All articles by Richard Irvine-Brown
Richard Irvine-Brown
VWFS says Greece euro exit possible
Frank Witter, chief executive of Volkswagen Financial Services (VWFS) has said the company is considering the potential of Greece leaving the euro. Witter told Automobilwoche magazine VWFS did not expect a Greek exit to mean the end of the euro but said the company had been planning for increased risk and market volatility, should the country leave the currency.
Cost of fuel cuts car usage – BCA
A survey of UK motorists by vehicle remarketers British Car Auctions (BCA) has found the cost of fuel to be the biggest concern for 60% of motorists polled, increasing the demand for more economical cars. Despite the extended delay to imposing a 3p increase in fuel duty by Chancellor George Osborne and the recent drop in global oil prices, 63% of those drivers surveyed by BCA said they have cut back on using their car in the past year due to the increased cost of fuel. Company spokesperson Tim Naylor added the poll revealed prevalent habits in car choices: At BCA, we have seen increased demand for smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles, as UK households look to cut their motoring costs and consequently values have tended to rise for these more economical cars.
IT provider pay-as-you-go model to enter market
The company offers products covering quotations, proposals, credit workflow, CRM, management information, compliance and lead management, and is currently targeting captive finance companies, with plans to approach non-captives and leasing companies. Malcolm Thompson, Quotevine managing director, said the company was bringing a fresh viewpoint our ethos is if you process 100,000 proposals, you are charged for 100,000 proposals, reducing the sunk outlay by companies for IT and the stop-start, stop-start approach to IT which may hamper businesses.
Manufacturers’ bike finance ‘opportunity’
BMW Financial Services (BMW FS) and Suzuki Motorcycles have each spoken of an opportunity for increased finance provision in the motorcycle market, particularly for non-captive funders. At present, the independent finance market for motorcycles is dominated by Close Motor Finance and Black Horse, both of whom are endorsed by the Motorcycle Industry Associations Get On campaign
Linedata expects EV captive jolt
Asset finance software provider Linedata has predicted a rise in both the penetration of car finance and the number of different finance streams connecting carmakers captive finance providers with their retail networks The company said it expects new consumer trends such as the increasing popularity of mobility cards, electric vehicle (EV) finance and battery rental schemes to increase the complexity of captives involvement with retailers. Talking to Motor Finance, Pascal Martinez, motor finance head of sales at Linedata, said captive finance companies were centralising increased and varied flows between carmaker, dealer and customer on top of the traditional floor planning activity used to manage new vehicle stock.
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Moneyway parent buys loan provider, cross-sell potential
Secure Trust Bank (STB) has purchased unsecured personal loan provider Everyday Loans, giving the Moneyway parent the potential to cross-sell a wider range of loan products to Moneyway dealer partners. STBs 100% share purchase of Everyday Loans Ltd and Everyday Lending Ltd (EDL) from Alchemy Partners Nominess Ltd includes provision of £34m to redeem subordinated debt and a maximum payment of £1.5m to EDL management, depending on performance. The acquisition will give the bank the opportunity to cross-market products, which may include Moneyway motor and retail finance, to customers on the EDL loan book (of £63.9m, 31 December 2011), and vice versa
Consumer funder enters market through DealTrak
Blu has worked in consumer lending for 10 years, including unsecured loans of up to 30 years with rates starting at 7% since November 2011, and will initially make its motor finance product available to dealers and brokers only through Frontlines DealTrak partner scheme and Rosetta system run by Frontline
Aftersales squeezed on volume and margin – EMaC
The poll of aftersales teams particularly identified price to be a major issue for the franchised sector whose aftersales packages were perceived by customers to be an expensive option undercut by independents with lower rates but not full servicing agreements. The poll found training and marketing plans were growing to combat such pressure, and EMaC confirmed it was conducting significantly more training and consultancy sessions this year, according to managing director Angela Barrow.
RCI FS predicts 55,000 Renault sales in 2012
Steve Gowler, managing director of RCI Financial Services (RCI FS), has predicted Renault UK will still sell a healthy volume of cars this year, despite massive restructure of its retail network. Talking to Motor Finance, Gowler, said the downsizing of the retail operation by a third was a headline number and the big story is, this year, Renault UK are going to sell 55,000 cars. Renault has seen declining new car sales since 2010, the last year the French marque outsold its Alliance partner Nissan in the UK, from 95,608 to 68,449 units in 2011
Significant’ change at GT consumer finance team
Peter Landers has joined international consultancy Grant Thornton as a director specialising in the provision of financial and strategic advisory services in UK consumer finance, with a significant focus on motor finance, given Landers background in the sector, according to his team. Previous to the Grant Thornton appointment, Landers has previous experience with the Bank of Scotland in Ireland as head of motor and asset finance, and at HBOS where he was head of retail sales in Ireland