17 November 2019

• AUTOSWOT LEARNING STARTUP GOES LIVE
• FCA TO OPEN NEW URBAN STORES
• HALFORDS BUYS TYRE FIRMS
• JARDINE WORLD SERVICE TRIUMPH
• WORLD NEWS – US Porsche and Buick retailers satisfy, Australian retailers diversify
• STOCKWATCH – Pendragon rise reverses
• LAUNCH DIARY – McLaren Elva, Ferrari Roma
• COMING UP – Direct Line update, LA and China auto shows
• MONEY MATTERS – Inflation fall could boost spending, Vauxhall’s £15 winter check

Autoswot online learning start-up goes live

Start-up online learning platform Autoswot aims to address the UK automotive industry’s alarming employee attrition rate with a suite of video courses that “quickly fill knowledge gaps and help give new recruits credibility in our unique business”.

Founder Perran Moon, a former Manheim and Auto Trader director, has spent two years securing investment and developing the business. At launch, 11 courses will be available, each made up of eight to 15 short videos. No video will be longer than 3.5 minutes and a multiple choice quiz follows each of them. More courses are planned.

“Our industry spends a lot on recruiting people, but we are bad at explaining how the business works to those coming from outside the industry,” Moon exclusively told Auto Retail Agenda. “We expect them to understand it right away, or absorb it by osmosis. This is why the automotive attrition rate is double the UK average.”

Courses include Automotive Overview, New Vehicle Distribution, Retailing Used Cars and Aftersales. After each course, a one-page synopsis is available. “It’s about helping people sound more credible and having better quality conversations.” Each course costs £60 and volume discounts are available. “Customers tell us about their businesses and we recommend courses.”

Employees can take courses on their smartphones as well as their desktop computer. They can stop after each unit or complete the course in one sitting; this takes around 45 minutes. “Autoswot is faster, more convenient and significantly cheaper than sending people away for training.”

http://bit.ly/2XjqaRw

FCA to open new urban stores

The Fiat group is planning to open two new urban stores in early 2020, with the contract set to be signed and sites confirmed by the end of this year.

FCA Group CEO Arnaud Leclerc said to Auto Retail Agenda: “We are going to explore this route with a smaller retail shop offering a more digital experience.” He confirmed there would be two stores, which would provide a ‘brand experience’ and would not go as far as the full experience provided by the likes of Rockar.

“The target is to make sure we have a touchpoint with the customers where we are not present today. When you are a challenger brand – we are talking about 2% – everyone knows about Fiat, Alfa, Jeep, but many don’t know about Stelvio, Giulia, Compass or Renegade,” he said.

The company FCA Group will work with is ‘outside automotive’ and the deal will be signed by the end of 2019, with stores opening in early 2020.

Halfords buys tyre firms

Halfords has bought online tyre retailer Tyres on the Drive for £746k. The acquisitions follows an £8m investment in January 2017 for a minority stake in the business. Halfords has also bought McConechy’s Tyre Service, a business with 60 sites and 100 vans serving Scotland and the north of England, for £9.3m. The deals mean Halfords now has over 900 service locations across the UK – with half the population claimed to be within a 15-minute drive of one.

The firm recently reported a 39.1% half-year increase in Halfords Autocentres profit before tax, to £3.2m.

http://bit.ly/2NVF3Xf

Jardine world service triumph

Lancaster Ferrari Colchester, part of Jardine Motors, has been awarded the 2019 Ferrari World Service Award at the Dealer Annual Meeting in Rome. Aftersales manager Mark Lewis collected the prize, which comprises a trophy and a real Ferrari F8 Tributo V8 engine to display in the showroom.

WORLD NEWS

Porsche, Buick retailers ‘most satisfying’

North America’s 2019 JD Power Sales Satisfaction Index rates Porsche retailers best for luxury buyers (for the fourth time in five years) while Buick is the top-rated mass-market brand (for the third time in four years). Nearly 29,000 customers took part.

J.D. Power also highlighted trends: retailers who used technology (such as a tablet computer) during the sales process scored higher than those who stuck to pen and paper. Using text messages earned higher points than just phone calls or email. However, customers who chose home delivery were less satisfied than those who visited the retailer.

Australia looks to fleet and leasing

Nineteen months of falling new car sales in Australia is seeing some retailers move into fleet and leasing to diversify and maintain profitability. KPMG’s Steven Bragg said the trend contrasted with UK retailers pulling out of such business areas: they are “de-risking” because of various factors, he said, including Brexit.

http://bit.ly/2COjxNJ

STOCKWATCH

Closing prices on 15 November 2019 and weekly movement

Recent Pendragon growth reversed

Auto Trader Group 535.4p (+1.2p)

Cambria 59.5p (+2.5p)

Caffyns 395.0p (n/c)

Inchcape 654.0p (+11.0p)

Lookers 51.7p (+4.95p)

Marshall Motor Holdings 141.5p (+6.5p)

Motorpoint 250.0p (+2.0p)

Pendragon 9.76p (-3.24p)

Vertu 38.85p (+0.1p)

LAUNCH DIARY

McLaren Elva, two-seat ‘Ultimate Series’ roadster with no windscreen, roof or windows, 815hp V8, limited to 399 with each costing £1.425m

Ferrari Roma, svelte 2+2 coupe inspired by 1950s and 60s classics, 620hp V8, priced from around £175,000, arrives summer 2020

Honda Civic, facelifted hatch has styling updates, standard LED headlights, better interior quality and updated infotainment, arrives in retailers from January 2020

COMING UP

Wednesday, Direct Line trading announcement, LA Auto Show press day

Thursday, Close Brothers Group AGM and trading update

Friday, Guangzhou Auto Show China press day

MONEY MATTERS

Inflation fall could boost spending

UK inflation hit a three-year low of 1.5% in October, latest ONS figures reveal. The Ofgem energy price cap, which began in October, is behind the fall: analysts say it will save households £75 a year. Inflation is predicted to fall further in early 2020, to as low as 1.25%. This could boost spending power, as wages are rising much faster than inflation. They grew 3.6% in the three months to September.

Vauxhall’s £15 winter check

Vauxhall retailers are offering a 29-point winter check and six-fluid top-up for £15. In a first for Vauxhall, it is open to all makes of car. The check-up includes a pothole check for unnoticed damage. Vauxhall Service Club members pay £10 for the winter check.

Tags: Autoswot, Buick, FCA, Ferrari, Fiat, Halfords., Haynes, McLaren, ONS, Pendragon, Porsche, Vauxhall