Car Dealer News

Marshall, the Cambridge based dealer group, has completed its acquisition of five north west Mercedes-Benz dealerships from Pendragon, which it said will double its turnover.

The Co-operative Motor Group has launched an aftersales initiative to price match any like-for-like servicing and repair quote using genuine manufacturer parts.

Average used car values climbed in September for the second consecutive month, according to the latest Pulse Report.

Large franchised dealer groups ended last year in a better financial position than they did in 2008, despite new car sales falling to a 14-year low. While the new block exemption will encourage supermarkets to look at car retailing and manufacturers to increase factory-owned networks.

Halfords Group is pushing ahead with the rebranding of the 224 Nationwide centres it bought for £73.2m from Phoenix, the private equity group earlier this year.

Seat dealers have launched a VAT-free Q4 promotion.

The SMMT said today the outlook for UK car sales remained cautious with government austerity measures likely to unsettle consumer and business demand.

Vertu and PSA Retail are the latest groups to sign up to the Dealers Backing Ben campaign whereby participating dealers donate £1 from each car sold at auction to the motor industry charity.

Used car values were almost 10 per cent lower in September than a year ago, according to Manheim Remarketing.

Up to a fifth of dealer groups are looking to change their warranty supplier in the tough economic environment, according to RAC Warranty.