NFDA NEWS

18 January 2013

‘We represent, you benefit’

Dear Member

In this week’s update we have been looking ‘forward’ to 2013. Undoubtedly 2013 will have its difficulties and challenges, however talking to dealers across the country and looking at the market over the past few weeks there are still ‘positive’ signs in the market for the year ahead.

This week our sister organisation NAMA released their Monthly Data Report and the Light Commercial Vehicle (LVC) Report for December. Whilst reports show a difficult end to 2012 with an unfortunate drop in sales from both reports (compared to November), the NFDA believe that 2013 could offer some impressive returns providing garages engage their customers effectively and stock levels are maintained at a steady and manageable level. Moreover, the decrease in sales, as reported in the Data Report, is consistent with expectations for that time of year.

Good news was also received this week, with the announcement that JLR will be creating 800 manufacturing jobs on their Solihull site.

Detroit has held its annual Auto Show, shedding light on the international market as a whole. Whilst the UK is still some way behind America, we can be comforted by our progress, compared to mainland Europe.

Sue Robinson, DirectorTel: 0207 307 3422

Email: suerobinson@rmif.co.ukTwitter: @NFDASueRobinson

IN THIS ISSUE: NAMA Car Data Report NAMA Commercial Vehicle Data Report Banks and Regulators Look into PPI Manufacturer News The Detroit Auto Show – What have we Learnt? Bright Future for Used Cars Flattest Market for Motorcycles News Digest News from USA Diary Dates

NAMA CAR DATA REPORT

The National Association of Motor Auctions (NAMA) published its monthly market report today for December.

The report shows that during December the average values of used cars sold at auction across the board increased from £4,969 to £5,402, equivalent to an 8.7% increase between November and December. Once again the high volume of quality under 2.5 year old cars sold at auction during December had a positive impact on the average price.

Total sales fell significantly in December from 74,701 to 43,444, representing a month-on-month reduction of 41.8%. However the decrease in sales is in line with normal seasonal changes.

The Manufacturer/Rental sector has distorted the overall change in market prices due to the large increase of quality under 2.5 year old cars sold at auction during December. A more reliable measure of price change can be found in the performance of the other two sectors. Overall prices within the fleet sector remained unchanged whilst the dealer part exchange sector experienced an increase of 4%.

Price changes December compared to November, by customer type

Oct-12 Nov-12% Diff

Manufacturer/ Rental

£14,125 £14,425 2%

Fleet £7,760 £7,770 0%

Dealer PXC £2,575 £2,675 4%

Year-on-year prices for the Fleet & Dealer Part-Exchange Sectors in 2012Fleet Sector:

Dealer Part-Exchange Sector:

For the fleet and dealer part exchange sectors there was a steadily improving pattern of price gains in evidence as the year progressed. This culminated in a year-on-year position in December where fleet sector was achieving prices 11.5% higher than a year earlier, sustaining the level achieved in November, and dealer part exchange cars had recorded growth of 10.3%. However it was the constrained supply that was largely responsible for the positive gains.

Andrew Hulme, Chairman of NAMA said "December's market and values closed at an encouragingly high level. Auction and re-marketing vendors

must have been delighted with the premium values achieved for their stock throughout 2012.

“The market in January has opened with respectable but not spectacular levels of activity. The market is healthily balanced between increased supply and increased demand. Whilst there have been some price spikes, the overall value of prices achieved are broadly in line with December's close. As always, the grade 1 and 2 condition stock continue to attract the highest prices with the grade 4 and 5 condition stock achieving values consistent with the level of refurbishment required."NAMA does not expect a further decline in supply in 2013 and therefore in a market supported by typical levels of retail demand expects price stability throughout the year."

NAMA COMMERCIAL VEHICLE DATA REPORT

NAMA Commercial Vehicle report - December 2012 The National Association of Motor Auctions (NAMA) published its Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) market report for December today.

The report shows that during December the average values of used LCV’s at auction across the board increased from £4,500 to £4,700, equivalent to a 4% increase between November and December.

Total sales fell significantly in December from 4,082 to 3,551, representing a month-on-month reduction of 13%. This was in fact the lowest number of sales recorded in any month in 2012. Yet despite this, and the fact that average mileage was at a high point, the average overall price was just £85 below the best price achieved this year.

Current market conditions confirm the underlying strength of the used LCV market and brought a difficult 2012 to a close on a more positive note.

