Thursday, October 22, 2009
Inchcape upbeat despite 'challenging' market
International automotive group Inchcape, which is one of the UK's largest dealer groups, says that its financial performance for 2009/10 is expected to be significantly ahead of previous expectations leaving the firm 'broadly debt-free' by the year-end.
However, the company has warned that it expects conditions to remain challenging in most of its markets until well into the second half of 2010 as consumer confidence continues to be weak across the world and unemployment is still rising in many of its key markets.
But, said Inchcape in a trading update: "We are confident that with our continued focus on costs and working capital, the group has the financial strength and flexibility to trade effectively and continue to gain share in these challenging conditions."
Group CEO André Lacroix said: "Whilst we continue to experience an extremely challenging market environment, we have benefited in the third quarter from stronger than expected trading in several core markets.
"This demonstrates the benefits of our broad geographic portfolio, the strengths of our business model and the impact of our self-help measures implemented throughout the group.
"With increased share across our key markets, scale positions in established and emerging markets and industry consolidation opportunities in the medium term, we are confident that the group is well positioned to continue to outperform our competitors and to benefit from market recovery."
Inchcape reported that revenue for the third quarter was 13.4 per cent below last year, but was 2.2 per cent ahead of the second quarter. The better than expected trading update, prompted Investiec, the group's broker, to raise its full-year pre-tax profit forecast from £120 million to £140m.
In the UK, Inchcape said it had benefited from the impact of the scrappage incentive scheme and used car margins being maintained at the exceptional level seen in the first half.
However, the company warned that the underlying demand for new vehicles remained weak as third quarter registrations excluding scrappage were down 15.1 per cent versus 2008 and 28.6 per cent versus 2007.
The great stock shortage
HPI Valuations offers an insight into the state of the used car market
Despite depreciation slowing down and values stabilising, the shortage of stock is holding the used car market back from a full recovery, says vehicle information provider HPI. Whilst many the market is showing signs of bouncing back, the need for more stock to support the retail sector is vital to kick-start the industry.
"The great stock shortage is at the forefront of everyone's mind, with many wondering when it will end," explains Martin Keighley, HPI's valuation expert. "The operators who have control over used car stocks, namely manufacturers, rental companies and fleets, are no longer managing the process in the usual way. Knee-jerk reactions at the beginning of the recession have not been reversed as the economy has started to recover."
"Manufacturers reduced their used vehicle stocks to the bare minimum, using the scrappage scheme and a variety of special offers. In addition, they turned off the taps, reducing production of new vehicles, while reducing support for the daily rental industry in both numbers of vehicles and depreciation risks.
"The steps taken by manufacturers had a knock-on effect. Daily rental companies no longer have the regular volumes that would normally make their way into the used market. In the current economic climate rental organisations struggle to get finance to take on the extra risk of outright purchase of new vehicles.
"With rental companies holding onto vehicles for longer, what was once a major supply of used car stock is now just a trickle. Added to this leasing companies are relying on extending contracts to ride out the residual value falls and avoid large back end losses. This means fewer 'end of contract' vehicles coming to market and those that do appear are above average in terms of age and mileage.
"Today, dealers are taking fewer part exchanges, while relying on the scrappage scheme to generate business, but at the end of the day they cannot find the right stock to sell, putting businesses in danger. Some, including franchise operators will struggle to survive. Many are retaining older and higher mileage vehicles that they would once have passed down the line.
"The used market suppliers appear to be lacking the confidence to step up production and start taking risks again, even though used values are back to something approaching sensible levels. Even if the tap was turned back on tomorrow, it would still take months before used stock reached levels to match demand.
Keighley concludes "The stock shortage looks like it's going to be with us for some time. Meanwhile, used values will continue to rise, leaving dealers competing with each other in an effort to fill the empty spaces on their forecourts. Until true market confidence returns, which could be the middle of next year at the earliest, dealers are going to continue to struggle, as fresh used stock remains elusive."
