National Motorcycle Dealers Association News
December 2013
// ‘We represent, you benefit’
Dear Colleague,
We are delighted to announce that the NMDA will be exhibiting at the Motorcycle Trade Expo, taking place at the NEC Birmingham on 19-21 January 2014. Come and visit us at our central stand - No.644, and have your questions, concerns answered and advice given!
This month, it was disappointing to see the motorcycle market decline by -0.6% in November, considering the improvement we’ve seen in the later part of 2013. We hope to see this improve in the new year.
Finally, on behalf of everyone here at the NMDA, we would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
A reminder that you can now access the NMDA website directly via http://nmda-bike.co.uk/
Steve Latham,
Head of NMDA
Email:
IN THIS ISSUE:
/ · NOVEMBER SALES DECLINE FOR MOTORCYCLE MARKET· NFDA GUIDANCE ON THE TRANSFER OF CONSUMER CREDIT
· EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT INCLUDES 2WHEELS IN ALTERNATIVE FUELS INFRASTRUCTURE DIRECTIVE
· GET ON AT MOTORCYCLE LIVE
· VOSA MOTORCYCLE & VEHICLE SAFETY RECALLS - NOVEMBER 2013
· FOREIGN EXCHANGE PLUNGES TRIUMPH INTO LOSS
NOVEMBER SALES DECLINE FOR MOTORCYCLE MARKET
It was disappointing to see the motorcycle market decline by -0.6% in November, considering the improvement we’ve seen in the later part of 2013. Sub 50cc mopeds are still 20.7% behind 2012 sales, and this seems a consolidated decline as the year to date decline is very similar at -20.3%.
The 125cc market showed a more encouraging growth with registrations up 13.6%, in comparison with a 3% increase in the scooter market. Many of the 125cc machines being sold are Honda and Yamaha models and are the top selling 125 suppliers for the ‘Custom, Naked and Supersport’ sectors.
Scooters sales are making the most progress with a 4% increase in November, and this is supported with a year to date improvement of half a percent, which could suggest the market is possibly moving in the right direction.
Although November sales volumes are typically low, it was positive to see Piaggio in third position behind Honda and Yamaha. Lexmoto have pushed into 9th position indicating that some buyers are still feeling the financial pressure.
NFDA GUIDANCE ON THE TRANSFER OF CONSUMER CREDIT
On 1 April 2014 the Regulation of Consumer Credit will be transferred from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). For firms currently holding consumer credit licences and wanting to carry on providing credit to customers. There is a requirement to register with the FCA to indicate your intentions. The FCA are referring to this as applying for Interim Permission. All firms with current consumer credit licences should have received letters informing them that they need to do this. Registering must be completed by 31 March 2014 but firms are being encouraged to do this as soon as possible. There is also a financial incentive to do this as there is a 30% discount off the registration fee of £350 if you register prior to 30 November 2013.
The registration is generally straightforward and the FCA have issued a one page guidance notice to help. However, briefly below we lay out some general points to completing the application.
1. Before starting ensure you have all the information you need to complete the form. To hand you will need:
• Your email address
• OFT licence number, which must be active up and to include 31/3/2014
• A note of your licence categories (see below)
• Information about the size of your firm – number of dealerships, locations, number of consumer facing staff, details of compliance staff
• Your FCA reference number if you are already directly authorised by them. NB: the FCA is what used to be the Financial Services Authority (FSA) until April of this year.
• Method of payment – this is card only (Visa, Visa debit or Mastercard)
2. You will need to understand the licence categories you hold on your licence. Unhelpfully, the registration documents refer to licence categories by letter, whereas your licence will have them printed as a description. So for reference:
Category A = Consumer Credit Business
Category B = Consumer Hire Business
Category C = Credit Brokering
Category D = Debt Adjusting
Category E = Debt Counselling
Category F = Debt Collecting
Category G = Debt Administration
Category H = Provision of Credit Information Services
Category I = Credit Reference Agency
Dealers are being urged to ensure they hold the correct licence categories and to apply to the OFT as soon as possible for any additional categories or the removal of inapplicable ones. The categories held need to be correct on 31 March 2014.
Dealers will generally hold category C and in most cases D and E. Category A is for the banks and finance house and those who are primary lenders, i.e. lend their own funds to consumer. There is currently some debate about the need for dealers to hold category G and we are looking into this currently.
3. To proceed with the registration process you need to go to www.fca.org.uk/clicked. You will be asked to enter some basic personal details – name, email address, phone number. Then you will need to create a pin and password.