Although the 2013 market is difficult to predict, if the limited amount of stock that will be available over the coming months is properly presented in sensible numbers and well marketed to the right customer base, 2013 could generate some impressive returns

Price changes - December compared to November by age

Nov-12 Dec-12 %

Diff

<2 Years £11,300 £11,299 -1%

2 - 4 Years £6,235 £6,300 1%

4.1 - 6 Years

£4,120 £4,275 2%

Over 6 Years

£2,400 £2,550 6%

Whilst the majority of the market performed well in December, the under 2 years old sector suffered a small decline of 1%. To some extent, this is due to dealer’s natural reticence to hold stock over the festive period.

Prices for first time entries compared to prices at subsequent sales

Price -1st Entry

Price -2nd or Subsequent Entry

January £4,795 £4,670

February £4,970 £4,600

March £4,645 £4,525

April £4,985 £4,675

May £4,850 £4,640

June £4,615 £4,525

July £4,455 £4,295

August £4,505 £4,170

September £4,590 £4,375

October £4,750 £4,325

November £4,615 £4,450

December £4,750 £4,325

Above is the full year performance for prices for first time entries compared to prices at subsequent sales. Evidence shows that in general, the first bid is clearly the best bid.

Alex Wright, Chairman of the NAMA Commercial Vehicle Group commented “Whilst the prospects for sales of new light commercial vehicles remain subdued, each of the used LCV sectors look poised to perform strongly during January. However with so much uncertainty surrounding the wider economy, the 2013 market remains difficult to predict.

“A sensible resolution for 2013 would be that best practice will consistently be followed in respect of managing every aspect of the fleet disposal process. In these challenging times, the reward for this will be that supply eases as we move into 2014 and higher prices will have been established that we can then build on.”

BANKS AND REGULATORS LOOK TO BRING CURTAIN DOWN ON PPI

The banking industry and the Financial Services Authority are in talks to set a new cut-off date to put an end to the continuing multibillion-pound stream of claims for the mis-selling of payment protection insurance.

Industry sources confirmed that the British Bankers’ Association has suggested a deadline of around next Summer in return for the banks agreeing to finance a widespread advertising campaign to ensure that the public is aware of an end-date for claims.

The FSA is understood to be sympathetic to banks’ concerns that there may be no end to mis-selling claims despite hopes that the majority would have been made last year. However, the need for consumers to get a fair deal will be central to any solution.

The latest estimates show that the total cost to banks for mis-selling PPI is likely to come to £25 billion, almost double the near-£13 billion banks have already put aside. In the worse-case scenario, it could hit £40 billion.

A number of possibilities of how a deadline could be implemented have been put on the table in early talks. In one, the FSA would have to consult on new claims rules, but it is unclear at this stage whether that would require legislation.

In another, new regulations would mirror existing claims rules, which stipulate that people mis-sold a product have six years to lodge a complaint, but if consumers become aware of mis-selling only after this period has ended they will be given a further three years to lodge a complaint. It is understood that an advertising campaign could act as a trigger for the three-year deadline.

An FSA spokesman said: ‘As you would expect for an issue of this scale and complexity, we have considered a number of options and continue to do so. PPI is an ongoing and high-profile issue and we are monitoring it closely.’

The Financial Ombudsman Service warned last week that it was struggling to cope with the 5,000 complaints that it receives each week and said that it had employed an extra 1,000 staff to deal with all the cases. It said that the total number of PPI complaints was likely to be 52% higher than expected in the year to March 31.

‘Two years after the court ruling confirmed the approach that financial businesses should take when hanlding PPI complaints, its disappointing that we are still seeing significant numbers of unresolved disputes about mis-sold policies,’ Tony Boorman, the deputy chief ombudsman said.

The claims could provide an unexpected boost to the wider economy, which is widely expected to have suffered a contraction in the final three months of last year.

When the Office for Budget Responsibility published its economic forecasts last month, it said that the majority of the payments would be made in 2012 and therefore would provide some short-term support to household consumption. However, as the claims continue, consumer spending should also be lifted this year.

John Hawksworth, the chief UK economist at PwC warned that it would not generate a miracle recovery. ‘PPI payouts may be a little bit helpful to the economy, but this isn’t a big enough number to revolutionise the economic outlook. We are still expecting sluggish growth,’ he said.

