7:54 am, May 29, 2022
Rising prices and problems with new car supply will be an ongoing theme this year, and businesses need to be mindful of their own processes as they look ahead.
This week on the Car Dealer Podcast, group sales director for DSG Finance Group Mark Gow praised car dealers for their achievements during the lockdowns but warned that now is the time to consider processes and costs.
Gow said: ‘When the job is going well people don’t look at the process, saving, or look at the jobs they’ve got from suppliers because the job is going great.
‘It’s only when the job is getting tougher that we start to work on these processes. I think that’s something we need to be really mindful of.
‘At the moment it is softening a little bit but I think all eyes are going to be on Q4 when the Ofgen gets raised again. It’s very easy for dealers and ourselves to look at the results we achieved over the last 12 months, and take it for granted.’
In a wide-ranging podcast, Gow spoke with Car Dealer team James Baggott and Rebecca Chaplin about online car sales, the future classics to watch, agency sales and more.
Commenting on current pressures on customers, he said: ‘It’s interesting where we are at the moment because it’s all cost of living, and it depends what camp you’re in – you can look at that a number of ways.
‘Fuel prices have gone up 30 per cent, energy has gone up, food prices, so does that have an effect on consumer confidence? Of course the car is the second most expensive purchase that someone is going to make.
‘So you could fall into the camp that it’s going to be harder this year. Alternatively, you could look at it and think, are people going to look to downsize?’
You can press play above now to listen to the podcast in full or search for the Car Dealer Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts now.
To find out more about all of the stories covered in this week’s show you can click below.
- 12 cars vandalised with paint stripper and bricks causing ‘extensive damage’ at Land Rover dealership
- Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated: Dealer says diesel cars remain popular despite apparent drop in interest
- ‘What’s your nest price?’ Dealer sells car thanks to blackbirds who made its wheel their new home
- Auto Trader posts best-ever financial results with profits up 91 per cent to £301m
- Which future classic cars are set to soar in value?
- Daksh Gupta has left Marshall Motor Group with immediate effect
- The online disruptors like Cazoo, Cinch and Carzam have over-promised and under-delivered
- Mercedes-Benz to cut ten per cent of dealerships as part of switch to agency sales model
If you’d like to appear on the Car Dealer Podcast as our guest judge then you can email the team at [email protected].