RMI Pre-Budget Submission
'The Government's decision to extend the scrappage scheme is very welcome news, but the industry faces other challenges, including the looming VAT increase and ongoing issues surrounding Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) refunds, which must be addressed,' said Sue Robinson, Director of the Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMI) commenting on the RMI's Pre-Budget Submission.
With the re-introduction of the 17.5 per cent VAT rate scheduled for 1 January 2010, the RMI is urging the Government to postpone the increase for at least one month until after the busy New Year sales period.
VED refunds are an ongoing concern as from 1 January 2009 vehicle dealers were prevented from applying for refunds on vehicles taken in part exchange for sales. The RMI continues to lobby the Government to review this decision.
Hyundai profits reach record high
The company reported a net profit of 979.1bn won ($832.2m; £497.4m) in the third quarter.
This figure is more than three times the 264.8bn won profit that the company made a year ago.
Since May, the South Korean government has been offering consumers a 70% cut in taxes when they buy new cars.
Hyundai's success comes as the global industry struggles to emerge from an unprecedented downturn that drove Chrysler and General Motors to bankruptcy.
On Wednesday, Peugeot Citroen, Europe's second-biggest carmaker, reported lower-than-forecast third-quarter sales.
And Russia's largest carmaker Avtovaz said it was to cut up to 27,600 jobs as it tries to cope with the global slump in demand.
Honda is the only major Japanese car maker expected to post an operating profit in the first half of the year, the Nikkei business daily reported on Thursday.
Hyundai now looks set to challenge Germany's Volkswagen as the most profitable of the world's major carmakers this year.
Peugeot sales figures disappoint
Shares in Peugeot Citroen, Europe's second-biggest carmaker, have fallen 7% after the company reported lower-than-forecast third-quarter sales.
Sales fell 7.7% from a year earlier to 11.8bn euros ($17.7bn; £10.8bn).
Sales in Europe were boosted by various government-backed scrappage schemes, which helped sales of smaller models in particular.
However, this was offset by a steep drop in sales in Russia, Eastern Europe and Latin America.
Inventories of unsold vehicles, which were a major concern for carmakers when the crisis hit last year, decreased by 36% to 400,000 vehicles compared with 628,000 at the start of the year, the company said.
Peugeot Citroen's disappointing figures are indicative of the wider troubles that continue to affect the car industry, with companies outside of Europe being especially badly hit.
On Wednesday, Russia's largest manufacturer of cars, Avtovaz, said it could have to file for bankruptcy because of a collapse in sales and massive debts.
The company has already shed more than 25,000 of its 100,000-strong workforce to try to keep afloat.
VW to buy half of Porsche by 2010
Europe's largest carmaker, Volkswagen, has said it is to buy 49.9% of sports car maker Porsche by the end of 2009 for about 3.9bn euros (£3.54bn;$5.8bn).
In August VW and Porsche agreed the details by which VW will merge with its German compatriot by 2011.
VW had initially been set to buy a 42% stake in Porsche by the end of this year for 3.3bn euros.
The deal will end months of acrimony between the two firms, and would end Porsche's failed efforts to buy VW.
Funding failure
Over the past year Porsche built up major debts to get a 51% stake in VW, only to fall short of the required 75% when it could not raise more funds due to the impact of both the global credit crunch and the slump in global car sales.
Porsche's failure to buy VW saw the firm's former chief executive Wendelin Wiedeking and financial director Holger Haerter resign this summer.
Porsche is set to become the 10th brand in the VW family, joining the likes of Audi, Seat and Skoda.
GM still confident of Opel-Magna deal
General Motors is 'reasonably confident' that a deal to sell Opel to Magna International and Sberbank will be signed this week despite a warning by the European Union that the proposed sale might breach state aid rules, Fritz Henderson, GM's chief executive, said in an interview on Monday.
