Ford of Britain's TrustFord dealer group saw profits slide by over 42% in 2023

11:45 am, August 27, 2024

Ford-owned dealer group TrustFord saw profits slip by over 42% last year, despite it being the UK market leader for total vehicle sales in 2023.

Latest accounts – filed under Ford Retail Limited – for the year ended December 31, 2023 show pre-tax profit dropped to £15.1m.

That was a 42.7% slide on 2022’s performance, which itself was 10.2% drop on 2021.

EBIT stood at £27.1m, up from £26.6m the year before, while gross profits were up 4% as a result of increased revenues.

The latter jumped by 9% or £141m to £1.88bn.

Sales of vehicles accounted for £1.78bn, up on 2022’s £1.64bn, while sales of vehicles parts jumped from £45.6m to £51.3m. Workshop sales, meanwhile, rose from £33.7m to £45.3m.

Ford notched up its 58th consecutive year for commercial vehicle sales, while it took second place in car sales, up from fourth in 2022.

During the year it axed the Fiesta supermini, while the Puma was the best-selling car.

Last year was a busy year for TrustFord as it began work on a new £6m dealership in Glasgow, and ploughed £500,000 into its Carlisle site.

The Glasgow dealership opened earlier this year, while the company reported its new Aberdeen showroom would open in March. It represented an investment of £10m.

Along with TrustFord CEO Stuart Mustoe, Ford of Britain boss Lisa Brankin officially opened the Aberdeen and Glasgow sites in June.

At the time, Mustoe said: ‘This week marks a significant milestone with our investment and commitment to Ford customers in Scotland expanding our UK coverage to drive the standard in customer care.’