F&I Management & Training

Infiniti, Nissan’s luxury brand which is poised to launch in the UK next year, has scotched rumours that the Sytner Group is set to take on its UK distribution.
Negotiations are in progress with a UK dealer group but Wayne Bruce, communications director for Infiniti Europe, denied that Sytner had been approached and said that the luxury brand would announce further details in the autumn.

“Speculation is rife but it's not true,” said Bruce, “We'll be revealing our partners names across Europe and more details of the roll-out in the autumn".

DATED: 10.08.07

FEED: MT

Renault has announced it has reached the fourth stage – E4 – of its Renault Excellence Plan.
While the first three stages focused on product quality, E4 aims to drive up dealer standards.

Carlos Ghosn, Renault chief executive, stressed the growing importance of customer service in securing customer loyalty and boosting profitability.

DATED: 10.08.07

FEED: MT

Mazda has confirmed that the new Mazda6 will make its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month.

The new model will make its first world appearance at the 62nd show on 11 September.
Mazda said the updated car had evolved the original model’s design and functionality and also offered enhanced safety and environmental performance.
The new Mazda6 is the brand's second new generation product to be updated following the all-new Mazda2.


DATED: 10.08.07

FEED: MT

Pressure from German car manufacturers that produce high emission vehicles is forcing the European Commission to go into reverse over plans to tighten carbon dioxide levels.
Earlier this year the European Union announced proposals to cap CO2 emissions at an average of 130 g/km by 2012 for each vehicle manufacturer across its fleet. A further 10 g/km was to be saved through other methods such as improved fuel and tyre technology.

DATED: 10.08.07

FEED: AW

Transport for London (TfL) has proposed radical changes to the congestion charge that will bring massive bills for larger families and which penalise early adopters of congestion charge-busting hybrid cars. It also raises fundamental questions about the scheme's aims; is it to reduce congestion, raise revenue, penalise drivers of larger cars or to cut emissions?
In its consultation due to be issued on Friday, TfL confirms it intends to link the new charge to car CO2 emissions. Models which emit under 120 g/km CO2 or less will be exempt, while those over 225 g/km will pay £25 a day to enter the recently enlarged central London zone. Most other cars and commercial vehicles will pay £8 a day.

DATED: 10.08.07

FEED: AW

A Russian aluminium tycoon, who owns Gaz, which in turn controls British van maker LDV, has acquired a near 5% stake in General Motors.
Oleg Deripaska, Russia's second richest man, bought the £445 million stake in recent months. However, the investment is said to be personal and has not been discussed officially within Gaz's management.
Nevertheless, news of his investment has prompted speculation about future ownership of General Motors, which is in the middle of a major restructuring programme to transform its financial performance.

DATED: 10.08.07

FEED: AW

Fiat, as expected, has signed a letter of intent for a joint venture with Chinese car manufacturer Chery Automobile.
Under the plan around 175,000 cars a year will be produced from 2009 and, for the time, Alfa Romeo models will be sold in China.
The move is the latest in a series of developments by Fiat to develop multiple alliances worldwide to offset research and production costs while preserving its independence.

DATED: 10.08.07

FEED: AW

LDV is celebrating after receiving the national accolade of UK Company of the Year 2007 from the Institute of Transport Management.
The Birmingham-based company was honoured by the Institute for an outstanding achievement business turnaround fighting off steep competition from 16 other companies to become the UK winners, with Virgin Trains and British Midlands Airlines finishing as runners-up.
Commenting on the award which formed part of the Institute's 30th anniversary celebrations, Mr Patrick Sheedy, director of media and PR said: "This announcement comes as a result of the Institute's most extensive researching of the entire transport industry.
"LDV, a company with very strong British roots, has maintained its identity throughout good times and bad, and today sits at the top of what is an ultra- competitive light commercial vehicle market."
LDV's chief executive, Steve Young feels this award will continue to strengthen the company's presence within the industry: "We are very proud to receive this prestigious award after what has been a remarkable 12 months. Investment from GAZ Group has provided us with the resource for investment in new products allowing us to double our manufacturing line rates, increase our UK sales volumes by 50 per cent and enter into new markets."
The investment has seen a new £6 million production line installed, and has led to more new product launches for LDV including the MAXUS chassis cab range, a 12 and 17-seat MAXUS minibus, a bi-purpose range and two new engines.
The new product ranges and the increased levels of sales in the UK and export markets will see around 100 new jobs created by the end of 2007 adding to the 140 already created since the GAZ takeover.
Mr Sheedy concluded: "This is a remarkable achievement for a remarkable company. I am delighted to be inviting LDV back to the Institute's awards table- this time as UK Company of the Year 2007."
The Institute of Transport Management represents all forms of transport disciplines including land, sea, and air. It works in unison with the government and academic bodies to monitor, improve standards and professionalism in the transport industry.