'The German government is in dialogue with the EU, and that's kind of in their job responsibility code, if you will,' said Henderson. GM, meanwhile, is now working to finish the remaining items in its negotiations with Magna and to work with the German government on terms of the deal's financing.
Henderson said keeping Opel was one of GM's fallback plans if necessary, but said the best option was to close the deal with Magna. As for other potential buyers of the asset, he said 'there is no one else out there'.
'We've had a number of exhaustive discussions with our board on the deal, the rationale for it, and the need to support the Magna transaction,' he said. 'If facts fundamentally change, we would go back and consult with our board. But right now, we're spending all of our time trying to get the Magna deal closed.'
Neelie Kroes, the EU's competition chief, threw the sale into disarray on Friday when she said in a letter to German Finance Mnister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg that Berlin's financial aid for the spin-off appeared to be conditional on Magna and Sberbank winning control, and thus could violate the bloc's antitrust rules.
A spokesman for the German government trust managing Opel said on Monday that it had based its decision to approve the sale to Magna and Sberbank purely on economic grounds.
He said that it was up to the German government to clarify any concerns with Brussels. 'We expect that the process will not need to be restarted,' the spokesman said.
The European Commission said that it had seen a copy of a letter sent on Saturday by Germany's government to GM and the Opel trust assuring them that the ?4.5bn of government aid for the deal was not dependent on Magna and Sberbank being the winner, and was available to all bidders.
RHJ International, the other shortlisted bidder until GM chose Magna in September, on Monday ruled out renewing its interest. 'RHJ has absolutely no plans to revive its Opel bid,' a spokesman for the Brussels-based investment group said.
EIB Grants e400m to SAAB
The money is expected to help in the planned sale of the firm by its parent General Motors.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Manufacturers capture record new car finance share
"With more proposals being turned down due to tough lending criteria, 95% of dealers - the second highest ever percentage - are utilising a secondary finance house for new car business"
Vehicle manufacturers’ captive finance houses have achieved a record finance market penetration of 84%, up from a penetration of around an average of 80% recorded in the past decade.
But with more proposals being turned down due to tough lending criteria, 95% of dealers - the second highest ever percentage - are utilising a secondary finance house for new car business, according to the latest Sewells New Car Finance House Survey.
The survey results also suggest average franchised dealer new car finance penetration has increased substantially to 52%, from 45% in the 2008 survey.
John Maslen, Sewells’ brand director, said: “Rising point-of-sale new car finance penetration may be due in part to the consequences of the credit crunch halting the rise of direct lending in the motor finance market.
“But equally, it may be a result of increasing professionalism in dealerships with dealers and their suppliers working together to reverse a persistent decline in showroom car finance sales.”
The research found that more and more dealerships are employing finance specialists with those employing F&I managers enjoying an average new car finance penetration of 54%, whereas those without averaged 47%.
Based on responses from 832 franchised dealers covering 51 franchises and 1,197 franchise outlets, the 2009 Sewells’ survey shows the quality of service provided by finance houses to their dealer intermediaries remains the major influence on dealer satisfaction.
Service-related issues accounted for four of the top 10 dealer priorities in the 2009 survey, down from five in 2008 and eight in 2007 – but they were still the top four satisfaction factors.
The highest dealer priority was the speed that finance houses turned around proposals.
The latest survey also shows a year-on-year increase in dealers saying that the credit crunch has had a negative effect on customer enquiries for finance – for 40% of dealers polled in August 2009, compared with 30% a year earlier, when car sales had just entered free-fall.
The New Car Finance House Survey 2009 also explored franchised dealers’ views on acceptance of proposals and compared the results to an identical question asked in August 2008 and November 2008.
In August 2008, 42% of franchised dealers polled said acceptances were down.
This increased dramatically to 53% in November 2008, however the latest position (August 2009) is similar with 54% saying acceptances were down.