The BBA declined to comment.

Source: The Times

MANUFACTURER NEWS

VW TO DECIDE ON BUDGET BRAND THIS YEAR

Volkswagen will decide this year whether to introduce a new budget brand aimed at developing markets.

If the company decides to go ahead, it would almost certainly start in China, where VW recorded a near-25% increase in sales to a total of 2.15 million in 2012.But India and other new markets such as Mexico could also be targets for a low-cost VW brand.

VW first announced the idea in October 2012 and the fact it is still talking up the idea lends weight behind the possibility of it still happening.

The aim would be to bring a car in about £1,200 below VW's current cheapest offering, the Up, says Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, who heads the company's product planning and engineering divisions.

"It will be tough but, with our experience, not impossible," said Hackenberg. "Such a car can only be built in a country with low production costs.

"The suppliers and the materials would have to be localised - deeply localised. By sourcing the second and even third-tier parts in those countries we could save a lot of money."

One of the issues, he adds, is the different requirements of the various new markets. China would want a fairly large car while India would want something small, so the fundamentals would have to be "flexible and capable of derivatives".

Hackenberg added: "We would be thinking to sell it under a new brand name because you cannot enlarge the offer of any brand (VW) too far."

It would also have to be more than just a basic budget car, Hackenberg says. "It has to fulfill not only mobility - the customer wants to love his car. It needs to have good styling and the offers of additional equipment which the customer can maybe buy later."Hackenberg says any such car from VW would meet more than basic safety requirements.

"We would make our decision based on the competition in that market," he went on. "If the competitors had a three-star car then maybe we would aim to go for four stars.”

Source: AM On-line

VOLVO PAYING THE PRICE FOR LACK OF FORD INVESTMENT

Volvo is paying the price for the lack of investment in the last days of Ford ownership after the 2008 banking collapse, says sales and marketing chief Doug Speck.

Global sales of 422,00 last year were 6% down on 2011, with falls in Europe (minus 1.3%) and China (down 11%) more than offsetting gains in the US, Russia, Japan and south-east Asia.

"It was also a fairly weak product year for us," said Speck. "Our only new product was the V60. But I saw the trend reversing in the second half of the year and confidence was measurably better, so I would expect 2013 to be comparable for us, year-on-year.

"I believe the market will grow 8 to 9% in China and we will retain our share there. The US will probably grow 5 to 6% and we will protect our share there. The wild card is Europe. Our projection is that it will be down 3 to 4%, but no-one can be certain."

Volvo will have updates to the whole V60 range starting at the Geneva show in March and begin introducing its new four-cylinder powertrains at the end of the year, but it will be late 2014 before the first all-new product comes along - a replacement for the XC90.

"The XC90 has aged beautifully, but it has still aged, and it is a very strategically important car for us," said Speck. "The introduction of a new XC90 will be a very important event for us."

Volvo also needs a new compact car to replace the C30 which goes out of production this year, says Speck.

"In Europe we have the V40, but we need something for the rest of the world and we don't yet know what it will be," he added. "Most likely it will be a partnership with someone, and we are already talking to several people.

Russia, China and the US want sedans, but from a global point of view the most important car for that segment would be an XC40.”

Source: Am On-line

JAGUAR LAND ROVER IS CREATING 800 JOBS

Jaguar Land Rover is creating 800 jobs at its Solihull factory to help support the introduction of new models programmes throughout this year.

The extra staff will also help with supporting production as retail sales have increased by 30%, boosted by strong markets in the UK, China and the US.

In 2012, Jaguar Land Rover sales (357,773 vehicles) were up in every major market due to new model introductions and update programmes.

China is now Jaguar Land Rover’s largest market delivering its best ever sales performance in 2012 (71,940, up 71%). It is followed by the UK (68,333 up 19%), USA (55,675, up 11%), Russia (20,549, up 43%) and Germany (16,722 up 41%).

Phil Popham, Jaguar Land Rover’s director of group sales operations, said: "2012 has been a strong year for Jaguar Land Rover with record breaking sales performance globally.

“All of our key markets saw strong progress, with demand for our premium vehicles setting new records in a very competitive environment.

“Looking ahead to 2013, we are continuing to invest in our business to support our ambitious plans for growth and we will be introducing eight new or refreshed products throughout the year.”

