News - Page 1644

The launch of S-Type has been more successful than even Jaguar dealers could have hoped and one dealer manager told Automotive Management he was “embarrassed” at the profit margins he was making on the car.

Conspiracy theorists will delight in the news carmakers now own more of their own retail outlets than ever before.

At the dawn of the Millennium the established franchised dealer system faces an uncertain future. That inescapable fact is reflected in this publication, Automotive Management's third annual Franchising Report.

Despite current fears about lack of customers and new car pricing, dealers are slightly more optimistic about profit potential.

Carmakers rescued the November new car market from collapse by clearing unsold stocks of old model year cars at bargain basement prices. Both Ford and Vauxhall intervened to offer extra sales bonuses to dealers registering 1999 model year cars in an effort to clear the parking lots.

Used car retailer Concept Automotive Services has opened a flagship store in Enfield, north London, during a flurry of activity that resulted in two senior appointments.

North-east retailer Benfield Motors is claiming an instant success for its 'two-for-one' sales scheme launched this month.

Tax rules changed at the beginning of December to enable VAT-registered businesses buying double cab pick-ups with a payload of more than one tonne to reclaim the VAT charged on the purchase price.

A new internet car shopping service is posing a fresh threat to established websites like Autobytel and Autohit, which charge dealers monthly subscription fees.

The Greenhous Group has launched a low-price used car operation which offers customers a 'no-frills' package.

Mitsubishi dealers have had to take a margin cut and reduced bonuses to help fund the highly-publicised price cuts of up to 15% announced this month.

The European Commission is next week expected to announce an investigation into the UK Government's planned £152m aid package for BMW's Rover Birmingham plant.

Automotive industry leaders were this week infuriated by the Competition Commission's failure to meet the December 16 deadline set for its report on new car retailing.

Mitsubishi's price cuts brought an instant reaction from the buying public. More calls went through the dealer network in two days than in the previous month and dealers increased their daily order rate from 25 cars to 150.

Mini - pioneering, classless and 40 - is the Automotive Management car of the century. In Las Vegas this weekend, it battles for the supreme accolade against Citroen DS, Ford Model T, Porsche 911 and VW Beetle. The award is based on public Internet votes and those of 132 automotive journalists in 32 countries.

London body repairers, many at the point of collapse from spiralling overheads, have decided to take direct action in a bid to persuade insurers to improve remuneration packages. Bob Hood, senior manager of the Retail Motor Industry Federation Bodyshop Services Division, chaired a meeting of 70 leading repairers at the association's headquarters in London where an agreement was reached to set up a 'London Bodyshop Alliance'.