29 April 2018

• VAUXHALL GROUP SIGNS NEW CONTRACTS
• DEMOLITION BEGINS FOR NEW PORSCHE CENTRE
• HENDY GROUP TO OPEN NEW MAZDA SITE THIS WEEK
• STURGESS INTRODUCES WARRANTY SCHEME
• BOOST FOR NEW AND USED EV RETAILERS
• NEW BUSINESS MANAGER FOR BRINDLEY NISSAN
• STRONG YEN HITS JAPANESE MAKERS
• VW INVESTS MORE IN SELF-DRIVE EVS WITH CHINA
• STOCK WATCH – Big gains for Motorpoint
• LAUNCH DIARY – Jaguar XJ50, Hyundai i20
• MONEY MATTERS – 16 year low for public borrowing, pay awards go up
• COMING UP – Cambria and Vertu results, Auto Retail Live Q2 Briefing
• OUR BLOG – Can you go faster in used?

Thurlow Nunn signs new Vauxhall contracts

Solus Vauxhall group, Thurlow Nunn, has had its franchises reconfirmed following the manufacturer’s notice of termination across its network.

Simon Bottomley, group managing director, said: “It has been necessary to terminate all contracts for both legal and operational reasons such that a new network structure can be shaped. I can confirm the excellent news that the Thurlow Nunn Group will remain unaffected by this re-structure and our contracts have been renewed across the board. That means that it will be business as usual for all our branches. Thurlow Nunn will remain a substantial partner within the wider Vauxhall PSA Group for many years to come.”

Meanwhile, the Now Vauxhall Marlborough dealership, formerly Skurrays, has closed, with the loss of eight jobs.

Industry analysts predict that a third of Vauxhall’s current outlets will go in the shakeup putting around 3,800 jobs at risk.

Demolition begins for new Bowker Porsche centre

Construction crews moved in this week to prepare a prime site Porsche showroom development for the Bowker Motor Group. The 43,000 square feet centre near Oyston Mill is on a gateway road into Preston, Lancashire, and will be the 40^th Porsche Centre in the country. The work should be completed within 12 months when the facility will have a 35 car showroom and 13 bay workshop.

Local paper, the Garstang Courier, quoted Paul Bowker, chief executive of the Bowker Motor Group, saying: “We’re now pressing on with the rest of the development. Certainly, this time next year we expect the transformation of the site will be complete.”

https://bit.ly/2KjQdkP

Hendy Group to open new Mazda site this week

Hendy is due to open its new Mazda Tunbridge Wells showroom on Tuesday, May 1. It will be the group’s fifth Mazda franchise and its first in Kent.

Sturgess introduces own-brand warranty scheme

Leicester-based Sturgess Motor Group has launched a new approved used car scheme for vehicles out of manufacturer warranty. The Sturgess Stamped vehicles have a multipoint pre-sale workshop and background check, come with a 12 month warranty, full MOT and roadside assistance.

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Boost for retailers selling new and used EVs

Franchised and independent dealers are being given another tool to help sell EVs with the launch of the world’s first widely available vehicle-to-grid unit which could give drivers free power.

Initially free for post-2013 Nissan Leafs, the VTG system lets owners sell electricity from their battery into the grid at peak time. Privately owned or company cars are eligible so long as the individual is the registered keeper.

The VTG, designed by eco-energy company, OVO, is free to all LEAF owners in a two-year trial.

https://bit.ly/2r3JKl6

New business manager for Brindley Nissan

A staff member who joined family run West Midlands-based Brindley Garages straight from sixth form has been appointed business manager at its Nissan outlet. Andrew Eling has been promoted to the position at the Cannock site where he will help with customers’ financial needs during the purchase process.

WORLD NEWS

Strong Yen hurts Japanese car makers

A stronger Yen has been highlighted by both Honda and Mazda for a likely drop in operating profit for the current financial, despite them both seeing a rise in sales.

