• NORTON WAY IN £2.1m 2024 LOSS
• LUSCOMBE PROFIT HALVES
• BRITISH DRIVERS ‘NO LONGER WANT NEW CARS’
• COULD HONDA CAR PRODUCTION RETURN TO THE UK?
• MERCEDES-BENZ WALKS BACK US RETAILER STRATEGY
• AUTOCANADA IN RECORD $20m FTC FINE
• STOCKWATCH
• COMING UP
• RECESSION WARNING FROM FALLING JOB VACANCIES?

Norton Way in £2.1m 2024 loss

Norton Way Motors, a division of Marubeni Auto Investment, has reported a £2.1m loss before tax for the year ended March 2024, compared to a £1.8m profit in 2023. Turnover grew 11.2% from £368.4m to £409.6m.

“The business faced challenging market conditions this year,” said the directors. “Operating expenses increased by £2.2m (7.6%) to £30.9m, which significantly impacted our profitability.”

The company saw significant increases across several areas, with the biggest being wages and salaries, up 4.5% to £19.5m. Interest payable increased by £1.4m due to higher interest rates and vehicle stocking costs.

Shareholders’ funds decreased by £3.1m (26%) due to the loss after tax of £1.6m and a £1.4m dividend (it was £7.4m in 2023).

Norton Way has nine sales outlets; three Honda and one each from Mazda, Peugeot, Kia, Nissan, MG and its Carverse used car supermarket in Knebworth. Post-balance sheet, Norton Way closed its Wimbledon Park Honda franchise in September 2024.

In June 2023, Jason Cranswick was appointed MD, in addition to his position as COO of Marubeni Auto Investment.

 

Luscombe profit halves

Luscombe Motors saw profit before tax halve from £2.0m to £1.0m in the year ended May 2024. Turnover also fell from £71.8m to £63.9m. The overall return on sales was 1.9%, down from 3.0% in 2023, “due to increased fleet sales in MG”.

During the year, Sam Luscombe was appointed MD, Amanda Catterall was appointed FD and Sotiris Neoftou was appointed head of sales. “This has resulted in a further decrease in reliance on chairman Robin Luscombe to be involved in the day-to-day business operations.”

 

British drivers ‘no longer want new cars’

16 million of the 34 million cars on British roads are more than a decade old, latest figures reveal. The average car is now 9.4 years of age, a 42% rise from an average of 6.6 years in 2003. “Experts believe this will continue to increase in the years to come”.

Rising new car prices are partly to blame, with Auto Trader figures showing the number of sub-£20k cars has slumped from 17% to just 4%. While fleet sales are booming, retail sales have plummeted by nearly 450k over the past eight years.

The drive to EV is also leading to disenfranchised drivers. “I don’t want electric,” customers tell IMDA chairman Umesh Samani. “’I’m being pushed down that avenue, but I still want a petrol or diesel.’ So they’ll keep buying secondhand ones.”

https://tinyurl.com/mr28d8yu

 

Could Honda car production return to the UK?

Honda and Nissan are considering a manufacturing partnership whereby the brands produce vehicles at each other’s plants. This could see Honda make a return to the UK via Nissan’s huge Sunderland factory: it has a capacity of 600k cars a year but only built 325k in 2023.

Honda and Nissan are also in talks over a potential merger.

https://tinyurl.com/55w8cxvr

 

 

 

WORLD NEWS

Mercedes-Benz walks back US retailer strategy

Mercedes-Benz is “walking back” controversial components of a sweeping restructure of its US retail operations implemented two years ago amid dissatisfaction and slumping sales.

It will return to region-based retailer support after switching in 2022 to a throughput-based setup. Retailers said the centralised structure severed established relationships and, with field teams assigned to stores all over the US, diminished the local market intelligence that retailers relied on.

Mercedes-Benz has fallen from second in the US luxury market (behind BMW) to third, now behind Lexus too.

https://tinyurl.com/ms7fk3ax

 

AutoCanada in record $20m FTC fine

North American retailer AutoCanada is to pay $20m to settle allegations of bait-and-switch pricing, fake reviews, undisclosed Canadian imported vehicles and hidden or misrepresented finance and insurance products. It is the FTC’s largest-ever settlement against a retailer.

“The agreement contains no admission of wrongdoing by the Company, brings the FTC’s investigation to a close and puts this matter behind the company,” said AutoCanada. The allegations involved its Leader Automotive Group in Illinois.

https://tinyurl.com/55erda99

 

 

STOCKWATCH

Closing prices on 20 December 2024 and weekly change

Auto Trader Group 786.8p (-30.6p / -3.8%)

Caffyns 450.0p (n/c)

Halfords 133.4p (-8.4p / -6.1%)

Motorpoint 135.5p (-1.0p / -0.7%)

Pinewood 345.5p (+3.0p / +0.8%)

Vertu 60.0p (-1.4p / -2.3%)

 

 

COMING UP

Monday, UK Q3 GDP confirmation

 

 

 

MONEY MATTERS

Recession warning from falling job vacancies?

The number of job vacancies has now fallen for 29 consecutive months. This, says James Reed from Reed recruitment agency, is a “slow-motion car crash” and a sign of an impending recession. “When I’ve seen this in the past, that’s what’s happened.”

A theory that firms are ‘hoarding labour’ may also change as companies respond to the government’s £25bn budget raid on employers’ NICs and the 6.7% rise in the minimum wage in April.

https://tinyurl.com/4yzte9d4

 

ISSN 3049-5725