Co-sponsors:Headline sponsor:

Tuesday 21 OctoberTelford International Centre, TF3 4JH

For more details, or to book visit www.usedcarconference.co.uk

Success in used car sales has long been thebedrock of a successful dealership. Today, the salesenvironment is undergoing a transformation that isredefining the long-established sales model. Vitalprofit centres in F&I are under scrutiny andconsumer trends ensure that understanding andadapting to a digital sales model is imperative.

The current sales model must change and adapt.

The AM Used Car Market Conference 2014 seesexperts presenting their thoughts and best practices tohelp dealers adjust to the rapidly changing conditions.

Developed with dealers for dealers, the conference isdesigned to provide pragmatic advice and practical‘take-aways’ that can help turn the threats surrounding today’s used car operation intotomorrow’s opportunities.

AMUC14_FPAD_FPAD 18/07/2014 15:50 Page 1

The AM editorial teamEmail: am@bauermedia.co.ukWebsite: www.am-online.com

Technology can help win customers’ trust, but not without a team behind it

Jeremy BennettEditor

Tim RoseManaging editor

WELCOME

am@bauermedia.co.uk am-online.com/linkedin

Facebook “f ” Logo CMYK / .eps Facebook “f ” Logo CMYK / .eps

am-online.com @amchatter facebook.com/automotivemanagementUK

t shouldn’t come as a surprise to encounter workshop technicians clutching cutting-edge gadgets in franchised dealerships. They do it every day as part of their jobs and are trained and measured on their abilities to a degree only fighter pilots are familiar with.

However, when the gadget is a camera and the technician is making a motion picture selfie – alongside an offending ‘red work’ part – what is the reaction? Given the industry’s collective ‘light bulb’ moment regarding video over the past 18 months, with dealers keen to show-and-tell customers everything, the reaction is probably a shrug, a ‘C’est la vie’ and a pat on the back for increasing conversion rates.

They say it’s not the gun that kills, but the man behind it. Likewise, it’s not the camera that builds trust, but the technician holding it. And while the technician is the star in this movie, everyone that works with them, supports them and manages them plays as fundamental a part in winning trust.

The elements that go into ensuring that trust are covered in this month’s AM, focusing on aftersales: from having the best staff (p33), being available when customers expect you to be (p38), maximising working efficiency (p49) and having the right tools available to meet your customers’ demands (p53).

And we launch the 2015 AM Awards, including for the first time recognition for the essential part service advisers play in ensuring aftersales success (p22).

O U R E X P E R T C O N T R I B U T O R S

Professor Jim SakerAs director of the

Centre of Automotive Management at Loughborough Univer-sity’s Business School, Saker is a key figure behind the drive for management recogni-tion and skills in the motor retail sector.

This month (p46), he argues that the motor retail sector has to begin making sales-people available at the times when customers want them.

Philip NothardHe is retail and consumer valuations

editor at CAP, which he joined in 2010 after two decades working in motor retail, culmi-nating in running deal-erships for European Motor Holdings, Lythgoe Motor Group and Arnold Clark.

In this issue (p30), he asks if used car dealers are wiser to focus on maximum margin or swiftest stock turn?

Don’t forget to enter the AM Awards!

See the categories on page 22

I

am-online.com September 2014 5

Insight

33 Goingbacktobasicsonright-first-timerepairs

Improving your dealerships’ first-time fix rates is the first step in winning customers back from independents and getting your ‘value for money’ message right.

35 AMpoll Our readers share what proportion

of their customers who buy service plans actually use them.

38 Facetoface:KnightsGroup Aftersales director Ian Dow explains

why he has extended working hours, up to 2am for some departments, and why the motor trade needs to follow the lead of other retail sectors on customer convenience.

46 Viewfromthebusinessschool

Dealers need to make the right resource available in the right place and at the right time, writes Prof Jim Saker.

In this issue September 2014

Yournews

9 Newsdigest This month’s round-up includes

fresh acquisitions for Marshall Motor Group and Arnold Clark Automobiles, record results for Lookers, and average dealer profitability rises to £31,000 for June.

Marketintelligence

14 Newcarregistrations July’s 6.6% rise in registrations prompts the SMMT to upgrade 2014 forecast to 2.45m units.

16 Usedcarvalues Average used car values reached a

record high in July, according to BCA, up 1.4% on the month before.

19 Finance The FLA responds to the Financial

Conduct Authority’s proposed ‘think again’ clause on GAP insurance.

