Editor’s Blog

Consolidation was in the air this month with Vertu Motors acquiring the majority of Helston Garages for £120.1m. The acquisition included 28 franchised sales outlets. In a separate deal, Yeomans acquired 12 businesses from Helston Garages. The move saw Yeoman join the VW Group for the first time. It was a significant month for Pendragon, which retained its independence when ...

The pace of change in EV retailing was the focus of attention at the Motor Trader EV Retailing Summit 2022, which took place at the Eastside Rooms in Birmingham. Sales of EVs in the UK continue to grow and dealers are at the sharp end with consumers, covering all areas of retailing from new and used EVs through to aftersales, ...

This month we take another look at disruptors who entered the used car market over the past few years with big marketing spends, large scale refurbishment centres and a focused, customer driven proposition. There was also a lot of accompanying hype. So, what did they do well, where did they fall down and what are the lessons to be learnt ...

I was talking to one boss of a dealer group recently and asked him what individuals would be interesting for him to read an interview on with regard to dealer issues, particular agency. Among the handful he picked was Alex Smith MD at Volkswagen Group UK. And so this month we get his take on dealer strategy, the agency model ...

In the June issue of Motor Trader we caught up with Steven Eagell, CEO of the eponymous Group (P22) who has built up a highly successful business focusing exclusively on Toyota and Lexus. Eagell addresses taking on the Lexus brand in 2016, which he said took no major change in philosophy, and addresses questions over further growth by saying that ...

Check out the April issue of Motor Trader, which features our annual look at the Top 200 Dealer Groups in the UK by turnover. Dealers turned in an impressive performance in the latest report with profitability and return on sales showing strong gains. While turnover fell 17% to £63.6bn, profitability increased with average return on sales for the entire MT ...

This month we look in depth at the agency model and try and assess the implications for dealers of all sizes, customers, carmakers and intermediaries. It is early days yet, but we chart what different carmakers are doing and also some plans in the pipeline and try to gain some insight into how profitability will be impacted and whether the ...

This month we launch the first of a series of features looking at Electric Vehicles (EVs). Sales are rising, and dealers and carmakers are responding to the challenges presented, in terms of charging, infrastructure, values, battery replacement, sales and aftersales. Motor Trader has also launched an EV channel on the website and a weekly EV  e-newsletter. In October we will ...

The past year has been an extraordinary one with dealers having to adapt to a rapidly changing market. Cazoo has spent the year sponsoring major sports events to build its brand in the UK and Europe, buying in logistics, refurbishment, fleet and leasing services to ramp up sales. It is joined by cinch (owned by Constellation which also owns BCA ...

Dealers are now beginning to see an acceleration in interest in electric vehicles as carmakers gear up to meet the government’s net zero emissions by 2050. This month we saw The National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) reveal that it has now accredited over 200 dealers on its Electric Vehicle Approved (EVA) scheme, which has been reopened. Volvo is one carmaker ...