Friday, January 09, 2009

Government must go beyond interest rate cut, says RMIF

'The Government's reliance on interest rate reductions to stimulate the economy should be part of a wider package of measures, and we urge that more direct approaches are used as soon as possible,' said Sue Robinson, Director of the Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMIF), representing 8,000 businesses in the UK's retail motor sector, commenting on the announcement today (Thursday 8 January 2009). The UK interest rate has been reduced to 1.5 per cent from 2 per cent. Robinson continues: 'Although interest rate reductions will help borrowers, it will conversely penalize savers, and those people reliant on interest for their disposable income. Unless counterbalanced with tax cuts and business support measures, further interest rate reductions could have a negligible effect on the economy.'

DATED: 09.01.09

FEED: AW

# posted by Profit Training Ltd : 3:58 am

Motor industry offered talks by Mandelson

The UK motor industry has been offered its first formal meeting with the Government since November, as ministers come under increasing pressure to offer a multi-billion pound support package to ease the sector's financing squeeze. Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has initiated the fresh approach to the industry following a Christmas hiatus in the negotiations, according to Whitehall sources. The talks were offered on the eve of the publication of 2008 UK new car sales figures, which showed registrations down more than 11%. No date has yet been fixed for the talks, but the Treasury is expected to be directly involved. The Financial Times says that the protracted negotiations over help for the industry are being complicated by the separate talks between the Government and Jaguar Land Rover over its request for a £1 million funding package. One car manufacturer has reportedly warned that the industry was being put at an 'increasing disadvantage' by the lack of state intervention, compared with bailouts and financing support in the United States and by European governments such as France and Germany. Meanwhile, industry chiefs, employers' groups and unions will meet Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Monday (January 12) to try to work out ways of ensuring that the coming surge in unemployment is as short-lived as possible.

DATED: 09.01.09

FEED: AW

# posted by Profit Training Ltd : 3:58 am

GM Sees no potential buyers for SAAB

DETROIT -- General Motors has found no interested buyers for Saab, sources familiar with efforts to sell the Swedish brand say.GM put Saab under strategic review as part of the long-term viability plan submitted to Congress last month. In a subsequent interview with Automotive News, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said strategic review is code for we realize they're not working and something needs to be done.GM has not announced a decision to sell the brand, but has quietly shopped it around, the source said. Corporations typically consider whether potential buyers exist for a business when conducting strategic reviews. The lack of interest makes Saab the second brand GM has been unable to shed as the global financial crisis curbs merger and acquisitions.

DATED: 09.01.09

FEED: ANE

# posted by Profit Training Ltd : 3:56 am

Thursday, January 08, 2009

Interest Rate Announcements

Bank of England Reduces Bank Rate by 0.5 Percentage Points to 1.5%


The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee today voted to reduce the official Bank Rate paid on commercial bank reserves by 0.5 percentage points to 1.5%.

Bank of England Reduces Bank Rate by 0.5 Percentage Points to 1.5%


DATED: 08.01.09


FEED: BoE


# posted by Profit Training Ltd : 3:52 pm

HR Owen disposes of its Volvo sites

HR Owen has finally managed to sell off its four Volvo dealerships in a management buy-out  to Regent Automotive.

The MBO was led by Tracey Perry, previously HR Owen's divisional director for the Volvo franchise, and Frank Fisher.

HR Owen had been trying to sell the four sites, which are all located in London at Colindale, Euston, Chiswick and Regent's Park, since it first announced its strategy to focus on specialist prestigious vehicle sales in September 2007.

The sale had been delayed last year due to stalled negotiations and what HR Owen called “complex property issues”.


HR Owen’s Volvo business had gross assets of £9.3 million and generated a loss for the six month period of £19,000 before tax.

However, Regent Automotive acquired the four dealerships for £186,000, with no payment for goodwill.

The proceeds from the sale will be used to reduce HR Owen's debts.