6 September 2014 am-online.com

38FACE TO FACE

KNIGHTS GROUP AFTERSALES

DIRECTOR IAN DOW

AMAwards2015

22 Enternow Details of all the categories, two of

them new, in the UK motor retail industry’s most illustrious awards.

Analysis

27 TeslagoesitaloneinUK The American electric car maker is

aiming for dramatic UK sales growth, but franchised dealers and aftersales profits are not part of the plan.

30 Marginvstimeinstock? CAP’s Philip Nothard asks whether

it is wiser to focus on maximum margin or swiftest stock turn.

In this issue September 2014 For the latest motor retail industry news, visit am-online.comSign up to get AM news daily by email: am-online.com/newsletter

Comingsoon InOctober’sissueofAM Face to face with John Clark; Do

dealers need to change their add-ons to comply with the FCA?; and the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer reviewed.

74

22

64

AM AWARDS 2015ENTER THE MOTOR RETAIL ‘OSCARS’ NOW

CITROËN CACTUSWILL IT BUMP UP ‘MAINSTREAM’ SALES?

Showroom

64 CitroënCactus Quirky design and innovative finance may attract buyers tired of run-of-the-mill family hatchbacks.

66 SeatIbizaFR Fuel-saving active cylinder technology powers a car that is frugal but fast.

69 Mazda6TourerEstate’s effortless 1,200-mile Highlands trip shows why the Mazda6 is such a hit in Scotland.

70 MitsubishiASXThe crossover has helped to reverse the fortunes of Mitsubishi dealers.

am-online.com September 2014 7

ADP Dealer Services UK ...........................54Arnold Clark Automobiles .........................11ASE ....................................................................12Auto Trader ....................................................60BCA ....................................................................16BDO ...................................................................22Black Horse .........................................11,14,60Brayley Cars ...................................................11Bristol Street Motors ...................................11BTC ...................................................................53CAP ...................................................................30Car Care Plan ...............................................60Castrol .......................................................34,53CitNow .......................................................42,53Citroën .............................................................64City Motor Holdings .....................................11Close Motor Finance ......................................9Deloitte .............................................................14Duncton Group .............................................20Emac ................................................................60Frontline Solutions ......................................20Gforces ............................................................54JFE Nissan .....................................................33Knights Group ...............................................38Kia .....................................................................33Lean Enterprise Academy .........................49Lookers ..............................................................9Mapfre Abraxas............................................60Marshall .....................................................11,34Mazda ..........................................................33,69Mitsubishi .......................................................70Moneybarn .....................................................20Pendragon .........................................................9Pentana ...........................................................54Pinewood ........................................................60Provident Financial Group ........................20Razoom ...........................................................54RTS ...................................................................33Seat ...................................................................66Stericycle ExpertSolutions .......................54Supagard ........................................................60The Warranty Group ...................................20Tesla .................................................................27Trend Tracker ..........................................34,53Trowbridge Ford ...........................................11TrustFord .........................................................14Unipart Automotive ......................................12Vertu Motors ..................................................11What Car? ......................................................12

D E A L E R S A N DS U P P L I E R SI N T H I S I S S U E :

49 Measuretherightthingstocutwaste

Lean thinking can double a service department’s efficiency, delegates at the AM Aftersales Executive Club heard, but it is not for the faint-hearted.

53 Eightwaystoboostyourworkshop’sperformanceRetail service, maintenance and repair volumes are forecast to fall more than 10% in the next five years. Use these tools to improve your conversion rates and profits.

60 ReaderRecommendedRoundtable Dealers are asking for extra support with new regulations and methods of working, say 2014’s top suppliers.

GIVE YOUR WORKSHOP A PERFORMANCE BOOST THE LATEST IN AFTERSALES TECHNOLOGY

53

MARKET INTELLIGENCE T H E N E W S I N D E P T H

NEED TO KNOW n 172,907 new cars registered in Julyn Year-to-date growth now at 10.1%

N E W C A R R E G I S T R AT I O N S

SMMT upgrades 2014 forecast to 2.45m unitsJuly’s 6.6% year-on-year rise marks 29th consecutive month of growth

ABy Tim Rose

total of 172,907 new cars were registered in July, a rise of 6.6% and the 29th consecutive month of growth.

The Society of Motor Manufac-turers and Traders (SMMT) said economic confidence and attractive finance had driven the market up 10.1% year-to-date to 1,460,172 units.

