• RETAILERS REGISTER INTEREST IN SUBARU FRANCHISE
• NEW DIRECTORS AT GROWING USED CAR SUPERMARKET
• RETAILERS SEE GOOD GROWTH IN MAY
• NAT WEST JOINS ALD AUTOMOTIVE
• USED EV VALUES UP, HYBRIDS DOWN
• RETAILERS UNLIKELY TO SCORE IN WORLD CUP
• GM SHARES SOAR ON CHINESE INVESTMENT
• PSA RAMPS UP SUV PRODUCTION
• STOCKWATCH – CAFFYNS UP IN QUIET WEEK
• MONEY MATTERS – FAMILIES HAPPY TO SPEND ON HOLIDAYS
• LAUNCH DIARY – HONDA SEVEN SEATER, LAND ROVER DISCOVERY SPECIAL
• COMING UP – Automechanika, Auto Trader 2017 results, ONS economic indicators, EV event (Silverstone), Mercedes-Benz Van Experience
• OUR BLOG – What is Marchionne’s legacy at Fiat Chrysler?

Retailers register interest in Subaru franchise

More than 20 potential dealers attended a Subaru event this week at importer IM Group’s Birmingham HQ to explore the possibility of taking on the franchise. Two have since applied to fill open points in the network and talks are ongoing with others.

Claire Ketchion, dealer development manager for Subaru UK, said: “We were really pleased with the interest and attendance on the day and had over 20 delegates from a number of different businesses around the country.

We have received two applications so far and are continuing talks with other prospects over the forthcoming weeks.”

Three new directors appointed at growing used car supermarket

Southampton-based Imperial Car Supermarket has appointed three new directors as it expands its business.

John Titchmarsh becomes financial director, Russell Churcher has responsibility for vehicle preparation and aftersales and Mike Hawkins is now sales director.

Accounts filed for year ending March 2017 show an operating profit of £2.4 million, a year-on-year growth of 96% partly due to the acquisition of two sites, at Chertsey and Northampton. Last September the business also opened a new site at Halesowen.

Vehicle sales accounted for £115.8m and aftersales £779,000.

Retailers see good year on year growth in May

Clued up buyers returned to dealerships last month as new car sales rose 16% and used by eight, according to lead management analysts at enquiryMAX.

A study of data from more than 700 dealers showed overall enquiries jumped 20% against May 2016 with online leads continuing to show strong growth at 16%. Manufacturer leads increased by 14% over the same period.

David Boyce managing director of enquiryMAX said: “It’s clear that bank holidays and school half-term helped to bring buyers to the forecourt. Again, it is worth noting that May 2017 was a weaker month and these gains should be seen in the broader context of a retail sector that is facing headwinds.”

However the analysis also shows that the sales window continues to shorten with a 76% rise in the number of sales closing on the first day. Boyce added: “Buyers are increasingly arriving on the forecourt having done their research. Sales teams need to have a structured process to help close a sale quickly and efficiently.”

The lead management platform recently announced a new integration with CDK Global that helps dealers to save time and avoid errors.

NatWest joins ALD Automotive

NatWest has teamed up with fleet and leasing giants, ALD Automotive, to provide another route to market for dealers. NatWest Flex Car Finance is a partnership between the two operations letting people with a NatWest current account choose online a make and model on a PCP deal which will then be sourced from a franchised dealer.

The PCP has a representative APR of 7.9% (fixed).

Electric values up, hybrids down in used car sector

Growing demand saw values of some older EVs going up last month in contrast to hybrids, petrol and diesel.

Cap hpi says overall there was a 1.3% drop in values at three years/60,000 miles. Diesel fell 1.4%, petrol 1.2%, hybrids the fastest drop as more plentiful supply arrives but pure electric cars outperformed the rest of the market and some earlier models even saw price growth.

SUVs were again the strongest sector.

Retailers unlikely to score in World Cup

England’s activities in the World Cup are unlikely to have much impact on the forecourts, cap hpi says, with strong and stable demand likely to continue through 2018. Values in many sectors are holding up well and last month saw a drop of just 1.3% at three years/60,000 miles, the lowest movement in six years.

Derren Martin, head of current valuations at Cap HPI said: “There is little evidence to suggest that events such as World Cups have much of an influence on used values. In June 2014, the most recent World Cup year, average values dropped by just 0.9%. In the three-years since the values have dropped by an average of 1.3%. Forecourts and showrooms may be quiet during important matches but consumers do not stay away for the whole period.”

WORLD NEWS

GM had its biggest stock market jump in a single day since relisting after its 2009 bankruptcy when Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp said it will invest £1.7 billion in its autonomous vehicle unit, Cruise.