DATED: 08.08.07

FEED: AW

Manheim is reminding dealers, trading in the areas of the UK ravaged by floods, to be extra cautious when taking in part-exchanges over the next few months, as they may have serious water damage.
Thousands of vehicles submerged in flood water in the Severn Valley, Mid-Wales, West and East Midlands, Yorkshire and the North East are likely to be coming back into the used market in the coming weeks.
Dealers who do not carry out a comprehensive vehicle appraisal on every customer part-exchange could be stuck with flood damaged cars and expensive repair bills.

DATED: 08.08.07

FEED: AW

Following a pilot earlier this year, Black Horse Motor Finance has launched "Finance Direct" - a new initiative to help dealers increase their F&I income, without having to be FSA registered.
With continued pressure from direct lenders, and legislative constraints imposed by the FSA, many smaller dealers have abandoned attempts to offer finance and insurance to their customers at the point of sale. This vital income stream has clearly suffered as a result.
As the majority of smaller dealers are not FSA registered, they can not offer any general insurance or warranty products on vehicles. However, through Finance Direct, Black Horse deal directly with customers on the dealer's behalf, writing incremental volumes of Finance, PPP, warranty and GAP, whilst paying commission to dealers on any sales.
John Woolley, Managing Director explains, "It is vital that we continue to try and sell finance and insurance products where dealers can't, because they're not FSA registered.

DATED: 08.08.07

FEED: AW

Ford is aiming to whittle down the number of potential buyers for its Jaguar and Land Rover brands by the end of next month.
The US automotive manufacturer is believed to be seeking a tentative deal by September 30, suggesting it is looking for a preferred bidder to emerge from the mixture of private equity and automotive companies which have expressed interest.
It may not have ruled out a shortlist of two, leaving open the option of a competitive auction, according to sources.

DATED: 08.08.07

FEED: AW

Private equity firm Cerberus, which completed its takeover of troubled US carmaker Chrysler last week, has underlined its commitment to transforming the marque with the appointing of tough talking ex-marine Robert Nardelli as chairman and chief executive.
The appointment of Mr Nardelli was a surprise as it had been speculated that Wolfgang Bernhard, a former Chrysler and Volkswagen executive who now advises Cerberus, would get the top post.
The appointment was also a blow to Tom LaSorda, who has been demoted to president and will now report to Mr Nardelli. Analysts now expect Mr LaSorda, who devised Chrysler's 'recovery and transformation plan' to leave the manufacturer.

DATED: 08.08.07

FEED: AW

Sharply reduced pre-tax profits at Pendragon, Britain's biggest car retailer, have failed to dilute the company's desire to expand and buy-up smaller rivals.
The company, which has 350 franchise points in the UK, has announced pre-tax profits of £33.5 million for the six months to June 30, 2007, down from £51.5m for the same period last year. Sales increased slightly from £2.6 billion to £2.7bn.
Chief executive Trevor Finn said: "The UK motor retail sector has faced a challenging time this year, and this has affected our results for the six months. Throughout the period we have remained focused on scale efficiencies and cash management as we reduce our debt levels following the acquisition of Reg Vardy last year.

DATED: 08.08.07

FEED: AW

Strong sales in Europe and the United States helped Toyota to a record second quarter profit of $4.1 billion with earnings better than expected, up 32%. Business was further boosted by the weak yen, which helped increase operating income and was equivalent to the contribution of rising vehicle sales - up 8% in Europe and 2% in the US.