The SMMT has revised upwards its 2014 market forecast, to 2.45 million registrations, 8.1% higher than 2013.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief execu-tive, said: “The continued positivity has led to an uplift in the SMMT full year forecast to 2.45m passenger car registrations, a rise of 8.1%. However, the more moderate growth of the last

V O L U M E S P L I T

July Total Diesel Petrol AFV Private Fleet Business2014 172,907 91,324 78,291 3,292 76,738 88,256 7,9132013 162,228 82,290 77,506 2,432 71,539 83,763 6,926% change 6.6% 11.0% 1.0% 35.4% 7.3% 5.4% 14.3%Mkt share ‘14 52.8% 45.3% 1.9% 44.4% 51.0% 4.6%Mkt share ‘13 50.7% 47.8% 1.5% 44.1% 51.6% 4.3%

Year-to-date Total Diesel Petrol AFV Private Fleet Business2014 1,460,172 734,197 699,346 26,629 700,378 690,369 69,4252013 1,325,851 653,035 654,957 17,859 628,964 639,306 57,581% change 10.1% 12.4% 6.8% 49.1% 11.4% 8.0% 20.6%Mkt share ‘14 50.3% 47.9% 1.8% 48.0% 47.3% 4.8%Mkt share ‘13 49.3% 49.4% 1.3% 47.4% 48.2% 4.3%

14 September 2014 am-online.com

U K N E W C A R R E G I S T R AT I O N S 2 0 0 7 - 2 0 13 ( F U L L Y E A R S ) A N D S M M T 2 0 1 4 F O R E C A S T

three months shows that overall demand is beginning to stabilise.”

TrustFord’s operations director John Leeman said 29 months of continuous growth was “a remark-able achievement” and reflected ongoing consumer confidence, falling

16Used car values

The latest data on nearly new, ex-fleet and part-exchange car values from the UK’s main auctions.

19Finance

The Finance and Leasing Association responds to FCA proposals for GAP insurance policies to require a ‘time to consider’ clause

inflation rates, wage growth and a national employment increase.

“What’s more, we have seen a huge effort from across the industry to provide consumers with quality prod-ucts, great customer service and competitive financial packages.”

Sue Robinson, director of the National Franchised Dealers Association, said: “It is extremely encouraging that new car sales continued to improve in July with year-to-date growth now at 10.1%.

“With such strong manufacturer and finance offers currently available, dealers are reporting that it is proving much easier to close a sale. However, competitive pricing and strong incen-tives remain important if the sales trend is to continue throughout 2014.”

David Raistrick, UK Automotive leader at Deloitte, said: “It will be interesting to see whether the major September registration month will continue to show strong growth. I

expect overall growth levels will start to stabilise in the final part of the year; a slowdown that will largely be driven by the increasing numbers of nearly-new vehicles returning to the market.”

Chris Sutton, managing director, Black Horse, one of the UK’s leading motor finance providers said: “The UK automotive sector is clearly one of the success stories of the UK economic recovery with yet another month of increased new car sales albeit at a more moderate pace than we have recently witnessed, a likely indication that growth may stabilise over the forthcoming months.

“Consumers are clearly being influ-enced by improved fuel-efficient cars and attractive finance deals.

“In a very competitive market, consumers will be eagerly awaiting new models that will be arriving on the market, which we would anticipate will further add to an increase in new car sales in the second half of 2014.”

am-online.com September 2014 15

MARKET INTELLIGENCE New car registrations

B I G G E S T F A L L E R S

Y E A R T O D AT E

Fixed price, five-year care packages, gongs from consumer brands such as Which?, Honest John and What Car? and a strong performance in the new Auto Express Driver Power survey of 50,000 car owners, who put the brand’s dealers only behind Lexus, have so far failed to translate into improved sales for Honda. Market share is at a new low. Outlet numbers are at least stable and the range has been boosted recently by the Civic Tourer, but the 2015 Jazz can’t come soon enough.

