NFDA NEWS
24 May 2013
/‘We represent, you benefit’ / Dear Colleague
The NFDA, together with the Trusted Dealers, would like to invite you to attend a Driving Digital Conference aimed at helping you to make the most of your online presence. The conference will be held at two venues open on Tuesday 2 July at the Radisson Blue Manchester Airport and the other on 5 July at Donnington Valley Hotel Newbury.
There will be presentations from Google’s Automotive Industry Manager and the Editor in Chief of What Car? and Neil Addley, Managing Director of Trusted Dealers. Full details are included in today’s news. The conferences are complimentary to all NFDA members.
Sue Robinson, Director
Tel: 0207 307 3422
Email:
Twitter: @NFDASueRobinson
IN THIS ISSUE: / · MEETING WITH CATHY JAMIESON MP
· DVLA HALF DAY LOCAL OFFICE CLOSURES
· VOSA SAFETY RECALLS
· DVLA APPOINTS TEMPORARY BOSS
· NEWS DIGEST
· DRIVING DIGITAL ROADSHOWS
· MEETING DATES
· NFDA AUTUMN BALL
MEETING WITH CATHY JAMIESON MP
This week Sue Robinson and Managing Director at Arnold Clark Eddie Hawthorne met Shadow Treasury Minister and local MP for Kilmarnock, Cathy Jamieson, for a visit to the GTG Training Centre in Glasgow.
Sue Robinson commented, “NFDA member Arnold Clark Group along with many other NFDA dealers are now putting a considerable investment into training for their staff, and recognising the importance of investing in the future’s workforce. The visit provided an opportunity to find out more about the centre, and discuss the need for greater awareness around the scope for future careers within the retail motor industry at schools and colleges”.
DVLA HALF DAY LOCAL OFFICE CLOSURES
For information:
From May to October 2013 each DVLA Local Office will be closing for 3 half day training sessions. These sessions will allow staff to take part in important career transition training following the announcement that the Local Offices will to close to the public by the end of December 2013.
Closures will be scheduled in order to ensure as little disruption to Local Office customers as possible and information on each closure will be publicised within each Local Office ahead of each closure date.
Please check with your local DVLA office for half day closure dates.
VOSA SAFETY RECALLS – APRIL 2013
Vehicle recalls issued by VOSA for this April are included in the list below.
VOSA Reference Number / Make and Model / IssueR/2013/022 / Hyundai – Velostar with panoramic sun roof / Sunroof glass may shatter
R/2013/021 / Hyundai – Velostar / Parking brake may not release fully
R/2013/020 / Hyundai – i30 (manual transmission only) / Parking brake may not release fully
R/2013/023 / BMW – X5 4.8 l / Brake power assistance may be affected
R/2013/042 / Mercedes Benz – Antos 963 / Risk of brake failure
R/2013/015 / Lexus – IS200 & IS250 / Front wipers may become inoperative
R/2013/024 / BMW – 1,3, X1 & Z4 / Engine may cut out
R/2013/032 / Porsche – 911 Carrera and Carrera 4 / Tailpipe may become detached
R/2013/035 / Mazda – 5 fitted by MZ-CD 1.6 diesel engines / Fire may occur
R/2013/048 / Toyota – Corolla, Corolla Verso, Yaris, Avensis, Avensis Verso and Lexus SC430 / Passenger side airbag may fail to deploy correctly
R/2013/047 / Mazda – 6 / Passenger side airbag may fail to deploy correctly
R/2013/050 / Nissan – Almera, Almera Tino, Navara, Terrano II, Patrol and X-Trail / Passenger side airbag may fail to deploy correctly
R/2013/049 / Honda – Jazz, Stream, CR-V & Civic Coupe / Passenger side airbag may fail to deploy correctly
R/2013/046 / Volvo – C30, S40 & V50 / Loss of drive
R/2013/041 / MAN Truck – TGL and TGM / Control of vehicle may be affected
%l2003/052 / Iveco – Daily cab 4x2 / Braking efficiency may decrease
DVLA APPOINTS TEMPORARY BOSS
Malcolm Dawson OBE has been appointed as the interim Chief Executive of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). Prior to his appointment at the DVLA, Malcolm was the Chief Land Registrar and Chief Executive of Land Registry and has previously worked in a number of roles across Government at the Ministry of Justice, Cabinet Office, HM Customs and Excise and the Ministry of Defence.
