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.
This month in Motor Trader, in print and online, we feature two dealer groups who are doing well, Chapelhouse Motor Group has regularly appeared in the Motor Trader Top 200 Dealer Groups over the years with high return on sales. In this issue we interview MD Phil Clay, in the top job for just over a year.
Also, in this issue we talk to Jonathan Gravell, MD at Gravells, a serial award winner whose Bridgend outlet has taken the Kia Dealer of the Year award for a third consecutive year. Kia is the Motor Trader Carmaker of the Year. Makes for a great combination.
In 2022 the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) published its first Diversity Task Force Report, looking into Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion within the automotive industry. In this issue of Motor Trader, two years on from the publishing of the report the IMI looks at what has been achieved and where the failures lie. Check it out on p38.
Meanwhile the FCA review of motor finance (P18)rumbles on with one finance player putting aside £450m for payments, another cancelling its dividend and strengthening its balance sheet for potential payments and over £1.2 million consumers expressing an interest in claiming money when the FCA rules in September on what it is going to do.
And finally, Chinese cars (P6 & 28). The UK government said this month it can use trade sanctions if the UK is threatened by a flood of cheap Chinese car imports. Transport Minister Mark Harper MP said the UK had very robust measures in place for fair international trade.
In Europe, the European Commission has already said it could impose tariffs on Chinese EVs from 5 March if it decides that they are receiving unfair subsidies. It ordered that imports of Chinese-built cars into the EU should be recorded from that date, with the potential to retrospectively apply an additional tariff over and above the 10% currently applied.