• VAUXHALL TO LAUNCH NEW CAR SERVICE PLAN
• RRG GROUP PROFIT LIFT
• USED CARS AND HOTELS A NATURAL FIT, SAYS OWNER
• RETAILERS NOT INCLUDED IN 48 HOUR COOLING OFF FOR EXTENDED WARRANTIES
• NEW MARKETING DIRECTOR AT FORD
• RETAILERS NEED EV-FRIENDLY WEBSITES
• WORLD NEWS – US EV sales trigger subsidy cut
• STOCKWATCH – drop for BCA
• COMING UP – SMMT 2018 registrations, Auto Retail Q1 briefing
• LAUNCH DIARY – Skoda Kodiaq vRS
• MONEY MATTERS – Investors shun cash burn companies
• OUR BLOG – When customer service is amazing

Vauxhall to launch new car service plan

Vauxhall is to launch its first new car service plan this week, Auto Retail Agenda can exclusively reveal.

The move is part of a bid by the manufacturer to improve retailer aftersales profitability, according to Vauxhall managing director Stephen Norman who was speaking exclusively to Auto Retail Agenda.

Vauxhall, which already offers a used car service plan, is one of the last manufacturers to introduce a plan for new cars.

Badged Vauxhall Care, the scheme costs for £19 a month for all petrols or £22 a month for diesels and includes three years servicing, two years extra breakdown cover and the first MOT.

Explaining the new scheme Paul Painter, Vauxhall’s ownership programmes manager, said: “It can be purchased in two ways: a one off payment or 35 monthly instalments to help you budget – you choose what suits you.”

RRG Group profit lift

Improved results from previously under-performing dealerships saw multi-franchise retailer RRG Group report a stronger bottom line with a pre-tax profit for the year ending 31 March 2018, of £4.6 million against £4.3m 12 months before.

It saw a big drop in corporate sales which fell from £44.9m to £27.9, mainly driven by a £14.8m fall with Kia but both retail sales and service and repairs were steady at £242m and £31m respectively.

RRG has 20 dealerships but made no acquisitions during the year.

Publishing its results, the directors said: “A major contribution to the improved profitability during the year was the turnaround in the results from previously under-performing dealerships.”

Used cars and boutique hotels buy-out a natural fit, says owner

A used car retailer specialising in the upper end of the market has agreed terms to sell the business to a hospitality group with a portfolio of gastro pubs and inns.

Paul Harding, who runs Centurian Automotive in Islip, Northants, says the proposed acquisition by the Barkby Group PLC would be a natural fit, adding: “The type of people who buy cars from us are the type of people who will eat at their restaurants and stay in their hotel rooms. We will be able to say to customers, `come and test drive the car and then we can go out to dinner’, offer them a nice room to stay in and it is the whole experience, not just purchasing a car.”

See the latest Auto Retail Bulletin for a more in-depth analysis

Retailers not included in 48 hour cooling off for extended warranties

Car retailers will not be bound by a 48 hour cooling-off period for extended warranties due to take effect from next month.

The FCA says that following its consultation the two-day delay will not apply to the motor trade and is aimed at the rent-to-own property sector. The new code will force sellers to provide much more information about costs and length of the contract as well enforcing the 48 hour cooling off period.

An FCA spokeswoman said: “People are talking about it so it will be helpful to let car retailers know it does not apply to them.”

New Marketing director at Ford

Ford has appointed Mandy Dean as marketing director with immediate effect.

She will be responsible for all of Ford’s product and communication marketing and replaces Lisa Brankin, who was appointed sales director following the retirement of Kevin Griffin.

Ms Dean has been with Ford since 1995 and in her previous role as Marketing Communications manager led the all-new Focus `Beauty of Change’ campaign and the Ford and Time to Change `Elephant in the Transit’ campaign, raising awareness of mental health.

Retailers need EV-friendly websites

Retailers need to adapt their websites to give potential EV buyers a more complete picture of the cars after research revealed that it is now the fourth most searched for sector on-line.