NEWS DIGEST
Franchised workshops optimistic about service growth - More than two-thirds of franchised workshops in the UK expect their business to expand by 2015, according to new data released by Castrol Professional. Optimism about the coming two years – expressed by 70% of franchised workshops versus 60% in 2011 – shows the early signs of increasingly positive business optimism. The findings from GiPA’s 16th Channel Survey 2012 follow a year of maintained or increased turnover for the vast majority of franchised businesses in 2011. The research suggests that 41% of franchised dealerships saw an increase in turnover compared to 2010. Of these, more than half reported a revenue increase of 10% or more. Of the dealerships surveyed, 39% recorded no change in turnover, while just 20% saw a decrease. While the outlook is largely positive for franchised workshops, there are still notable areas for improvement. For example, franchised workshops’ share of the oil change market has decreased for the third successive year, from 28% to 27%, continuing a long-term fall in share to independent workshops, which currently hold 68% of the market.
Source: am-online
Demand for LCVs to increase - Demand for light commercial vehicles (LCVs) is set to increase in the freight, logistics, post and railway transportation sectors by 8% within the next three years, research suggests. Northgate Vehicle Hire says the rise in demand for LCVs was attributed to a predicted rise in the forecast of output (GVA) annual growth rate, which is expected to lead to over 140,000 vehicles in use by businesses operating within the freight, logistics, post and railway transportation sectors by 2016. The research also revealed a rising demand for fuel efficiency amongst fleets.
Source: fleetnews.co.uk
Car buyers hit by shorter vehicle shelf lives - The ever-shorter shelf life of cars is hitting motorists in the wallet, according to CAP Automotive. Its analysis of new car model introductions over the past three decades reveals a dramatically shorter 'shelf-life' for today's new vehicles than ever before. While motorists benefit from ever more rapid advances in car quality, they pay a heavy price in increased depreciation as models go out of style quicker than they did 30 years ago. Known in the industry as 'lifecycle', the period between replacement model introductions or significant 'facelifts' has shrunk from around 10 years in the 1970s and 80s to around 3-4 years today, CAP's analysis reveals.
Source: motortradenews.com
More than two-thirds of franchised workshops in the UK expect their business to expand by 2015, according to new data released by Castrol Professional - Optimism about the coming two years – expressed by 70% of franchised workshops versus 60% in 2011 – shows the early signs of increasingly positive business optimism.
The findings from GiPA’s 16th Channel Survey 2012 follow a year of maintained or increased turnover for the vast majority of franchised businesses in 2011.
The research suggests that 41% of franchised dealerships saw an increase in turnover compared to 2010.
Of these, more than half reported a revenue increase of 10% or more. Of the dealerships surveyed, 39% recorded no change in turnover, while just 20% saw a decrease.
While the outlook is largely positive for franchised workshops, there are still notable areas for improvement.
For example, franchised workshops’ share of the oil change market has decreased for the third successive year, from 28% to 27%, continuing a long-term fall in share to independent workshops, which currently hold 68% of the market.
Source: AM-Online
Retailers profits soar - Retailers made, on average, £80,000 profit from the crucial March sales month.
That’s a healthy £15,000 improvement over the equivalent period last year and continues the upward turn of dealer margin on sales, which now stands at 1.25% on a rolling 12-monthly basis.
New car sales have driven this performance, according to data published by ASE Automotive Solutions. This sector has overtaken used vehicles sales over the 12 months to March by a ratio of 0.89:1, a contrast to a year ago when used outpaced new by 1.11:1.
ASE says such a strong performance during this important sales period bodes well for the remainder of 2013. Whenever the market out-performs SMMT forecasts, dealers benefit strongly as more gain top-band bonuses.
Profit returns from other core areas of retailer business remain depressed, however. Aftersales profitability is static, with gross profit on service labour holding at 75% and the hours per retail job card at 1.66.
Used vehicle return on investment has increased from 75.7% last year to the latest 85.5% but this is due to strong margins resulting from tight vehicle supply. Stock-turn has lengthened and unless this is reversed it will reduce return on investment.
