Auto Retail Agenda: 4 January 2021
03 January 2021
- VAT BREXIT WARNING FROM NI RETAILERS
- KNIGHTS FOUNDER JOINS WILLIAM MORGAN
- DARREN GUIVER INVESTS IN MONEYSHAKE
- NEW CAR SALES SLUMP; 2021 FORECAST TO BE CUT
- FRENCH SALES DOWN 12% DESPITE REOPENING
- HONDA TO PULL OUT OF RUSSIA
- STOCKWATCH – Little change during the festive period
- COMING UP – SMMT full year new car registrations
- PM HINTS AT FURTHER LOCKDOWN
- BUSINESSES FACE SPRING COVID CLIFF-EDGE
VAT Brexit warning from NI retailers
Retailers in Northern Ireland are warning car buyers face price rises due to post-Brexit changes to VAT and customs red tape on movements between England and Northern Ireland.
The biggest hurdle is Northern Ireland leaving the UK’s margin scheme on second-hand goods, which allows VAT to be paid on the profit made, rather than the full sale price. UK suppliers may also be deterred by the extra paperwork involved.
County Down’s Ciaran Russell usually spends £1m a month on vehicles from England to sell in Northern Ireland. “It is total discrimination. We are not on a level playing field with Great Britain. If we can’t get cars, or there is 20% VAT, then that’s it – we’re finished.”
The Northern Ireland Protocol stats that both sides are aware of the problem and Westminster is “continuing to explore options for addressing the impacts”.
Knights Group founder Brookes joins William Morgan
Knights Group founder and former Audi head of sales Peter Brookes has joined William Morgan Group as a director, Auto Retail understands. The BMW and Mini retailer trades as North Oxford Garage and Wollaston Motors.
Mr Brookes, who was also BMW Group UK sales operations manager in the early 2000s and sold Knights group to Lookers in 2016 for £27.2 million, has been working since 2019 as a corporate advisor.
Last year, William Morgan cut its 2017 full-year loss before tax of £422k to £150k. It has yet to release its figures for the year ended 31 December 2019; they were due by 31 December 2020.
Darren Guiver invests in Moneyshake
Former Group 1 Automotive MD Darren Guiver has invested a seven-figure sum in Keele-based car leasing price comparison site Moneyshake. The startup launched in 2019 with £500k of seed capital. “Moneyshake’s technology is poised to revolutionise the way new cars are bought and sold,” said Mr Guiver, who joins the firm’s board of directors.
Moneyshake already runs the car leasing channels of Moneysupermarket and Clearscore.
New car sales slump; 2021 forecast to be cut
This week’s SMMT 2020 new car registrations are expected to total little more than 1.5 million, a low not seen since 1982. The figures will represent a decline of a third over 2019. The SMMT is also expected to revise downwards its predictions for 2021; they currently forecast a bounce-back to just more than 2m.
WORLD NEWS
French sales down 12% despite retailers reopening
French new car showrooms reopened in December 2020 but even this couldn’t stop a 12% decline in sales. 186k new cars were sold, taking the annual total to 1.65 million. This is, however, expected to see France regain its position as Europe’s second-largest new car market, knocking the UK back into third place.
Honda to pull out of Russia
Honda will stop supplying new cars to retailers in Russia in 2022. During January to November 2020, more than 1.3 million new cars were sold in Russia – but Honda sales fell 15% to 1,383 vehicles. The firm has no car plants in Russia, unlike rivals Toyota and Nissan.
STOCKWATCH
Closing prices on 31 December 2020 and weekly change
Little change during the festive period
Auto Trader Group 596.0p (+12.4p / +2.1%)
Cambria 58.5p (n/c)
Caffyns 385.0p (n/c)
Halfords 267.0p (-3.0p / -1.1%)
Inchcape 643.5p (n/c)
Lookers Shares suspended at 21.0p
Marshall Motor Holdings 140.5p (-0.5p / -0.3%)
Motorpoint 286.5p (-13.5p / -4.6%)
Pendragon 13.10p (+0.72p / +5.6%)
Vertu 33.0p (+0.2p / +0.6%)
COMING UP
Wednesday, 2020 new car registration figures
Wednesday, BRC shop price index
Thursday, Cambria AGM
MONEY MATTERS
PM hints at further lockdown
Further restrictions similar to those seen in the first lockdown, including school closures, may be introduced, warned PM Boris Johnson on Sunday. Regional restrictions, he said, are probably going to get tougher. “We face a very difficult few weeks and months until the vaccine comes on stream.”
Businesses face spring Covid cliff-edge
Business leaders are calling for an extension to business rates relief and a cut in VAT to 5% for hospitality, tourism and accommodation for at least a year to protect against a spring cliff-edge for businesses.
Tags:
Audi, BMW, Covid, Darren Guiver, France, Honda, Knights Group, lockdown, Moneyshake, Northern Ireland, Russia, SMMT, William Morgan 
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