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 […]
Read More →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 […]
Read More →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 […]
Read More →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 […]
Read More →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. […]
Read More →Auto Retail Network will help retailers explore the solutions and steps necessary to protect their business from the risk of cyber criminal activity at a conference in London on 17 January 2024. Held in partnership with Salesforce, each session is designed to address the business concerns of retailers, delivering advice in a ‘non techy’ and […]
Read More →US group Lithia has agreed to buy Pendragon’s UK auto retail and leasing operations, including the Evans Halshaw and Stratstone divisions, for £280 million. Under the agreement, the Pendragon PLC business will continue as a listed company, but operating only its Pinewood software business. It will be renamed Pinewood Technologies PLC. Lithia Motors will pay […]
Read More →MG Motor plans to complete its UK dealer network by the end of 2023. The company aim to fill nine open points. Commercial Director Guy Pigounakis commented: “We will fill every major open point we have in the UK,” before adding that his company had benefitted from established manufacturers appearing to consider moves away from […]
Read More →Ford is planning to cut more than half its current retailer network in time to for a switch to agency sales, according to Auto Retail Agenda sources. It is understood the network was issued with termination notices last year and it was known a cut back was planned. However, final numbers for those that will survive […]
Read More →Lookers has reported a drop in underlying profitability and gross margins in the first half of 2023 following record figures for the past two years. The group’s underlying profit figure was down £1.1 million at £46.1m on a turnover that was up 8.0% at £2.42 billion. Lookers, which is currently the subject of a takeover bid by Canadian […]
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