Neil Smith

Market turbulence ahead as automotive sector grapples with ZEV mandate/ICE sales balance, along with discounts/dropping RVs - useful insight from Philip Nothard and the Cox Automotive Europe team #automotive #RVs #EVs https://lnkd.in/ew_wkUTp

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Rosy picture for used car prices as June chalks up a minor 0.1% fall in values - Used car market remains stable in June - Experts predict July may even see a rise - Poor performing EVs drag average used car prices down overall - Top 10 biggest rising and falling used car prices also revealed Thanks to Derren Martin for chatting to me again for a long-overdue video catch up. Watch our chat in the post below and read the latest on the used car market. https://lnkd.in/ewsCgkDH

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Are your dealer Sales Managers great at coaching their staff? Or not? It's a tough question. Most have never received proper training on "how to coach". Most learnt ideas from their own supervisors. We think the main role of Sales Manager is to deliver a result for the dealership. Yes - true - but the underlying way to execute that is to get the best out of their team. Modern sport gives us plenty of examples where Art and Science combine to reduce skill gaps and improve attitudes. Professional coaches no longer rely just on "gut instincts". Those days are long gone. So how are your managers adapting to the new world and - in particular - a new generation (or two) of younger sales staff? Ri-gnr8 One is a Sales and F&I Management platform with the ONLY embedded coaching tools for auto dealer sales managers. So if you want your managers to do better, make sure they have the right tools for the job and build a competitive advantage. Visit www.op2ma.com/one for more info or connect with Tim McGrath or Ann Marie Cawkwell #autodealers #salesmanagement #coachingandtraining

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My thoughts on the April automotive market It's amazing to think that we're already a third of the way through the year. The positive news is that 2024 has been much better than dealers expected at the back end of 2023. However, the challenge seems to be that the market is definitely lumpy making it difficult to forecast with any certainty. One week seems excellent and the next very quiet. If I was to use an excuse for once, I think the weather has added to this lumpiness – cold and wet is not an incentive to get outdoors and find your next car! The biggest challenge for the UK retail market is that the growth of new sales is very much at a fleet level. The private sales and business sales have actually declined in the three months to March – as the SMMT figures show: 📈 Fleet rose 29.6% from 140,002 to 181,399 📉 Private declined 7.7% from 139,223 to 128,472 📉 Business declined 8.0% from 8,600 to 7,915 Traditionally, when fleet sales rise this means that manufacturers are having to discount to maintain market share and move their metal. If this imbalance continues, it will cause problems for dealers as the differential between private and fleet prices becomes too great. If dealers are expected to pick up the slack through pre-registrations they will baulk at this, especially if their discounts are not greater than those given to the fleet businesses. The reality for manufacturers is that if they want to sell more new cars, they have to address that they’ve become too expensive and they need to find a way to step back. Discounting through the fleet back door will end in tears. The positive is that the used market remains strong because these cars are seen as being good value, and there’s a shortage of good 2-4 year stock. The key for dealers this year is to be circumspect about what they decide to pre-register – especially on the BEV front. For the headline Auto Trader figures, and links to our latest trends report and on-demand webinar, head on over to our website: https://lnkd.in/epRa332Q As ever, let me know what you think in the comments below. Also, feel free to get in touch if you want to understand how to benchmark your response data. In the meantime, have a lovely May and enjoy the bank holidays.

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🤔 Providing a satisfying customer experience is all about building and delivering value. But how can you measure this and ensure ongoing loyalty and repeat business for your automotive dealership? 📊 Collecting and analysing customer feedback is an essential step of your performance measurement process and a source of valuable information on your strengths and weaknesses. 👉 In this blog post, we provide some practical tips to leverage review management as a strategic activity within the organisation to grow your business, improve customer engagement and even turn mistakes into a revenue opportunity: https://lnkd.in/di7gZ47p

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Cox Automotive Europe's Insight Quarterly is used by some of the industry's leading publications to feed insight. 🧠 In this article from Autocar, it is suggested that our forecast warns of a volatile end to 2024 caused by rush to hit ZEV mandate targets, and that the UK new car market set for pressures likened to 2008 economic crash! 📉 💥 Find out more: https://lnkd.in/eQ4nMrVS #automotive #insight #ZEV #ev #newcarmarket

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Fleet demand spurs new car market to two straight years of growth https://ow.ly/JYWj50SR1TE

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Ready to maximise your impact at the next automotive trade show you exhibit at? 🚗 ✨ Check out WDA's latest article where we have listed our top tips for exhibitors to make their show a better commercial success and maximise return on investment! Read our 'Automotive Trade Show Exhibiting Pro Tips' article here 👇 https://lnkd.in/eBPEu4e5 #wda #wdaautomotive #automotivemarketing #marketing #digitalmarketing #automotive

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Ahead of meetings with the automotive industry this week, UK transport secretary Louise Haigh has reiterated the government's commitment to the ZEV mandate 👉 https://lnkd.in/e6_hcQ6j While the mandate will not be weakened, some 'flexibilities' could be made on the back of these meetings - with some manufacturers projected to fall short of the ZEV target for 2024. #ElectricDrives | #ElectricVehicles | #EV | #Emobility | #Sustainability | #AutomotiveIndustry | #CarSales | #UnitedKingdom | #ElectricCars

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UK car market dynamics 🚗 With September taking shape it will be interesting to see the 3 month trend develop.📊 The June to August period showed a declining retail market offset by fleet and motability growth. 📉 BEV sales in both retail and fleet are in decline. 📉 The market looks to be softening. Retail is down year on year and the BEV market despite intense stimulation is not responding as we would all hope. ‼️ Whilst the headlines have celebrated that the BEV share is growing this is due to a declining market (actual EV volume is static)🚨 As always there will be winners and losers. 👍👎 The losers will blame the external factors for their lack of success whilst the winners will adjust and find a way to succeed. #interventionrequired #ifitstobeitsuptome

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Essential Fleet Manager Magazine issue 5(2024) is out now - read the article from Venson Automotive Solutions Limited, shifting patterns in EV attitudes - read it here https://lnkd.in/ezGZnKnd

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Just a few more days until our Car Dealer Google Review League results are published. Over 4000 franchise dealers listed. See how your dealerships have performed in the last quarter. ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 🚀 Stay Tuned to find out when the results published or better still sign up to receive the results by email https://shorturl.at/o6zaX #customersatisfaction #reputation #googlereviews #cardealerreviews

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Great to speak to James Batchelor about the changes we've made to mfldirect and the challenges we are all facing in the used car market. #mfldirect #CarDealerMagazine #MotabilityOperations

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Once the automotive aftermarket grabs hold of you... it's difficult to escape! In the latest Carpool Aftermarket, I ask Alison Cook of Melksham Motor Spares Ltd if she is a finance person in the aftermarket or an aftermarket person involved in finance. The answer is very different... and highlights the very varied careers you can enjoy in our trade. #skills #aftermarket #automotive

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Get Ahead of the September Surge - How Independent Dealers Can Secure Stock Quickly and Efficiently... With the September plate change still fresh in the memory, independent dealers have a key opportunity to replenish their forecourts with quality trade vehicles. With increased consumer demand for new plates, franchised dealers face limited compound space, making it crucial for them to move part-exchanges quickly. This creates a prime opportunity for independent dealers, but acting fast is essential!

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