News

The used car market has started off the year strong despite economic turbulence, according to Auto Trader. Cars are selling at a record pace, engagement on the platform is reaching seasonal highs and retail prices continue to stabilise. Auto Trader’s Retail Price Index reveals the average retail price of a used car (£16,774)  was flat in January on a MoM ...

January saw new car registrations get off to a weak start, falling for the fourth consecutive month but there were contrasting performances among carmakers with winners and losers. Chinese brand BYD started 2025 as it had finished last year with the strongest performance of any brand, up 550% to 1,614 car sales. In second place was EV maker, Geely-owned Polestar ...

Octopus Electric Vehicles (Octopus EV) and Dealer Auction will partner to create a digital marketplace for used EVs. Dealer Auction will provide a bespoke storefront and closed network experience for Octopus’ trade EV sales. These sales launch on 10 February and the first sale will see 50 hand-picked vehicles available to purchase. Dave Pretty, head of OEM & Fleet at ...

Zopa Bank’s 2025 UK car dealerships survey has revealed dealer business priorities and the industry’s key challenges. The survey found transparent pricing (19%), personalised experiences (18%), and robust after-sales support (17%), are dealer priorities as competition intensifies. Tim Waterman, chief commercial officer at Zopa Bank, said: “Zopa’s 2025 UK car dealership survey captures a need to meet customers where they are – online, offline and ...

Car sales fell 2.5% in January, the fourth consecutive month of decline. Registrations by both fleet and private buyers were down in the month, by -3.7% and -0.5% respectively. Petrol car registrations dropped by -15.3% to comprise just over half (50.3%) the market, with diesel down -7.7% to claim a 6.2% share, according to figures from the Society of Motor ...

As part of National Apprenticeship Week, LSH Auto will be hosting apprenticeship evenings on 11 February and 13 February at Mercedes-Benz of Stockport from 5pm to 7pm. LSH Auto currently has 74 apprentices working across its Mercedes-Benz dealerships in Birmingham, Solihull, Tamworth, Stockport, Macclesfield, and Whitefield. Becky Pitt, talent acquisition specialist at LSH Auto, said: “We’re excited to recruit the ...

Steve Franklin has been appointed as commercial director of Santander Consumer Finance. Franklin was most recently chief commercial officer for Santander Consumer Finance Nordics, responsible for operations across four countries, making it one of the business’ largest international divisions. Prior to that he was commercial director of Hyundai Capital UK, the captive finance company for Hyundai Motor UK, Kia UK ...

Headline news in the Dutch press last week was that the Louwman Group had cut all ties with Stellantis, terminating the Opel and Peugeot franchises at retail level from March 1st.  This affects a number of dealerships including some acquired just two years ago, formerly Orange Motors.  I am not privy to the reasons behind the decision, nor to what ...

Paul Stapylton has joined Glyn Hopkin Group as group operations director. He previously worked with Marshall Group where he had been for 17 years as franchise director. He also served at Motorline as a franchise director for Nissan and Hyundai and before that as operations director of Toyota and Lexus and operations director for Volkswagen and Skoda. On his departure ...

Snows Motor Group has unveiled the new-look Snows Kia Basingstoke site following significant investment in a three-month refurbishment project. The project included a complete refurbishment of the showroom and the workshop areas. Kia’s corporate logo is on the exterior of the building, smart wooden panelling has been installed for the interior, lighting and flooring has been improved. Jason Blaney, sales ...