AutoNews24

■A termination - and much confidence

Germany ■Autohaus Brass Cupra Store Opening in Aschaffenburg! ■ Artan Statovci, the Managing Director at Autohaus Brass Vertriebs GmbH, shares insights from the recent TribeNight!

The Netherlands ■Frits Kroymans is scheduled to appear in court regarding the Lasaulec deal. In April, it was announced that the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport would reclaim 36 million euros from Kroymans. Source: Automotive NL ■ The Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Sport is taking Frits Kroymans to court over a deal made with Lasaulec, one of Kroymans' companies, during the coronavirus crisis, as reported by de Volkskrant. ■ Lasaulec, which supplies protective clothing, earned a profit of 36 million euros from selling 20 million isolation gowns during this period. The ministry considers such a profit margin to be "undesirable." ■ Summons Kroymans received a summons this week, confirmed by Tjeerd Meijer, a Kroymans' holding company director. The Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Sport spokesperson also verified this information in Het Financieele Dagblad on Thursday, December 19. In April, it was announced that the Ministry would reclaim 36 million euros from Kroymans. Although a settlement was negotiated, it was unsuccessful, leading to the court case—the dispute centres on whether a profit margin or a price was agreed upon in the contract. Meijer expressed confidence, stating, "We will win this with flying colours." According to him, it was always clear that Lasaulec would profit from the deal.

■G3 will hold its first physical auctions at the former Cazoo center in Bedford, UK! G3 Vehicle Auctions announce a week of physical auction events for the launch of their second remarketing facility in Bedford. Posted by: John Kirwan, Motor Trader ■ The first physical auction takes place on Monday 6th January 2025 from 12pm with over 300 vehicles expected to be offered through the centre in their opening sale from headline vendors such as Oodle Car Finance, Zopa, First Response Finance, carsupermarket.com and many more. The launch week will also see 250+ prime vehicles offered in a fleet and rental sale on Wednesday 8th January, with headline vendors Leasys, Europcar and Novuna, amongst others. ■ The launch week will then conclude with an LCV sale on Friday 10th January with 100+ vans on offer from vendors such as Dawson Group, Novuna, and LKQ (Euro-Car Parts). G3 Bedford was established following the acquisition of the Cazoo Wholesale business in June 2024 and has up-to-now operated as a digital-only remarketing centre for G3 whilst development was completed. A newly-built rostrum complete with a 5-metre stadium-standard LED video wall will be the centrepiece for all the physical auction events, alongside numerous improvements across the site ready to welcome physical customers for the first-time. ■ G3 director Gareth Jones said: “The construction is now complete, and we are now ready to open the doors to the first physical auction events at G3 Bedford. “2024 has been a record-breaking year for G3 in so many ways and with the launch week of physical sales kicking of next year in style, it looks like 2025 will continue to demonstrate that G3 are the ‘go to’ auction for vehicle remarketing.” G3 Vehicle Auctions will offer three sale events every week beginning with the launch week from Monday 6th January 2025, complimenting the 4 sales also offered from G3 Castleford every week, which will see up to 4,000 vehicles offered at G3 in January. Source. Motor Trader #UsedCar #Remarketing

■CAReer&more! #career #Job #hiringAftersales #dealergroup #Dealership #Cardealer #vertuMotors https://lnkd.in/e5EVkUw7

■CAReer&more! #Karriere #Autohaus #Job #Automobil #Handelssgruppe #Seat #Cupra #Volkswagen #VW #GlinickeGruppe https://lnkd.in/eYk52w8d

■Germany

■Genesis Switzerland has appointed Diego Battiston as the new Regional Operations Manager. What will happen to Piergiorgio Cecco, his predecessor, has not been disclosed. Michael Schüler will be the new Corporate & Fleet Sales Manager. Source: Auto & Wirtschaft CH ■ Since November 11, Diego Battiston has served as the interim Regional Operations Manager at Genesis Motor Switzerland. Previously, he was the Head of Sales & Retail. With his extensive experience in sales and customer service and proven leadership skills, he will guide the Genesis brand into its next growth phase, focusing on exceptional service and innovative solutions for customers and business partners. ■ Michael Schüler has been appointed the Corporate & Fleet Sales Manager at Genesis as of December 2024. He began his career at Genesis in November 2021 as a Personal Assistant and was promoted to Studio Manager in October 2022. Now, with his extensive expertise and passion for the brand, he is responsible for managing corporate and fleet customers to develop and implement tailored mobility solutions. #Hyundai #Genesis

