F&I Management & Training

The company has noted an upsurge in CRM usage on its Pinnacle platform which it said has been accelerated by the dip in new car sales as dealers look to increase business from their existing customer base.

"As the fall in sales for July and August illustrated, many dealers are unlikely to be able to sustain new car sales at the level seen in the first part of this year when the scrappage scheme was in full effect, at least in the short-medium term," said Neville Briggs, Pinewood's managing director.

"What we are seeing instead is a concerted effort from dealers to maximise business on three fronts: new cars, used cars and aftersales. We are seeing evidence of increased and more sophisticated use of CRM for all of these."

Briggs said the rise in the use of CRM signals a more proactive approach from some dealers.

"Dealers have learned that, if their workshop is having a quiet week, they can use their DMS to quickly send out a general special offer on servicing by text or e-mail and see an immediate effect.

"Dealers are recognising that they have to fight for business and are looking for the best way to do it."

DATED: 09.09.10

FEED: MT

The company has noted an upsurge in CRM usage on its Pinnacle platform which it said has been accelerated by the dip in new car sales as dealers look to increase business from their existing customer base.

"As the fall in sales for July and August illustrated, many dealers are unlikely to be able to sustain new car sales at the level seen in the first part of this year when the scrappage scheme was in full effect, at least in the short-medium term," said Neville Briggs, Pinewood's managing director.

"What we are seeing instead is a concerted effort from dealers to maximise business on three fronts: new cars, used cars and aftersales. We are seeing evidence of increased and more sophisticated use of CRM for all of these."

Briggs said the rise in the use of CRM signals a more proactive approach from some dealers.

"Dealers have learned that, if their workshop is having a quiet week, they can use their DMS to quickly send out a general special offer on servicing by text or e-mail and see an immediate effect.

"Dealers are recognising that they have to fight for business and are looking for the best way to do it."

DATED: 09.09.10

FEED: MT

Glass's Guide estimates that the one-to-two year old car parc will reduce by 600,000 cars in 2010 because of declining new car sales.

It said franchised dealers will increasingly source older cars with higher mileages.

MB&G operations director Kevin Pearce said sales of the firm's warranty products were up by a fifth because dealers were stocking an increasing proportion of older, higher mileage cars.

"Sales of our products have increased by 19 per cent during the first six months of this year, as customers seek out additional peace of mind on their vehicle purchase."

Warrantywise also said it has seen a steady rise of dealer warranty sales throughout 2010.

"Many dealers have perfected the upsell aspect of the warranty product we offer and are making a healthy profit from their warranty sales," said Warrantywise managing director Lawrence Whittaker.

RAC Warranty, sales and marketing director Ian Simpson said: "Clearly, used car sales have picked up considerably since the depths of the recession, indicating growing consumer confidence. They have been a key source of dealer profitability during the last year.

"However, while these buyers are now feeling confident enough about their economic prospects to buy a car, they are still nervous about the possibility of any unplanned spending in the future, hence the continuing popularity of upgraded warranties."

DATED: 09.09.10

FEED: MT

Kia Motors (UK) Ltd., is recalling a small number of Soul and new Sorento models in order to deal with a door wiring issue.

As part of Kia's continuous quality improvement programme a potential fault has been identified in a small section of the door wiring loom that controls the "mood" lighting in Soul and Sorento models.

Kia has discovered that in certain circumstances there is a very small danger of the wiring over-heating and that could, in turn, cause a fire. Therefore Kia is immediately taking steps to contact the owners of 73 Soul models and 476 Sorento KX-3 vehicles which feature the mood-lighting.

Owners are being asked to take their vehicles to their local dealership where modification will be undertaken at no cost to them. The work should take no more than one hour.

Hamish McCowan, After-Sales and Logistics Director at Kia Motors (UK) Ltd., said: "We are very sorry for any inconvenience this causes our customers and we are not aware of any vehicles in the UK suffering this problem - but we believe it is better to be safe and that is why we are taking this recall action.

"The risk of a fire is very small and would only occur under extreme circumstances but we want to make sure none of our customers should be anxious about the safety of their vehicles," he added.

The recall affects vehicles built between September of last year and June of this year. Very few models were equipped with the mood lighting for the UK market. Soul was launched into the UK market in March of 2009 and Sorento went on sale from March 1 this year.

A leading economic think tank has highlighted the importance of encouraging private sector research and development (R&D) and has said that improving the availability of finance will be crucial to sustaining the recovery and rebalancing of the UK economy.

The research is the subject of a forthcoming report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), commissioned by SMMT, which will highlight key factors set to influence the country's ability to achieve sustained economic recovery.

