Auto Retail Agenda: 28 December 2022
27 December 2022
- MERCEDES-BENZ INTRODUCES AGENCY TO CUSTOMERS
- ‘MORE ASSERTIVE’ FCA REMOVES 8,000 MISLEADING ADS
- INCHCAPE DERCO ACQUISITION CLEARS
- CARMAX IN HUGE Q3 EARNINGS MISS
- BUICK RETAILERS FACE $300k EV BILL
- STOCKWATCH
- COMING UP
- HOUSE PRICES TO NOSEDIVE IN 2023
Mercedes-Benz introduces agency to customers
Agency will give Mercedes-Benz customers just one price – “Our best price. No haggling needed” – whether they buy online or in store. This “new way to buy your Mercedes-Benz” is how the brand is now introducing agency to customers, ahead of its go-live on 3 January 2023.
“Online, in-store, or any combination of the two,” it stresses. “One price – easy.”
The company is taking out ads in multiple media, including podcasts, and encouraging customers to sign up to receive the latest updates on its move to agency.
* Hear about the implications of the rollout of agency at a special Auto Retail Live conference on 26 January. Click here to find out more
‘More assertive’ FCA removes 8,000 misleading ads
As part of its new three-year strategy to improve outcomes for consumers and markets, the FCA removed or amended more than 8,000 potentially misleading adverts in 2022 – 14 times more than 2021. It has also cancelled the authorisation of 201 firms that didn’t meet minimum standards, as part of an “increasingly data-led and assertive approach”.
Chief executive Nikhil Rathi said more than 1,000 new colleagues have joined the FCA this year, with new offices opened in Leeds and its Edinburgh expansion accelerated.
Inchcape Derco acquisition clears
Inchcape has completed its acquisition of Latin America distributor Derco. It will deliver “substantial shareholder value,” said CEO Duncan Tait, and “accelerate our global distribution business”.
WORLD NEWS
CarMax in huge Q3 earnings miss
CarMax Q3 profit plunged 86% to $37.6m and net revenue fell 24% to $6.5bn. The earnings miss has fuelled concerns about used car affordability in the US, and a larger slowdown in the market. The company said it was increasing its focus on older, lower-price vehicles to reduce costs and meet greater demand from consumers.
CarMax is the number 1 used car retailer in the US, selling 925k vehicles in 2021. Its share price is down 56% this year.
Buick retailers face £300k EV bill
Buick retailers who want to remain with the brand will need to invest $300k-$400k in tools, training and other EV equipment to sell its future electric vehicles. The company has offered to buy out any US retailers who do not want to make the required investments.
Buick will go fully electric by 2030 and will not launch any conventional petrol cars after 2024.
STOCKWATCH
Closing prices on 23 December 2022 and weekly change
Auto Trader Group 518.2p (-16.2p / -3.0%)
Caffyns 500.0p (n/c)
Halfords 200.6p (+12.7p / +6.5%)
Inchcape 824.0p (+25.5p / +3.1%)
Lookers 76.2p (-0.1p / -0.1%)
Motorpoint 146.0p (-2.0p / -1.3%)
Pendragon 17.85p (-1.65p / -8.8%)
Vertu 53.2p (+0.9p / +1.7%)
COMING UP
Wednesday, BRC shop price index
Friday, Nationwide house price index
Saturday, New Year’s Eve
MONEY MATTERS
House prices to nosedive in 2023
House prices will slump in 2023 due to higher interest rates and mortgage repayments. Sales will drop to a 12-year low. Many analysts are forecasting a peak to trough fall in values of around 12% – but, in a worst-case scenario, Nationwide says values could plunge 30%.
The downturn is already underway, with the average UK property falling 3.6% between August and November.
Tags:
agency, Auto Retail Live, Buick, CarMax, Derco, EV, FCA, house prices, Inchcape, Mercedes Benz 
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