All articles by Richard Irvine-Brown
Richard Irvine-Brown
Vauxhall Astra top car again in 2011
Motor finance brokers are reporting a dominant 2011 for Vauxhall, and the Astra in particular, in terms of vehicles financed, with good showings for the Ford Focus and BMW 3 Series. Auto Union Finance (AUF), Creditplus and Concept Car Credit all put the Vauxhall Astra and Ford Focus among their top three sellers for 2011.
Home economics at FGA Capital
At the end of 2011, following years of planning, FGA Capital, Fiats captive finance provider, began taking care of its own administration, replacing Santander Consumer Finance FGA credit risk director Jon Tilney and retail operations director Simon Young told Richard Brown how the move has brought the company closer to the market.
2012 forecast: regulation
In the second of two features looking ahead at trading conditions in 2012, Richard Brown and Georgina Lavers ask senior figures to share their views on the perennial hot topic of regulation.
Dear diary: So good, they cancelled it
Having spent an entire conference late last year being asked, “Are you the new Fred?”, “How is Fred?”, “Will you tell Fred I have a story for him
Carlyle rebrands as MotoNovo finance
Cardiff-based independent motor lender Carlyle Finance changed name and logo to MotoNovo Finance this week. All web pages for Carlyle have changed appearance to MotoNovo, with URLs sent through a redirect to MotoNovo pages. MotoNovo continues as a division of FirstRand Bank and will continue to offer both customer and dealer finance.
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Optimistic’ independents approve 50% of loans
According to exclusive research conducted by Motor Finance, just under half of all proposals sent to independent finance houses are being approved.
£3m in a week – BCA online used car sales up
British Car Auctions (BCA) is reporting 3,198 online sales of used cars between 16 and 21 January, a new weekly record Over £3m was bid by more than 2,000 online bidders during the week, with 1,200 individuals winning auctions. Internet customers bought over a quarter of all cars sold during the week by BCA which typically saw a fifth of its sales go to online purchasers in 2011.
Mazda hits 119% CAP rate at Manheim sale
The first closed auction run by Manheim dedicated to Mazda vehicles has sold 149 vehicles (of 150 on offer) at a total of £1.83m. A highlight of the event was the sale of a Mazda2 Hatchback sold for 119% of the CAP Clean rate, notable at a time when industry figures are questioning used car valuations. In November, CAP reported internet purchases by independents are on the rise, forcing used-vehicle buyers to travel further in the open market and the majority of bidders at the January auction, 27 of 51, took part online by simulcast.
BMW and Bosch to address SMMT summit
Board members of both BMW and Bosch will be key speakers at this summers International Automotive Summit held by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The three main topics to be addressed by panellists throughout the day will comprise The Changing Face of Vehicle Retail, Innovation in Ultra Low Carbon Technology and growth in the supply chain. The summit, to be held 12 June 2012 at Clifford Chance, Canary Wharf, will see these topics addressed by BMW board member for global sales and marketing Ian Robertson and Robert Bosch board member Peter Tyroller.
Dealer finance sells 1.25m cars in 2011 – FLA
Over half a million new cars and nearly three-quarters of a million used cars were sold on finance from motor dealerships in 2011 in the UK, according to figures from the Finance & Leasing Association.