Editor’s Choice

A legal case brought by 38 car dealers in Australia against Mercedes-Benz has been thrown out by a Federal Court. The dealers brought the case against Mercedes claiming new agency agreements stripped them of the goodwill they had built up over the years. In January 2022 Mercedes-Benz introduced the agency model in Australia where it took ownership of stock, taking ...

Carmakers are discounting prices of electric cars and promoting finance packages to boost sales. That’s the view of Vertu Motors issued with a trading statement ahead of its results for the six-month period ended 31 August 2023. It delivered a trading profit above prior year levels, aided by the Helston acquisition which was completed in December 2022. Vertu anticipates that ...

Hedin Mobility continued its expansion in the first half delivering reduced net profits of MSEK 552 (£39.7m) (H1 2022: MSEK 1,023) on turnover up 70% to MSEK 37,704 (22,190). The Swedish company has been expanding in the UK. The acquisition of four dealerships in South London from Mercedes-Benz Retail Group UK was completed in April. The deal comprised dealerships in ...

Johnsons Cars is closing its Fiat, Abarth, Alfa Romeo and Jeep dealership at Dorridge, Solihull. The group, which has 50 sites across the West Midlands, said the closure had been prompted by manufacturer requirements to have separate premises for each brand. Johnsons Cars is ranked 26 in the Motor Trader Top 200 Dealer Groups with annual turnover of £629.1m “After ...

The Peter Vardy Group is to close its CARZ used car supermarkets in Dundee and Glasgow. The dealer group, ranked 31 in the Motor Trader Top 200 Dealer Groups with £560.7m turnover, said the move came about as a result of post-COVID used car supply shortages. Successive years of declining new car sales have impacted used car supplies in the ...

JCT600 turned in a strong performance in 2022 with pre-tax profits of £43m compared to £45m in 2021, an exceptional year for used car sales. Turnover rose 11% to £1.45bn. It sold fewer new and used cars, but the mix was more premium leading to a 20% increase in the average sale price. During the year it parted company with ...

Chinese carmaker BYD has appointed City West Country Group to represent the brand in Exeter. BYD sold over 1.8 million vehicles in 2022. Its line-up includes the ATTO 3 SUV and the Dolphin hatchback. City West Country Group is ranked 64 in the Motor Trader Top 200 Dealer Groups with annual turnover of £245.1m. IT represents Mercedes-Benz, Smart, Ora Funky ...

Group Auto Holdings has increased its takeover of Lookers offer to £504.2m. In June Canadian dealer group Alpha Auto Group, a sister company of Group Auto Holdings, tabled a £465m bid for dealer group Lookers. Shareholders rejected the previous offer. Lookers Directors intend to recommend “unanimously” that Lookers Shareholders accept the increased offer. Global Auto Holding now has 28 days ...

Two-thirds of car dealers (66%) are worried about future margin erosion affecting their business. Startline’s July Used Car Tracker shows the biggest concerns are high values of used cars squeezing margins (mentioned by 66%), cost of electrification such as installing chargers (52%) and rising staffing costs (52%). Other major worries include increasing difficulties surrounding compliance (36%) and the cost of ...

Bristol Street Motors has opened a Motornation used car dealership on the site of a former Cazoo outlet in Tamworth, following an investment of over £200,000. The 80-car centre, on Ventura Park Road in the town of Tamworth, has created 11 new jobs, with more – including apprentices – in the pipeline. A  service centre has been created with bays ...