Notable product performances were delivered by the Range Rover Evoque with 108,598 vehicles sold in its first full year of sales – more than any other previous Land Rover model.Land Rover has also seen its Land Rover Discovery 4/LR4 (up 3%), Range Rover Sport (up 4%) and first deliveries of the new Range Rover have now commenced.

Jaguar Land Rover has recently confirmed a £370 million ($600million) investment programme for its Solihull site which includes the installation of a new aluminium body shop for the new Range Rover as well as upgrades to paint-applications technologies, trim assembly, warehousing and Jaguar Land Rover’s first customer handover centre.

Source AM On-line

LAUNCHES FOR GM, FORD AND CHRYSLER – BIG THREE SEEK TO BUILD ON GROWTH

Each of the Detroit Three carmakers sought to resolve challenges facing key brands this week as they unveiled new models designed to reinforce their images or reinforce existing strengths on the first day of the Detroit Motor Show.

The highest profile product unveiling was General Motors’ launch of a new

Chevrolet Corvette sports car, designed to boost the cachet of the company’s middle-market brand. Ford Motor unveiled a concept for a small luxury sport utility vehicle designed to revive the fortunes of its ailing Lincoln luxury brand. Chrysler, meanwhile, launched three new or heavily refreshed vehicles from its Jeep brand, which has played a key role in the company’s revived sales performance both in the US and overseas.There was also significant attention for Lincoln’s unveiling of its MKC concept car designed for the market in small luxury sport utility vehicles. Lincoln is one of the most troubled US car brands to have survived the 2009 Government-led rescue of the industry, suffering continuing sales declines amid a sharp revival in US domestic car demand.

Jeep’s three product introductions, meanwhile, highlighted the importance of the revived brand for Chrysler, its parent controlled by Italy’s Fiat. It unveiled a thorough redesign for its Jeep Grand Cherokee flagship SUV only two years after its successful launch, alongside new versions of its Compass and Patriot models.

Jeep last year became the US’s biggest selling SUV brand, having slipped to fifth in the rankings at the depth of the company’s problems last decade.

The product launches come after the US experienced its fastest car sales growth in decades in 2012, with sales 13.5% up on 2011. The industry’s health in North America contrasts sharply with weakness in Europe, where sales for the year were 6.5% down on 2011.

Source: Financial Times

THE DETROIT AUTO SHOW – WHAT HAVE WE LEARNT?

This week has seen the return of the Detroit Auto Show. With many of the big brands unveiling new models and plans for the industries year ahead, it is not necessarily the news of new productions that has taken centre stage.

The Detroit Auto Show has delivered a stark truth about the disparities between the American automotive industry and that of Europe. With Asian rivals also re-staking their claim in the market, Detroit’s automotive show has provided an uneasy truth for the European automotive industry, however, Britain has a little more to smile about.

As Toyota manages to regain its title as the ‘world’s biggest car manufacturer’, finally recovering from the Tsunami devastation that derailed the Japanese manufacturer in 2011, many Asian manufacturers have taken the show as an opportunity to boast of their plans for 2013, giving the American industry some solid rivals to contend with.

Unfortunately, the same cannot necessarily be said for Europe. What the British national press has reported is a somewhat sobering conclusion at the state of European manufacturing. The Financial Times has reported that car sales within the European Union have suffered the biggest fall in decades. Even today has brought reports that French car orders fell 3% in December with a decline for Renault of 18%, Peugeot 2% and Citroen 10%, thus emphasising the problems that Europe are facing. With Honda announcing last Friday that they would be preparing to close their Swindon site, with the prospect of 800 job cuts ominous, many would not be unwise to think Britain was facing the same industry decline as those across in mainland Europe. Nevertheless, Britain appears to be pertaining to the old mantra when one door closes, another one opens, as JLR reported this week they will be creating 800 production jobs within their Solihull plant due to record sales in 2012.

What have we discovered from this week’s show?

Nevertheless, the truth from the Detroit show cannot be ignored and whilst Britain is not falling as far behind as most of Europe, the difference from across the Atlantic is apparent. This difference in recovery and performance, between the American automotive industry and Europe’s own industry, was no better articulated than by The Guardian this week. The headline ‘Europe’s carmakers yearn for the Obama touch’ summarised Europe’s current position perfectly. Whilst the commentaries from the Detroit show have by no means ignored the difficulties that America still faces on its road to full recovery; with Ford industry expert Ellen Hughes-Cromwick warning Washington that America still lacked “fiscal sustainability”; what has been highlighted is that America is producing faster rates of growth than Europe.

