• CAR INDUSTRY ‘WRONG ABOUT FALLING RETAIL EV DEMAND’
• MOTOR TRADE ‘A JOB BRITS DON’T WANT TO DO’
• AFI REBRANDS AS AUTOMOTIVE LEADERSHIP NETWORK
• FLEETS CALL FOR OEMS TO SOLVE 12V BATTERY ISSUES
• VOLVO SHIFTS EV PRODUCTION TO EUROPE
• LITHIA CUTS STAFF
• STOCKWATCH: Caffyns down 10.5% after announcing £1.5m loss before tax in 2023
• COMING UP: Motorpoint full year results
• LABOUR ‘TRIPLE LOCK’ PLEDGE TO NOT HIKE TAX
• GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT DELAYS SLAMMED

Car industry ‘wrong about falling retail EV demand’

Pro-EV lobbying and data NGO New Automotive has joined a growing number of firms criticising the way SMMT reports retail electric car demand, claiming falling private demand for EVs is a “myth based on flawed data”.

Despite many retailers reporting showroom EV disinterest from consumers, Ben Nelmes, chief executive of New AutoMotive, claimed salary sacrifice, private leasing and flexible car leasing options all mean cars used by private buyers are being classified as company cars.

He is part of a growing call for the SMMT to review the “inaccurate” way it classifies private new car registrations. “Let’s be clear, salary sacrifice cars are on the driveways of typical drivers,” said Octopus EV chief executive Fiona Howarth. “They’re used for the school run, weekly shop and family trips, so why should they be counted as fleet cars.”

“The anti-EV narrative claiming that private buyer interest in EVs has waned is being supported by inaccurate data,” said campaigner and former Top Gear presenter Quentin Willson.

This contrasts with many in the industry who are observing that retail EV sales are flatlining. Vertu CEO Robert Forrester has said the government ZEV Mandate risks putting OEMs “underwater” due to a lack of consumer demand for EVs.

In response, SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said salary sacrifice is not counted separately “as there is no official way to measure them, as neither HMRC, DVLA or scheme operators provide this data”. He added the SMMT is engaging with the HMRC and DVLA to try and “address this gap”.

Last week, SMMT new car registrations showed overall retail demand is down -11.3% year to date; fleet is up 24.2%.

* What are your views on private registrations and salary sacrifice? Let us know – even a single sentence would be welcome! 

https://tinyurl.com/3a3tb9vc

 

Motor trade ‘a job Brits don’t want to do’

The motor industry is up with hospitality and social care as the sectors with the most job vacancies, according to ONS data. It is listed on what used to be called a ‘shortage occupation list’, but which has now been renamed ‘immigration salary list’.

While job vacancies have fallen from a record high of more than 1.3m in the middle of 2022, today’s number of 898,000 is still higher than the 796,000 open positions before the pandemic in March 2020.

There are also 1.5 million people unemployed in the UK, representing around 4.3% of the working age population. The focus is now on trying to coax back into work those classified as inactive – those not in work or seeking work.

To solve ongoing workforce challenges, many businesses have been employing foreign-born workers – they now make up 19% of the UK workforce, double the 9% in 2004. “About 90% of job growth in the last 20 years has been among people who weren’t born in the UK,” says the Resolution Foundation.

https://tinyurl.com/3ww7t9h4

 

AFI rebrands as Automotive Leadership Network

Industry membership organisation AFI, established 30 years ago, has rebranded as the Automotive Leadership Network under new CEO Laura Coase. Coase aims to add a fresh new focus to the group under the strategic governance of ALN’s president’s committee which includes Robert Forrester, Dale Wyatt, Darren Ardron, Julia Muir and Simon Bottomley.

ALN brings together executives within retailers, NSCs and suppliers, all on an equal platform in an informal environment and safe space governed by Chatham House Rules.

The first meeting under the new name will take place on 17-18 June. Anyone interested in learning more can contact Coase at laura@automotiveleadershipnetwork.com.

 

Fleets call for OEMs to solve 12v battery issues

Many fleets running EVs and hybrids are suffering issues with 12v batteries, causing frustrating breakdowns for drivers who might assume such issues shouldn’t happen with an electrified car.

The Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) is calling for OEMs to improve the operational efficiency of their cars and address such common fleet issues – something that is being compounded by vehicle management of many fleets being outsourced rather than via a dedicated fleet manager.

 

 

 

WORLD NEWS

Volvo shifts EV production to Europe

Volvo is diverting production of Chinese-built EVs to Belgium in anticipation of an EU crackdown on “subsidised imports”. A decision from the European Commission on imposing tariffs on Chinese EV imports is expected this week.

 

Lithia cuts staff

Lithia is seeking to save $150m (£118m) in Q2 through layoffs and other employee cost savings. A spokesperson said cuts will be centered around US positions rather than the UK, despite Lithia’s ongoing work to trim its new UK network which includes redundancies and shuttering of CarStore locations.

https://tinyurl.com/4yk6cuft

 

 

STOCKWATCH

Closing prices on 7 June 2024 and weekly change

Caffyns down 10.5% after announcing £1.5m loss before tax in 2023. It made a £3.1m profit in 2022

Auto Trader Group 819.0p (+2.8p / +0.3%)

Caffyns 450.0p (-50.0p / -10.5%)

Halfords 150.0p (-3.6p / -2.3%)

Inchcape 789.0p (-7.0p / -0.8%)

Motorpoint 142.0p (+2.0p / +0.7%)

Pinewood 386.5p (+31.5p / +8.9%)

Vertu 80.9p (+1.2p / +1.4%)

 

 

COMING UP

Tuesday, UK unemployment

Wednesday, UK GDP

Thursday, Motorpoint full year results

 

 

MONEY MATTERS

Labour ‘triple lock’ pledge to not hike tax

The Labour manifesto, to launch this week, will include a “triple lock” vow not to raise the “big three” taxes of income tax, national insurance or VAT for five years. It is similar to a pledge Boris Johnson made in the 2019 Conservative manifesto; he later broke it by raising national insurance to pay for social care and clear the NHS backlog.

https://tinyurl.com/5f49ysfr

 

Government department delays slammed

Delays at government departments including probate, the tax office and child benefit were highlighted over the weekend. The waiting time for probate has more than doubled to 14 weeks, there are issues with delays for tax refunds and, recently, half a million families did not receive child benefit payments on time.

https://tinyurl.com/4zr6zafv