DATED: 08.08.07

FEED: AW

Former Ford Motor Company boss Jacques Nasser is to fly to Britain to visit the Jaguar and Land Rover factories as part of his bid to buy the up-for-sale brands. Mr Nasser, who bought Land Rover for Ford seven years ago when he was in the blue oval's driving seat, is expected to woo trade unions on his visit to the UK to gain support for his bid with One Equity Partners, the private equity firm owned by JP Morgan Chase.
Union leaders have urged the Government to block any sale to a private equity bid, fearful that such a move could lead to widespread job losses.
Meanwhile, the New York Times has reported that Ford's advisers had begun preparing information for bidders for Land Rover and Jaguar, and that the company hoped to have a tentative deal to sell the two British brands by September 30.

DATED: 08.08.07

FEED: AW

Nissan GB's managing director Gary Frigo has lashed out at Dixon Motors after the group's collapse threatened to close seven of the brand's franchised dealerships.
Admitting the partnership with Dixon's had not been on solid ground for some time, Frigo said: "To be brutally honest, we have had real concerns about the performance of Dixon. As a consequence, we have been in discussions with some excellent prospective partners over the last few months. We will now accelerate these discussions."
Dixons collapsed last week with three of the Nissan sites subsequently sold to Pendragon, which acquired a total of 19 of the former 46 Dixon dealerships. However, Nissan is yet to decide if or how this partnership is to continue long term.

DATED: 08.08.07

FEED: AW

* Total year-to-date registrations up 2.4 per cent to 1,443,576 units* Year-to-date diesel registrations rise by 6.6 per cent to 562,917 units* July full market total of 176,277 units, up 4.9 per cent on previous year* Private registrations up for fifth month this year, with 2.8 per cent rise in July
'Trying to predict the spending habits of the motorist is as tricky as forecasting the British weather, and July has given us both of those challenges in spades,' says Christopher Macgowan, chief executive of SMMT. 'In spite of interest rate rise concerns and the traditional quiet holiday period, new car registrations have exceeded expectations. Interestingly, diesel cars took a whopping 41.2 per cent share of the total registrations, which should help government and industry with their CO2 reduction targets.'

DATED: 08.08.07

FEED: AW

Fleet risk management focussed ALD Automotive has won a major award from the Institute of Transport Management for its unique Car Allowance Road Risk Solution (CARRS).
The CARRS initiative enables companies to pro-actively manage the road risk posed by employees who drive their own cars on company business - often neglected within the ever-increasing focus on corporate health and safety responsibilities.
The ITM has named CARRS as the winner of its 'On-line Risk Management Solution Award 2007'.

DATED: 08.08.07

FEED: AW

Hagglers and time wasters top poll on causes of 'sale rage'
The growth of car boot sales and eBay culture hasn't managed to overcome our traditional British dislike of the private sale according to the results of a new survey. In fact it seems that selling privately can often trigger 'sale rage', especially amongst men who are fed up with hagglers and time wasters.
A poll of car sellers, conducted by online car purchasing service webuyanycar.com, revealed that we all dislike the hassles associated with selling, especially items as important as our cars.
It seems to be the other people involved that really get us mad, with 'hagglers' and 'time wasters' causing the most distress (reported as the main cause of irritation in 51% and 56% of cases respectively).
Men seem to find the selling process particularly stressful and are 70% more likely than women to suffer from some form of sale rage.

DATED: 08.08.07

FEED: AW

A fall in the day-to-day expenses of running a car has slowed the overall total cost of motoring in the UK.
RAC Direct Insurance's annual Cost of Motoring Index reveals that average daily running costs for an average family car have fallen close to the levels of 2005, seeing the total cost of motoring rise by only 3% year-on-year, compared with an 11% increase the previous year.
The average family car now costs £5,627 a year to keep on the road, an increase of £162.70 year-on-year.

DATED: 08.08.07

FEED: AW

Nissan Motor GB Ltd has confirmed that it is speaking to a number of interested parties regarding the Nissan franchise in the areas of Barnsley, Grimsby, Halifax, Huddersfield, Lincoln, Scunthorpe and Sheffield.
Former incumbent Dixon Motor Holding Group, having gone into administration as of 26th July, has left open points for the brand in seven areas. Nissan is actively looking to fill these locations with quality partners within as short a time as possible.
Whilst this search goes on, Nissan is working closely with the administrators to obtain customer information related to the closed sites in order to honour customers' purchases and complete any outstanding service and warranty work.

DATED: 08.08.07

FEED: AW