Dealers must offer employees solid support to reduce fear of change and a reluctance to deal with new technology. That was according to Coachworks Consulting managing director Karl Davis, speaking at the Motor Trader Summit held at Edgbaston. To see a video of the presentation click here. “Fear is ever present in every team we’ve ever worked with,” said Davis. He ...

The Sytner Group was the highest ranked vehicle retailer in the latest Glassdoor best places to work survey. Glassdoor is a website where employees and ex-employees can anonymously review businesses and their management’s abilities to create good working environments. In its latest survey of the top 50 places to work the Sytner Group beat companies outside the vehicle retail sector ...

Demand for near new condition cars is creating a ‘grade one plus’ standard for used stock, according to contract hire business Meridian Vehicle Solutions. “The NAMA (National Association of Motor Auctions) grade one standard allows for a few minor issues such as small dents and minor missing trim items but we are in a situation where demand for used cars ...

East Anglian multi-franchise dealer group Vindis has joined forces with the ARU Anglia Ruskin University to launch a graduate degree course. Named after Nigel Vindis, the firm’s late joint managing director, the programme is designed to offer one candidate on-going support and work experience during their studies. This will be part of a project-based degree designed to provide a complete ...

Leicester’s Highcross Shopping Centre is to be the venue for a pop-up store overseen by Inchcape Mercedes-Benz. The site opens on Friday and will remain active until January 17th. ‘Pop-up stores are a brilliant way of bringing the brand to the wider general public, especially during this busy Christmas period. We have some great activities planned for the seven weeks ...

Fleet managers are increasingly looking at geographical sales patterns before deciding where to sell used stock, according to company car back office systems specialist epyx. This has been an increasing trend in recent months, it claims. The firm monitored data on its 1link vehicle disposal network platform. “This is a trend that we are seeing when our platform is used ...

Figures for October sales released by dealer profitability specialist ASE showed average dealer profits of £6,000, compared to a small loss for October 2017. According to ASE chairman Mike Jones this was “directly related to the unwinding of WLTP supply issues with a number of brands who had a poor September starting to catch up dealer sales.” The ASE figures ...

Kia’s electric e-Niro crossover model is set to go on sale on April 1st. With plug-in car grant reductions the car will retail for £32,995. Just one highly specified model is to be offered and will join hybrid and PHEV versions of the Niro, which have made 65,000 European sales in two years, 11,000 of them in the UK. Since ...

Mercedes will begin deliveries of right hand drive E Class plug in hybrids next spring with prices starting from £47,500. This is for the entry level E 300e, which is being sold in saloon only guise and is powered by a 211hp. 2.0 litre turbo petrol engine, mated to a 122hp, electric motor producing 440 Nm of torque. When using ...

This year could well be seen in a more positive light than we might have expected, even considering the challenges around declining registrations figures, WLTP, Bank of England interest rate increases and concerns over demand for diesel. For me, none of these issues have been the most interesting aspect of the year. Rather, it’s developments in regulation that continue to be the big story and ...