The last 12 months have proven to be a somewhat unexpectedly difficult period for the UK automotive sector as the economy has struggled to perform as expected and the retail consumer faced significant...

With the Bank of England expecting inflation to hit 7% and the inevitable wage inflation that could follow, motor retailers are facing many of the headwinds impacting the UK economy. This has been...

The automotive sector didn’t have the best start to 2021. New UK car registrations fell by 35.5% year on year, while many OEMS – despite experiencing a relatively strong end to 2020 with profits...

Despite challenges of supply in the new car market due to the semiconductor shortage, retailers find themselves in something of a purple patch. Consumers have the desire for vehicles and money to...

Political and economic uncertainty are being cited as the principle causes that saw new car registrations decline by 3.4% in March. The fleet sector finished the month virtually flat (up 0.3% on March...

“I’d really like a (insert car model), but we can’t buy a diesel as a family car because its emissions are bad for us and it’ll drop in value like a stone.” You hear this in the showroom and...

New research conducted by NatWest and Retail Economics shows Brexit uncertainty as the biggest concern for consumers heading into 2019. The report “Outlook for UK Retail 2019 – Sustaining growth...

The supply issues created by the new WLTP regulations are still weighing heavily on retailers, with many expecting ongoing problems well into the first half of 2019. Combined with the economic...

The continued resurgence in private registrations helped to drive a second month of growth in the new car market, with May’s increase of 10.1% coming off the back of the April rise of 26.3%, pushing...

Brexit uncertainty and the prospect of increasing car prices could cost the new car market an estimated £6.5 billion as some 377,000 motorists ‘strongly agree’ that Brexit is making them think...

The first quarter of 2017 is characterised by record volumes and strong demand. In line with industry expectations, it looks like we are on track for a record first quarter. The first three months of...

Marshall Motor Holdings has hardly had a smooth time on the stock market since its IPO almost two years ago. With a share price that initially leapt to almost 200p a share for the first few months,...

The majority of consumers who have interacted with franchised automotive retailers within the last two years consider them to be professional, knowledgeable, reputable and reliable, and to offer good...

PCP is seen as being a good proposition to close a deal, and a good mechanism for retaining customers. But how do you maximise the opportunities and how do you address the challenges. Peader Bruton,...

Recently it seems that Brexit is to blame for everything, anywhere in the world. We don’t really have a view on this; we believe it’s too soon to say, especially as the process of leaving the...

News of Mercedes-Benz Retail selling its Manchester and Birmingham businesses to Hong-Kong auto retailer Lei Shing Hong could be seen as proof that the UK auto retail sector is worth investing in....

The total number of car franchised sales points fell by seven from 4,847 in January 2015 to 4,840 in January 2016, which follows a fall of 73 sales points the previous year. This is one of the key...

The first Paragon Car Finance Headlight Survey, tracking the views of the UK’s largest motor finance brokers, reports that confidence amongst the UK car-buying public is buoyant, with 60% of brokers...

For the automotive industry, everything starts with the sale of a new car. New car sales are a powerful driver of all market sectors. Thus the present run of new-car market growth is transforming the...

Car companies that are on a roll give off an air of confidence. I can remember going to a technical briefing at Ford where they let engineers talk openly to the press for the first time. It was about...