F&I Management & Training

Indian vehicle manufacturer Tata would be the most suitable home for Jaguar and Land Rover, according to some in the industry. Ford Motor Company hopes to dispose of the PAG brands by the end of September, and has begun presenting the businesses to six interested bidders, four venture capitalists including Chrysler owner Cerberus, plus Indian carmakers Tata and Mahindra & Mahindra. Roy Kishor, motor industry expert at corporate advisory Kroll, believes Tata will fight hardest to win the prestigious brands. It has already demonstrated its huge group resources to do so - in January it paid $6.2bn for steel maker Corus, and in June it raised $450m through a securities issue at the Bombay Stock Market.

DATED: 04.09.07

FEED: AW

Lookers reported a 41% rise in pretax profits in the six months to end of June after it continued to outperform the market for new cars. Like-for-like new car sales were up 6% against a market up 2%,' chief executive Ken Surgenor said. High-end vehicles from Bentley, Ferrari, Maserati and Aston Martin were strong sellers for the group, which represents the brands in Northern Ireland through its Charles Hurst division. The mainstream market also held up, despite a backdrop of rising interest rates, with a particularly strong performance from Vauxhall and Mercedes, Surgenor said. Lookers is adding Ford to its portfolio with the opening this week of a dealership in Sheffield acquired from the administrator of Dixon Motors. 'We are the partner of choice for many manufacturers, and that now includes Ford,' he said.

DATED: 04.09.07

FEED: AW

Car dealers who could be due repayments for VAT incorrectly levied on demonstrator vehicles are continuing to seek advice from the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA). The recent House of Lords judgement on Sempra Metals Ltd related to the premature payment of corporation tax, but the decision may have a direct impact on VAT. The NFDA has been speaking to a number of sources on the situation. A Group Litigation Order (GLO) that could lead to car dealers receiving substantial repayments for VAT incorrectly levied on demonstrator vehicles has been organised and the NFDA are investigating its scope. NFDA Director Sue Robinson commented: 'We have spoken to the legal team at McGrigors who are running the recently publicised GLO. We are also speaking to PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Seeking out a range of views on the issue enables us to advise our members on the best ways forward with compound interest.

DATED: 03.09.07

FEED: AW

Lookers has recorded record first half year interim results, with the dealer group seeing operating profit up 40 per cent from £18.8m to £25m.
The publicly listed company's results are in stark contrast to Pendragon, the country's biggest dealer group which recently recorded an £18m slump in half-year pre-tax profits, with new car sales for the period up 6 per cent.
“I am delighted to report that Lookers has continued to outperform the market and achieved record results for the period, in line with expectations,” said Ken Surgenor, chief executive.
“This excellent performance is testament to the success of our proven strategy. We remain dedicated to the further development of our complementary businesses through both organic growth and acquisitions".

DATED: 03.09.07

FEED: MT

Most dealers say it is harder to sell cars with finance now than it was just 12 months ago, according to an industry survey conducted by Auto Trader.
The survey questioned a mixture of 94 franchised and independent retailers and found that 60 per cent said it was more difficult to sell finance packages now compared to last year.
Consumers are offered a wide choice of low-cost finance packages from the banks
The findings show that in the past six months just seven per cent of car sales involved dealer finance schemes. As much as 40 per cent were funded by cash and 32 per cent were bought with hire purchase agreements

DATED: 03.09.07

FEED: MT