DATED: 08.01.09


FEED: AM



# posted by Profit Training Ltd : 3:50 pm

Kia bucks trend and looks for growth

Kia sales are set for more growth in 2009 despite the gloom and doom of the UK car market.

Only eight carmakers have increased registrations this year (including Kia, Smart, Volvo and Jaguar). Kia will continue out-performing the slump in 2009 by selling more than 33,000 units, claims its UK managing director Paul Philpott.

“The 2,000 units that were added this year boosted our market share by 7% and I’m confident of achieving further growth of 6% next year,” he told AM.

That would take Kia from its current 1.5% share of the UK market to 1.7%.

Philpott revealed that 10 new sales points will come on line in the first quarter of 2009 to swell the dealer network to 145 sites, and talks are at an advanced stage with another 10.

“Trading conditions are tough, but we are still doing well and I regard the positive attitude of the network as our biggest achievement.

“We’re getting new dealers who are refranchising because they are dissatisfied and this is giving us solus showrooms in many cases. 

“We’re finding that where big brands have suffered a decline in sales, dealers are keen to dual franchise with us because they recognise that only minimum investment in workshop facilities can attract valuable increased sales volume. 

Some existing dealers with one or two sites want to expand to three or even four – and people who gave us notice of termination at the end of 2006 now want to come back,” he said.

According to Philpott, only short supply of its Picanto and Rio models has prevented Kia from achieving even better results.

“Our moves to reduce daily rental business from 7,000 in 2006 to 4,000 this year is steering more business through the network and the figure will drop to 3,000 in 2009 as we give our dealers a more profitable business model.

“Our dealers see us as a well organised, professional and profitable franchise with a great future. 

“Next year will be challenging, but we are in a confident mood,” said Philpott.

Kia will launch the Soul range to its network at its dealer conference in Leeds at the end of January, when pricing, model line-up and marketing plans will be outlined just a week before the first cars reach UK showrooms.

The UK launch of the new Magentis D-sector contender will also coincide with the Leeds event, when Kia Motors management will unveil the company’s business plan for the next 12 months and reveal franchise development over the next three years.


DATED: 08.01.09


FEED: AM


# posted by Profit Training Ltd : 3:15 pm

Personal contract plan subscribers face negative equity

Thousands of cars on personal contract plans are being handed back to finance companies because the owners face negative equity.

People who bought prestige models have suffered the most because a nosedive in second-hand prices has meant they owe more than the car is worth.

According to a car magazine the shortfall for drivers across the country has reached £272 million.

Customers who buy cars on PCPs are quoted a future final payment but are not required to buy the vehicle at the end of the agreement.


DATED: 08.01.09

FEED: AM


# posted by Profit Training Ltd : 3:14 pm

Volkswagen CV offers new finance deals

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is encouraging sales with new finance offers for the first quarter of 2009.

Simon Elliott, Volkswagen CV director, said: “In the current business climate we’ve tried to support our van centres and customers by making our new and used vans much more affordable without resorting to tactics which might jeopardise residual values, increase whole life costs and end up costing the customer more.”

Selected new models of the Caddy, Caddy Maxi and Transporter van ranges are now available until April on contract hire or finance lease programmes from £189, £209 and £229 a month, over 36 months at 10,000 miles per annum.

Until the end of February, Volkswagen CV is also offering used (57-registration) Caddy vans with less than 20,000 miles from only £99 a month, or Transporter vans with less than 15,000 miles for £129 a month as part of Volkswagen Assured Used programme


DATED: 08.01.09


FEED: AM


# posted by Profit Training Ltd : 3:13 pm

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

GMAC Surrenders exclusivity with GM

GMAC is now allowing General Motors to offer finance from third parties, as part of its deal to secure last week's $4bn loan from the US Treasury.
The finance house, partly owned by GM, said GM can now offer financing incentives, including leasing and 0% loans, through other lenders in certain circumstances until 2013.
The agreement is hoped to make GM less dependant on GMAC and enable its customers to get finance more easily for their car purchase.
Since 2006, GMAC has had an exclusive deal with GM, which requires GM to offer any market-beating finance promotions through GMAC only until 2016.