The data from Sophus3’s analysis of over one billion digital interactions on car brand websites in 2018 shows that potential EV buyers spend over a third more time on model pages than traditional car researchers and those who move to booking a test drive spend almost two-thirds on the model page of their choice than for a traditional car.

Scott Gairns, Sophus3, managing director, said: “For car brands to exploit this growing interest, it is vital to understand how potential car buyers behave when on electric car sites, what they are looking for and where they have come from.”

WORLD NEWS

EV sales trigger subsidy cut

General Motors and Tesla have now reached the 200,000 EV sales in the domestic market to trigger a cut in the US government subsidies. Both will now see a reduction over the next 15 months of the £5,900 federal tax credit which will stop completely by April 2020. Tesla is cutting prices by £1,600 to partially offset the extra purchase cost.

Norway EV sales set new world record

Norway set a new world record last year with almost a third of new car registered being electric as it drives towards a ban on fossil-fuelled cars by 2025. Battery-driven cars are exempt from most taxes and get free parking and charging points. The Norwegian Road Federation said EVs took 31% of all sales last year, from 21% in 2017 and just 6 in 2013, while sales of petrol and diesel cars plunged.

STOCKWATCH

Closing prices at 4 January and weekly movement

BCA 210.0p (-11.0p)

Cambria 55.0p (+0.5p)

Caffyns 375.0p (n/c)

Inchcape 555.0p (+7.5p)

Lookers 92.8p (+1.8p)

Marshall Motor Holdings 155.0p (n/c)

Motorpoint 200.0p (n/c)

Pendragon 22.3p (-0.1p)

Vertu 36.1p (+1.1p)

COMING UP

Monday: SMMT full year registration data for 2018

February 7 – Auto Retail Live Q1 briefing. Click here to register

LAUNCH DIARY

Skoda Kodiaq vRS. Biturbo diesel flagship seven seater SUV. From £42,870.

MONEY MATTERS

Banks pay £1 in every £8 corporation tax

The banking sector pays £1 in every £8 paid in UK corporation tax handing the Chancellor £37 billion in the year to March 2018. Total revenue raised by corporation tax for the sector, including the banking surcharge, has increased by 14% since last year and is now over four times higher than in 2014 despite corporation tax rate falling.

The study by PwC also found that London is the most expensive of the world’s five leading financial hubs with a total tax rate of 51% against Dubai’s 23%.

https://bit.ly/2F8VR93

Investors wary of cash-burn companies

Investors wary of putting up more money for businesses still reliant on funding until their growth plans begin to generate cash fuelled a jump in the number forced off the AIM (Alternative Investment Market) last year.

https://bit.ly/2SBWN9Z

OUR BLOG

When customer service is amazing

Until now I have always shopped around for tyres based entirely on price. Lots of experience attending tyre tests and demonstrations over the years means I am very particular about the tyres on my car. This means I choose the exact make and model of tyre I want, then get a price from my local franchised retailer because I usually stick the OEM tyre and then shop around online. For reference, every so often franchised retailers do beat the online price.

This time I went with Blackcircles and with the ‘on driveway fitting’ option. However, I made a mistake. One mis-typed digit on the width of the tyre meant the wrong tyres had arrived. Fearing I’d be out for the price of four tyres not just the two I needed, I phoned Blackcircles to see if they could switch me to the correct tyres.

When I phoned and briefly outlined the issue, the first question I was asked (after the initial ‘Hello, Blackcircles, how can I help’) was: “Yes sir, what size of tyre do you need?” This surprised me a little. I wasn’t asked for my name or an order reference or even an address. I even asked if they needed a reference number, and was very politely informed that because the phone number was linked to my account they had all the information they needed in front of them. Now that’s a first class CRM system. And one that means I’ll probably always use them in future. Needless to say, Blackcircles also sorted out the correct tyres at minimal additional cost to me (the correct tyres were fractionally larger and £10 more expensive) and by the time you read this they should have been fitted to the car.

The question for all retailers then is; can your CRM system do that?

Tristan Young

Editorial director

Auto Retail Network