• Once the initial registration is completed you will need to click to ‘create new interim permission notification.’
• Once the ‘interim permission’ notification is created you will be asked to:
o Enter your OFT licence number
o Confirm your firms name
(if you have any issues with these pieces of information you will need to contact the OFT to resolve before continuing)
o Confirm firms details
- Name
- Companies house number
- Trading names
- OFT licence number (again) with issue date and firm type
- Confirm principal place of business, registered office address
- Complete details related to the size and type of business
4. Confirm if you are already directly authorised by the FCA (formerly FSA).
If you are directly authorised you need to put yes. However, if you are not, or are an appointed representative of another firm, you must put no.
If you say yes you will need to provide your FCA reference number.
5. You will be asked to validate that your OFT licence categories are shown correctly (see above in point 2). If you hold licence categories A or C you will need to select the FCA sub-categories underneath.
6. Finally, you will need to complete the declaration and pay the fee.
7. Once the payment is confirmed you will be informed that the application is complete. You will be given a receipt that you should print off and keep for reference. The FCA will also send you a confirmation email.
If the application is complete and your consumer credit licence is in order you do not need to do anything else for now. From April next year firms will be called forward to complete the full authorisation process. You will be informed when this needs to happen but the process will take place over a two year period.
For further details please contact:
Louise Wallis, NFDA
Tel: 01788 538336
Email:
Or go to www.fca.gov.uk
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT INCLUDES 2WHEELS IN ALTERNATIVE FUELS INFRASTRUCTURE DIRECTIVE
The European institutions are preparing legislation aimed at forcing the member states to speed up the deployment of infrastructure for alternative fuels such as hydrogen and electricity. The draft text contains for instance the minimum number of charging stations each country has to provide for by a certain deadline.
However, in the original proposal, the European Commission overlooked electric 2Wheels. The Commission only prescribed charging infrastructure for cars.
ETRA has pointed this out to the European Parliament and was heard. The report voted on 26 November in the TRAN Committee does prescribe that the member states must provide for charging infrastructure for electric 2Wheels. The Parliament will now start negotiations with the Council in view of a first reading agreement.
GET ON AT MOTORCYCLE LIVE
This year’s Motorcycle Live show at the NEC Birmingham saw hundreds of potential new riders taking their first tentative 'rolls' on two wheels the total number very nearly hitting 1,000! If you were thinking of getting on two wheels for the first time or coming back to motorcycling after time away Get On was the experience for you!
This was where visitors could experience life on two wheels in a specially constructed area with expert tuition on either a scooter or a 125cc motorcycle – for free courtesy of the industry ‘Get On’ Campaign!
Get On, an industry backed campaign, encourages non riders to enjoy the benefits of motorcycling, and to welcome back those who have stopped riding but want to start again, by offering a free taster session at centres around the country – including Motorcycle Live.
The campaign brought to you by the leading motorcycle manufacturers, dealers and other companies in the motorcycle market, through the Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA), also created a wall of past riders' names which saw 5746 of them printed on a screen in front of which all new riders were invited to have their picture taken.
VOSA MOTORCYCLE & VEHICLE SAFETY RECALLS - NOVEMBER 2013
Reference number / Make and model / IssueR/2013/109 / Nissan – Patrol / Engine may stall
R/2013/116 / Mitsubishi – Lancer Evolution X (CZ4A) / Clutch may fail
R/2013/126 / Isuzu Truck – F Series model F120.240 / Fire may occur
RM/2013/028 / Suzuki Motorcycles – GSX-R600, GSX-R750 and GSX-R1000 / Reduction in brake efficiency
RM/2013/031 / Yamaha – RZF-R1 / Engine idle speed may not return to normal
RSPV/2013/003 / Honda Power Equipment – TRX500FE and TRX500 FM / Steering shaft may fail
RSPV/2013/004 / Swift – Escape, Espirit, Bolero, Kon-tiki, Sundance and
Bessacar E400 and E500 / Floor bolts may be missing
FOREIGN EXCHANGE PLUNGES TRIUMPH INTO LOSS
Triumph Motorcycles, slipped into losses last year for the first time since 2009, this privately owned manufacturer reported a pre-tax loss of £12.8m for the year. Although annual sales revenue rose by 5% to £333.7m, an unanticipated foreign exchange transaction loss of £4.8m helped to push Triumph into the red. This is its third consecutive year of declining profitability, in the face of increasing investment for overseas operations.
Source: British Dealer News