Auto Retail Agenda: 1 July 2024
30 June 2024
- EXCLUSIVE: NFDA ON THIS WEEK’S GENERAL ELECTION
- MOTORPOINT SLASHES BONUSES FOR CARPENTER, MORGAN
- MOTORS ADMITS ‘MIXED SENTIMENTS’ IN ACQUIRING CAZOO
- CDK DMS CYBERATTACK COULD COST US RETAILERS $1bn
- SAUDI ARAMCO TAKES 10% STAKE IN RENAULT-GEELY ENGINE BRAND
- STOCKWATCH
- COMING UP: Cazoo EGM
- £90k FCA REBRAND ‘TOTAL WASTE OF MONEY’
- FOUR MAJOR BANKS SUFFER MORE ONLINE ISSUES
Exclusive: NFDA on this week’s General Election
Retailers have “clearly communicated their priorities to the next government” and delivered seven key ‘asks’, says the NFDA, ahead of the General Election this Thursday.
In a statement, which Auto Retail Agenda exclusively saw ahead of launch, chief executive Sue Robinson said that key issues include the ongoing skills shortage and restimulating the private EV market, calling them “immediate challenges that the incoming government will need to address.
“With the industry demonstrating remarkable resilience over the past few years, NFDA urges the next government to work closely with us and the broader industry to tackle the concerns of dealerships and further unleash the potential of this dynamic sector.”
The NFDA is using its General Election statement, which will officially be launched today (Monday 1 July), to remind the next government that auto retailers employ 78% of the 758k people working in UK automotive, which sees a turnover of £100bn.
Motorpoint slashes bonuses for top bosses
After reporting a £10.4m pre-tax loss in the year ended March 2024, up from £300k in the previous year, Motorpoint has slashed the bonuses of its CEO Mark Carpenter and CFO Chris Morgan.
Carpenter’s pay fell from £808k to £636k, and his bonus dropped from £140k to £37k. Morgan’s pay fell from £572k to £465k, and his bonus was slashed from £102k to £27k.
Renumeration committee chair Mary McNamara said that due to economic headwinds, “our financial targets [were] not met for the FY24 annual bonus”.
In a separate filing, Carpenter has been granted another 193k shares under the Motorpoint performance share plan, taking his total number of options up to 720k, or 0.81% of the firm. Morgan received 145k of options, meaning his holding is now 0.54% of issued share capital.
Motorpoint shares closed last week at 141p.
Motors admits ‘mixed sentiments’ in acquiring Cazoo
Motors has acquired the Cazoo brand out of administration and plans to launch a new Cazoo app, followed by a website, listing more than 250k used cars. “Acquiring the Cazoo brand was a strategic decision, albeit a challenging one, given the mixed sentiments within the automotive community about its past,” said Motors COO Phill Jones.
“But there is no denying that Cazoo has a high consumer awareness, which we believe provides a stepping stone to driving more leads and sales for dealers.”
Cazoo lost £531m in 2021 and £525m in 2022. An EGM will be held on Tuesday for its shareholders to approve a voluntary winding-up and liquidation of its Cayman Island-based parent company.
Motors will continue with its own website, and its network including eBay and Gumtree.
WORLD NEWS
CDK DMS cyberattack could cost US retailers $1bn
The CDK Global DMS outage could cost retailers nearly $1bn if it lasts until 4 July – and has already cost them $600m after two weeks. “This is a hammer blow for 15,000 dealers and it should be a wake-up call to the rest of the economy that they’re also vulnerable to these kinds of organized, state-supported hacking attacks and ransomware,” said Anderson Economic Group CEO Patrick Anderson.
The cyberattack is expected to cause a 100k hit to US July new car sales, or around 7% compared to 2023.
Saudi Aramco takes 10% stake in Renault-Geely engine brand
Saudi Aramco, the biggest oil company in the world, has taken a 10% stake in ‘Horse’, the combustion engine joint venture between Renault and Geely. It values Horse Powertrain at €7.4bn. Renault and Geely will keep around 45% each.
STOCKWATCH
Closing prices on 28 June 2024 and weekly change
Auto Trader Group 801.2p (-10.8p / -1.3%)
Caffyns 460.0p (+10.0p / +2.1%)
Halfords 140.4p (-0.2p / -0.1%)
Inchcape 744.0p (-12.5p / -1.6%)
Motorpoint 141.0p (-4.0p / -2.7%)
Pinewood 356.0p (-18.0p / -4.9%)
Vertu 71.9p (-6.6p / -8.7%)
COMING UP
Monday, UK consumer credit
Tuesday, Cazoo EGM
Thursday, General Election
Thursday, SMMT June new car registrations
MONEY MATTERS
£90k FCA rebrand ‘total waste of money’
City figures are fuming at the FCA committing £90k to a rebrand, just seven years after a similar rebrand. A PR agency will spend the next six months working on the project, which has been described as a “total waste of money”.
Four major banks suffer more online issues
Barclays, HSBC, Nationwide and Virgin Money last week all suffered yet more problems with banking services, leaving some customers unable to send and receive money on pay day. The FCA monitored the situation, and the Bank of England was also involved.
Tags:
Cazoo, CDK, DMS, FCA, Geely, General Election, Motorpoint, motors, NFDA, Renault, Saudi Aramco 
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