Dear
Welcome to the November issue of Motor Finance. The outlook for
both the carmaking and the financial services industries are
changing – by the minute, if not day, it sometimes feels.
In the US, the car industry is appealing for government
help, and manufacturers and associations in the UK and Europe have
followed suit – see US and UK carmakers seek help for captives
as turbulence spreads.
It’s a difficult time for captives, as their quarterly results
show; in this month’s profile, Graham Wheeler, head of Volkswagen
Financial Services talks frankly about the challenges facing
manufacturers’ finance arms in the current climate (see
Charting a safe course).
The bleak picture for fleets on the residual value front
(Continuing pain on RV front for lessors) highlights the
growing importance of calculating the total cost of ownership for
fleet customers. Brian Rogerson investigates this burgeoning field
in Seeing the whole picture.
Finally, Colin Tourick asks whether some fleet lessors are –
technically – insolvent, while, on a lighter note, Graham Hill
thinks that when his car tells him when it needs servicing, it is
perhaps protesting too much (see The Arranger).
With best wishes in this turbulent climate.
Jo Tacon
jo.tacon@vrlknowledgebank.com
