Auction giant BCA’s 2013 Used Car Market Report shows that used car sales hit 7.1 million units in 2012, outpacing new car sales by climbing 6.4% and returning to pre-recession levels. The report also reveals that the used car market reached a record high in terms of value in 2012, at £38.1 billion, outperforming the total new car market value by £5.8 billion. In particular sales of younger used cars (0-2 years) increased significantly, rising by 18.6% to 762,000 and reversing a three year trend of falling volumes in this age sector. Authored by Professor Peter Cooke of the Centre for Automotive Management, University of Buckingham Business School, the report says that lower inflation, lower fuel costs, rising employment and a more stable economy helped restore car buyers’ confidence somewhat in 2012. However, the long-term impact of the fall in new car sales during…

The final print edition of Auto Trader will be published in June, nearly four decades after the motoring weekly first hit the streets of London. Its owner, Trader Media Group, confirmed on Tuesday that the flagship title will exist online only following a souvenir edition next month featuring classic cars from the past 36 years. Another four titles owned by Trader Media Group – Top Marques, Truck and Plant, Van Trader and Farm Trader – will also close their print editions as part of the move to digital. Once considered as the go to guide for second hand car buyers or sellers, sales of Auto Trader have plummeted from a peak of 368,000 in January 2000 to 27,000 last month. Classified advertising has followed readers online, with visits to the Auto Trader website soaring to more than 11 million readers a month. The final print…

Used cars and aftersales performance are the key to trading profitably over the coming year, according to Mike Jones, executive chairman of ASE, the specialist dealer business management company. “Conditions may be tough and competition fierce but opportunities to trade profitably remain…2012 is undoubtedly looking like a tough year for motor retailers. For the majority of brands dealers are faced with a declining vehicle parc and lower vehicle sales expectations,…“This means dealers will have to improve their retention of used car customers and keep new car customers longer in order to improve service department performance,” he said in the January issue of Motor Trader In Jones’ opinion the improvements need to be made in customer service in order to remain competitive “Used vehicle sales will be a major area of focus in 2012 as dealers look to older cars to plug the profitability gap…

The first of Kia’s new global standard Red Cube showrooms has opened on a four acre Arnold Clark site in Northwich, Cheshire. Simon Hetherington, dealer development director at Kia Motors (UK), said: “This is a dramatic new look for Kia across the globe and i am proud that the UK has one of the first new showrooms to open in Europe.” “We do not expect all of our dealers to invest in such buildings, but many of the elements contained in Red Cube can already be found in about one third of our 170 UK dealerships and by the end of this year almost all of our dealers will have adopted our new brand identity.” Hetherington said he expected up to six major showrooms in the UK over the coming year. The Arnold Clark Northwich showroom took 16 weeks to build and is the…

Caffyns will exit from selling new Vauxhall cars in Kent from June 2013 saying the franchise is too expensive to operate. The south east based group was rated 46th of 200 by Motor Trader and has sales and servicing sites in Ashford and Tunbridge wells. “Our freehold facilities at Ashford and Tunbridge Wells offer great potential for development having scale, excellent locations and strong markets. Already, one of our core partners has supported our plans for future investment. The multi-franchise listed group also represents Ford, Audi, Volvo, VW, Land Rover, Jaguar, Chevrolet and Skoda and has plans to develop its premium business. “In line with our stated strategy of developing our core business with premium and premium-volume partners, some months ago Caffyns indicated to Vauxhall Motors that it was unwilling to commit the high levels of capital needed to operate the franchise,” said a statement issued by Caffyns this morning (12 July 2011)….

used car sales have been progressively falling by 2.5 per cent to £6,640 in June, according to research by Manheim Remarketing. In their latest Study they found that car sales had fallen for the third consecutive month. The fleet sector fell by 2.5 per cent (£155) to £6,100, while manufacturer stock values fell by 3.0 per cent (£346) to £11,279. Dealer part-exchange values increased slightly by 0.9 per cent (£21) to £2,327. When compared with June 2010, with average age up by just one month to 52 months and mileage up by 3,265 miles to 54,161 miles, average wholesale used car values are 4.8 per cent (£338) lower. Dealer part-exchange values increased by 0.9 per cent to £2,327. When compared with June 2010, with average age up by just one month to 52 months and mileage up by 3,265 miles to 54,161 miles, average wholesale used car values are 4.8…

Average wholesale used car values fell by 4.4 per cent in 2010 compared with 2009, according to Manheim Remarketing. The average age of vehicles increased by three months to 51 months and average mileage also rose, up 4,009 to 53,605 miles. The fleet sector experienced the biggest decrease in 2010 as average values fell by 7.2 per cent while manufacturer stock fell just 1.1 per cent. Dealer part exchange prices actually rose by 5.5 per cent. In December average wholesale used car values fell 4.1 per cent to £6,569 following two months of increases. However the overall fall in values couldn’t dampen the demand for 4x4s where values increased in both the Dealer and Manufacturer sectors. Manheim Remarketing managing director Mike Pilkington said: “After a dramatic rebound in values during 2009, it was perhaps inevitable that with the continued economic uncertainty there would be…

The car industry will be unable to offer an ‘affordable’ electric vehicle without government subsidies until after 2015. Over half of the 200 auto executives polled in a KPMG 2011 Global Automotive Executive Survey said without state subsidies electric vehicles as affordable as traditional fuel vehicles were five years away. Over four in 10 car executives expect government subsidies to tail-off with only a quarter expecting them to increase. Mike Steventon, automotive partner at KPMG in the UK, said: “One factor is common worldwide: the need to continue to develop the technology that will produce efficient, affordable electric vehicles. “Even though the industry is still in recovery mode, the pace of technical leadership intensifies.” Investment in new power train technologies such as hybrid and all electric remains a key priority for 93 percent of auto executives, it found. Over seven in 10 auto executives…