All articles by Jared Fortune
Jared Fortune
Bailout possibility for Banque PSA
As the European auto market heads for its biggest annual decline in 19 years, PSA Peugeot Citroen may be offered funding from the French government to rescue the car manufacturers in-house finance arm, Banque PSA.
Honda offers fourth-quarter bike finance
Honda has extended a 4.9% APR offer on a selection of its V range motorbikes as winter approaches.
Hire and higher
Subprime lender Advantage Finance has been on a consistent course of growth in the past two years. Sales director Jim Murdoch, managing director Guy Thompson and compliance director Keith Charlton explained to Jared Fortune why dependable brokers and bankable products are the foundations of good business in a changing market.
Loyalty reward card cash-in increases
Shoppers are increasingly utilising loyalty cards and saving-club points, according to an online survey by Creation, trading brand of car finance provider LaSer UK. The surveyrevealed nearly 25% of consumerswho respondedare redeeming points accumulated on loyalty cards, with 29% of consumers increasing their loyalty card usage in the lastsixmonths.
MotoNovo ensures dealers ready for ZMOT
Google recently published research identifying what it calls theZero Moment of Truth (ZMOT) concept, suggesting 74% of consumers in the US undertake their car buying research at leastfour months before the actual purchase. Karl Werner, Head of Sales & Marketing at MotoNovo Finance, said given the speed with which the UK market follows the US, the research provides some interesting thoughts, which should not be ignored.
Subscribe to our Newsletter
Get industry leading news, data and analysis delivered to your inbox
RCI FS offers light-touch tech for dealer finance
RCI Financial Services (RCI FS), UK captive finance provider for the Renault-Nissan Alliance, is releasing an electronic system to help customers receive financial clearancemore efficiently. The system, entitled EDISON (ElectronicDocument Identificationand Signature Operation), will replace the previous paper finance agreement framework used by RCI FS. The company estimates the e-signature pad will save over one million pages of paper per year and cut shared costs of £40,000 across the UK network.
Two for the top at ACF Car Finance Maidstone
Motor retail group and subprime finance provider ACF Car finance has promoted two senior executives to top management positions in two of its South Eastern based dealerships.
Honda offer 0% on Fireblade
The deal from the biggest-selling motorcycle brand in the UK comes in the wake of other manufacturers, including Yamaha and Ducati, launching 0% APR finance offers in early 2012 and marks a return to straight finance deals after Hondas summer extension on 0% APR for PCP products At 900cc, the Fireblade also falls within the 650cc-plus sector which is growing as a proportion of the motorcycle market and pushing up the price of an average new bike in the UK.
Sizing up the market
Its been a busy few months for Belfast-based independent finance provider Northridge, which last year began both a programme to expand its presence across the Irish Sea and a new technology suite to aid dealers. Jared Fortune caught up with sales director Alan Carson.
Peace keeping operations
Vehicle information provider HPI has appointed Phil Peace to the new role of commercial operations director, tasked with strengthening strategic partnerships with consumer automotive brands and supporting HPIs marketing team. HPImanaging director Daniel Burgess said Peacesvision and industry expertise made him the ideal candidate to drive the operations team to new levels of success. Through his leadership, we will be maximising opportunities for our core products, including the HPI Check, National Mileage Register and Investigations team, as well as Driveaway, our seven-day free insurance offering.