All articles by Verdict Staff
Verdict Staff
Used car values
Typical late springearly summer marketplace some price pressure but lots of interest for most desirable vehicles.
BMW introduces 50:50 finance offer
BMW Financial Services (BMWFS) has announced a new 50:50 product, which allows customers to pay 50% of a cars value up front, then absolutely nothing for two years,. After this time, they may either pay the balance to take ownership of the car, part exchange the car for a new one, or hand it back to the dealer.
People on the move
Peter Cottle, managing director of consultancy Torque Finance, has been appointed as head of business development at BEN, the automotive industry charity. Cottle is a former senior director at Bank of Scotland Corporate, where he was responsible for retail and wholesale motor finance business. BEN provides practical, emotional and financial support for those who work, or have worked, in the automotive and related industries, as well as their dependents
HPI Crushwatch
HPI Crushwatch is an online service aimed at helping lenders reclaim vehicles with outstanding finance before they get crushed
Subscribe to our Newsletter
Get industry leading news, data and analysis delivered to your inbox
Editor’s letter: Silver lining to a gloomy picture
Adjustments to pricing across the car finance industry this month have highlighted the issue of competition in the months to come While the question of whether competition will be played out in price or service levels is a discussion all to itself, it is first worth asking what lenders will be competing over. Certainly, given the flat April seen by most retailers, its looking more and more likely that there wont be a surfeit of new business for lenders to capture most seem to be expecting a market very similar in size to that of 2010.
HBJ Gateley Wareing rebrands
Solicitors HBJ Gateley Wareing has adopted Gateley as its new national brand in England and Dubai In Scotland the firm is now called HBJ Gateley. The firm has 145 partners located in offices in Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leicester, Nottingham, Manchester, London and Dubai.
Disappointing April for Europe
The UKs new car market fell 7.4% year-on-year in April, outpacing the 3.1% rate of decline in the total European market, according to latest statistics from information provider JATO. Of the big five European markets, only Germany saw an increase in sales in April, up 2.6%, while France, Great Britain, Italy and Spain all experienced decreases, down 11.1%, 7.4%, 2.3% and 23.6% respectively. German brands also saw a continuation of their recent success, with sales of BMW, Audi and Volkswagen all recording positive growth year-to-date, up 3.6%, 3.7%, and 5.1% respectively
Steering group aims to help all funders
A new steering group set up by the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) could encourage a raft of new funders into the vehicle rental and leasing market. The BVRLA states the groups aims are to improve the availability of competitively-priced funding for the industry and to help existing and potential funders better understand its risks and rewards. The group has been formed as the industrys main funder, Lloyds Banking Group, continues to reduce its £1bn exposure to the rental and leasing market
People on the move
GE Capital Fleet Services has appointed Simon Cook as light commercial vehicle (LCV) leader and Eddie Parker as LCV consultant. Cook has been in the commercial vehicle industry for more than 25 years and previously headed up the sales and operations team at TLS Vehicle Rental.