Auto Retail Agenda: 12 June 2023
11 June 2023
- ARNOLD CLARK TO LAUNCH OWN CHARGE NETWORK
- HALFORDS TO UPDATE ON RECRUITMENT CHALLENGES
- RAC WINS FIVE-YEAR STELLANTIS DEAL
- AUTO RETAIL PROFIT WINS TOP INDUSTRY AWARD
- BYD LAUNCHES IN FRANCE WITH FOUR RETAIL GROUPS
- CARVANA SHARES RALLY 56% ON Q2 EXPECTATIONS
- STOCKWATCH
- COMING UP: Motorpoint and Halfords full year
- INTEREST RATE CUTS UNLIKELY UNTIL 2025
- FOOD SHOPPING HABITS IN ‘MASSIVE SHIFT’
Arnold Clark to launch own EV charge network
Arnold Clark is to invest £23m to install more than 500 electric vehicle chargers across the UK. They will be available 24/7, be “totally secure” and Arnold Clark customers will get preferential rates.
The ambitious new Arnold Clark Charge network will use rapid DC chargers from Finnish company Kempower. Around 500 units, offering charge speeds up to 150kW, will be installed.
Arnold Clark Charge will offer more than 100 EV charging hubs across the country. Larger branches will have eight units, with smaller sites featuring between two and six.
“The Arnold Clark Charge network is a first of its kind in the UK,” said Kempower CEO Tomi Ristimaki.
Charging slots will be bookable via the Arnold Clark app – a unique USP, said CEO Eddie Hawthorne. The first hub, in Glasgow, is coming soon.
“Once all the charging hubs are installed and operational, we will become one of the largest independent ultra-rapid charging infrastructure suppliers in the UK, and will be an excellent milestone for our sustainability strategy.”
Arnold Clark sells over 300k cars a year from nearly 200 retailers.
Halfords to update on recruitment challenges
Investors will be watching Halfords’ full year results this week to see if it has made progress in solving its recruitment issues. When warning over profits earlier in the year, CEO Graham Stapleton said the business would focus on recruiting skilled workers from rivals.
Halfords is pushing to become a services-led business, with its Autocentres making up nearly half of sales following “unprecedented” demand.
Analysts expect a full year profit of £54m. This is down from previous guidance that forecast pre-tax profit of £65-£75m. Last year, Halfords made almost £100m.
RAC wins five-year Stellantis deal
The RAC has signed a five-year deal to provide roadside assistance to all Stellantis car and van brands in the UK and Ireland. The deal includes three years’ free roadside assistance to owners of all Stellantis electric vehicles, plus Alfa Romeo and DS, and 12 months’ cover for all other vehicles.
Spoticar approved used customers will also get roadside assistance.
The RAC will provide Stellantis with its first connected call centre. Any driver pressing the emergency SOS or breakdown button in a Stellantis vehicle will get help via the RAC.
The RAC will also facilitate sharing vehicle data with Stellantis retailers. This “will become more important as the group moves towards a multi-franchise retail model under the Stellantis & You Sales and Service brand”.
Auto Retail Profit wins top industry award
Auto Retail Agenda sister title Auto Retail Profit has won the 2023 Newspress Business Publication of the Year Award. The triumph follows the title scooping the Torque Agency Group Business Publication of the Year in last December’s Guild of Motoring Writers awards – the ‘Oscars’ of motoring journalism.
Auto Retail Agenda and Profit editor Richard Aucock was also named Business Journalist of the Year 2023.
* Subscribe to Auto Retail Profit here: https://bit.ly/3wEIAys
WORLD NEWS
BYD launches in France with four retail groups
Chinese EV brand BYD is preparing to launch in France and is partnering with four major retail groups in the first phase of its rollout. The goal is to partner with 10 retail groups by the end of the year, with between 15 and 20 sales and aftersales outlets in France.
Three initial partners have been confirmed: BYmyCAR, Kroely and Bodemer. Retailers will open in Q3 2023 with a five-car BYD line-up.
By 2025, BYD is targeting 100 retailers across France.
* Buy the Auto Retail Network New Entrants Report here: https://bit.ly/NewEntrants22
Carvana shares rally 56% on Q2 expectations
Shares at debt-laden online used car retailer Carvana surged 56% after announcing it expects adjusted profit of more than $50m (£39m) in Q2. A year ago, it announced a Q2 loss of $239m (£190m) and a net loss of $2.89bn (£2.3bn) for the full year.
Carvana faces continued pressure to restructure its looming debt load. S&P Global Ratings’ outlook remains negative, observing Carvana’s liquidity “will continue to erode over the next 12 months with the potential for another attempt at a distressed exchange or other type of capital restructuring”.
STOCKWATCH
Closing prices on 9 June 2023 and weekly change
Auto Trader Group 617.8p (+0.8p / +0.1%)
Caffyns 475.0p (n/c)
Halfords 200.8p (-10.0p / -4.8%)
Inchcape 797.0p (+12.0p / +1.5%)
Lookers 81.8p (-1.5p / -1.8%)
Motorpoint 125.0p (-1.0p / -0.7%)
Pendragon 16.62p (-0.22p / -1.3%)
Vertu 61.6p (+1.1p / +1.8%)
COMING UP
Tuesday, UK unemployment
Wednesday, Motorpoint full year
Wednesday, GDP
Thursday, Halfords full year
MONEY MATTERS
Interest rate cuts unlikely until 2025
The Bank of England will not cut interest rates until 2025, forecasts Oxford Economics. Policymakers will “err on the side of caution” due to headline inflation remaining above the 2% target until early 2025.
Interest rates are at their highest level in 15 years and the Bank is expected to raise interest rates for the 13th consecutive time later this month.
Food shopping habits in ‘massive shift’
There has been a “massive shift” in grocery shopping habits since the pandemic, says analyst firm Kantar. Shoppers visit the supermarket less often, spend more on own-label goods and are seeking out loyalty schemes to get discounts. Customers are spending more at each shop, and shopping more at month-end.
The shift to online has also slowed. 11.7% of UK grocery shopping is online, compared to a peak of 15.4% in February 2021. Pre-Covid, it accounted for 8% of shopping. Younger people “use online shopping as a default”.
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As an auto retail executive you need insightful and unique industry intelligence to boost your business potential. Here’s a taste of what Auto Retail Network has to offer:
- Get informed and boost your business potential
- More than 1,200 fellow executives have joined us
since launch - Independent, carefully crafted, unique content relevant to you and your business
- Develop a greater awareness of market trends and opportunities
- Access to a wide range of materials whenever, wherever and however you want it
- Significant discounts on ARN events, reports and
other publications