The show is forecasting the best US auto sales since the beginning of the economic crisis in 2007 and as such, the differences between the two continents can be attributed to the management of the current climate. The Obama administration has pioneered a confidence in American consumers that recovery is dependent on stimulating the market and ultimately spending. This is the key difference between America and Europe.

Car industry expert, David Bailey, of Coventry University Business School, has said this week: “On the demand side, Obama has put more emphasis on growth rather than austerity and people are more willing to go out and spend money”. Richard Blackden reported in The Daily Telegraph, ‘[t]he car industry depended on resilient buyers...to fuel a 13.4 per cent rise in US vehicle sales to 14.4m, as the recovery from the recession that swept through car makers in 2009 gathered pace’. In terms of supply, Bailey proceeded to argue that Government intervention placed American car

companies in a stronger position than that of their European counterparts, something the SMMT’s Paul Everitt stated the UK lacked.

Ultimately, what can be seen is the intervention and campaigning from the American Government has resulted in a consumer confidence which has not been mirrored across Europe. As a result, now, more than ever, the differences in the industries are evident.

With more site closures continuing across Europe, it is unsurprising that according to LMC Automotive, sales across Europe will drop 2 per cent this year. With continuing site closures across France, Germany, and Belgium, the Detroit show has highlighted the uneasy truth that European manufacturers are out-producing demand; with ‘western European factories making 16m cars and vans in 2007’ and yet continuing the same production for a market that ‘only sold 12.5m’ in 2012, (The Guardian). Furthermore, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association is set to announce that 2012 delivered a 8%-10% decline in sales, which makes for an uneasy read that if this double-digit decline surfaces to be true, this will have produced ‘the continent’s worst performance in nearly two decades’.

So what does this mean for Britain...?

Whilst predictions for 2013 appear to be less than fruitful for Europe’s manufacturing industry, Britain may not be looking at the same fate. The SMMT end of year new car registration figures showed noticeable promise. With 2.04million sales made by the end of 2012, this demonstrated a 5.3% increase in sales over 2011. Although 2013 is predicted to be a relatively flat market against 2012 with predictions of 2.05million sales for 2013, there is still profit to be made in the market. The NFDA believe that the true message behind this week’s Detroit Auto Show, is that with the backing of the consumer market and continued perseverance the industry will be what you make of it.

BRIGHT FUTURE FOR USED CARS

Used-car values may be high just now because of strong demand and shortage of top-class stock. A new report on resale values predicts however that while prices may dip a little, the market will remain buoyant.

KeeResources’ prediction for 2016 is that values will drop by a reasonable 3%-5% overall, but that the market will remain strong. While the company’s managing director Denis Keenan suggests that a few manufacturers may look to the strength of the UK market and be tempted to use it as a ‘dumping ground’ for excess capacity, most will recognise the

long-term damage this could do.

With the SMMT’s new-car sales forecast for 2013 at just over 2m units and that for 2014 just a touch higher, the future for used car supply looks stable.

‘So assuming we have stability (barring new volume actions) in the used car market in the mid-term,’ says Keenan, ‘we have to potentially face up to the fact that with the highest disposal £ values ever seen not really diminishing to any degree, we have perhaps had a major upward re-set of baseline RVs in the UK’

‘In general terms, our values (percentages and £) have, long-term, been at a lower level than in equivalent EU markets, without an obvious reason. Our visible new vehicle distress-selling/low value product, while still present, has reduced. New car price inflation shows no sign of slowing, and will not do so given the extra technology being added, largely emissions and safety-related.’

And while budget-brand entrants such as Dacia challenge that, he believes their influence will not turn the trend away from seeking higher specification.

‘Our viewpoint is therefore more positive than it has been for a while, with many pointers to used car value stability, really only subject to risk in the event of a return to a real economic downturn or excess new car volume.’

Source: Auto Retail Network

USED CAR ROAD TAX CLASS CHANGE (Ex-Motability – Private)

A few months ago we were advised that Road fund licence ‘Class Change’ would be moved from your Regional DVLA offices to your local post-office from this January. As you know many dealers sell 3 year old ex-Motability cars that are licensed on an exempt category. To sell these to a regular retail customer means that every week the dealer has to send a member of staff many miles to their nearest DVLA regional office to have the class changed from exempt to private. This is very time consuming and costly for dealers.

