31 March 2019

• NEW EMISSIONS STANDARDS TROUBLING DVLA
• VW TRIALS CAR SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE
• JLR REBRANDS DAILY RENTAL SERVICE
• LOOKERS SAYS AWARD JUSTIFIES £7 MILLION INVESTMENT
• FORD STARTS AXING LOSS-MAKING MODELS
• DAIMLER AND GEELY SET UP JV FOR EVs
• STOCKWATCH – Marshall loses earlier gains, Lookers up
• LAUNCH DIARY – Skoda Octavia SportLine, Audi SQ2
• COMING UP – new car registrations, Pendragon AGM, Vertu final results
• MONEY MATTERS – gender pay gap deadline this week, pay rise of 2.5% expected this year
• OUR BLOG – Franchised retailers can win a price war with independents

New emissions standards troubling DVLA

Manufacturers have caught the DVLA out by achieving upcoming RDE2 emissions standards sooner than the agency expected.

With Mercedes and Jaguar Land Rover both already selling cars that meet the new standard, compliant vehicles are expected to be significantly popular with company car users because they give diesel drivers a 4% benefit-in-kind tax discount.

Currently, there is no option to mark a car as meeting RDE2 standard in the DVLA’s automated system which then produces the V5C document. As a result, new car registrations for these cars can only be done manually – a process that takes significantly longer than the online system.

The delays could impact retailers looking to hit end-of-month registration targets and runs the risk of disappointing end customers.

A spokesman for the DVLA said the organisation was not aware of the issue, adding: “We would encourage any manufacturer who has new requirements about registering new types of vehicles to come and talk to us. We are not aware of any manufacturer currently submitting manual applications.”

However, sources at both Mercedes and Jaguar Land Rover have told Auto Retail Agenda they are having to manually register vehicles that meet the new RDE2 emissions standards.

It is understood the new car registration system will be able to handle RDE2 compliant cars from June.

VW trials car subscription service

Volkswagen is piloting a car subscription service in partnership with specialist provider Drover.

While the scheme is being launched with cars initially supplied through VW Financial Services, retailers are being encouraged to sign up to use the service too.

Drover users don’t need a deposit and have the option to upgrade or downgrade. They can sign up for anything between a one month rolling contract through to a 12 month term. The entire process is handled online with cars available in 48 hours.

Drover’s website invites retailers to work with it, saying they can “double your revenue per car, earn an income on pre-reg cars, monetise idle used car stock and achieve revenue on your demo fleet”.

JLR rebrands daily rental service

Jaguar Land Rover will this week rebrand its online daily rental service and app.

Liquid, launched last year as a pilot service, offers Land Rover Discovery Sports to customers in London. The daily rental service operates entirely through an app and offers a full collection and delivery service, plus it claims to remove the need for paperwork.

From this week the service will now be called The Out.

Lookers says award justifies £7m investment

Lookers says its £7 million investment in a new Land Rover site has paid off after it was named Sales Retailer of the Year in the first 12 months after opening the doors.

Land Rover Colchester also came fifth for the overall Retailer of the Year and in the top 10 for customer satisfaction. The site on Axial Way opened in November 2017.

WORLD NEWS

Ford starts axing loss-making models

Ford is to drop its mid-size MPVs as part of its turn-around plan for its European activities.

Production of the C-max and Grand C-max will stop this summer but the Saarlouis plant in Germany will stay open and get more investment for the Focus also produced there.

Daimler and Geely set up JV for Smart EVs

Smart parent, Daimler, will build its next generation of EV versions through a joint venture with Chinese auto maker Geely to share costs and squeeze more margin from the cars. The cars will be made at a purpose-built factory in China to take advantage of lower production costs but rising demand.

https://reut.rs/2V7dhIs

STOCKWATCH

Closing prices at 29 March and weekly movement

Marshall loses earlier gains, Lookers up

BCA 197.6p (+1.8p)

Cambria 61.5p (-0.5p)

Caffyns 395.0p (-4.0p)

Inchcape 571.0p (-7.0p)

Lookers 101.0p (+4.7p)

Marshall Motor Holdings 169.0p (-7.0p)

Motorpoint 180.0p (-7.0p)

Pendragon 28.0p (+0.5p)

Vertu 35.2p (n/c)

LAUNCH DIARY

Skoda Octavia SportLine. Latest in high-spec sports models joining the Karoq, Kodiaq and Super SportLine. From £23,870.

Audi SQ2. 300PS quattro compact SUV with sub-five second 0 to 60 mph, 155 mph top speed. From £36,800.

COMING UP

Wednesday: Auto Retail Live Used Car Profit Briefing. Sign up here.

Thursday: March new car registrations (SMMT)

Thursday: Deadline for gender pay gap submissions

Friday: Halifax House Price Index

April 25: Pendragon AGM

May 8: Vertu full year results

MONEY MATTERS

Gender pay gap deadline this week

Businesses with a staff headcount of 250 or more have until Thursday (4 April) to submit a snapshot of their gender pay policy and practice to a government website.

They have to report their situation as of 5 April, 2018, and include data on seven pay and bonus issues.

More details and help here.

Pay rise of 2.5% expected this year

Private businesses expect to award a basic annual pay rise of 2.5% this year although some will delay that until after the Brexit situation is finalised, according to recruitment firm XpertHR.

Wages grew at 3.5% by the end of last year, the fastest in a decade, and the Bank of England says it expects to see only a very slight slowing as firms struggle to attract staff in an economy with unusually high employment.

Click here to read this week’s blog; Franchised retailers can win a price war with independents

John Swift

Editor

Auto Retail Agenda

Tags: Auto Protect, Drover, DVLA, JLR, Lookers, subscription, VW