Meridian Motor Group has recently purchased two Citroen dealerships and an accident repair centre in Morecambe and Kendal from John Wilding for an undisclosed sum. The business will initially trade as John Wilding Citroen but will be rebranded Vantage following investment. Together the dealerships are expected to sell 1,500 new and used vehicles throughout the year in order to contribute £15m to group turnover. The vendor of the business Adrian Wilding,son of founder John Wilding is said to be leaving the motor retail industry. Mark Robinson, Meridian managing director, said the deal marked the start of a new relationship with Citroen. “Citroen is a manufacturer that shares our aspiration for growth and development. “It also has a very strong fleet offering and linked to this acquisition, we will be establishing a UK-wide fleet services department across all our brands.” Vantage now has a total of 18 sales points…
online shopping has become increasing popular over the last five years and it seems that dealing cars is following the same trend. Figures produced by auction house Manheim, show that the percentage of vehicles sold online each month rose from 7.5% in August 2004 to almost 17% in August 2013. September saw almost 18% of stock was sold at auction resulting in 5237 vehicles being sold and over 61000 online bids being cast and it seems that the technology age is now allowing customers to shop on the go with 12% of people visiting Manheim from mobile devices. Michael Buxton, chief operating officer of Manheim, said although online business is growing attendance at physical auctions is stable. “Online platforms have supplemented the physical auctions rather than replace them, which is a trend that looks set to continue as we move into 2014.” Taken from Motor trader News
on average part exchange vehicles have a 23% higher value than last year according to figures from BCA. It states that year-to-year prices of part exchange vehicles rose by £716 to £3857 the 16% rise from last year is the highest monthly average since 2005. Nearly new values improved by over £1,100 in November to reach £21,433, the highest value recorded this year for nearly-new stock. BCA UK operations director Simon Henstock, said: “Buyers were out in force in November acquiring stock and BCA recorded some exceptional results around the group.“Live Online buyers were very active during the month and our Bid Now and Buy Now channels saw sales volumes climb.“Professional buyers will no doubt remember that average values rose very sharply last December due to the shorter trading month and ongoing dearth of retail-quality stock, so there was an element of ‘getting ahead of the game’,”…
Mercedes-Benz is launching a pilot scheme in Germany to sell selected models online. Customers will be able to buy a limited number of pre-configured models, including the A-Class hatchback and the CLA four door coupe, via the company’s own online store with the purchases handled by its Hamburg dealership. Bloomberg reported that Daimler plans to open a second pilot web store in Warsaw in Q1, 2014. Mercedes-Benz is following BMW which has been selling its electric i3 model online since mid-November. “This is a new field. We are following our vision,” said Andrea Finkbeiner-Mueller, head of dealer development and customer satisfaction for Mercedes-Benz. Dealers will be involved in the online transactions and the service will be supported by a salesman who can visit customers. Finkbeiner-Mueller said the brand was targeting a new customer base. Taken from Motor Trader news
Used van values are set to rise in the coming months due to a shortage of good quality retail stock, according to auction house BCA. Data from BCA suggests that used van prices will continue to rise despite age or mileage. on average van prices are up 43% compared to five years ago, despite being nearly a year older and having covered 9,000 more miles. In September van values were 23% higher than a year ago, BCA’s general manager for commercial vehicles, Duncan Ward, said: “The key factor driving the market is the supply of good retail quality stock or rather the lack of it and this means there is plenty of competition for the best examples reaching the market.”Demand has been right across the board, from older higher mileage vans through to younger ex-fleet and lease vehicles, while the few late-plate light commercials…
The dealer recruitment market is witnessing high demand for specialist skill sets, according to a special report in the October edition of Motor Trader. “The overwhelming demand in recruitment for us is in aftersales,” said Guy Liddall, managing director of Motor Trade Selection, the recruitment specialist. “We are under real pressure to find strong aftersales and service managers who can add to the bottom line while improving customer care, who can balance the needs of their business with the requirements of the manufacturer.” “This is normal for this point in the economic cycle, when there is a squeeze on new and used car margins dealers will naturally concentrate on the aftersales side of the business to find extra profit,” he said. Liddall said there is also significant demand for managers in used car departments. this has resulted in many applicants applying for one job…
Thursday, 21 November 2013 Car manufacturing in October rose by 17.4% to 160,854 units, the largest monthly increase to date in 2013. Year to date output is up 5.4% to 1,286,287 units, according to figures from the SMMT. Manufacturing for the home market rose 52.4%. Registrations in the UK have been stimulated over the past 12 months by competitive PCP deals and low interest rates. In the year to October sales were up 10.2%. Export growth was up 11.4%. Around 50% of UK car exports go to Europe. After months of decline, EU demand shows signs of improving, now recording two consecutive months of growth. “UK car manufacturing for the home market increased strongly in October raising the year’s performance 26.6% ahead of 2012,” said SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes, over 15 brands build more than 50 models of vehicle which provides an abundance of choice…
Tuesday, 19 November 2013 New car sales in Europe showed signs of continuing recovery with October sales up 4.7% to 1,004,935 units. It has been the first time since September 2011 that demand for new cars rose in two consecutive months. compared to last year sales are still down 3.1% but in October Italy was the only country to see a decline in sales compared to Spain who saw a 34.4% increase caused by the governments scraping scheme. Mazda was the best performing brand in October, with growth of 57.1% followed by Lexus +27.2%, Jaguar +19.4%, Toyota +16.4 and Land Rover +15.1%. Brands under pressure for the month included Alfa Romeo, -34%, Lancia Chrysler -13.3%, Honda -6.2% and Citroen -4% Taken from Motor Trader News
