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.
Motor Trader Interview with Joe Doyle Chief Executive of H.R. Owen plc. Melton Court 25-27 Old Brompton Road SW73TD
Interview by: John Kirwan
also Chris Harris Marketing director
David Berman
The February issue of Motor Trader includes the now well established Top 50 Movers & Shakers where we do our best to pick out the people who have influenced the business over the past year and look set to do the same in 2020.
Many of these Top 50 individuals will be looking closely at how new car sales are going. January got off to a slow start.
The number of registrations fell -7.3% to 149,279. It gets worse. Sales of new diesel cars fell -36%. It was the 34th consecutive monthly decline in diesel and the weakest performance since 2000.
Diesel now accounts for just a 19.8% share of the market. Bad news for those brands and dealer networks with major exposure to the fuel.
But, if diesel is going down, sales of EVs are increasing – from a low base – and the networks are looking at how this will impact their business in the years to come. It’s a slow mover.
The NFDA is looking at this closely with its dealer members, holding its first EV seminar in Warwick Motor Trader went along to look afresh at the challenges and opportunities facing dealers in the transition to EVs.
Our Dealer Insight this month looks at Porsche Centre Preston which opened in 2019. It is the brand’s second-largest UK outlet in terms of floor space and the first open point in almost two decades filled by a dealer group not previously representing Porsche. We look at how Bowker came to represent the brand, which is in high demand. It’s a great read.
A year on we also take a fresh look at the Volvo network and how it is performing. Volvo dealers have a great range of cars but selling bigger volumes can put a strain on relationships. This is something Volvo has been working on for some time. It says it is now more engaged with dealers than before. By the end of the year the majority of its dealers will also have its new corporate look.
As the industry enters 2020 Motor Trader asked some prominent players in the sector about the trends they’re seeing in recruitment What jobs are under pressure? Will the demand for technicians continue to outstrip supply? What impact are electric vehicles having on recruitment? Hope you enjoy the February issue of MT.