News

The UK government has announced £120m in funding to help drivers and businesses switch to cleaner vans, wheelchair accessible vehicles and taxis. This is part of the £2.3 billion effort to help industry and consumers switch to EVs. Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood also confirmed that the department is extending the plug-in van grant for another year. Greenwood, said: “From ...

Porsche Retail Group is pushing ahead with welcome days and a Q&A with managing director Adam Flint as part of its recruitment drive. The group delivers the highest profit per employee in the Motor Trader Top 200 Dealer Groups. The factory owned dealer group saw each employee deliver an average £76,755 per annum, according to the survey. Fling said: “This ...

UK dealer software and DMS provider Pinewood Technologies Group, which used to be owned by Pendragon until they went their separate ways, has started trading on the OTCQX Best Market in the US. Pinewood’s admission to the OTCQX market will provide transparent trading for investors in the US. US investors will now be able to access the same level of ...

Mazda has recognised the top performing dealerships, across the sales and aftersales departments in its annual All-Stars awards. Now in its sixth year, the awards celebrate dealerships that placed within the top 25 in the 2024 Mazda Sales and Aftersales leagues respectively. Mazda has 119 UK dealers. Brindley Mazda Wolverhampton achieved first place in the sales league rankings, while Bourne ...

February’s Startline Used Car Tracker, which surveyed 302 consumers and 58 dealers, found that 62% of dealers said selling electric cars is an issue – an increase from 45% in December. Other concerns include a reduction in desire for car ownership (33%, up from 28% in December) and staffing costs (28%, up from 24%). Paul Burgess, CEO at Startline Motor ...

The Motor Ombudsman has partnered with Alliance Automotive Group (AAG), a distributor of passenger and commercial vehicle parts. This partnership reinforces AAG’s demonstration of their commitment to industry best practice and customer service through their 1,200-strong, nationwide Approved Garages Network across the UK, including AutoCare, Top Truck, United Garage Services, and NexDrive. Tim Clement, head of workshop solutions at Alliance ...

FOW Car Supermarket was celebrating last week the sale of 400,000 cars since its inception 66 years ago. The company has grown from a standing start to a 15-acre hypermarket in Winsford, Cheshire. The 400,000 record was achieved with the sale of a BMW X1 to Michael Shiels, a long-time customer with FOW. Used car supermarket FOW is expanding its ...

Vertu held a ‘Food Drive’ to celebrate and support food banks that serve communities across the Central Belt of Scotland. Nearly 20 dealerships across Dunfermline, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Ayr delivered carloads of non-perishable food to local food banks, including Dunfermline Foodbank, North Ayrshire Foodbank, Edinburgh’s Food Project, and Glasgow’s Community Food Network. Robert Forrester, Chief Executive of Vertu, said: “We ...

The rising cost of car repairs is hitting consumers and repairers hard according to Warranty company AutoProtect which said its average warranty claim in 2024 was £502.07, up 9% year-on-year. AutoProtect cited the Motor Ombudsman’s latest annual survey of vehicle repairers, more than half of repairers expect motorists to reduce essential repairs to save money. According to the survey repairers ...

BYD has announced it will sponsor the BVRLA Annual Dinner in London for the second year running. The event, taking place on 5 March at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, will host over 800 attendees. This includes BVRLA members and senior industry stakeholders. During the event, the Industry Hero Awards and the Freddie Aldous Outstanding Contribution Award will be ...