Unfortunately we have been advised that due to technical and IT issues at the DVLA’s main office in Swansea, this will now not happen until June of

this year, just a few months before the total closure of all DVLA Regional offices. It has been confirmed that all vehicle tax class changes will be carried out at anyone of the 4000 Post Offices in England, Wales and Scotland, thus saving franchised dealers time and money.

THE FLATTEST MARKET FOR MOTORCYCLE SALES YET

2012 unfortunately saw the flattest market for motorcycles that the industry has seen, so what does this mean for 2013?

The difference between the 2011 and 2012 markets was less than 200 motorcycles. In 2011 93,849 motorcycles were registered against the 93,667 sales made in 2012. Whilst an uptake in 125cc bike sales has been recorded, larger motorcycle sales have declined.

In December, the registrations of all machines suffered, even the un-flappable scooter market failed to thrive reporting no more than 10 additional bikes had been sold over 2011’s figures. In late December of 2011, you may remember we attributed poor sales on the winter snow, and this seemed a logical factor to slow sales. However; when looking at the figures for 2012 perhaps it is time for us to acknowledge the recession is having a harsher affect on new motorcycle sales than we had first felt.

However, we must remember to take a look at the ‘bigger picture’. There are undoubtedly strengths in the market, especially in both Adventure/Sport models, which are up 15.2%, equating to 1551 more motorcycles sold by the end of 2012.

So how are we to view the coming year? For 2013, the 50 – 125cc machines will continue to see an uptake in the market, however it is more than probable growth will be absorbed by new entries from China and Asia.

We are also optimistic that the next sector models – 126 – 650cc will boast an increase in sales. This can be inferred from the patterns of 2012. Decline in sales has been minimal for these models over the last year and the new Government changes in driving licence rules, which will be fully effective by the end of January, should encourage younger riders to consider this size of motorcycle when buying their bikes.

With the current pressure on motorcycle dealers to compete in a difficult market; it is essential the survivors are increasingly active in the used motorcycle market, enabling dealers to cover all customer demands that

will come their way throughout 2013.

NEWS DIGEST

Jaguar jobs boost as China sales soar – Jaguar Land Rover sold more cars last year than ever before as China overtook the UK are its largest market. The UK-based carmaker, which is owned by Tata Motors of India, sold 357,773 vehicles, an increase of 30 per cent – nearly double the growth achieved the previous year. In China sales grew 71 per cent, slightly less than in the previous two years. Source: Financial Times

Detroit adopts an international flavour – This week’s Detroit car show is expected to produce a new high-water mark in efforts to make Americans love international vehicle designs, analysts and executives have predicted, as manufacturers import designs from struggling European markets. Source: Financial Times

Graduates face toughest jobs market since depths of recession – University leavers are facing the toughest jobs market since the height of the financial crisis due to “crumbling” business confidence, according to a new report. UK employers are expected to increase graduate recruitment by just 2.7per cent this year, the weakest outlook since the recession in 2009, according to a study by High Fliers Research. Final recruitment levels for 2013 are likely to turn out worse than forecast, however, as employers have over-estimated job creation for each of the past three years. For 2012, companies had anticipated a 6.4 per cent rise in graduate recruitment but instead cut new hires by 0.8 per cent. Source: Daily Telegraph

City sackings soar as FSA cracks down – Sackings and suspensions hit a five-year high in the City last year, as the financial crisis continued to take its toll on employment amid a clampdown on wrongdoing by the regulator. A total of 1,373 City staff were suspended or dismissed last year, which represents a 56 per cent jump on the year before, as the Financial Services Authority stepped up its campaign against white-collar crime. Source: Independent

VW Group delivers nine million vehicles – The Volkswagen Group recorded a further strong increase in worldwide deliveries for the full year 2012 and exceeded the prior-year delivery record. The Company delivered 9.07 (2011: 8.16; +11.2%) million vehicles for the first time in a twelve-month period. The Group also finished the month of December with a 20.7% increase, delivering 784,300 (December 2011: 649,700) units. The

chairman of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft’s Board of Management, Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, commented: ‘The Volkswagen Group developed extremely well in difficult conditions. 2012 was the best sales year ever. This is another big step forward in our Strategy 2018.Tough challenges lie ahead. The Volkswagen Group has everything it takes to face these challenges and to play a leading role on world markets.’Source: bodyshopmag.com