Findings of the report were previewed at the first meeting of the new All-Party Parliamentary Motor Group where SMMT urged government to prioritise measures that encourage private investment in Research and Development (R&D) in next month's Comprehensive Spending Review.

In the report, CEBR stresses that current lending to businesses and consumers is well below the level required to secure sustainable growth and that during the credit crunch, lending to manufacturers reduced significantly. With this in mind, the parliamentary briefing emphasised the importance of securing more and better priced finance for businesses and consumers and focused on the role that UK automotive can play in delivering the low carbon revolution.

CEBR chief executive, Douglas McWilliams, said, "Productivity growth is the most important determinant of the pace of economic recovery and innovation, through R&D, plays a highly important role in enhancing that productivity. Within the next five to ten years, the automotive industry could easily become the UK's second largest sector for R&D expenditure, but government assistance is required to ensure good access to affordable finance."

CEBR reinforced the need for government to work closely with industry to make best use of its limited resources. As an integrated group of politicians and industry leaders, the Automotive Council is already making good headway in promoting the value of the UK as a base for investment. However, in order to capitalise on UK skills and the low carbon opportunity, industry needs government to use the October spending review to boost business and consumer confidence through carefully selected measures.

"Industry needs clarity from government on how it will reform the tax credit system to enable R&D, innovation and growth," said Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive. "UK automotive has the potential to be at the heart of a global low carbon revolution that will encompass current and future technologies and fuels."

HR Owen has revealed that former Channel 4 TV chief Andy Duncan will become the supercar dealer's new chief executive.

Duncan will take up the role on October 4, filling a hole left by the departure of HR Owen founder and CEO Nick Lancaster during a boardroom upheaval initiated by chairman Jon Walden in June.

Duncan was most recently chief executive of Channel 4, a position he held from 2004 to 2009.

During his tenure, the TV company increased its market share from 10% to a record 12% and grew its share of UK TV advertising yearly to a record 25% in 2009.

Previous executive roles included director of marketing, communications and audiences at the BBC, and founding chairman of Freeview, plus senior management roles at Unilever.

He is also a non-executive director of entertainment retailer HMV, and is chairman of the Media Trust.

Walden said it was "a real coup" to attract an individual of Duncan's calibre, and his track record of general management, marketing and sales plus his experience of new internet technology will benefit HR Owen in building its business for the future.

In hiring a chief executive from outside the motor retail industry HR Owen follows in the footsteps of fellow publicly listed motor retailer Inchcape, whose chief executive Andre Lacroix had previously headed Eurodisney and Burger King.

DATED: 09.09.10

FEED: AM

As Skoda UK celebrates an impressive year of growth, the manufacturer has appointed Duncan Movassaghi as its new Head of Operations.

Prior to joining Skoda, Duncan, from Warwickshire, held the position of Head of Transformation at Lloyds Pharmacy. Before that he was Products and Marketing Director at Intelligent Finance, held regional sales manager roles at HBoS, and was a business analyst for management consultants McKinsey & Company.

Duncan, who will be overseeing a team of 30 office and field based staff, believes that this is an exciting time to join Skoda. He comments: "I have been extremely impressed with the way that Skoda has transformed its brand and continued to increase market share. The company is a compelling proposition for me in that it has an extremely strong market position yet there is still room for growth."

Robert Hazelwood, Brand Director at Skoda UK, comments: "In Duncan we have a dynamic new member of our senior management team who brings with him vital skills to help meet our ambitious growth targets, while ensuring the brand retains the key attributes it is famed for - engineering excellence, fantastic value for money and exemplary customer service. We wish him every success in the new role."

Marshall Motor Group has agreed to acquire the Mercedes-Benz North West Market Area (MA5), a five site business, from Pendragon for an undisclosed sum.

As part of the deal, all of the area's employees at these sites (around 170 in total) will transfer to Marshall and all of the staff at the five dealerships are currently being consulted.

The completion date is expected to be early in October 2010.

Within the area Marshall acquires the Mercedes Benz franchises in Blackburn, Blackpool, Bolton, Preston and South Lakes as well as taking on the smart franchises located in Blackpool and Bolton.

Trevor Finn, Pendragon chief executive, said the proceeds of this strategic disposal would be used to further reduce the company's borrowings.

The remaining Mercedes-Benz businesses will continue to form a key and integral part of the group, he insisted.

Daksh Gupta, Marshall chief executive, said: “This is an important strategic acquisition for Marshall and we are delighted to be partnering with Mercedes-Benz and Smart, with whom we look forward to building a strong and lasting relationship.

"We are also very much looking forward to welcoming and working with our new colleagues from MA5”.

DATED: 09.09.10

FEED: AM