Dealers views on the acceptance of finance proposals
The following chart summarises the franchised dealer results of the following question asked in three consecutive Sewells’ Finance House Surveys: “Thinking about the ‘credit crunch’, has it affected the percentage of proposals your finance houses accept/approve compared to last year?”
The research for the three studies – The Sewells New Car Finance House Surveys in 2008 and 2009 and Sewells’ Used Car Finance House Survey 2008 – was completed in the months shown in the chart.
DATED: 20.10.09
FEED: AM
IMI's Sillars joins board of industry charity BEN
Sarah Sillars has accepted a seat on the board of trustees at motor industry charity BEN.
Sillars, chief executive of the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI)since 2002, is recognised as a highly respected industry commentator.
With more than twenty five years of experience within the motor and retail industries, she was listed as the tenth most influential person in the UK motor industry and the ‘most powerful’ female executive in the 2008 AM Power List.
David Main, BEN’s chief executive welcomed Sillars to the board and said she will be invaluable in helping to shape BEN’s future.
"Sarah has been a long term supporter of BEN, previously serving as vice president, and she brings to the board an enthusiasm and unparalleled understanding of the industry that we are certain will reap huge rewards for BEN.”
DATED: 20.10.09
FEED: AM
Inchcape outperforming expectations
Inchcape has upgraded its forecast for year-end 2010 following third quarter sales that were better than expected.
"Our group financial performance for the full year is expected to be significantly ahead of previous expectations," said a stock market statement from the London-based international motor retailer this morning.
The UK scrappage scheme and improved trading in Australia and Hong Kong propped up Q3 sales, while used car sales and aftersales kept gross margins robust.
André Lacroix, group chief executive, said: “Whilst we continue to experience an extremely challenging market environment, we have benefited in the third quarter from stronger than expected trading in several core markets.
"This demonstrates the benefits of our broad geographic portfolio, the strengths of our business model and the impact of our self-help measures implemented throughout the group.
“With increased share across our key markets, scale positions in established and emerging markets and industry consolidation opportunities in the medium term, we are confident that the group is well positioned to continue to outperform our competitors and to benefit from market recovery.”
Total revenue for the third quarter was 13.4% below last year in actual currency and 16.5% below last year in constant currency, but was 2.2% ahead of the second quarter in actual currency. Our like for like revenue for the third quarter was down against last year by 9.7% in actual currency and 13.7% in constant currency.
Inchcape said gross margin performance in Q3 has been "robust", with used car margins "solid" in several markets and aftersales, which represents half of gross profit, "resilient".
It said its cost base has benefited from the group restructuring programme that over the last twelve months reduced the workforce by 2350 jobs and closed 31 sites.
Strong cashflow generation has reduced finance costs for Q3, and Inchcape now expects to be "broadly debt-free" by the year-end.
DATED: 20.10.09
FEED: AM
Car dealer Manor Oak Peugeot collapses
Manor Oak PMG, a two-site Peugeot dealer formed from the remnants of one-time major motor retailer Glenvarigill, has gone bust.
The company, and Peugeot UK, had been trying to find a buyer for the past nine months but without success, AM understands.
Blair Nimmo and Gary Fraser, administrators from KPMG, were appointed last Thursday, and decided the business had to cease trading.
It had employed 60 people across its Dundee and Aberdeen Peugeot dealerships, of whom 48 have been made redundant immediately. Both sites have retained six staff during the insolvency process.
Manor Oak (PMG) Ltd was formed in 2007 by Kevin Lamb, Glenvarigill's finance director, and Dean Fulton to trade the Peugeot dealerships in Aberdeen and Dundee after purchase from Glenvarigill.
KPMG said the business incurred continuing losses putting severe pressure on the cash flow of the company.
Manor Oak (PMG)'s sister company, Manor Oak (HMG), which operates two Honda dealerships, continues to trade successfully, as normal, said KPMG.
Fulton resigned directorships of Manor Oak (HMG) and Manor Oak (PMG) in July.