The deal is seen by analysts as putting the Detroit giant in the driving seat of the emerging self-driving car market and sent GM shares up nearly 13 percent.

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The PSA Group is increasing factory output of its SUV range across its five brands as part of its Push to Pass strategy which is already bearing fruit with increased market share.

Two plants in France and one in Germany will progressively ramp up build of the 11 SUVs in its Peugeot, Citroen, DS Automobiles, Opel and Vauxhall brands. Together these took 250,000 registrations in Europe in 2018 Q1 and the group’s sector share rose to 17%.

In September Citroen will add its new C5 Aircross model.

STOCKWATCH

Closing prices at Friday June 1 and weekly movement.

BCA 195.6p (+1.2p)

Cambria 62.3p (+1.4p)

Caffyns 429.0p (+4.0p)

Inchcape 739.5p (no change)

Lookers 106.4p (-1.4p)

Marshall Motor Holdings 167.0p (no change)

Motorpoint 245.0 (-3.0p)

Pendragon 27.3 (+0.4p)

Vertu 49.0p (-1.5p)

LAUNCH DIARY

Honda CR-V. First seven seater version of Honda’s large SUV. Petrol versions for autumn 2018 launch, hybrids next year. Prices tbc.

Land Rover Discovery Sport Landmark Edition. Unique colour and trim for this vehicle which salutes the Sport’s success as the fastest-selling Land Rover ever and coinciding with the brand’s year-long 70th anniversary celebrations. From £40,400.

MONEY MATTERS

Families can spend a quarter of annual income on holidays with an average of two trips away at a cost of £855 per person each time, with more than one in five going up to £1,000 or more per break. In a family of four that could mean £3,240 per trip, and up to £6,840 in total. Based on the annual median disposable household income in the UK of £27,300, holiday spending can take up to three months’ worth of income, or a quarter of spending.

http://bit.ly/2soTDeG

COMING UP

6 June 2018. SMMT Meet the Buyer, Automechanika Birmingham, NEC. Chance to meet OEM parts suppliers and buyers.

June 7. Auto Trader 2017 Full year Results.

11 June 2018: Short-term economic indicators commentary, Office of National Statistics.

June 9/10. Fully Charged LIVE, Silverstone. Hosted by low carbon car YouTube sensation, Robert Llewellyn, (2 million views a month) and with the UK’s largest ever gathering of EVs and attendant industry support and supplier companies. Q&A sessions.

More details/tickets at bit.ly/2LaYJ5a

June 21 – 28 (weekdays only). Mercedes-Benz Van Experience Live is holding its 15^th event for van owners and operators at Millbrook Proving Ground, Bedfordshire, to test the new Sprinter and X-Class.

OUR BLOG

What next for Fiat Chrysler as Marchionne stands down?

How did it ever get to this? Like the unfortunate left standing against the wall at the school dance while everyone else enjoys themselves, Fiat Chrysler has been looking for a partner to join forces with to meet the financial and technical challenges of this century but with a marked lack of success.

This week its charismatic leader, Sergio Marchionne, stands down after a sometimes tempestuous, often turbulent but unfailingly energetic and interesting time at the helm. For some 14 years he has steered the good ship FCA into profit after turning around the basket case that was Chrysler and made parts of it (Ferrari) stock market darlings.

As a parting gift he unveiled his Five Year Plan (ominous overtones of Soviet-era economic planning but we’ll leave that there!) with new Alfa and Maserati models including some halo sportscars and yes, electrification. Finally.

But there is an underlying and fundamental weakness in the group that no amount of rising share value or headline grabbing announcements can hide – FCA stands alone.

Marchionne is talking of spending the thick end of £8 billion to cover the cost of this new direction, leaving his successors with a nice headache to deal with. It needs to fast track electrification or even hybridisation to catch up with the other European and Far Eastern brands but there is no obvious way to do that.

For me though there is another issue though which the Italian car maker must address which is every bit as fundamental as developing EVs, and it is the quality and reliability. Last year I had a brand new Alfa Romeo Giulia on test. It was delivered with a fault in the electronic dampers and later that day the stop/start system stopped but wouldn’t start. Three times. Two days later it was swapped for a Jeep Cherokee – which broke down. A colleague had Alfa’s Stelvio SUV on test and was not impressed when the trim beneath the steering column dropped onto his shins. These are not isolated cases.

And Alfa wants to take on Lexus and the Germans?

Sergio Marchionne has achieved miracles in generating profit from the ashes of Chrysler and pulling the group forward, no small achievement at any time let alone in the post-2008 crash environment.

But will his legacy be that or the lack of anyone prepared to sign the marriage register with FCA?