3:07 pm, August 12, 2016
IN THIS week’s Trade Plates TV news video find out what Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn has had to say about Brexit’s effect on Sunderland, what was the best selling car in July and how much the average dealer made in June.
Nissan boss ‘reasonably optimistic’ about Britain’s role in Europe
Carlos Ghosn told the BBC: ‘I don’t think today you can talk about any impact before we see what is the new status of the UK. The question of Sunderland – Sunderland is a plant which is a European plant based in the UK.’
Revealed: The three manufacturers putting up car prices post-Brexit
Car manufacturers have already begun increasing prices as a precautionary measure since the UK voted to leave the European Union. Daksh Gupta, CEO of Marshall Motor Holdings, revealed in an interview with TradePlates TV that Vauxhall, Ford and Peugeot have all raised the prices of their cars in the six weeks since the UK voted to leave the European Union.
July sees a race for family cars as households head off for summer holidays
Family cars were the UK’s fastest sellers in July – the month for holidaymakers – according to Auto Trader. Citroen’s people carrier, the C4 Picasso, was the country’s fastest selling car taking just 18 days from forecourt to buyer. Hot on its heels was Seat’s now discontinued Altea XL.
Falling consumer confidence to increase level of warranty upgrades
Falling consumer confidence is likely to lead to more used car buyers opting for longer and more comprehensive warranties, says The Warranty Group. Ian Simpson, European managing director of automotive, explained that warranty sales could be countercyclical and that, during the last recession, warranty upgrades had increased.
More than 60 per cent of visits to dealer websites via mobile devices, says iVendi
The increase in used car buyers using mobile devices to access dealer websites is continuing at a pace, according to new figures from iVendi. The figures show that last month, 64 per cent of all visits logged through the iVendi Platform’s consumer areas were by smartphone or tablet, compared to 36 per cent via a laptop or desktop PC. This has increased from a 60 to 40 per cent mix in January.
The average UK retailer made a profit of £42,000 in June, says ASE
Profitability for the first half of the year was on a par with the prior year, albeit with a slight fallback in the second quarter. Over recent quarters the increased losses suffered in the mid-quarter months have been more than compensated for with very strong closing months as bonuses are banked. This was unfortunately not the case in Q2, with June failing to outperform to the same extent.
Consumer car finance volumes up 11 per cent in first half of 2016
The point-of-sale (POS) consumer new car finance market saw new business grow 10 per cent by value and five per cent by volume in June, compared with the same month last year. In the first half of 2016 overall, new business was up 16 per cent by value and 11 per cent by volume, according to figures released today by the Finance and Leasing Association.
Peter Vardy Group welcomes BMWi brand to Edinburgh dealership
Peter Vardy, the Scotland-wide automotive retailer, has today (8 August, 2016) launched a new BMWi brand retail outlet in Edinburgh. The new dealership will sell the all-electric BMW i3 model and its sporty big brother, the plug-in hybrid BMW i8.
Vantage invests £900k in Bradford Kia dealership
Vantage Motor Group, the fast-growing motor retailer with 26 dealerships across the North and Midlands, has invested £900,000 in building a brand new Kia showroom in Bradford. Based in Bradford, the state-of-the-art showroom, which opens this month, is Vantage’s second Kia dealership.
