Auto Retail Agenda: 4 December 2023
03 December 2023
- MERCEDES AGENCY: PRE-REG AND BROKER DEALS RE-EMERGE
- MORE MARSHALL DIRECTOR DEPARTURES
- INVESTORS MAKE MOVES WITH VERTU, MOTORPOINT
- STONEACRE PROFIT DIPS; CAFFYN UNDER PRESSURE
- FREE WEBINAR TO FOCUS ON 2024
- RETAILERS URGE BIDEN TO SLOW DOWN ON EVS
- AUTO TRADER NEW ZEALAND SOLD
- STOCKWATCH: Halfords down 17.6% as it lowers full-year forecast
- COMING UP: NFDA Driving Digital Special Edition
- LONDON STOCK MARKET ‘STRUCTURALLY BROKEN’
- CAR INSURANCE PRICE RISES TO CONTINUE
Mercedes agency: pre-reg and broker deals re-emerge
Pre-registered new Mercedes still exist under its agency model, a practice that was supposed to have stopped with the new retailer agreement.
Cars advertised as “nearly new (pre-reg)” with 100 miles on the clock can be found on price comparison sites. Registered cars with less than 100 miles can also be easily found on new and used car classified websites.
Under the agency agreement, retailers cannot pre-register cars, according to a Mercedes spokesperson. Mercedes does not view these nearly-new cars as pre-registrations, instead simply as used cars.
However, the presence of so many nearly-new Mercedes has led to brokers offering these cars at significantly lower monthly payments compared to the new cars being offered by the manufacturer. These discounted prices are also being advertised alongside new car lease rates.
Mercedes has been running a sale over the past few months with deals on its electric cars through its own website. The lease broker websites are now offering even lower monthly payments.
Agency agreements were supposed to eliminate fast-turn, low (or negative) margin sales.
Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz UK CFO Harald Henn has left the German car maker to join new supercar company Gordon Murray Group as chief financial officer.
More Marshall director departures
Marshall Motor Group is understood to have lost five more of its senior leadership team, including four directors, in the past month. The resignations of Steve Venables and Mark Leeder, both divisional finance directors, Jamie Crowther, operations director, Jon Head, group operations director, and Matthew Kendall, head of group finance come as Martin Casha takes up his post as Marshall CEO. Casha’s appointment was announced in July following his departure from Pendragon.
Marshall Motors is understood to have informed staff about the departures in a group-wide email.
Earlier this year Marshall lost Joanne Moxon, HR director, CFO Richard Blumberger and company secretary Stephen Jones. The latest departures mean the majority of the senior team assembled by previous CEO Daksh Gupta, who left Marshall after it was bought by Constellation 18 months ago, have now left the retailer.
Crowther is understood to be on gardening leave and Head is believed to have resigned and working his notice.
Venables is understood to have left to join Vertu, while Mark Leeder has moved to become Group 1’s UK finance director.
Marshall Motor Group was approached for comment.
Investors make moves with Vertu, Motorpoint
Investors last week changed their positions on several major UK retailers. On Tuesday, Constellation, through used car sales business Cinch, raised its stake in Vertu from 4.15% to 6.07%. It is the third time this year the business, owned by private equity firm TDR Capital, has upped its stake in Vertu.
Dublin’s Nivag Holdings later upped its stake in Vertu from below 3% to 3.31%.
Meanwhile, last Wednesday, it was announced Hertford’s Immersion Capital cut its stake in Motorpoint from 9.35% to 0.84%. On the same day, Saray Capital upped its stake in the used car retailer from 18.2% to 20.4%.
Stoneacre profit dips; Caffyn under pressure
Stoneacre Motor Group has reported a fall in profit before tax from £43.1m to £31.8m in the year ended April 2023. Revenue grew from £1.3bn to £1.35bn – meaning return on sales dipped from 3% to 2%.
Caffyn half-year profit before tax has fallen from £1.5m in 2022 to just £44,000 in the six months to September 2023 – even as revenue grew 13% from £119m to £134.3m. Chief executive Simon Caffyn warned short-term pressures will remain as costs inflation remains elevated, “particularly for funding charges and energy costs”.
In response, the retailer cut its interim dividend from 7.5p to 5.0p.
Free webinar to focus on 2024
On Tuesday 12 December, the latest Auto Retail Live webinar will focus on the outlook for trading in 2024.
Discussion points will include new car supply, the ZEV Mandate, consumer confidence and behaviour, used car values and the best metrics and KPIs businesses should be using.
Peter Vardy COO James Brearley, Marubeni Auto Investment UK COO Jason Cranswick, Swansway’s Peter Smyth and Motors CEO Barry Judge will all join online to discuss the topics and answer your questions: sign up here
The results of the latest Auto Retail Network Barometer will also be discussed during the webinar. There’s still chance to have your say, and it takes less than three minutes to complete: click here
WORLD NEWS
Retailers urge Biden to slow down on EVs
A group of almost 4,000 US retailers has written to the Biden administration urging it to pull back on federal EV mandates. Calling themselves the EV Voice of the Consumer, the retailers say most US car buyers are not interested in buying EVs and the government should not force them to do so.
Auto Trader New Zealand sold
Auto Trader Media Group New Zealand has been sold to Japanese automotive business Optimus Group. The sale comes four years after Bauer Media sold it to management team Ross Logue and Richie East. The New Zealand marketplace started in 1981 as Autotrader Buyers’ Guide magazine.
STOCKWATCH
Closing prices on 1 December 2023 and weekly change
Halfords shares down 17.6% as retailer lowers full-year forecast from £48m-£58m to £48m-£53m in half-year results
Auto Trader Group 721.4p (+20.8p / +2.9%)
Caffyns 525.0p (-25.0p / -4.6%)
Halfords 191.9p (-37.1p / -17.6%)
Inchcape 644.5p (-16.0p / -2.4%)
Motorpoint 85.4p (+8.0p / +9.8%)
Pendragon 31.9p (-0.1p / -0.3%)
Vertu 84.2p (+0.97p / +0.8%)
COMING UP
Tuesday, SMMT November new car registrations
Tuesday, BRC sales monitor
Wednesday, NFDA Driving Digital Special Edition: New Entrants, New Opportunities
Thursday, Halifax house price index
12 December, Auto Retail Live
MONEY MATTERS
London stock market ‘structurally broken’
Companies on the London stock market trade a fifth lower than overseas rivals which has led one economist to warn it is ‘structurally broken’. Reduced investment in UK stocks is creating a self-reinforcing ‘doom loop’ said Panmure Gordon’s Simon French, and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Edinburgh Reforms don’t go far enough.
Last month, investment bank Peel Hunt warned more companies are leaving London’s market than joining. There is also a growing appetite amongst international buyers to snap up undervalued London stocks.
Car insurance price rises to continue
The cost of car insurance is set for another big rise next year as the higher cost of parts, repairs and used cars has led to record claims payouts. The ABI says the cost of vehicle repairs and replacement cars rose 32% and 47% respectively.
Car insurers paid out £2.54bn in claims between July and September, up 21% year-on-year. The average premium rose 29% to a record £561 in the same period.
Tags:
agency, Auto Retail Live, broker, Caffyns, car insurance, EV, Halfords., leasing, Marshall, Mercedes Benz, Motorpoint, NFDA, Stoneacre, Vertu 
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