Latest News

The Vehicle Remarketing Association (VRA) is to hold a conference on Tuesday 25 January at the RBS Williams F1 Centre in Oxfordshire.

Shares in the newly floated General Motors rose by 3.6 per cent on their first day of trading (18 November). GM’s return to the New York Stock Exchange came 16 months after the carmaker exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The newly issued stock was sold into the market by the US and Canadian governments and the UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust and was expected to reduce the ownership stake of each.

Westlands Toyota has appointed Mark Roden as its new managing director from the start of November.

Dealers need to refocus their attention on boosting aftersales as the car retailing sector faces another tough year of trading

Average used car prices have risen to their highest level for six months according to Auction4Cars. The car auction website said its average prices increased by 11 per cent in October to £2,745 which it said was evidence of a shortage in the trade for good quality used stock. The site said sales volumes remained high with a record number of dealers using the service to source stock.

Dealer sales of new and used car finance increased year on year in September, according to the latest figures from the Finance & Leasing Association. The number of new cars sold on finance to retail customers increased by 5 per cent and the number of used cars by 6 per cent, despite a fall of almost 19 per cent in the total number of private new car sales in September. The FLA said the percentage of new cars sold to consumers on dealer finance over the last 12 months rose from 47.5 per cent in August to 49.6 per cent in September.

Volkswagen Group is buying Porsche Holding Salzburg (PHS), Europe’s biggest privately owned dealer group, for €3.3 billion. VW said the deal will take place during the first half of 2011 and no later than September 30, 2011. The carmaker said this was the “next planned step towards the creation of the integrated automotive group with Porsche led by Volkswagen”.

Overfinch Bespoke Vehicles, the specialist Range Rover customiser, has gone into administration. The company,

Property acquisitions are starting to pick up in the dealer sector after the rapid decline seen in 2008, according to a number of specialist property services companies. “Heads are now appearing over the parapet,” said Bill Bexson, managing director of Automotive Property Consultancy. He said the dealership property market has strengthened over the past year.

Suspension arms are the most likely car component to wear and fail, according to the latest claims research from Warranty Direct. The research also found that around one in three repairs to vehicles aged between three and seven-years old will be due to a wear-related failure.