BRAND YTD (%)10 Mia 0.009 Honda -1.938 Aston Martin -7.487 Smart -9.846 Mini -12.255 Chrysler -21.994 Chevrolet -63.013 Saab -66.672 Perodua -84.851 Proton -93.33

B I G G E S T G R O W E R S

Y E A R T O D AT E

BRAND YTD (%)1 MG 801.922 Maserati 273.713 SsangYong 154.044 Jeep 74.705 Dacia 73.326 Renault 61.727 Infiniti 34.218 Lexus 32.389 Mazda 25.0910 Mitsubishi 32.22

1 0 -Y E A R M A R K E T T R E N D S A V A I L A B L E : w w w . a m - o n l i n e . c o m / a m iN E W C A R R E G I S T R AT I O N S

June Year-to-date

Marque 2014 % market 2013 % market % 2014 % market 2013 % market % share share change share share changeFord 23,647 13.68 25,597 15.78 -7.62 197,201 13.51 188,993 14.25 4.34Vauxhall 18,756 10.85 18,165 11.20 3.25 160,365 10.98 150,805 11.37 6.34Volkswagen 14,017 8.11 14,029 8.65 -0.09 124,683 8.54 115,346 8.70 8.09Audi 12,032 6.96 10,761 6.63 11.81 95,793 6.56 84,528 6.38 13.33Nissan 10,455 6.05 9,195 5.67 13.70 81,384 5.57 70,856 5.34 14.86BMW 9,955 5.76 8,390 5.17 18.65 85,077 5.83 73,604 5.55 15.59Mercedes-Benz 8,404 4.86 7,673 4.73 9.53 72,270 4.95 62,310 4.70 15.98Škoda 7,588 4.39 4,922 3.03 54.16 46,764 3.20 37,306 2.81 25.35Peugeot 6,845 3.96 7,375 4.55 -7.19 64,273 4.40 63,628 4.80 1.01Kia 6,011 3.48 6,027 3.72 -0.27 46,860 3.21 43,205 3.26 8.46Toyota 5,791 3.35 6,645 4.10 -12.85 56,855 3.89 54,003 4.07 5.28Hyundai 5,302 3.07 4,997 3.08 6.10 48,034 3.29 44,132 3.33 8.84Citroën 5,179 3.00 5,732 3.53 -9.65 49,269 3.37 48,516 3.66 1.55Fiat 4,863 2.81 4,610 2.84 5.49 39,733 2.72 34,033 2.57 16.75Seat 4,149 2.40 2,929 1.81 41.65 31,491 2.16 25,681 1.94 22.62Renault 4,088 2.36 2,319 1.43 76.28 36,152 2.48 22,354 1.69 61.72Land Rover 3,722 2.15 3,459 2.13 7.60 33,741 2.31 33,579 2.53 0.48Mini 3,571 2.07 3,147 1.94 13.47 24,979 1.71 28,467 2.15 -12.25Honda 3,030 1.75 3,372 2.08 -10.14 32,949 2.26 33,598 2.53 -1.93Volvo 3,010 1.74 2,274 1.40 32.37 22,860 1.57 19,054 1.44 19.97Mazda 2,426 1.40 2,196 1.35 10.47 22,313 1.53 17,838 1.35 25.09Suzuki 2,254 1.30 1,739 1.07 29.61 21,980 1.51 18,859 1.42 16.55Dacia 1,404 0.81 1,303 0.80 7.75 14,380 0.98 8,297 0.63 73.32Jaguar 1,352 0.78 1,155 0.71 17.06 11,178 0.77 9,813 0.74 13.91Mitsubishi 1,181 0.68 397 0.24 197.48 7,181 0.49 5,431 0.41 32.22Lexus 731 0.42 692 0.43 5.64 6,362 0.44 4,806 0.36 32.38Porsche 661 0.38 731 0.45 -9.58 5,301 0.36 4,632 0.35 14.44Smart 415 0.24 342 0.21 21.35 2,942 0.20 3,263 0.25 -9.84Alfa Romeo 342 0.20 376 0.23 -9.04 3,299 0.23 3,163 0.24 4.30Jeep 278 0.16 133 0.08 109.02 1,906 0.13 1,091 0.08 74.70MG 203 0.12 27 0.02 651.85 1,407 0.10 156 0.01 801.92Subaru 165 0.10 87 0.05 89.66 1,474 0.10 1,187 0.09 24.18Maserati 161 0.09 20 0.01 705.00 725 0.05 194 0.01 273.71Infiniti 131 0.08 28 0.02 367.86 357 0.02 266 0.02 34.21Chrysler 126 0.07 172 0.11 -26.74 1,210 0.08 1,551 0.12 -21.99Bentley 120 0.07 131 0.08 -8.40 930 0.06 727 0.05 27.92Abarth 116 0.07 96 0.06 20.83 905 0.06 807 0.06 12.14SsangYong 80 0.05 31 0.02 158.06 818 0.06 322 0.02 154.04Aston Martin 50 0.03 45 0.03 11.11 532 0.04 575 0.04 -7.48Lotus 34 0.02 25 0.02 36.00 129 0.01 122 0.01 5.74Perodua 3 0.00 13 0.01 -76.92 25 0.00 165 0.01 -84.85Chevrolet 2 0.00 701 0.43 -99.71 2,761 0.19 7,465 0.56 -63.01Mia 0 0.00 0 0.00 0.00 5 0.00 0 0.00 0.00Proton 0 0.00 0 0.00 0.00 1 0.00 15 0.00 -93.33Saab 0 0.00 0 0.00 0.00 1 0.00 3 0.00 -66.67Other British 77 0.04 81 0.05 -4.94 509 0.03 503 0.04 1.19Other Imports 180 0.10 89 0.05 102.25 808 0.06 602 0.05 34.22Total 172,907 162,228 6.58 1,460,172 1,325,851 10.13