Source: Auto Retail Network
Demand rises in dealership property market - M&A activity has led to a re-emergence of demand for dealership property, according to property consultants Barber Wadlow.
It said dealers are being pushed by carmakers to upgrade or relocate outlets to comply with stringent corporate identity standards.
There is also considerable scope for consolidation in the trade and the larger companies are taking advantage of economies of scale to buy out smaller businesses.
Source: Motor Trader
Toyota Overtakes BMW as Most Valuable Global Car Brand - Toyota has overtaken BMW as the most valuable automotive brand, an annual ranking of the world's top brands shows. The value of the Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Hyundai brands improved by double-digit percentages compared with 2012, largely because of strong demand in China and the United States, according to the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands study released by market research company Millward Brown. Toyota's 2013 brand value rose 12 percent to $24.5 billion largely because of its significant inroads in the hybrid market, according to the study.
Source: Automotive News
GM Doesn't Expect Price War in U.S. Autos - A top General Motors Co. executive said he doubts Japanese auto makers would use the weaker yen to launch a price war in the U.S. this summer even as they face softer revenue at home. North America President Mark Reuss said he believes the major Japanese auto makers will hold the line when it comes to pricing in the U.S., choosing to protect their brands rather than undercut rivals. "I don't think it pays to do some of those things that end up doing a lot of damage to the brands," Mr. Reuss said on the sidelines of an event at the company's headquarters in Detroit on Monday. "Everyone learned a lot of painful lessons and I don't see any breaks from that." Mr. Reuss added that last week, during a commencement speech, he spent some time with Toyota Motor Corp.'s North America Chief Jim Lentz where the two discussed the auto industry. He said he and Mr. Lentz shared the view that heavy incentives aren't a good move for anyone.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
UK inflation - fell to a seven-month low of 2.4 per cent in the year to April, down from 2.8 per cent the previous month, according to official data released this week.
The fall in consumer price inflation is the first since August. The scale of the drop surprised analysts, who had on average expected inflation to dip to 2.6 per cent.
The Office for National Statistics said lower transport costs, notably for motor fuels and air fares, were a big factor in the dip in price pressures.
Source: Financial Times
Ford of Europe chief issues wake-up call to save European car industry - Ford is calling on politicians, business leaders, academics and regulators to help create market conditions that can “enable manufacturers to flourish”.
Source: Am-Online
Loose steering Micras recalled – Nissan is recalling half a million British-built Micras over a fault that can cause the steering wheel to come off in the driver’s hand. The recall affects 133,389 of the Sunderland-built superminis sold in the UK from December 2002 to May 2006.
Source: Daily Mail
Skoda drivers have last laugh as ‘joke’ car overtakes pricier rivals – The two most popularcars, as voted by more than 16,000 drivers in the UK are both made by Skoda. (The Yeti – Skoda’s compact SUV and the Skoda superb family car)
Source: The Times
JOIN US AT THE NFDA DRIVING DIGITAL ROADSHOWS
In 2013, online is at the core of the relationship between franchised dealers and their customers which is why it is so important to make sure you are making the most of your online presence.
In today’s competitive digital market, it is not enough to simply have a website, you need to show your customers and potential buyers that you are willing to interact with them in a variety of different ways to ensure they receive the best possible service.
The NFDA, in conjunction with Trusted Dealers, is holding a Driving Digital Roadshow in July to help dealers improve their online presence as well as their customer experience and the bottom line alike.
The Roadshows will be held on Tuesday 2 July at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Manchester and Friday 5 July at the Donnington Valley Hotel in Newbury and will contain a series of presentations and talks from some of the most influential thinkers and key players in the online market place.
Speakers at the conference will include Alex Rose, Google’s industry manager for Automotive Retailers and Hugh Dickerson, senior industry head at Google, Neil Addley, managing director of Trusted Dealers, Chas Hallett, Editor in Chief of What Car? and Sue Robinsondirector for the NFDA.
Increasingly, the internet is the first point of contact between you and your customers. While traditional marketing is still part of the mix, people's first port of call is often to look on search engines such as Google or classified advertising sites such as Trusted Dealers. It is therefore extremely important to ensure you are prominent when people are searching online as well as learning how to maximise response from what your visitors see and how they interact with your site once they are there.