APC has noted a decline in OEMs’ new site search activity as they manage network consolidation and market area adjustments. This suggests that the car dealership property stock is starting to...

Pent up demand through the summer plus three months worth of PCP contracts that had expired saw a buoyant market through July and August, but perhaps not a representation of the true market, and the...

Ford’s plans to cut almost half its retailer network over the next four years is not surprising. Today, Ford has 400 franchise points. The next nearest brand in terms of outlets is Vauxhall which is...

How you can keep selling even when you aren’t talking to your customers Putting your customers on hold on the phone needn’t be wasted time for you or for them The customer experience is key to an...

The UK’s total number of new car sales points fell by 93 between January 2018 and January 2019, from 4,832 to 4,739. This represents a softer fall than in the previous year’s 216-point drop, but...

Kia is defying conventional logic and not planning a dedicated online sales channel. This is despite building up a head of steam that saw it celebrating both record sales last year and a record 4% of...

The retail sector has suffered a raft of CVAs and administrations during 2018 and one of several contributing factors has been the continued growth of online shopping and the change in consumer...

Big Data lets us personalise the customer’s journey, but many of the assets are in your own company already By Jonathan Robbins   There are masses of consumers out there but today, more than...

What set the best apart from the rest in the 2018 Auto Retail Website Report? Editor Steve lays out how the best performers earned top marks By Shane Johnson   Arguably, and perhaps in a perfect...

Talking to the industry recently, there has been a lot of discussion about how times are tough, and how cutbacks might be needed. The motor trade is pulling back on marketing – it is an easy thing...

Hendy Group has set its sights on growing to a £1bn company within the next five years, which CEO Paul Hendy describes as the “magic number” in the auto retail industry to be able to reap the...

Dealerships across the country are missing out on potential new leads and revenue generating opportunities because they are missing calls. Around 16% of calls go unanswered at the dealership, and only...

The latest car sales data brings worrying confirmation that the long run of a retail driven economy may be starting to falter. With the performance of the automotive sector so intrinsically linked to...

Recent CDK Global research into more than 64,000 customer reviews found that a vast number of women believed they were at a disadvantage when looking to buy a car, due to their gender. The words...

Seat will look to expand its dealer network from 120 to 135 outlets within 18 months, with UK brand director Richard Harrison saying: “First options for new outlets will go to existing partners, who...

The automotive industry can learn from other types of retailing, even those that work in very different spheres By Gary M Cook As Amazon makes suggestions that they could make some serious inroads to...

Vincent Tourette, the recently appointed boss of Renault and Dacia in the UK, is spending his initial time running the company examining the business as a whole, but has already identified a host of...

The most common mistakes that retailers make online, and how to solve them By Aaron Krane, CEO  and founder of Drive Motors More than ever, dealerships must get on board with e-commerce or risk...

Seat believes its new retail store within the Lakeside shopping centre – the first Seat Store in the world – will expose the brand to millions of new potential customers, offer lessons on the...

News that Saab GB has called in the administrators seemed to shock the industry. We broke the story on the Auto Retail Network website and received over 1000 hits within a couple of hours. At least...