We asked the trade for their reasons to be cheerful – and here’s what they had to say, reports JAMES BATCHELOR

Chris Mason
Motor Codes, managing director

TRADING conditions are tough but remember that the motorist is feeling the pinch just as much as dealers. One natural area of growth for franchised and independent garages is service and repair. People are keeping cars longer and need to maintain them but reputation is vital to pulling in new and repeat business.

Paul Everitt
SMMT, chief executive

WHILE next year will continue to be challenging for the automotive sector, dealers can look forward to strong support from industry as well as efforts by manufacturers to provide attractive incentives to increase retail demand in 2011. New focus on the development of skills through an emphasis on training and apprenticeship schemes will encourage many to seek careers in the automotive industry.

Tim Smith
GForces, commercial director

2011 looks set to be a tough year for new and used car sales. More than 50 per cent of dealer website hits occur when showroom doors are closed, peaking between the hours of 7pm and 10pm. Therefore, effective out-of-hours processing of sales enquiries could make the crucial difference for many dealerships. Our new ‘Live Chat 24×7’ facility ensures dealers are always open for business.

Kenyon Neads
Subaru UK, marketing director

SUBARU UK will not be passing on January’s VAT increase to the majority of our customers. Rather, we are to absorb the 2.5 per cent rise in sales duty ourselves, in most cases. This means that prices for 80 per cent of the Subaru range will remain unchanged for 2011.

Tim Baumfield
Manheim aftersales solutions, managing director

WITH extended fleet terms and the increasing age of the vehicle parc, 2011 is the perfect opportunity to increase customer spend at each vehicle visit. This, combined with the correct tools to enforce tight workshop controls, increase workshop efficiencies and a robust and measurable follow-up process will provide dealers the potential to ‘buck the trend’.

Nigel Head
Castrol, OEM and franchised workshop marketing manager

2011 doesn’t have to be as gloomy as some of the headlines predict. Demand for efficient, professional aftersales operations will arguably be stronger than ever in quarter one, due to damage sustained to vehicles during the recent bad weather. Dealers need to treat every customer contact point as an opportunity – both for upsell on the day, and for retaining valuable business long-term.

Mark Cameron
Mazda UK, sales director

WITH the economy stabilising, the private sector starting to create jobs and interest rates forecast to remain low I believe there are reasons to look forward to 2011 with some optimism. Mazda will continue to take a pragmatic and partnership approach with its dealers, facilitating above average returns. We will continue to drive interest in the Mazda brand but also protect the value of our customers’ investment for the future.

Peter Wyhinny
Seat UK, director

AT Seat UK we’re well prepared for what we believe will be a tougher market environment than what we ended up seeing in 2010. We have one of the newest product ranges, the latest addition being the all-new Alhambra. In fact we have the right range for our times, with plenty of low emission models (especially our Ecomotive range), all benefiting from a sporty character and stacked with high levels of standard equipment.

‘The year may be one of uncertainty for new car sales but dealers have to remember that every new vehicle sale lost is an aftersales opportunity to be won.’

Jon Burgess
Mondial, head of business development

THE year may be one of uncertainty for new car sales but dealers have to remember that every new vehicle sale lost is an aftersales opportunity to be won, so take advantage of the rising interest in Service Plans for both new and used vehicle stock, use every opportunity to promote extended warranties, and work with established, online-based product providers.

Michael Cole
Kia Motors (UK), managing director

GOING into 2011 it does appear that the concerns about a possible double-dip recession are fading and while recovery will clearly be slow, we are on the right road to see the economy grow. Compared to a year ago we have a larger – up by more than 10 per cent – dealer network giving us better geographical coverage and both our new and existing dealers are in a strong position to make the most of that recovery.

Steve Godrich
XPart, all-makes manager

SELLING a wider range of all-makes parts is a good opportunity for dealers to increase their profit per trade customer in 2011. The XPart All- Makes programme allows dealers to create an extra revenue stream.

Tony Whitehorn
Hyundai Motor UK, managing director

A REASON to be cheerful is having the right, new products, which we have. The budget could also be good because if the austerity measures are working it will give the market a feel-good factor.

Peter Vardy
Chief executive, Peter Vardy

I THINK there are plenty of reasons to be cheerful. Manufacturers have been working hard to manage production levels sensibly and improve offers available on new cars with things like absorbing VAT rises and lifetime warranties that is creating demand in the market place.