DATED: 06.01.09

FEED: AM

# posted by Profit Training Ltd : 5:27 am

Training is key to beating the recession

"Training does not have to be cost prohibitive – certainly not with our help."

Training can help you succeed in a hard market In an environment where trading is tough, credit crunch and recession are the words on everyone’s lips, deals are much harder and are taking longer to close, the flow of customer traffic has all but halved. This together with increasing costs result in profit margins being significantly reduced, or we end up simply buying the business. We all find ourselves asking the same questions:
Where can we cut our costs?
What is it that we can do to help improve our profitability?
Training is probably one of the first luxuries to be axed in this sort of environment. It’s not a necessity, it’s not going to keep the wolves from the doors, and how can you justify making investments in training your staff when your priorities should be elsewhere?
Quite often, it’s a very high financial commitment, one that is not deemed indispensable.

So why is it important to keep that focus on training and developing your staff in an unpredictable economy?
Selling in a recession is harder.
The pressure to ‘just sell something’ is intense.
It’s a different experience to selling in a booming market.
Sales skills need to be sharpened.
Strict sales processes must be followed.
Every opportunity to make a profit should be maximised.
Concentrating on up-selling wherever possible in order to boost profits.
Of course, training doesn’t just help to improve the profit margins, although one could argue that’s the most important aspect. Think about all the other benefits:
How much more successful is your sales team going to be?
How much more motivated are they going to feel?
Motivated staff want to sell more.
How will that impact their conversion rates and your ever
precious CSI?
They will be more productive and more profitable.
Staff retention will improve, which can be a bit of an issue in our industry.
Training is one of the key factors in helping your sales people to achieve all of this, and it doesn’t have to be cost prohibitive, certainly not with our help.

DATED: 06.01.09

FEED: AM

# posted by Profit Training Ltd : 5:24 am

Audi switching to the 'Terminal' look

A new corporate identity is being rolled out for Audi dealers, as the brand seeks a stronger presence in cities and major towns.The prestige brand is moving away from its hangar dealerships to a new design concept, known as terminal. A perforated aluminium façade is broken up by large expanses of angular windows, which reveal the new cars and an interior of curved walls that Audi says will reflect dynamism as a core brand value. Similar windows will also put the workshop on view.Standard is a single storey outlet with an integral gallery, and interior display space for up to 20 cars. For major urban centres, Audi prefers multi-storey dealerships displaying more than 20 cars, with the floors linked by escalators.Audi UK director Jeremy Hicks told AM that there was not a requirement for all dealers to adopt the new CI immediately, but it will be incorporated at all refurbishments and new-builds.


The roll-out started with Lomond Motors’ Edinburgh Audi, a new-build which is due to begin trading in February. Lomond Motors also operates the flagship Glasgow Audi.The changes are due to expanded product ranges, increased functional demands and Audi’s desire for better brand visibility.



DATED: 06.01.09



FEED: AM

# posted by Profit Training Ltd : 5:18 am

Porsche raises VW stake to over 50%

Germany's Porsche Automobil Holding has raised its stake in Volkswagen to more than 50 percent, triggering a mandatory takeover offer for Sweden's Scania as a result.Porsche's purchase of further ordinary shares in Volkswagen means it now holds a 50.76 percent stake, Porsche said on Monday. It held 42.6 percent previously.The additional stake of 8.16 percent was worth about 6.1 billion euros ($8.49 billion) on the stock market on Monday, according to Reuters calculations, considering that Volkswagen shares closed at 254.74 euros, down 1.7 percent.Porsche had initially planned to raise its stake above 50 percent by the end of last year, but a massive short squeeze in late October briefly made VW the world's most valuable company, when its share price exceeded 1,000 euro.

DATED: 06.01.09

FEED: ANE

# posted by Profit Training Ltd : 5:17 am

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