Retailers need to sell 23% more cars under an agency model to see equal profitability with the franchised system, according to John O’Hanlon, founder of Waylands. O’Hanlon, speaking at last week’s Vehicle Remarketing Association conference about future challenges facing the industry, said: “We need to sell over 23% extra cars just to stand still under the agency […]

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Lotus is understood to be planning a return to the franchised sales model after operating agency agreements for the past two years. Several Auto Retail Agenda sources have said that while the switch has not been officially put in place, Lotus has been talking to retailers about the move. The reasoning behind Lotus dropping agency in favour […]

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Broad Oak’s Nissan dealership in Canterbury Kent has won a Global Award from the manufacturer, as the best-performing Nissan franchise in the UK. The Canterbury dealership was rated against businesses in key Nissan markets globally and impressed the assessors with both its excellent customer service and its showcasing of the Nissan selection of vehicles. Broad […]

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Halfords is the target of a £1.4bn merger approach by van rental firm Redde Northgate. Discussions took place over the past few months and a nil-premium merger was initially proposed. The initial proposal was abandoned due to disagreements over price. It is now understood Redde Northgate, who’s non-executive chairman is Avril Palmer-Baunack, could mount a […]

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BMW sustainability chief Thomas Becker says banning the sale of new petrol and diesel cars is not the answer to addressing the climate crisis. He added that Rishi Sunak’s delayed ban of ICE cars to 2035 will not affect the company’s EV plans. “We didn’t support it in the outset,” he said. “We are critical […]

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Skoda has gone live with the agency model for electric vehicles in the UK, Auto Retail Agenda has learnt. The move at the start of November follows fellow Volkswagen Group brand Cupra’s agency move in 2022. One retailer told Auto Retail Agenda described Skoda as Volkswagen Group’s test bed for agency and the plan was to see how it […]

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The latest ICDP: European Top 50 Dealer Groups 2022 has concluded that carmakers are increasingly attracted to working with fewer, larger dealer groups who are more process driven with superior IT systems. The report detailed the consolidation taking place across Europe with larger groups acquiring smaller owner-operators. Report authors Steve Young and Peter Bailey said: […]

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Mercedes-Benz UK CEO Gary Savage has questioned the latest NFDA Dealer Attitude Survey for its relevancy to the agency model. Dealer attitude decline As highlighted in the October issue of Auto Retail Bulletin, under true agency agreements, all stock is held by the national sales company, which means there is zero pre-registration by retailers. However, Mercedes retailers […]

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It has been announced that the SLM Group has bought SMC Motor Group for an undisclosed sum. New Brands SLM Group operates dealerships in East Sussex, Kent and East Anglia, including five Toyota, one Vauxhall, one Suzuki, one GMW ORA dealerships. They also operate two used car SLM Select businesses and two body repair Centres. […]

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