DATED: 20.10.09
FEED: AM
China car output 'breaks record'
Chinese annual car production has topped 10 million for the first time as carmakers boost output to meet growing demand, state media has said.
The 10 millionth car produced this year rolled off the First Automobile Works Group assembly line in Changchun, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
Despite the downturn and falling sales at most global carmakers, demand for cars in China is booming.
State incentives, such as tax cuts on small cars, have boosted sales.
Like many other governments around the world, China has also introduced subsidies to trade in older vehicles.
Previously, only the US and Japan had produced 10 million cars in a single year.
Domestic Chinese car sales overtook those in the US for the first time in December of last year, and this trend has continued.
Global carmakers are now increasingly targeting China as a key growth market.
RMI works to support independent garage sector
'The scrappage scheme has had an extremely positive impact on the motor industry as a whole; the priority for The Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMI) must now be to work with the independent garages to ensure they are properly equipped to benefit from the longer term results of the scheme,' said Jonas Zambakides, IGA Chairman.
'The RMI is multi-faceted' Zambakides continued, 'we must turn our attention to support our IGA members so that they can reap the benefits from the current car market.
'The key for continued growth for independents is assurance of access to technical information. The revitalisation of the new car sector via scrappage means that there are now more new cars on the roads, and this has focused the need for technical information and the facility to re-commission vehicles.
'We must focus all our efforts on seeking delivery of this crucial element for the independents. Access will be decided in Europe so we will be continuing our support for the independent Garages in Brussels.'
Colin Parlett, Director of the RMI and past president of the Federation works tirelessly to represent member's requirements at the EU; The RMI will ensure that the independent sector's requirements are robustly represented at all the relevant European Commission meetings on technical information.
Lotus profits in reverse
Lotus, the historic British marque, reversed from a £2 million after-tax profit to a £14.6m loss in the year to March, according to the car manufacturer's latest accounts.
This was driven by increased costs as its owner, the Malaysian car company Proton, invested in it through the recession.
The company took on 185 staff to prepare for last July's launch of the Evora, its first new model in 14 years. And in an effort to boost turnover, new variants of existing models were introduced and the dealer network expanded to cover more emerging markets including Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Taiwan.
But the downturn has taken its toll as Lotus produced only 2,202 cars during the year compared with 2,649 in 2008. Revenue from sales and services fell 5.9 per cent to £73.7m but this was offset by growth in Lotus's high-tech engineering consultancy division which left revenues for the year up 1.9 per cent to £110.9m. However, the increased investment battered the company's profit margin as costs rose 16.6 per cent to £124.2m.
Parent company loans from Proton increased nearly six-fold and bank loans rose by a factor of 10 to bring total borrowing to £72m. Shareholders' funds slid from £17m to a deficit of £4.5m, but the accounts state that another Proton subsidiary will support Lotus as necessary for another 12 months.
With deliveries of the Evora underway, the road ahead should be smoother. The Evora, the world's first mid- engine, four-seater supercar, will debut in the US early next year with an automatic variant, following in 2011. North and South America are Lotus's largest markets bringing in £36.2m.
In contrast, the UK is not only Lotus's second-smallest market but it is the only one which declined during the year shrinking by 5.6 per cent to provide £24.5m of the company's turnover.
Monday, October 19, 2009
LDV sold to Chinese firm
Eco Concept
Eco Concept is owned by Qu Li, an ex-MG Rover consultant who is now chairman of China Ventures, an automotive consultancy.
She has a strong background in automotive. Her father was chief engineer of Nanjing Automotive, which bought MG
Administration
Rover and moved much of the production to China after the company went into administration. It subsequently merged with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) in 2007.
Formal completion of the transaction should occur within the next four weeks, following which it is Eco Concept's intention to relocate the assets from the current site in Washwood Heath, Birmingham.
