One in six jobs are at risk of redundancy without help from the government in restarting production of the automotive sectors, said the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. The SMMT wants emergency funding, permanent short-time working, business rate holidays, and VAT cuts to stem the flow of job losses as showroom reopen and production lines are restarting, it said. About 168,000 people … [Read more...]
Finance
Newslines 23 June
To boost the re-opening of showrooms across its dealer network in England and Northern Ireland, and Scotland from the end of June, Mitsubishi Motors in the UK is now offering its customers savings of up to £4,000 until September 28, as well as the assurance of prompt delivery of their chosen vehicle either to their local dealership or to their home free of charge. Anyone purchasing a new … [Read more...]
White Dove Suzuki opens in Cardiff
One of South Wales’ longest established motoring families has a new member. White Dove Motor Group, founded in 1961, has added the Suzuki franchise to its current portfolio of SEAT and Skoda brands. White Dove Suzuki has invested over £1,000,000 in their new four-acre premises at Hadfield Road - Bessemer Close, Cardiff, Leckwith, created ten jobs in their seven-car showroom, on their used cars’ … [Read more...]
Virus spreads change through dealerships & buying
The lasting effects of how Coronavirus-19 will spread its impact through the motor industry and selling cars cannot be known, but for many it has merely sped up the changes we have witnessed over a decade, writes Robin Roberts. In a social media post this week, Lamborghini said it was never going to display at a motor show again but would instead concentrate on more personal and exclusive events … [Read more...]
Ghost brokers are defrauding drivers
Ghost brokers are haunting motorists, warns a Welsh business. Gocompare is warning motorists to avoid too good to be true car insurance deals on social media following concerns that fraudsters known as ‘ghost brokers’ are preying on people’s financial worries caused by the Covid pandemic. The warning comes following the arrest at the end of May, of a man by the City of London Police for selling … [Read more...]
Motorists treating themselves after lockdown eases
The UK used car market woke up during May with motorists treating themselves to sports and luxury cars as they came out of the 10-week pandemic lockdown period according to the latest Market Watch insights report from Indicata.uk. Consumers seem intent on having some motoring fun with money saved from cancelled holidays and reduced family running costs being invested in a used luxury or sports … [Read more...]
Newslines 18 June
The arrival of the new BMW M5 Competition sees the high-performance saloon from BMW M GmbH returning to the stage in its sharpest and most performance-focused form to date. Fusing a high-revving, 625hp 4.4-litre V8 turbocharged engine with a finely-tuned chassis that incorporates new dampers, features such as M Mode and a central information display enlarged to 12.3 inches, the BMW M5 Competition … [Read more...]
Tradelines 17 June
Over 1,000 temporary contractor jobs are going at JLR as the executive car maker struggles to control losses as a result of the global pandemic hitting sales and it saw a downturn of £501 Million in the first quarter of the year. It has raised its cost cutting target by £1 Billion as it seeks to save £5 Billion by March including slashing capital spending by £500 Million. There were more … [Read more...]
Premiums are rising again, so shop around
Insurance premiums are rising again. Dan Hutson, head of motor insurance, comparethemarket.com, said, “After motor premiums reached their lowest level in over four years last month, they are now back on the rise. “The average car insurance price during May was £715, an increase of £36, or 5%, on April. As lockdown eases and more cars are returning to the roads, claims are likely to be … [Read more...]
Brits still love the car showroom
The reopening of car showrooms is good news for the industry, as research finds that the majority of car owners (76%) still buy their cars from a showroom, with nearly a quarter (24%) of these second-hand cars. The survey of 2,000 UK drivers, which was commissioned by InsuretheGap.com, a leading supplier of GAP Insurance (Guaranteed Asset Protection) for new and second-hand cars, found that car … [Read more...]