NEWS

RETAIL Automotive Alliance chiefs are the latest to call for an extension to the scrappage scheme. The joint venture of 22 shareholders has written to Lord Mandelson, appealing for the scheme to be lengthened. These top bosses represent more than 200 car dealers in the UK… with a combined turnover of £2.5 billion a year. [...]

VAUXHALL has given away £2k in £1 coins to celebrate the success of the scrappage scheme – in a unique stunt. The Brit brand glued 2000 £1 coins to a new Vauxhall Astra… and left it outside Liverpool Street train station. Inevitably, the first ever ‘cash car’ was soon, ahem, descended upon by commuters, scrabbling [...]

700 new car industry jobs are being created by car dealer giant Arnold Clark, in a major industry boost. 500 sales executive posts are the most headline-grabbing figure – and the car dealer wants the posts to be fully filled by February 2010. The firm told the Press Association that this was due to market [...]

HYUNDAI UK boss Tony Whitehorn has revealed a big franchise car dealer cull is on the cards. On the back of the marque’s scrappage success, the MD has taken the opportunity to look closely at his network. In an exclusive interview with Car Dealer Magazine, he revealed that Hyundai is set to cut its network [...]

SCRAPPAGE continues to help reduce car production losses in the UK – but vans remain under pressure. The total drop for July 2009 dipped under 18 percent compared to 2009; this contrasts with the considerably more severe year-to-date fall of 45.8 percent. However, there is less joy for van production. This remained down by almost [...]

HYUNDAI says its dealers are set for the busiest month in their history, thanks to another 10,000-car delivery. The rush to meet scrappage orders before Government cash runs out is behind the mad-dash for cars. This has seen car dealers take on extra staff just to meet targets… and some have even resorted to working [...]

NISSAN car dealer Ron Gwilliams reports West Way Nissan Stourbridge has had its busiest 1st quarter for years. Sales between January and March were way above recent periods, the senior sales executive told Car Dealer Magazine. He was speaking to us after offering his views on scrappage – which, he says, has clearly led to [...]

VOLVO is winning scrappage business from an unexpected source – well-off multi-car families! Sales director Nick Connor reports that canny households are using the scheme as a way to update their fleet. ‘We’re seeing lots of instances where the oldest car in a multi-car household is brought in and traded, with the other cars in [...]

HYUNDAI is the UK’s SECOND best selling car maker – so say the most profitable retail buyers, too. In July, Hyundai was ranked second overall for car manufacturer private sales. It came in behind only Ford – and ahead of other big brands such as Vauxhall, Volkswagen and Toyota. Great news, says the firm: people [...]

SCRAPPAGE is a ‘one-off opportunity for some buyers to own a new car,’ says one new and used car dealer. John Newey is dealer principal of Dudley’s Summit Garage, which holds franchises for MG and Perodua. ‘For those with 10 year old cars, scrappage makes it not impossible to afford a brand new car,’ he [...]

SCRAPPAGE orders have now topped the half-way mark; the Government says total sales stand at 154,927. Indeed, it’s probably already far higher still. These figures date from 23 April to 2 August. It’s chuffed chief proponent of the scheme, Lord Mandelson, no end. ‘I’m pleased that we have already achieved over 150,000 new car orders. [...]

CAR dealers have been buoyed by the latest SMMT new car sales figures – but are wary of getting carried away. Marshall chief executive Daksh Gupta said everyone was ‘delighted to be hearing some positive news being reported about our industry. ‘However, we must remember that we are now comparing sales against the period in [...]

TOYOTA dealers are celebrating after advance orders for the all-new eco Prius topped the 2000 mark. The car is now officially on sale – but the waiting list remains hefty, as demand for the all-new electric hybrid gears up. What’s more, reckons the firm, one in 10 of those orders has come through scrappage. Which [...]

CARS without an MOT should be eligible under the new car scrappage scheme, reckons Glass’s. What’s more, models registered on or before the 2000/V plate appeared should also be included – and, as Car Dealer Magazine reported earlier, the scheme itself extended. It’s not as if such measures would cost the UK Government (and, thus, [...]

CAR Dealer Magazine was thoroughly pleased to see the car industry make second-top slot on prime-time Channel 4 News last night. We already got the tip-off and inside line from our man on the scene… and we were fascinated to know more. Alas, we were still in the office when it was on TV! Only [...]

MITSUBISHI is delighted with its July sales performance – which has come WITHOUT scrappage aid! The firm grew its market share from 0.5 percent to 0.75 percent in July. This 53 percent boost means it comes in 9th in the overall market share improvement league table. ‘But, if you take out scrappage sales,’ a spokesman [...]

CAR Dealer Magazine was keen to get comment from Hyundai chiefs today, on the brand’s unprecedented top-10 July sales performance. Frustratingly, we missed a call from them. Luckily, e-mail communications were made, and we got our story. We still called back later on, though. On a crackly line came the voice of our contact – [...]

DEALDRIVERS.CO.UK says that the small car market is currently taking over 7 in 10 scrappage sales. But it’s the rest of the key scrappage sellers that prove even more intriguing! Director from the car broker firm, Jo Eveleigh, told Car Dealer Magazine that there were some cars that were, unsurprisingly, in particular demand: •    Ford [...]

FORD sold 26 percent more Fiestas in July – and, again, it’s scrappage that’s to thank for the increase. 44 percent of Fiesta sales have now come under the scrappage scheme – from a total of nearly 4000 scrappage Ford sales in July. So far, the brand has recorded 16,500 new car scrap scheme registrations. [...]

SMMT figures show that car sales rose for the first time in 15 MONTHS in July – thanks to scrappage. 157,149 cars were sold in the month, which represents a 2.4 percent growth in the month. This is thanks to the boost from the scrappage scheme, which has brought private buyers into car dealer showrooms [...]