Unsuccessful plea
Rob Hunt, Mark Hopkins and Matthew Hammond of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP were appointed joint administrators of LDV Group in June after the collapse of a potential buyout by Weststar, the Malaysian van manufacturer. Van production, however, stopped last Christmas.
LDV's management team made an unsuccessful plea to the government for a £60m refinancing loan arguing the cost of letting the manufacturer fail would outweigh the cost of keeping it going.
The company employed 850 workers at its plant and 1,200 staff at its dealer network. Thousands more workers were also employed by parts suppliers to the vanmaker.
DATED: 19.10.09
FEED: MT
RMI and SMMT move to work closer
Speaking at the trade association's annual dinner in London, Williams said the joint lobbying of the two industry bodies helped drive through the scrappage scheme and its subsequent extension.
"The scrappage incentive scheme has been a great success and will continue to be so and achieve the primary goal - maximising employment within our industry.
"There are a number of positives emanating from the scheme. For me the most important was the joining of forces between ourselves and the SMMT.
Joint lobbying
"Both Joe Greenwell, the SMMT's chairman, and I are determined to be more proactive in presenting a joint industry view whenever the need arises. Believe me when I tell you that government response is noticeably more pronounced when we join forces and remind them of our presence in the UK economy," he said.
Williams told the audience the retail industry employs 600,000 people in 23,000 business across the UK and the combined figure with vehicle manufacturers is nearly 1 million.
"As a whole our industry contributes 5.5 per cent of UK GDP. It is this size and enormity that makes government sit up and take notice," he said.
Frustrations
Williams, who is also the chairman of Vertu Motors, also shed some light on the frustrations of dealing with government bodies.
"As a retailer I used to think that sales objective discussions with manufacturers were difficult. I was wrong. Dealing with the ministerial hierarchy of government made light of anything I have ever encountered. All that matters is we succeeded. Not just once but twice," he said.
DATED: 19.10.09
FEED: MT
Vertu outperforms market expectations
Pre-tax profits leaped 47% in its first half of the year at AIM listed dealer group Vertu Motors, headed by Robert Forrester.
The figure jumped to £2.8m from £1.9m in the six months to August, despite revenues dipping to £401.3m from £423.5m.
Performance was boosted by strong used car sales, up 3.7%, and the scrappage scheme, which generated 1,686 sales for Vertu in the period.
Chief executive Forrester is upbeat that Vertu, which trades as Bristol Street Motors, will beat its own forecasts in the second half.
Its September new car registrations were 16.3% higher than last year.
However Forrester expects the end of scrappage and the VAT increase to challenge the new car market in 2010.
Vertu has a £20m pot for acquisitions and Forrester hopes to announce another takeover in the next few months.
It has already completed a couple of takeovers of struggling dealers this year.
DATED: 19.10.09
FEED: AM
Peter Vardy launches fund for local youth projects
Scottish dealer group Peter Vardy has launched a fund to support local youth projects.
The company has pledged to give 10% of its annual net profits to charitable causes.
To determine how these proceeds should be best distributed, the company has launched the Peter Vardy Charitable Fund (PVCF) with an initial £100,000 investment.
The PVCF will be run by a board of trustees which will meet regularly to review all funding applications that support underprivileged young people in communities across Scotland where Peter Vardy runs dealerships. Currently this includes Motherwell, Perth, Kirkcaldy and Edinburgh.
The trustees will consider two categories for funding: applications of over £1K and ones for under £1K.
Peter Vardy said: “Launching this fund has been a major goal of mine since setting up the business in 2006. One of the key objectives for the company from the on-set was to ensure we do things differently and make a genuine difference through what we do.
"We are especially keen to reach out to young people in low income families and those with disability. We are now looking to get applications from relevant groups and projects which could use our help.
He added: “It’s a motivating factor for our entire team, knowing that the growth of the fund will be linked to the success of the company. We now look forward to supporting local groups which will deliver beneficial projects to support young people in our communities.”
