All articles by Girish Gupta
Girish Gupta
Traffic jams
The motor industry will quite happily spend hundreds of thousands of pounds refurbishing car salesrooms but is more reluctant to invest online This disparity in outlay, Girish Gupta reports, has resulted in a poor web presence, particularly when it comes to finance marketing.
MBFS UK plans move following success
Mercedes-Benz Financial Services UK is celebrating both its 20th birthday and a record market share of 5.1% in the UK car finance market. The Daimler Financial Services AG subsidiary is also moving to new premises in Milton Keynes, alongside Mercedes-Benz UK.
Harsh winter to put volumes under pressure
Consumer confidence-shaking public sector cuts are looming and the scrappage scheme is thought to have pulled forward a lot of the latent demand in the market, meaning that volumes may be under more pressure than expected this winter. In fact, many are beginning to wonder if the uplift in new business predicted to come before Januarys VAT increase will materialise at all, causing dealers and finance providers to turn to their existing contact books to try to find business.
New car registrations down 8.9%
New car registrations fell 8.9% in September to 335,246 units against a scrappage-fuelled 2009, according to figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Scottish Police join forces with car finance industry
Scotlands regional police forces are joining forces with the motor finance industry, passing on information on uninsured drivers. Driving a car that is subject to a finance agreement without insurance voids the finance contract Scottish police who catch uninsured drivers will now notify the relevant finance companies through the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA).
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New campaign fights motor crime
Used vehicle history checker HPI has backed the DVLAs Buyer Beware campaign aimed at preventing car fraud
Online channels shake-up used car sales
The used car sector has been labelled a “dinosaur industry” in its unwillingness to respond to advice following the deepest recession for 70 years Professor Peter Cooke, of Buckingham Universitys Centre for Automotive Management, made the accusation as he launched the 20th edition of the Used Car Market Report.
POS leads as primary channel
Six out of seven consumer finance providers polled by Motor Finance reported a rise in new business for the first half of 2010
ACFO membership fees frozen
The budget decisions we made 18 monthstwo years ago have cut our costs, and have obviously helped fleet operators with a clear signal of support said Julie Jenner, ACFO chairman
Fleet values fall
Month-on-month average values for fleet were down for the fifth time this year with a 2.3% reduction to £5,791 for August This follows a rough year for the fleet sector which has seen values fall 13.5% (£900) since August 2009. Average wholesale used car values also fell by 3.3% to £6,783 in August, after a relatively stable June and July