■Volvo’s UK boss has said that Geely‘s Volvo results speak for themselves’ after the firm switched to an agency model.  ‘We’ve really found our feet’ says Volvo UK boss after agency shift ■Nicole Melillo Shaw took on Volvo’s managing director role in the year brand switched to agency model. Jack Evans, Car Dealer Magazin ■ Back in May 2023, Volvo announced that it would be closing its UK wholesale channel and moving exclusively to agency sales. In the process, the UK became the first market for the brand to make the switch.  During the same year, Nicole Melillo Shaw took over the Volvo UK managing director role and the brand has ‘really found our feet’ ever since.  ■ ‘I’ve got retailers who said to me that they wouldn’t go back. We’ve had a lot of support from the central team and I think that’s where everyone is coming together. The results speak for themselves – we’ve just broken through 60,000 (sales for the year) which is like a psychological hurdle.’ Back in October, Volvo cut its sales forecasts for the year, despite surpassing its third-quarter predictions.  ■ Speaking to Car Dealer at the UK launch of the new EX90 in Surrey, Melillo Shaw said that Volvo was ‘ahead of the curve’ in terms of its electrification plans but added that its ‘softening’ of commitments – it recently revised its strategy to allow for a limited number of hybrid vehicles to be produced after 2030 – reflected consumer demand rather than the brand’s capabilities.  ‘Our role to play is to ensure that we have enough options for consumers,’ she said. ‘What we’re seeing is hybrids being used as a really powerful step into electrification for those who currently aren’t sure. We’ve not got a plan to involve any more petrol engines, but hybrid and electrification are really critical to our ambitions. We won’t get to 100% electrification if we keep launching new petrol.’ ■ Melillo Shaw will be a headline speaker at Car Dealer Live 2025. The event, which takes place at British Motor Museum at Gaydon on March 13, will allow attendees to hear from leaders from across the automotive industry and exclusive research from a range of experts. The Volvo boss will join the former Nissan chief and Aston Martin CEO Dr Andy Palmer, the former Nissan chief and Aston Martin CEO and dealer group Waylands chief John O’Hanlon as headline speakers. Early bird tickets are still on sale, but discounted prices will end soon. #Volvo #Geely

■MotorPeople&more, Alexander Seidel! ■ Alexander Seidel will join the management team of Autohaus Gotthard König! Source: AUTOHAUS ■ On Thursday, the multi-brand dealer announced in Berlin that industry professional Alexander Seidel will take on key responsibilities within the group starting January 1, 2025. His role will focus on enhancing the locations' efficiency, quality, and performance, with a strong emphasis on sustainable profitability. ■ Seidel brings over 30 years of experience in the automotive industry. He began his career as a sales consultant for Mazda in Berlin and gradually took on greater management roles, including serving as a branch manager at PSA Retail, overseeing up to twelve locations in the capital. ■ From 2018, Seidel showcased his leadership and implementation capabilities at Renault, initially as branch manager for the Berlin region and later as regional director for the southeast. In 2021, he was appointed managing director of Renault Retail Group Deutschland GmbH. Under his leadership, the trading group saw an increase in profit from three million to nearly 20 million euros, despite facing challenging conditions. ■ At Autohaus König, Seidel will specifically focus on optimizing operational processes. He aims to continuously improve site efficiency while enhancing customer satisfaction and overall economic performance. The announcement stated, "With his extensive experience in the premium and volume segments, along with his many years of expertise with the Renault and Dacia brands, he is the perfect addition to Autohaus Gotthard König GmbH, as these two brands represent the original DNA of the company." #Renault #Dacia #AutohausKönig #Autohaus https://lnkd.in/eUkF2tBb