Auto Retail Agenda: 20 September 2021
18 September 2021
- MOTORLINE 2020 PROFIT SWELLS 74% DESPITE COVID
- LONDON RETAILER RUSH AS ULEZ DOOMS DIESEL
- SALES ASSISTANTS, CLEANERS AMONG TOP 10 WORKER SHORTAGES
- EVS ‘CRASH LESS DUE TO RANGE ANXIETY’
- ‘UGLY’ EU CAR SALES
- FORD RETAILER BECOMES SOCIAL MEDIA STAR
- STOCKWATCH – Pendragon up after returning to profit in 2021 half-year results
- COMING UP – BoE interest rate decision
- ‘DISMAL’ RETAIL SALES DOWN 4 MONTHS RUNNING
- NEW FISCAL RULES MEAN ‘INEVITABLE’ TAX RISES
Motorline 2020 profit swells 74% despite Covid
Motorline Holdings has reported a £6.1m profit before tax, including £7.1m in government grants, for the year ended December 2020, up from a profit of £2.8m in 2019. Turnover fell slightly from £717m to £695m and ordinary dividends of £1m, up from £600k in 2019, were paid to directors.
The £7.1m in grants related mainly to the government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. This helped Motorline “minimise redundancies and retain staff in addition to the rates relief that was available during lockdown”. Following the first lockdown, the business successfully reopened in June 2020.
Motorline withdrew from the Renault franchise during 2020, which it says predominately explains the 3% fall in turnover and 12% fall in gross profit. The business invested in Audi instead, including the relocation of its Audi Canterbury site, which it says significantly improved operating profit.
The business also redeveloped a vacant site in Crawley on behalf of a third party tenant. This was sold to an investment company for £9.4m, resulting in profit before tax of £3.7m.The directors admit some concerns over vehicle stock availability for the balance of 2021, but are still confident of achieving a strong FY 2021 result “that exceeds the 2020 performance”.
London retailer rush as ULEZ dooms diesel
Demand for London ULEZ-compliant secondhand vehicles is soaring in Greater London ahead of the zone’s expansion to the North and South Circular roads on 25 October. “We’ve had one of our best past three months in quite a long time as everyone is trying to get rid of their diesels,” said Harringtons of Fulham director Rupert Moylett. “Prices of quite a few of the cheaper used cars have gone up [and] other garages have been struggling to get stock.”
Most households affected by the ULEZ expansion, which operates 24/7, have at least one car, according to TfL.
Sales assistants, cleaners among top 10 worker shortages
The Recruitment and Employment Confederation has placed sales and retail assistants seventh on the list of top 10 occupations facing acute worker shortages. Cleaners are eighth.
HGV drivers top the list, with over 100,000 vacancies, while programmers and software developers are third.
EVs ‘crash less due to range anxiety’
Electric cars are half as likely to be involved in an accident than petrol or diesel cars. The figures from Lex Autolease suggest hybrids are almost as safe. Transport Research Laboratory experts believe this is due to range anxiety as there is a “noticeable difference in the speed with which your range will come down” when driving more quickly.
WORLD NEWS
‘Ugly’ EU car sales
New car sales are deteriorating in Europe due to the chip shortage, with like-for-like registrations falling 24% in July and 18% in August. Yearly sales growth has declined to just 13% – less than half the increase posted during the first half of the year. Major automakers are warning shortages will continue well into 2022.
Ford retailer becomes social media star
Long McArthur Ford internet manager Tim Bartz has become a social media star for helping customers beat lengthy waiting lists and price mark-ups. “I’m one of the few dealers putting out videos,” he said, which are based on information the Kansas retailer discovers on social media. “I would hear that people are struggling with dealers not calling them back, or dealers marking up vehicles by $2k, $3k, $4k, $5k.” He posts on Reddit, Facebook and YouTube; the Long McArthur Ford YouTube channel has 37k subscribers and one Ford Maverick video has more than 127k views.
STOCKWATCH
Closing prices on 17 September 2021 and weekly change
Pendragon up after returning to profit in 2021 half-year results
Auto Trader Group 605.2p (-36.8p / -5.9%)
Cambria 82.5p (+0.5p / +0.6%)
Caffyns 525.0p (+37.5p / +7.4%)
Halfords 308.8p (-0.2p / -0.3%)
Inchcape 850.0p (+4.0p / +0.4%)
Lookers 66.4p (-1.6p / -2.3%)
Marshall Motor Holdings 245.0p (-1.0p / -4.7%)
Motorpoint 356.0p (+21.0p / +6.0%)
Pendragon 19.6p (+1.5p / +7.9%)
Vertu 52.6p (-2.0p / -3.7%)
COMING UP
Thursday, BoE interest rate decision
Friday, GFK consumer confidence
MONEY MATTERS
‘Dismal’ retail sales down 4 months running
New fiscal rules mean ‘inevitable’ tax rises
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is drawing up new fiscal rules to restrain borrowing and bring down the debt as part of next month’s Budget. It risks forcing tax rises if government spending increases or growth slows. “Tax rises do look inevitable in the medium term,” said Handelsbanken UK chief economist James Sproule.
Tags:
Audi, Budget, Harringtons of Fulham, Motorline, ONS, Pendragon, Renault, Rishi Sunak, Santander, ULEZ 
Why Subscribe?
As an auto retail executive you need insightful and unique industry intelligence to boost your business potential. Here’s a taste of what Auto Retail Network has to offer:
- Get informed and boost your business potential
- More than 1,200 fellow executives have joined us since launch
- Independent, carefully crafted, unique content relevant to you and your business
- Develop a greater awareness of market trends and opportunities
- Access to a wide range of materials whenever, wherever and however you want it
- Significant discounts on ARN events, reports and other publications
