Motor Trade Monthly Round Up For April 2016

All you need to know from the last month!

Good Things To Know About

Former Top Gear trio, Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond, are to launch a new website for motoring enthusiasts. For everyone from petrol heads to classic car lovers, DriveTribe will be an online community and digital media platform. A new social video platform, Radar Video has been launched for dealers, allowing them to promote their stock to thousands of local buyers, Radar’s co-Director Derek Blair said: “We all know many franchised dealers are struggling to churn out the volume of pre-registered vehicles and achieve ever higher imposed targets which is where this comes into its own for as little as £1 a day. Our early adopting partners have all seen exceptional results and one dealer group has already reported viewing rates of up to 26.43% in less than four weeks, which has created an audience of 30,000 interested potential buyers for them to retarget.”

Interesting Facts

Sir Arnorld Clark has become the first billionaire car dealer boss to make the Sunday Times Rich List. Clive Brook Volvo have hired a married couple, after Kate Naude put a good word in for her husband Russell during her interview. Clive who emigrated from South Africa with his wife in 2015, was called in and, as they say, the rest is history.

Things You Should Know

Business Minister Anna Soubry has promised that a legal loophole which allows vehicles to be clocked will be closed, with companies that provide ‘mileage correction’ services being outlawed in 2018. The Automobile Association (AA) has launched a ‘Multi-fit’ spare wheel, which can fit up to 90% of cars and has a speed limit of 50mph. The AA Technical Director said: “At a time when around 30% of newer cars aren’t equipped with a spare, the system has proven a blessing in situations where blow-outs caused by a pothole mean neither run-flat tyres or tyre sealant kits, often fitted instead of a spare, can be used.” A YouGov poll, commissioned by Carsnip, recently found that a third of used car buyers didn’t use an online classified website. CEO, Alastair Campbell, said: “The research confirms what we’ve suspected ever since we launched that for a huge number of people, current online car search simply isn’t good enough.” According to research conducted on behalf of Buyacar.co.uk, 85 percent of over 55s said they are comfortable negotiators when buying a car from a physical dealership.

New Dealerships

Swansway has begun construction of its new Jaguar centre in Crewe. Swansway Director, David Smyth commented, “It’s really good news for the area that Jaguar, a premium brand, has chosen to be represented here and from Swansway’s point of view, it’s a coup for our family business to have secured the franchise for such an iconic brand.” Meanwhile Bristol Street Motors launched its remodelled Ford dealership following a £1m investment, and White Dove Group Škoda in Cardiff re-opened after a £1.25 million refurbishment. Early in April Volvo launched pop-up stores in Glasgow and Reading. Newbury based Ridgeway have revealed plans for a £10 million Jaguar Land Rover showroom on Greenham Business Park, which should be open by the end of the year. Finally the Ancaster Group has bought the Nissan Fiat dealerships in Shepperton from West London Motor Group.

General Motoring News

Volkswagen are to pay a dozen current former Senior Managers a total of $49 million for 2015 despite reporting record annual losses after its emissions scandal. Whilst Mitsubishi Motors admitted that for the past 25 years it has used fuel consumptions tests that broke Japanese rules.

Watch Out For The Next Instalment

Keep an eye out for next month’s instalment. We’ll update you on the latest news, views and goings on from around the motor trade. If in the meantime you need a quote for your motor trade insurance, or want to speak to one of our expert team, give us a call on 0800 221 8061 or click Get a Quote below.