Female car insurance soars - Car insurance quotes for female drivers rose by as much as 33% overnight as an EU ruling banning motor insurance providers from varying premiums by gender came into force.Source: bodyshopmag.com

One in three motorists prepared to spend more on a 'green' car, says Ford - One in three Europeans would spend more to buy an environmentally friendly car even though 71 per cent say they have reduced overall spending as a result of the economic recession, a Ford Motor Company-sponsored poll shows.Source: forecourttrader.co.uk

Car sales in EU suffer biggest fall in decades - Most of the big guns of the global car industry suffered wounding reversals in Europe last year as the continent saw its biggest year-on-year fall in new car registrations for two decades. Large companies such as Ford and General Motors of the US and PSA Peugeot Citroën of France experienced a sales decline in the region of more than 10 per cent. The big manufacturers are braced for further declines in the market in 2013, highlighting the failure by the continents economy to mount any meaningful recovery from the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Source: Financial Times

Jaguar Land Rover leads car exports to record high – Britain exported more cars last year than ever before, underlining the strides made by the automotive sector after being close to written off as a failed industry a decade ago. The county’s eight main car plants – all of which are run by overseas companies – produced 1.2m cars for sale overseas, up 7.8 per cent on 2011. The increase was led by Jaguar Land Rover, owned by Tata of India. The company has been chalking up big increases in exports after large investments in key models such as the Land Rover Evoque. Source: Financial Times

NEWS FROM THE USA

NADA Predicts Auto Sales in 2013 to Jump to 15.4 Million

The National Automobile Dealers Association predicts US auto sales will grow by 1 million vehicles in 2013. U.S. auto sales climbed by 13% to 14.4 million in 2012. NADA thinks more than 15.4 million vehicles will be sold this year. Many automakers are forecasting around 15 million vehicle sales for 2013. Toyota Motor Corp. is predicting 14.7 million, but the automaker said this week it may revise its estimate upwards next month depending on sales trends.

Source: The Detroit News

Dealer Advocate Welch is Just What NADA Needs

The selection of Peter Welch as the new president of the National Automobile Dealers Association is a step in the right direction for an organization that lately has been focused almost exclusively on legislative and governmental affairs. The appointment of Welch should put dealer concerns back on top of NADA's agenda.

As head of California's dealer group, Welch led the fight against Chrysler Group's factory-owned dealership in Los Angeles, and he has spent much of his career representing dealer interests.

Hiring the head of the California New Car Dealers Association, the largest state-level dealer group with more than 1,100 members, gives NADA a leader familiar with the business of selling cars as well as the legal and regulatory issues that dealers face on a regular basis. It also gives the organization a leader who can handle issues related to strict environmental and consumer-protection rules -- complexities that permeate the industry in California. During his tenure in California, Welch has pushed regulators to enforce state franchise laws that protect dealers. This is an opportunity for NADA to strengthen its approach as an organization. The new normal in the retail business demands a leader with Welch's experience.

In a volatile, ever-changing market where agility and insight matter, NADA, with its direct ties to the front lines of automotive events, is more important than ever. Dealers, through NADA, can use their collective insight from their 20 groups, conventions and dealer academies to shape their policies going forward and shape the way the industry changes.

Insight from the showroom floor and the service lanes can be used at several levels: to advance dealer interests, improve dealership practices and increase understanding about retail realities both in the halls of Congress and among auto manufacturers.

NADA must play offense and defense on dealer issues; it must protect the

dealer entrepreneurs and the franchise system in general. The best way for NADA to stay ahead of change is to shape the way auto manufacturers see the role of dealers.

Having a leader such as Welch, with experience in multiple areas, will serve the organization in a more proactive way and bring a better result for all dealers

Source: Automotive News

DIARY DATES

Tuesday 5 March – NFDA Southern Dealer Forum – Hilton, CobhamThursday 7 March – NFDA Midland Dealer Forum, Hiton, NorthamptonThursday 14 March – NFDA South West Dealer Forum, Holiday Inn, Filton, BristolThursday 21 March – NFDA Northern Dealer Forum, De Vere Daresbury Park, Warrington

For further information and to join your local Dealer Forum, please contact louisewoods@rmif.co.uk or telephone 01788 538332