Honda has forecast a 16% drop and Mazda 28 points. Despite that, Honda, Japan’s third biggest car manufacturer expects an operating profit of £4.62 billion in the year to March 2019, and fifth-largest Mazda £691 million.

https://reut.rs/2r44Dwx

VW invests £13 billion into self-drive EVs in China

VW is to spend £13 billion over the next five years on R&D at its Chinese joint ventures as it aims to lead the market in autonomous EVs.

https://bloom.bg/2I3pckV

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STOCK WATCH

Closing prices at 4.30 Friday 27 and weekly movement:

Pendragon 29.3p (up 1.7p)

Lookers 101.8p (up 4.8p)

Inchcape 720p (down 3.5p)

Vertu 49.7p (up 2.1p)

BCA 191p (up 4.2p)

Motorpoint 246p (up 24p)

Cambria 62.5 (no change)

Marshall Motor Holdings 160.7p (down 4.3p)

Caffyns 429p (up 4p)

 

LAUNCH DIARY

Jaguar XJ50 commemorative edition marking half a century of the flagship luxury saloon. Available now, from £74,280.

Hyundai i20 facelift. Five-door hatch and three door coupe upgraded with more safety kit, a seven-speed dual clutch transmission, stop/go and a choice of three petrol engines.

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MONEY MATTERS

Public borrowing lowest for 16 years

Government borrowing has fallen to a 16 year low and could put pressure on Chancellor Philip Hammond to ease the austerity measures.

The budget deficit for the financial year to March dropped to 2.1% of GDP, down from 2016/17’s 2.3%, and is the lowest since 2001/02.

http://bit.ly/2HC9LDr

Pay awards go up

Quarter one pay rises have averaged 2.5%, the joint-highest since 2008. The Bank of England has said it expects wage growth to hit an annual three per cent by the end of 2018 after the unemployment rate fell to its lowest since 1975.

COMING UP

8 May – Cambria results.

9 May – Vertu full results

15 May – Auto Retail Live Q2 Briefing with Robin Luscombe, managing director of Luscombe Motors, Chris Penny, brand director of Auto Trader and John O’Hanlon, chief executive of Volvo Cars Reading. Live 30 minute broadcast from our London studios to your PC or mobile or via our catch-up service. To register log onto www.auto-retail.co.uk/live/auto-retail-live-q2-2018-briefing

OUR BLOG

Can you go faster in used?

It was clear to all that attended this week’s Auto Retail Network Used Car Conference that the theme of the event was speed.

We’re not talking about the speed of cars, but the speed with which cars are sold, or stock turn to be more precise.

Several of the speakers touched on, or even majored on, this topic.

Perhaps the two biggest advocates of moving used car stock faster were ASE’s Mike Jones and Auto Trader’s Chris Penny.

Mr Jones urged retailers not to get emotionally attached to cars and look at them simply as a way of generating profits. To prove how a faster stock turn is possible and really can result in greater profits he used the example of a retailer who was turning his stock of 102 cars every 14.44 days. The result was a gross profit per week of £41,332.

Mr Penny reinforced this approach of speed. Pointing out that hanging on to a car until that one car has returned a profit is the wrong way to look at the business. He argued that holding a car that long takes up a space on your forecourt and stops that space making money. So it’s not how much that slow-selling car has made, it’s how much you’ve lost in potential earning from that space.

Several speakers pointed out the difficult bit is admitting that a mistake has been made with a particular car.

And this was one of the more important take-home messages from the conference; learn by failing fast.

Failing fast means you’ll get to success quicker and in the case of used cars that success will come from a faster stockturn.

* A full report on the Used Car Conference will be appearing in Auto Retail Agenda’s sister titles Auto Retail Bulletin and Auto Retail Profit. If you’re not already a subscriber, you can sign up here.

Tristan Young

Editorial Director

Auto Retail Network

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Tags: Brindley Nissan, Hendy, Sturgess, Thurlow Nunn, Used Car Conference, Vauxhall