Guest Blog

I was in Munich at the start of this week, unfortunately fully immersed in client work and unable to actually visit the IAA Mobility Show that has taken over the traditional Frankfurt Motor Show slot in the calendar.  However, I got some flavour of it through some side-meetings, exhibits that were on the streets in the city centre and obviously ...

  Dealers should be ready for 2024’s used car finance market to become increasingly competitive, we’re predicting at iVendi. A range of emerging factors mean that larger volumes of used car sales, an ongoing readjustment of vehicle values, and lenders looking to move into new sectors are all likely to have an impact. Our view is the even if we ...

The headline figures are positive, but with sales growth being fuelled almost exclusively by various fleet channels in recent months, a quick look under the bonnet reveals the new car market has reached a pivot point. After years of heavily constrained new car supply struggling to keep pace with consumer appetite, for the first time since the pandemic we’re seeing ...

Chinese carmaker and battery manufacturer BYD is launching the all- electric BYD Seal D-segment saloon in mainland Europe and the UK.. The move follows the European launches of the BYD Han (E-segment sedan), the BYD Tang (E-segment SUV), the BYD Aatto 3 (C-segment SUV) and BYD Dolphin (C-segment hatchback) on the European continent. The BYD Seal is the first vehicle ...

A couple weeks ago, the UK Independent Automotive Aftermarket Federation (IAAF) signed up to the global Right to Repair movement’s position statement which promotes fair and open competition, and regulation rather than voluntary codes to force access to repair and maintenance information. This reflects the growing complexity of vehicles and the need for access to the vehicle data, and the ...

I was speaking at a UK event last week and was asked a question about the impact of the Zero Emissions Vehicle Mandate – the UK legislation that will enforce 100% zero emissions car sales by 2030, five years ahead of the equivalent enforcement date in the EU.  My response was pretty brief and a bit glib (related to politicians’ ...

Used car finance interactions between car dealers and customers can feel fraught, with lengthy application processes while lenders search for suitable deals. Purchasers wishing to drive away the same day may become dissatisfied – something advancing financial technology (fintech) can solve, facilitating swift lender decisions that allow dealers to offer competitive finance to more customers. Though motor traders are familiar ...

Amidst the mounting financial burdens imposed by escalating costs across various sectors such as food and energy, the recent surge of 21% in year-on-year car insurance premiums does not come as a shock. For almost a decade, the cost of repairing a car following an accident has increased far below inflation. Car insurers have tightly controlled repair costs by giving ...

Given the increasing shift towards digital interaction in motor retail over recent years, it is perhaps inevitable that we have also seen a surge in cybercrime in the sector. The problem has only been heightened by the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, with cyber criminals exploiting vulnerable people and businesses. There is a large volume of valuable customer data now being held ...

I recorded a podcast last week, when one of the discussion topics was the recently announced cuts to the Renault UK dealer network of around 20% from 144 franchise points to 115, a move that has attracted descriptions like “radical” and “slashing”. Based on some work that ICDP did with Urban Science last year, the reality is that with 115 ...