Peter Vardy is currently running an appeal for Cambodia with Hagar International which has already raised nearly £50,000 this year for a community learning centre for under-privileged children in the south east Asian country.
DATED: 19.10.09
FEED: AM
Office of Fair Trading examines pricing etc.
The Office of Fair Trading is to examine potentially misleading pricing practices.
Industry sectors to come under scrutiny will include car hire and insurance.
It will look into issues such as drip-pricing (where the cost of an item increases through the buying process), baiting sales (advertising discounts but only a few items are included) and reference prices (artificially increasing the price to make the discount look more attractive).
In a separate study, the watchdog will also look at how the habits and personal information of web users are used to created targeted online advertising.
Heather Clayton, a senior director at the OFT, says: “These studies will ensure that we keep up to date with the latest developments and, in particular, on how new pricing and advertising practices are emerging and evolving online.
“It is very important that the OFT’s approach to potentially misleading practices remains well-informed by a sound evidence base, so we effectively protect consumers while allowing firms to compete freely.”
DATED: 19.10.09
FEED: AM
Reg Vardy fined over MoT test
Reg Vardy's Rossleigh Jaguar dealership, which was sold to Pendragon three years ago, has been found guilty for falsely claiming a car had been properly assessed for passing an MOT.
The former north-east car dealership was fined for making a false statement to Ainslie Scott, claiming her car was examined by someone with "knowledge, training and expertise" to assess if it would pass the MOT test on June 15, 2006.
Scott claimed she believed Rossleigh would carry out an MoT on her car, despite the fact, which was unknown to her, the garage was not a testing centre.
Scott said: "I only found out recently they didn't do tests. I thought they did because of the size of the garage and the fact that it was the main dealer of Jaguars."
She told Aberdeen Sheriff Court she received a phone call from the garage receptionist who said that her Jaguar had failed the test and the repair cost would be £2,128. She then decided to take her car to another garage for a second opinion, and was given a small list of items to repair which would cost only around £200.
The court also heard from Hugh Findlay, the mechanic who serviced Scott's car.
He told the court that although he had previously been an MOT tester in the 1970s, he had not been asked to carry out an MOT and he only serviced the car and put his findings in a report.
The sheriff found the company guilty and ordered it to pay a fine of £500.
Darren Payne joins Renault UK
Renault UK has appointed highly-regarded fleet specialist, Darren Payne, as its new Fleet and Commercial Vehicle Operations Director with immediate effect.
Reporting to Managing Director, Roland Bouchara, Darren sits on the Renault UK Board and is responsible for fleet sales and remarketing, as well as all commercial vehicle business.
Darren holds an MBA from Henley Management College and initially embarked on his automotive career with Hertz, followed by PHH (now Arval). In 1995, Darren joined General Motors as LCV Brand Manager, rising to Director level over a 14-year period. During his time in Luton, his other varied senior roles included Leasing Manager for the UK, National Fleet Sales Manager for Vauxhall, Saab and Chevrolet, Sales Director for GM UK Leasing and, most recently, Used Vehicle Sales, Marketing and Operations Director for the UK and Ireland.
Commenting on his new role, Darren said; "I'm delighted to join Renault at such an exciting time, particularly with the latest additions to the New Mégane range and New Master van just appearing on the horizon. Our pivotal electric vehicle range is moving ever closer too and already generating quite a buzz among many of our customers. The fleet industry might still be suffering under the weight of the economic downturn, but with so many impressive models to come, and some already well developed plans for 2010, I'm confident we'll be able to bounce back in quite some style."
Roland Bouchara, Managing Director, Renault UK added, "I am pleased that someone of Darren's calibre joins us as we prepare to launch several key models in the coming months. With a committed and fully-focused team behind him, we're looking forward to re-asserting our brand in the all-important fleet and LCV sectors in the months ahead."
