Driverless cars, EVs, online sales, mobility as a service – the list of challenges to UK car dealers is long, but what has really changed in 2017?
Strong demand in Europe was unable to stem the slump in UK car manufacturing during November – with outputs down 4.6% year-on-year.
A surge in the popularity of SUVs has been credited for a 5.2% rise in registrations across Europe as the sector claimed almost one-third of all new car sales during November.
A 'worrying' fall in LCV registrations is being blamed on a weaker pound and Brexit uncertainty
AM looks at some of the biggest changes and challenges facing dealers in 2018 and reveals what our online readers thought of their prospects for the year
Cox Automotive has reported "great stability" in the used car sector during the last quarter of 2017, suggesting that car supermarkets will help to drive things forwards into 2018.
Car dealers have started rethinking their lending panels as economic pressures start to spark a reduction in the number of customers meeting “prime lender criteria”.
Used car prices at BCA auctions rose to a record high for the third month in a row following a marginal 0.4% increase during November.
The Ford Kuga emerged from November as the fastest selling car on Auto Trader – taking just 20 days to leave retailers’ forecourts.
Inflation rose to a six-year high of 3.1% in November as retailers struggled against a squeeze on shoppers finances in the run-up to Christmas.
A surge in the launch of compact SUVs has seen UK car buyers flocking to get behind the wheel of a new model depsite declining registrations across the motor industry, claims carwow.
Used car prices registered their first month-on-month decline in eight months during November as diesel cars declined by an average of £143 month-on-month and petrol cars generated a £55 rise, according to market data issued by Auto Trader.
Christmas as car buyers look set to stay online throughout the festive season, softening the seasonal stall in sales, according to Motors.co.uk.
Signs that the retail-driven new car market might have started to falter towards “a significant downturn” are starting to ask questions of dealers’ preparedness, says Duff & Phelps.
Consumer new car finance volumes fell by 11% but continued to rise in value according to figures released by the Finance and Leasing Association (FLA).
Opel and Vauxhall hopes to avoid plant closures with a new plan which it hopes will return the brands to profitability with a 2% operating margin by 2020 and 6% by 2026.
BCA’s has seen used car prices rise to a new record high in October, with values rising 2.7% to £9,364.
Hundreds of car retailers and suppliers are set to flock to Birmingham’s NEC as AM hosts the second annual Automotive Management expo at the venue today.
European car registrations suffered a 2.2% decline in September with Jato Dynamics partly blaming “Brexit uncertainty” for the faltering market.
Sustained success in automotive retail will demand a more conservative reappraisal of residual values, according to MotoNovo.
