Vertu Motors has taken on a second group of degree-level apprentices, joining a training programme it launched in 2017. Some 13 students have enrolled in a scheme that offers a BA in business leadership and management. Last year 10 students were inducted into the programme, which sees them earning an annual £18,000 whole holding full-time, permanent roles in the business. ...

Ford-accredited vehicle conversion specialist Wellhouse Leisure is offering a revised range of Transit van-based camper conversions. Costing between £29,995 and £60,000 the vehicles are being sold through 20 dealers that have staff trained to market them. The Ford motor caravans are rivals to Volkswagen’s T6 van-based Californian campers which are built in house. The Wellhouse Leisure vans are either Transit or ...

London’s Jack Barclay showroom played host to a 1929 Bentley 4.5-litre driven to victory by the dealership’s founder in the 1929 Brooklands 500 race. Jack Barclay was one of the original ‘Bentley Boys,’ a group of wealthy racing enthusiasts who campaigned the W.O. Bentley-era, Cricklewood made cars to victory in events such as the Le Mans 24 hour race in France, ...

MotorEasy, which offers breakdown cover and servicing packages, has launched warranties aimed at franchised dealers and OEMs. Marketed as ‘Open Warranty’ packages, these are claimed to use machine learning technology that assess customer profiles and real claims data so that the most cost effective warranties are selected at a given point in a vehicle’s life. The company is also introducing ...

The Aston Barclay auction house has embraced Alexa voice command information service technology to provide advanced stock information. “Voice recognition is becoming an important channel to access information in your house, your car and office and we need to be mindful of adapting our technology to enable customers to engage with us in this way,” said Stewart Ford, Aston Barclay’s ...

BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK has launched a multi-platform motor finance offer with vehicle e-commerce specialist iVendi. This will sell products including hire purchase, personal loans, stock financing, PCP, PCH and value added packages. “The arrival of BNP Paribas marks one of the most important new entrants into the UK motor finance for some time. This is a huge organisation ...

There isn’t a single fix to create trust and loyalty in the digital age, believes Tim Bond, head of insight at the Direct Marketing Association (DMA). Bond was speaking at the Motor Trader Summit held at Edgbaston. The DMA’s latest survey on customer engagement found that 39% of respondents felt less loyal to brands and companies than they were 12 ...

Although the car retail world has altered “out of all recognition,” the biggest changes will emerge in the next decade, according to Mike Jones, chairman of dealer profitability specialist ASE. He was giving a speech at the Motor Trader Summit held at Edgbaston. “We’re going to see more change than we’ve ever done in the next 10 years. Nobody knows ...

New car buyers are visiting dealers more often this year than last, despite the digital sales revolution and dipping sales, according to Haymarket Automotive managing director Rachael Prasher. She was speaking at the Motor Trader Summit held at Edgbaston. “The average number of retailer visits in the UK for new car purchases has grown from 2.5 visits in 2017 to ...

Customer satisfaction and improved dealership stock turn are directly linked, believes JudgeService managing director Neil Addley. He was speaking at the Motor Trader Summit held at Edgbaston. Addley used a personal analogy relating to the a restaurant chain. A poor experience one year turned him into a detractor of the chain, and he said similar experiences could impact on dealerships. ...