Auto Retail Agenda: 17 February 2020
16 February 2020
- HYUNDAI NETWORK ISSUES OPEN LETTER OF COMPLAINT TO ASHLEY ANDREW
- CAMBRIA’S LAVERY TO GIVE F&I CONFERENCE KEYNOTE
- ANOTHER GOOGLE EXEC JOINS INNOVATIVE AUTO MARKETING STARTUP
- DICK LOVETT WANTS A SUPERCAR CRITIC
- INCHCAPE AUSTRALASIA CEO SENIOR RETIRES
- VOLVO US IS SENDING DEALERS TO YALE UNIVERSITY
- FBI’S MOST WANTED SCOTTISH CAR DEALER IS CAUGHT
- LAUNCH DIARY – Citroen C5 Aircross SUV Hybrid, VW Polo Match
- COMING UP – unemployment figures, CPI inflation
- BUDGET DAY DELAY POSSIBLE
- CAR FINANCE SPECIALIST REPORTS IMPROVING CONSUMER CONFIDENCE
- BLOG: Is ‘voluntary redundancy’ right for Ford’s network?
Hyundai network issues open letter of complaint to Ashley Andrew
Hyundai’s retail network has issued an open letter of complaint to UK boss Ashley Andrew over actions which have had a detrimental impact on profitability.
Several retailers have told Auto Retail Agenda that Hyundai had been making the job of selling cars, and hitting targets, ever more complex, which has seen reduced dealership profitability even though volumes and customer satisfaction had been maintained.
A Hyundai spokesperson said that Mr Andrew had responded to the open letter which was sent at the end of last year and has addressed some of the specific points raised.
The open letter, sent by the Hyundai Dealer Council, could be followed up by the NFDA, should Mr Andrew’s responses not be received well, according to one retailer who wished to remain anonymous.
Mr Andrew has been in the role of managing director for just over a year, having taken over from Tony Whitehorn. When Mr Andrew joined Hyundai, the brand was ranked 14th in the NFDA Dealer Attitude Survey, with a score of 6.0.
The mid-2019 result saw the company record the score largest drop to 3.9, taking it to 23rd position.
One retailer that spoke to Auto Retail Network said they would be watching the next NFDA Dealer Attitude Survey, due out next month, very closely.
Cambria’s Lavery to give F&I conference keynote
Cambria Automobiles CEO Mark Lavery has been announced as the keynote speaker at the Future of F&I conference being held on 2 April.
The announcement comes alongside the reveal of the full speaker and panellist line-up which also includes Sytner Finance managing director Mike Pierce, Vertu F&I director Steve Rowe, Imperial Cars operations director Neil Smith and the FLA’s head of motor Adrian Dally.
With the FCA is breathing down the neck of the industry and Lookers already under investigation, the conference will help franchised retailers steer a clean path through this year’s changes to finance and insurance sales in auto retail.For more details about the content and to sign up, read more about the conference here.
Another Google exec joins innovative auto marketing startup
Former Google head of industry for automotive retail sales Peter Leto has joined Foundation Direct as CEO. The platform, launched in 2019, allows automotive advertisers to go direct to Google, YouTube, Facebook and Microsoft. Retailers’ inventory, pricing and incentives are used to automate digital advertisements. The company was co-founded by Andrew Diffenderfer and Tim Mueller, both formerly of Google’s Automotive Retail division. Ashley Kepczyk, another former Google automotive executive, joined as COO in December.
Dick Lovett wants a Supercar Critic
Dick Lovett is recruiting for what it describes as “every petrolhead’s dream job” – the newly-created Supercar Critic position. The person will rate new and used supercars from the Dick Lovett Specialist division in Swindon on a day between March and May, and be paid £250. Applications close on 29 February.
WORLD NEWS
Inchcape Australasia CEO Senior retires
Nick Senior is retiring as CEO of Inchcape Australasia on 1 April after 29 years. One of Australia’s leading automotive industry executives, Senior’s early retirement coincides with a regional reorganisation that will see a new division formed – APAC, which will consolidate the Asia and Australasia businesses. It will be led by current Asia head, George Ashford, who joined Inchcape London in 2006.http://bit.ly/2u6aMxU
Volvo US is sending dealers to Yale University
Volvo Cars US has teamed up with Yale University to develop a three-day Executive Leadership Program. So far, 30 dealers have been through the new initiative, said Volvo Cars USA president and CEO Anders Gustafsson. The aim is for all 300 US dealers to take it, and improve Volvo’s poor J.D. Power customer experience scores. “We want to inspire our loyal dealers,” he said. “Customer experience is the magic of the future.”http://bit.ly/39E2YCs
FBI’s most wanted Scottish car dealer is caught
Edinburgh-born car dealer Afzal Khan, also known as ‘Bobby’, has been captured by the FBI after five years on its Most Wanted List. He is accused of defrauding customers and financial firms in a £1.3m scam. Khan, who moved to America 20 years ago, opened the Emporio Motor Group in New Jersey in 2013. He maintained a high profile and appeared on reality TV series ‘The Real Housewives of New Jersey”. He has been charged with five counts of wire fraud.
STOCKWATCH
Closing prices on 14 February 2020 and weekly change
Auto Trader Group 589.0p (+10.8p)
Cambria 70.0p (n/c)
Caffyns 400.0p (n/c)
Halfords 163.0p (-1.3p)
Inchcape 645.0p (-2.5p)
Lookers 53.1p (-2.5p)
Marshall Motor Holdings 157.0p (-0.5p)
Motorpoint 300.0p (-8.0p)
Pendragon 12.7p (+0.02p)
Vertu 36.0p (+0.1p)
LAUNCH DIARY
Citroen C5 Aircross SUV Hybrid, first plug-in Citroen has 225hp and a 34-mile electric range. Offered in Flair and Flair Plus variants, from £35,340
Volkswagen Polo Match, replaces SE grade and adds 15-inch alloys, front fog lights, rear-tinted glass and all-round parking sensors. Prices from £16,465 are £200 up on SE but overall value boosted by £785
Audi E-tron 50 quattro, lower-price electric model has a 190-mile driving range (and can be fast-charged in 30 minutes), prices from £56,400 including Plug-in Car Grant
COMING UP
Monday, US markets closed for President’s Day national holiday
Tuesday, unemployment figures and average earnings
Wednesday, CPI inflation
Thursday, retail sales, eurozone consumer confidence
2 April, The Future of F&I in Auto Retail
MONEY MATTERS
Budget day delay possible
Transport secretary Grant Shapps has suggested the 2020 Budget, scheduled for 11 March, may be delayed following the resignation of Chancellor Sajid Javid. Mr Javid’s replacement, Rishi Sunak, should be given “a few days to decide on the date,” Mr Shapps told the BBC’s Andrew Marr.
Finance specialist says confidence improving
Solihull-based car finance specialist S&U, which trades as Advantage Finance and Aspen Bridging, reports improving consumer confidence since the General Election in its latest trading update. Advantage has seen record applications and customer numbers (64,200) and net receivables are up 8% on last year to £280m. Anthony Coombs, S&U chairman, said the group was confident and “prospects for the year ahead are good”.
BLOG: Is ‘voluntary redundancy’ right for Ford’s network?
Tags:
Advantage Finance, Cambria, Dick Lovett, FCA, Ford, Foundation Direct, google, Hyundai, Hyundai Dealer Council, Inchcape, NFDA, Volvo 
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