Auto Retail Agenda: 27 June 2022
25 June 2022
- NISSAN LAUNCHES SUPERFLEET RETAIL NETWORK
- JLR ‘BATTLING RETAILERS TO STOP CHINA SALES’
- AUTO TRADER AUTORAMA DEAL COMPLETES AT 16X MULTIPLE
- JARDINE BACK IN PROFIT FOR 2021
- AUTO RETAIL LIVE TO LOOK AT TECH AND PROCESS
- CARMAX SALES DOWN AGAIN – BUT PROFITS UP
- EU COUNTRIES CALL FOR 2035 ICE BAN DELAY
- SONIC FOUNDER BRUTON SMITH DIES
- STOCKWATCH: Auto Trader and Motorpoint executive share awards
- COMING UP: UK GDP, BRC shop price index
- IS CRYPTO A SCAM?
- CAZOO DAILY MAIL ‘SPECIAL DIVIDEND’ SETTLED
Nissan launches superfleet retail network
Nissan is setting up a sub-network of superfleet dealers to offer the highest levels of service to business customers.
Speaking to Auto Retail Network, Nissan’s fleet director Csaba Vincze said he’d signed up half of the 13-strong group of retailers and would confirm the other half by the end of the month.
The superfleet dealers have been chosen from the brand’s 39 business centre retailers. Nissan has a total network of 164 franchised retailers in the UK.
Commenting on the new group, Vincze said: “There are two different sorts of fleet dealers. We are just launching a new classification called superfleet dealers. We were aiming for 10 but will have 13 as several more came to us requesting to be part of this. I’ve signed about half of them and will sign up the other half next week.
“The second group of fleet dealers are the business centres. There are 39 of those, including the 13 superfleet dealers. These are mainly to concentrate on selling commercial vehicles, because selling a van is a very different proposition and needs a different set of skills.”
JLR ‘battling retailers to stop China sales’
JLR has warned retailers about rules that forbid exporting and trading with resellers – which involve sanctions including fines on profits made and ultimately allow franchises to be terminated. Some retailers are reportedly sending vehicles to China and other lucrative markets, compounding shortages in the west and widening global price gaps.
Grey market importing into China is not illegal, but is frowned upon by OEMs. Retailers argue the vehicles are theirs and they should be allowed to send vehicles where they please. Some add they have been left “scratching their heads” over how JLR knows its cars are entering markets such as China. The firm insists it does not track any vehicles it has sold to retailers or to customers.
Auto Trader Autorama deal completes at 16x multiple
Auto Trader has completed the acquisition of new vehicle leasing platform Autorama. An initial £150m was paid, with an additional £50m deferred consideration that’s subject to performance conditions. If they are met, the deal represents a 15.8x multiple of Autorama’s £12.6m gross profits in the year ended December 2020. It turned over £63.7m and reported a loss after tax of £8.1m.
Auto Trader predicts the business will register an operating loss of £5m-£7m for the rest of the year.
Jardine back in profit for 2021
Jardine Motors posted a £28.8m profit before tax for the year ended December 2021. In 2020, it made a £19.4m loss. 2021’s profit represents a 1.8% return on sales. During the year, Jardine sold its remaining Toyota retailers as it focused on its core luxury and premium brand partners.
Auto Retail Live to look at tech and process
The next Auto Retail Live webinar on Tuesday 12 July will examine the auto retailing revolution underway in technology and process. Hear from Perrys’ Ken Savage, Suzuki’s Dale Wyatt and CitNOW’s Alistair Horsburgh.
* Sign up here: https://bit.ly/3N3L4fR
WORLD NEWS
CarMax sales down again – but profits up
US used car giant CarMax saw quarterly used car sales fall again. 241k cars were sold, down 11% on a year ago. Even so, revenue leapt 21% to $9.3bn (£7.6bn) and profit per vehicle sold rose $134 to $2,339 (£1,907). Shares rose 7.8% on the news.
EU countries call for 2035 ICE ban delay
Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania want the EU plan to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2035 to be delayed by five years. The European parliament voted in favour of the ban earlier this month.
Germany’s finance minister last week said the EU’s biggest new car market would not support the 2035 target, while ACEA has also opposed it.
Sonic founder Bruton Smith dies
Sonic Automotive founder Bruton Smith has died. He was 95. Sonic is the seventh largest auto retailer in the US. Smith also founded Speedway Motorsports which owns a number of Nascar tracks, and is in the Nascar Hall of Fame. He was also a generous philanthropist.
STOCKWATCH
Closing prices on 24 June 2022 and weekly change
Auto Trader CEO Nathan Coe, COO Catherine Faiers and CFO Jamie Warner were last week awarded shares under the Deferred Annual Bonus Plan. Motorpoint CEO Mark Carpenter and CFO Chris Morgan were also awarded shares under the Performance Share Plan.
Auto Trader Group 550.0p (+33.0p / +6.1%)
Caffyns 550.0p (n/c)
Halfords 144.2p (-12.6p / -8.3%)
Inchcape 707.0p (-9.5p / -1.3%)
Lookers 72.0p (-0.6p / -0.8%)
Marshall Motor Holdings 397.0p (n/c)
Motorpoint 195.0p (-15.0p / -7.4%)
Pendragon 22.4p (+1.9p / +8.8%)
Vertu 55.8p (+3.8p / +7.0%)
COMING UP
Wednesday, BRC shop price index
Thursday, UK GDP
Friday, UK consumer credit
MONEY MATTERS
Is crypto a scam?
Bitcoin has lost 69% of its value since its November 2021 peak. The entire crypto market has lost 57% of its value since the start of the year. Some are now asking “whether crypto is just a giant Ponzi scheme propped up by new investors”. Traditional investors have traditionally avoided cryptocurrency because there is no asset backing it, and Warren Buffet has been a leading dissenting voice.
The FCA adds there will be no compensation available for losses. The Sunday Times concludes in a lengthy analysis that “anyone buying in is taking a huge risk”.
Cazoo Daily Mail ‘special dividend’ settled
Daily Mail and General Trust shareholders who were in December paid a special dividend partly in cash and partly in Cazoo shares are to finally receive their shares in the online retailer, as reported by Auto Retail Agenda last week.
In taking DMGT private, shareholders were bought out for 270p a share, with a special dividend of 568p, plus 0.5749 Cazoo shares for each share they owned in the publisher, and a final 17.3p dividend.
Analysts described the arrangement as “unusual”.
DMGT held 17% of Cazoo stock when the retailer went public via a Spac last year. Its market value has since fallen 90%.
When the DMGT special dividend was announced, Cazoo shares were trading at $6.28. They are currently trading at $0.96.
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