The last five years of trading profitability have been some of the most dramatic in the history of the industry. Here is a run-down of the last five years’ EBITDA (which is earnings before...

Used car departments pose the highest EBITDA risk this quarter. We’re not only seeing regular depreciation on cars, but also accelerated depreciation as used car valuations decline. The cost of...

Back in January, I suggested that it is time to build a strategic model of what the next 10 years are going to look like from an aftersales business point of view due to the impact of the EV...

With the 2022 reporting season now well underway, it’s apparent that only the most proactive profit- and efficiency-focused groups can match the 2021 results which had a built-in non-recurring stock...

A senior business leader in a dealership group recently briefed his colleagues with “data is the lifeblood of our dealerships” at the start of our meeting with his team. I have to say that this...

Over the last 12 months, many in the industry have had cyber-attacks which have been extremely painful for those concerned and have put fear into many others. For the directors of any dealer group, it...

I was driving on the main road into Middleton, a town in rural Nova Scotia in Canada, where there is an electronic speed sign that flashes your speed as you arrive in town. I didn’t think about it...

This month, we are going to look at a good news story – how many of Britain’s dealer groups are world beaters in terms of maximising their used car business. In 2021, many dealers were pleased to...

In our articles so far this year, we have covered aftersales and used cars in terms of showing what’s important. This month we will look at your lifeblood and your biggest cost: people. People...

As previously reported, many of the most proactive dealer groups (with a combined total of more than 600 workshops) are contributing their figures to an NFDA benchmarking system operated by RWA...

Over the next two years, most commentators are expecting used car prices to revert to more normal levels akin to 2019/2020 prices. Given the cost-of-living squeeze and eventual new car supply...

As we start 2022, dealers have navigated very successfully through two years of disruption, and they have a lot of reasons to be grateful to their management teams and staff for their flexibility and...