Guest Blog

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) investigation into the sale of car finance has understandably garnered attention from the public regarding market practices. A significant area of concern for the investigation is a lack of transparency in disclosing interest rates and commission structures. There are existing solutions and services available, which can improve the customer experience and provide increased transparency. Providing ...

By Steve Young There are a number of automotive industry related stories running at the moment that are all predicting some extreme outcomes when the reality is probably rather different.  In a time when there are so many competing news channels and social media outlets, we perhaps shouldn’t be surprised that attention-grabbing headlines and ‘click-bait’ become the norm.  However that ...

After a hectic couple weeks with our Members’ Spring Meeting in Berlin and some consulting deadlines, it’s back to the blogs.  I’m sure you will have managed without my random thoughts on the issues of the day… I feel like I talk about agency a lot, but I did check back on my previous blogs, and it’s actually been a ...

The growth of Chinese car brands in the European market has been in the headlines in the last week or so, so it seems an appropriate point to comment on the news stories but also launch a new initiative from ICDP, where we have extended the ‘fireside chats’ that we have had in some of our recent members’ meeting to ...

This year, ICDP reaches thirty years since the launch of the first European Research Programme, so we have been looking back in the archives in preparation for our Members’ Meeting in Berlin in two weeks where we will share some old material that includes some not-so-dated thinking. We think of our industry as fast-moving and talk about the scale of ...

We are finalising some thoughts at the moment for our Spring Members’ Meeting in Berlin in a couple weeks’ time.  We have a range of interesting topics to cover including an agency update, the progress of the Chinese brands into Europe and the question of whether independent aftermarket players need scale to survive – a topic that I touched on ...

BYD finished last year with record-breaking annual sales of 3 million vehicles. It signals the global ambition of the manufacturer as it expands its range and geographic footprint. December saw sales of 341,043 units, a 45% increase, and 3,024,417 vehicles sold throughout the year, a remarkable 61.9% surge from the previous year. In the UK, to date, BYD has only ...

A couple of years ago I expressed my  bewilderment that Cazoo had been floated on the US stock exchange with a valuation of $8 billion. That’s eight thousand million dollars! An outrageous ticket when substantial car retail groups, with an international presence, brand recognition and significant profitability were valued at less than 5% of that sum. Founding an automotive technology ...

It was disappointing, but perhaps not a surprise, that Personal Contract Hire (PCH) demand for Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) experienced something of a rollercoaster ride last year. Our own enquiry data saw a considerable fall in demand – down 33% compared to 2022 – with petrol being the most popular drivetrain holding just over 70% of total enquires. Consumer demand ...

The final quarter of 2023 has been a revealing period for the US car dealership industry, marked by resilience and strategic agility amidst ongoing challenges. The earnings presentations from Penske Automotive Group, Group 1 Automotive, Sonic Automotive, Lithia Motors, and AutoNation offer a panoramic view of the sector’s health and future direction. This analysis delves into their operational performances, strategic ...