Auto Retail Agenda: 29 July 2024
28 July 2024
- INDUSTRY AWAITS LABOUR PLANS FOR UK EV POLICY ‘SHAMBLES’
- FCA’S SHELDON MILLS PROFILED
- KPMG LOSES PINEWOOD
- MOTORPOINT’S CARPENTER SELLS 100,000 SHARES
- CINCH FD REMAINS IN PLACE
- FIRST CHINESE LEAPMOTOR CARS EN ROUTE TO EU
- 2 IN 3 US OEM EXECS SAY EV TARGETS WILL BE MISSED
- STOCKWATCH
- COMING UP: BoE interest rate decision
- INTEREST RATE CUT THIS WEEK ‘UNLIKELY’
- HMRC TO GAIN MORE POWERS IN TAX CRACKDOWN?
Industry awaits Labour plans for UK EV policy ‘shambles’
As auto retail ZEV Mandate pressures continue to mount, Birmingham University business economics professor David Bailey has slammed UK EV policy as being a “shambles… the industry and consumers wanted or needed a clear direction of travel to underpin confidence and therefore investment decisions. We haven’t had that. We’ve had so much mucking about.”
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes agrees that private EV demand has collapsed partly due to “the messages coming out of previous governments. Fleet and business buyers have incentives in place. In the private sector, there aren’t sufficient incentives”.
Consultancy group AlixPartners now predicts the UK will only reach 49% electrified new car sales by 2030 – a figure that includes hybrids and plug-in hybrids. “It’s very clear that, without further incentives… there will be little chance of achieving the 2030 target,” said senior partner Nick Parker.
The industry is now looking to Labour for a new sense of direction.
However, while Labour has vocally pledged to reinstate the 2030 ban on non-hybrid petrol and diesel cars, it was not included in the King’s Speech.
“We will provide certainty to manufacturers by restoring the 2030 phase-out date for new petrol and diesel cars and are committed to accelerating the rollout of electric vehicle charging infrastructure,” said a Department for Transport spokesman.
FCA’s Sheldon Mills profiled
As this week’s Consumer Duty ‘good outcomes’ deadline approaches, FCA executive director Sheldon Mills has been profiled by The Sunday Times. Adopted by his grandparents at five, he grew up in Cardiff and, after six years at the FCA, is ‘launching a rights revolution’.
“I’m not unrealistic about the pressures that businesses face, but if you serve customers well, you gain good business, and you should be able to make a sustainable profit.”
Mills, who earns £355k a year, added that his background has shaped his attitude in the workplace, where he is “loud and straight to the point”.Wednesday marks one year since Consumer Duty was introduced.
KPMG loses Pinewood
KPMG is no longer the auditor of Pinewood Technologies. It was not invited to participate in a competitive tender “due to upcoming mandatory auditor rotation requirements”.
Motorpoint’s Carpenter sells 100,000 shares
Motorpoint CEO Mark Carpenter sold 100k shares for a total value of £140k on 10 July. He retains an interest in 8.58m shares, or 9.74% of issued shares, says Shares Magazine.
Last month, Motorpoint issued disappointing full year results for the year ended March 2024, which showed full year revenue fell 24.6% to £1.08bn. The used car retailer announced a £10.4m pre-tax loss, up from £300k the previous year.
Both Carpenter and CFO Chris Morgan saw their bonuses slashed – but Carpenter was granted another 193k shares under the Motorpoint performance share plan, with Morgan receiving 145k options.
Cinch FD remains in place
Last week, Auto Retail Agenda reported that Cinch finance director Geoff Head had left the business. We are happy to confirm that he remains in place as finance director. It was his statutory role as a director of the business for the accounts that has been removed.
Cinch’s statutory directors are now Tim Lampert, James Mullins and secretary Martin Letza.
WORLD NEWS
First Chinese Leapmotor cars en route to EU
The first 800 cars from Stellantis’ ‘15th brand’, Leapmotor, are en route to Europe. Sales of the T03 small cars and C10 midsize SUV will begin in September. Production of the T03 has already started in Tychy, Poland, from kits. Last year, Stellantis took a 51% stake in Leapmotor.The Chinese brand is due to launch in the UK in March 2025.
2 in 3 US OEM execs say EV targets will be missed
2 in 3 US OEMs says they believe their companies won’t meet proposed EV sales goals – and 4 in 5 say the transition to EVs will be slower than initially predicted. Kerrigan Advisors is a retailer sell-side advisory firm and called its 2024 OEM Survey findings “surprising”.
86% of OEM executives said their company is making contingency plans for more ICE and hybrid vehicles if EV penetration continues to lag. “For a dealer, it just means that the legacy ICE business, and the threats to, for instance, fixed operations and the risk factors of shifting to EVs are probably a long way out,” said MD Erin Kerrigan.
STOCKWATCH
Closing prices on 26 July 2024 and weekly change
Auto Trader Group 794.2p (-8.0p / -1.0%)
Caffyns 460.0p (n/c)
Halfords 154.0p (+9.0p / +6.0%)
Inchcape 855.0p (+21.5p / +2.5%)
Motorpoint 141.5p (+0.25p / +0.1%)
Pinewood 352.0p (+26.5p / +7.8%)
Vertu 73.1p (+0.4p /+0.5%)
COMING UP
Monday, UK consumer credit
Wednesday, Consumer Duty is one year old
Thursday, BoE interest rate decision
MONEY MATTERS
Interest rate cut this week ‘unlikely’
UK interest rates are predicted to remain at 5.25% for longer than expected. The UK has recovered from last year’s mild recession and official figures for May and June revealed wage growth remained above 5.5%, while firms laying off workers last year had begun to hire again.
Rates are still expected to reach 4.75% by the end of the year but an August rate cut “is looking less likely”.
HMRC to gain more powers in tax crackdown?
The chancellor is said to be considering giving HMRC extra powers in a crackdown on savers, investors and freelances suspected of underpaying tax. The tax authority could get enhanced powers to harvest data on taxpayers’ financial affairs from banks and other companies.
ISSN 3049-5725
Tags:
BoE, Cinch, EV, FCA, HMRC, interest rates, KPMG, labour, Leapmotor, Motorpoint, Pinewood, SMMT, Stellantis, tax, ZEV Mandate 
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