Used car sales on dealer finance plummet 23% in August
Sharp contrast
The performance is on contrast to the three months to August when sales fell 13 per cent and the year to August when sales were down just 10 per cent.
FLA head of motor finance Paul Harrison said the fall was caused by a shortage of supply.
High demand
"The high demand for used cars has out-stripped supply and the lack of affordable stock has led to a shift from used to the new car market.
"As sales grow and prices stabilize we would expect to see the market re-balancing itself."
Limited impact
Harrison said the scrappage scheme has had a limited impact on the motor finance market.
"Rather than take out a finance deal, buyers tend to be trading in cars for scrap and using cash and part-exchange to replace them with a new smaller car," he added.
DATED: 19.10.09
FEED: MT
Volvo launches new accident management service
Non fault customers
Under the scheme, non-fault customers receive a like-for-like Volvo for the duration of the repair with at-fault owners receiving guaranteed mobility for up to a maximum of 21 days.
Accident Exchange, which created the scheme, said it will free up the dealer network by centrally managing every step of the service from initial claims call to repatriation of the customers vehicle.
Improved retention
It claimed dealers will achieve improved customer retention, reduced courtesy car costs, higher repair capture, profitability and commission from non-fault hires.
Volvo network and business development director Kevin Meeks said: "This is a unique and exciting initiative that is designed to support both our customers and dealer network.
Core driver
"Customer satisfaction has always been one of our core drivers and this programme will ensure that Volvo owners remain mobile should they be unfortunate enough to be involved in an accident. And if it's not their fault we will ensure continued mobility in a like for like Volvo car"
Initially all new customers will be automatically included in the Volvo Accident Management scheme with selected used car customers being included at a later date.
DATED: 19.10.09
FEED: MT
Used van prices continue to rise in September
January 2008 peak
Values are now on a par with the peak of £3,868 recorded in January 2008 while year-on-year values are ahead by £672.
Once again average values for fleet & lease and dealer part-exchange vans rose, and although values for nearly-new vans slipped by £227, this appears to have been driven by model mix.
Average fleet and lease van values improved by £180 against August - up by 4.4 per cent, following a 5.2 per cent rise the previous month.
Part-exchange stock
Dealer-entered part-exchange stock rose by £193 to £2,486, an increase of 8.4 per cent, following rises of 7.5 per cent and 9 per cent in the two previous months.
According to BCA, the sector is benefiting from the shortage of good quality stock available from fleet and lease sources.
Nearly-new values fell to £8,807 in September - a fall of £227 - following an increase of over £1,000 in August. With supply relatively limited, model mix has a greater effect here than in other sectors.
Duncan Ward, BCA's General Manager Commercial Vehicles said: "With supplies of good retail quality vans remaining limited in September, prices remained very firm indeed."
"However, if supplies begin to increase significantly from corporate and dealer sources we could be seeing the current peak of market values - and it could be that values settle a little between now and Christmas."
DATED: 19.10.09
FEED: MT
Dealer Finance Grows
The performance compares favourably with that for the three months to August (down 3 per cent) and the year to August (down 19 per cent.)
"Motor finance companies are telling us that the impact of the car scrappage scheme on finance sales has been limited.
Small cars
"Motorists tend to opt for buying small cars and pay the balance from any part exchange under the scrappage scheme with their savings, rather than by using car finance," said FLA chief economist and head of research Geraldine Kilkelly.
The used car finance sector suffered in August with the number of cars sold on consumer finance falling 23 per cent, compared to a decline of 13 per cent in the three months to August and 15 per cent in the year to August.
Call for help
While the FLA welcomed the rise in new car sales, it repeated its call for the government to improve wholesale funding for the car sector.
"For the longer term health of the market, we still need to see progress from the Government in dealing with the wholesale funding issue," said Kilkelly.
A recent FLA survey found 65 per cent of its members said the threat to their businesses fro the high cost of funding remained severe.
DATED: 19.10.09
FEED: MT
