News

JCB Group has bought a Kia dealership in Bromley from the Masters Group with the team transferring to JCB. The JCB Group will also be keeping Bromley Kia’s authorised Mitsubishi service business. Jonathan Bischoff managing director of the JCB Group said: “It is fabulous to be welcoming Bromley Kia, well known as the Chinese garage, into the JCB Group. “We ...

Warranty Solutions Group is launching the Prep4Less programme amidst steep rise in repair costs. Research from WSG revealed a 15% increase in the cost of used car repair bills over the past year, rising to an average of £528.05 (up from £458.57 in 2023). Supply chain disruptions caused by the global parts shortage and labour rates implemented by repairers to ...

The average price of a used car in December was £16,649, down 0.6% MoM, compared with November. This year’s price movements are more in line with seasonal norms, says Auto Trader. The decline in prices of younger cars is impacting the movement of prices overall. In turn, pricing is driving the increased speed of sale. In December, cars sold three ...

Independent garages utilising BookMyGarage undertook £22.26 million worth of additional work from retail customers within three months. From September until the end of November 2024, BookMyGarage generated a substantial increase in business for independent garages. Motorists are using digital tools to meet vehicle ownership requirements. BookMyGarage chief marketing officer, Jessica Potts, said: “At BookMyGarage, we are heavily invested in driving ...

Dealers are bracing for a sharp fall in pick-ups in 2025 following the government hike in taxation announced in the Budget last year. Sales are already in decline, down -8.3% in 2024 and this looks likely to accelerate this year, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders, which released van sales figures today. “A cause for serious concern ...

  ZEV Mandate, inflation and supply chain pressures look likely to dominate the agenda for dealers in the year ahead. Ian Plummer, Auto Trader Commercial Director commented that new car sales still sit “significantly behind” pre-COVID levels. “Even though electric car sales accounted for around a fifth of the total 2024 sales- not far off the government target – hitting ...

The new car market in 2024 revealed winners and losers among carmakers as they battled for sales in a market skewed by the ZEV Mandate. Car makers that found the going tough include Ford, which fell -23.7% for the year followed by Stellantis owned Vauxhall which was down -21-4% for the period, followed by Porsche (-17.5%), Fiat (-14.1%) and Suzuki ...

Carwow has predicted strong and sustained demand through Q1 of 2025, particularly for used cars.    Used car enquiries placed with dealers via Carwow increased dramatically during Q4 2024, up by 49% versus the same period in 2023, while new car enquiries rose by 12%.   There was a 14% increase in overall visits to Carwow between Christmas and New ...

Registrations by private buyers in 2024 fell by -8.7% to 746,276 units. The lack of demand in the private sector is reflected in electric vehicle sales. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), which released the figures said one of the major constraints to growth was the “lacklustre demand by private buyers”, with only one in 10 choosing an ...

Firstly, happy New Year to all that follow this blog!  I hope that the break has allowed you to recharge your batteries, ready to re-engage in your business for the next, doubtless eventful, twelve months.  I’m sure that your inbox will be full of projections for 2025 related to the world in general, the economy and our industry, so I ...