unable “at present” to comment on what went wrong.
The 50 dealerships selected to sell Vauxhall's new VX220 will be given specialist training to understand the roadster's specific servicing and aftersales requirements. Robert Gutsche, VX220 brand manager, said: “The VX220 is a specialist car and to ensure the best customer care we have established a network of dealers for it."
The decision by Sainsbury's to increase its interest in car sales is the latest evidence of future dynamic change in the retail motor industry. Trends will be debated at 'Motor retailing 2005', Automotive Management's autumn conference, to be held at the London Olympia Conference Centre on September 26.
The Retail Motor Industry Federation has joined Director General of Fair Trading John Bridgeman in calling for a taskforce to raise servicing and repair quality. NFDA president Sue Brownson accepted the OFT report's findings and urged it to help clean up the servicing sector. “We wish to play a role on the taskforce, together with franchised dealers and the Consumers' Association,” she said.
Sainsbury's this week became the first supermarket giant to advance into nationwide car sales amid claims its Bank Drive finance scheme would allow customers to "order a new car at the same time as they do their grocery shopping".
John Bridgeman is bowing out as Director General of Fair Trading with another blast at the motor industry, this time for “unacceptable quality” in car servicing and repairs. He claimed car owners were being ripped off to the tune of £170m a year. After a five-year term Mr Bridgeman will be replaced next month by Bank of England chief economist Prof John Vickers, 42. It is the third time in four years consumer concerns have prompted the Office of Fair Trading to investigate the motor industry.
