Motor Trader The award-winning and longest running UK magazine for car retailing professionals. Your first stop for News, Jobs and Reports for the motor industry.
Welcome to the first Motor Trader for 2024 and the big issues of the day. First up: EV Mandate. The coming 12 months will be so critical for EV sales and carmakers ramp up production and put in place their ZEV target strategies. Dealers have raised reservations about prospects for EV sales in 2024.
The National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) surveyed its members to seek dealer opinions and their outlook for 2024. Just a quarter of dealerships (27%) predict that EV sales in 2024 would be ‘better’ in comparison to 2023 and a further 4% responded ‘much better’. And only 7% believe that the electric van market will fare ‘well’ in 2024 with the majority holding a ‘neutral’ view (56%). One to watch.
And we have an award winner. Congratulations to Isle of Wight-based Leslies Suzuki which won the brand’s National Dealer of the Year Award. Leslies Suzuki had previously won the award in 2018, together with a host of other accolades for its sales and aftersales. It makes for good reading, a dealership doing a great job in its local community.
This issue features the Motor Trader Top 50 Movers & Shakers for 2024 in which we look back at those individuals that shaped events over the past year. When it comes to dealer MDs and CEOs there has been big change in the line-up with the departure of well-known and established names.
There has been a lot of interest from abroad – the US, Sweden and Canada – in dealer groups which are seen as offering good value. Lookers, Pendragon and Jardine dealerships were among those who changed ownership during the year, with promotions and departures.
Finally, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is to investigate historical cases of motor finance companies not paying out compensation to customers for discretionary commission arrangements.
Estimates of how much this could cost finance houses and banks vary widely but it could be as high as £13bn depending on the outcome. For dealers, the outcome of the FCA probe could also have an impact on dealer motor finance in the future but to what extent is as yet unclear.