6

9

For further details, please visit www.amdigitaldealer.co.uk

DIGITALDEALER CONFERENCE 2014

Headline sponsor:

This conference aims to deliver easilydigestible ‘chunks’ whilst also throwinga few curved balls to help dealersmaintain their momentum and avoidbecoming bogged down in the sheervolume of information, innovation andoptions available in the digital sphere.

As well as marketing and social media,the conference looks at the wideraspect of digital including latesttechnology, data and security.

4 September 2014 – The Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon

Masterclass sponsors:

Our speakers include:

� Ian Plummer, Volkswagen UK� Henry Williams, Williams Automobiles� Alex Kozloff, Internet Advertising Bureau� Marshall Manson, Social@Ogilvy� Hugh Dickerson, Google

AMDD14_FPADv2_FPAD 13/08/2014 09:47 Page 1

74 September 2014 am-online.com

IN OCTOBER’S ISSUE PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 26 AM, Media House, Lynch Wood,

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AM productionHead of publishingLuke Neal 01733 468262Production editor Finbarr O’Reilly 01733 468267 Designer Erika Small 01733 468312

Contributors Debbie Kirlew, Chris Lowndes, Philip Nothard, Chris Phillips, Prof Jim Saker, Tom Seymour AM advertising Commercial director Sarah Crown 01733 366466Group advertisement managerSheryl Graham 01733 366467Project managers Leanne Patterson 01733 468332Kerry Unwin 01733 468327Angela PriceLucy Peacock 01733 468338Account managers Julie Howard 01733 468141Sara Donald 01733 366474Richard Kerr 01733 366473Kelly Crown 01733 366364Recruitment enquiriesRichard Kerr 01733 366473 AM publishingManaging directorTim Lucas 01733 468340Office managerVicky Meadows 01733 468319Group managing director Rob Munro-HallChief executive officerPaul Keenan

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Printing: Headley Brothers Ltd, Kent

C O N TA C T U S

The secrets of successLooking at add-on product segments, we ask dealers how they feature that product in their sales process and why they enjoy such success.

John Clark Motor Group John Clark, managing director, tells AM why the Scottish dealer group has been growing strongly and how it optimises its sales.

A D V E R T I S E R S ’ I N D E X

Alphera ..................................................56Armchair Answercall ........................55ASE ........................................................17Autoclenz ..............................................63Autos On Show.Tv ...............................52

Barclays Partner Finance ..................2Black Horse ..........................................18British Car Auctions .........................62Cars 2 .....................................................71Chris Eastwood Automotive ...........72Dealer Management Services ........55DM Keith ................................................71DSG Financial Services .....................67TrustFord .............................................71

Heritage Automotive .........................72iVendi ......................................................61Lawdata .................................................63Lloyds Banking Group ......................18Loughborough University ................51Manheim Retail Services .............8, 13Mapfre Abraxas .................................10Motoring.co.uk ..............................36-37Northridge Finance ............................26

Paragon Automotive ..........................31Park’s Motor Group ...........................72Pentana Solutions ..............................51Supagard ..............................................62Symco .....................................................35Trader Publishing .....41, 43 45, 47, 48Trusted Dealers ..................................12Volkswagen Financial Services .....73CitNow ....................................................32

BMW 2 Series Active Tourer

Do you need to change your basket of add-ons? In light of the FCA’s focus on ‘positive consumer outcomes’, we look at whether dealers’ upselling processes, and the products they offer, may need to change in the near future.

The first front-wheel-drive car to bear a BMW badge is a major departure from the brand’s heartland.

FACE TO FACE:

John Clark, (right) chairman and managing

director, pictured with Chris Clark, business development director