All articles by Charles Wheeldon
Charles Wheeldon
Daimler aims to catch German rivals
Daimler AG has today reported net profit of 1,515m (£1,187m) for Q2, down from 1,704 in Q2 2011 Its EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) was also down to 2,243m, from 2,581 million in Q2 2011, leading to earnings per share of 1.34, down from 1.51 in the same period last year.
Used car values keep falling
Used car book values for July fell by 1%, reports VRA Remarketing today, adding that trade values have been marked down by up to 3% in the past two years. This follows a British Car Auctions release earlier this month reporting that used car values dropped 2.2% in June compared to May. VRA says the market still shows signs of smaller cars achieving the best profit margins, as used car buyers continue to downsize their motoring requirements to reduce running costs
Registration decline compounds Europe’s woes
Theres no glimmer of hope for troubled European economies in todays passenger car registrations figures, which report a 2.8% drop in the EU in June, compared to June 2011, continuing a downward trend which began last October. And demand for new cars for the first half of the year also fell compared to H1 2011, to 6,644,829 units, a drop of 6.8%
Subscribe to our Newsletter
Get industry leading news, data and analysis delivered to your inbox
Good Korea move for Santander
Hyundai Capital Services Inc, the South Korean consumer finance company, said yesterday that it has launched an auto-financing joint venture with Santander Consumer Finance UK to help strengthen its affiliated automakers UK sales. Hyundai Capital, a subsidiary of South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co, has stepped up efforts to set up auto finance companies in Europe and South America.
Honda marks 20 years’ manufacturing with special offers
Japanese manufacturer Honda is celebrating its China anniversary of car-making in the UK by offering a range of special deals on its British-built models until the end of September. The firm is offering three years free servicing on its Civic, Jazz, Insight and CR-Z models, which can be extended to five years for £199. It is also taking deposits of £500 and £1,500 respectively for the Jazz and Civic, with three years 0% hire purchase or three years personal contract purchase at 6.9%
Taxman targets dodgy dealers
HMRC has announced it is sending out a taskforce to target tax dodgers in the motor trade in South Wales, the South West, Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and the North East, adding that it expects to rake in more than £22m.
Half-year registrations better than expected
The new car market rose 3.5% to 189,514 units in June compared to June 2011, which itself was 2.5% ahead of average June volumes for the past three years, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders reported today. Q2 registrations rose by 4.8% compared to Q2 2011, and over the first half of the year have risen 2.7% to more than 1m units
Lookers takes the high road
Retail and aftersales service group Lookers has acquired Lomond Motors Limited, comprising four Audi dealerships in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling and Ayr and distributing VW Group trade parts in Glasgow and Edinburgh Lookers purchased Lomond from its owner Hugh McMahon for £15m, strengthening its presence in Scotland, where it operates as Taggarts Motor Group in Glasgow and Motherwell and represents the Land Rover, Jaguar, Volvo, Nissan, Peugeot and Hyundai brands. Lookers chief executive Peter Jones said: The acquisition is an important development in the groups representation of the Audi brand and our relationship with the VW Group and we are very pleased to be representing the brands in such key locations