Guest Blog

  Many franchised and independent dealers are still using a variety of third-party systems, with staff spending considerable time entering data across multiple platforms. Research carried out by CAP HPI last year, revealed that more than one in ten dealership staff were logging into more than 11 systems daily – with a massive 93% of respondents saying they spent more ...

The Peugeot 508 makes its debut in a UK network that has been stress-tested over the past 12 months Almost every week a new SUV arrives on the UK scene, as the car market tide continues to ride a wave crest of SUV and crossover obsession. Over the past couple of months alone, launch events have been held for the ...

Everyone knows about the old motor trade knowledge. The almost intuitive level of information built up by experienced traders after decades and decades in the industry about the best auctions to send each different car and van for the best sale. But what you may not know is that there is evidence that traders are currently developing an online version ...

This year is proving to be one of the most interesting years in the warranty sector for some time, with a number of key trends emerging, the biggest of which is increased demand for longer warranties. Over the last 12 months, we have seen a 10% drop in sales of three month warranties and a corresponding 10% rise in six ...

The successful small to medium sized franchised dealers are those who always value the importance of their used car businesses, not just when the new car market is down. The best performing retailers we work with regularly review where their best business opportunities are coming from; used cars always feature high on that list. The most successful dealers are those ...

The used car market often does not get the credit it deserves for its relative resilience. It is of course a cyclical market, but less so than the new car market, and dealers have much more control over their margins. The market is c3x larger than the new car market in volume terms, hence dealer groups have been able to ...

WLTP has been the word on everybody’s lips this summer. Some manufacturers are yet to reveal the CO2 and economy figures for large parts of their product range, even though we’re only days away from the 1 September deadline. The implementation of the new testing regime is causing disruption to ordering and vehicle supply with some OEMs – with company ...

Dealers are set to benefit from a valuable new revenue stream from the unlocking of telematics data generated by new cars. Telematics have been a standard feature of cars for decades but recent developments with the rollout of connected cars, harnessing the power of the internet, have transformed the richness and timeliness of data. This is good news for dealers ...

Electric vehicles are poised for a breakthrough as an overwhelming majority of British motorists are now open to the idea of owning an electric car. Two in three drivers can now see themselves owning an electric vehicle in the future, while searches for information and cars for sale are growing faster than for any other type of vehicle, according to ...

Franchised dealers rely heavily on service activity when it comes to ensuring healthy levels of profit. It’s important that service centres become more open to non-traditional servicing activity. Even with an influx of more advanced electric vehicles, there is still opportunity for regular activity, albeit in a smaller package. By providing seasonal health checks in lieu of the lost annual ...