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.
The UK motor industry continues to be shackled to the economic roller coaster that has encircled the economy.
There is never a dull moment, but unfortunately, few bright ones either.
Following another traumatic week, in this issue we report that Lookers is continuing to cut costs by reducing the size of its network as it struggles to cope with the market downturn.
This is a worry as Lookers is widely recognised as having a robust business model with a strong focus on aftersales.
There is no sense of panic, Lookers is prudently planning for the tough times ahead but others are not so well placed to cope.
Further site closures and job losses are inevitable and we also report on the closure of Barkers’ Citroen site in Grimsby.
The latest round of carmakers to announce production cuts includes Honda, Bentley and Ford at its Bridgend plant.
Ford however, also announced it is to invest a further £70m in Bridgend to manufacture a low emission engine and this gives a signal as to the direction the industry must take on the road to recovery.
Faced with mounting political and financial pressure, consumer downsizing is accelerating and the carmakers and dealers that meet this demand will be the ones with the brightest futures.