Pricing and spec announced for new Picanto
The new model features a major exterior redesign and significant updates to the interior, echoing elements of Kia’s flagship EV9 and other recent Kia models inside and out. New vertical headlights and a powerful new lightbar leading into the front air intakes give the car a fresh and dramatic image, while a new rear lightbar lends the Picanto a confident and planted image.
Traditional values – Suzuki Swift review
With its fourth-generation Swift Suzuki hopes to attract buyers who still want a small car but are facing a declining choice in the supermini market.
Vauxhall unveils new PCP offer
Thanks to Vauxhall’s five-year PCP offer, New Corsa Electric is available from £280pcm, Mokka Electric from £286pcm and Astra Electric from £421pcm, the same monthly price as equivalent petrol versions over a four-year period. These prices do not include the savings that most EV drivers enjoy including a lower energy cost per mile (especially when charging on a specific EV tariff at home), lower maintenance costs, and an exemption from Vehicle Excise Duty and congestion charging at the present time.
Charged with positivity – but new market remains far from normal
Positivity stems primarily from the relatively healthy start to the year for new car registrations, which were up 10.4% year-on-year in Q1. However, questions remain about the ZEV mandate's effect on the sector, what will happen after the next general election, and when the market will finally return to its pre-pandemic normality.
Almost half of dealers build “haggle margin” into used car price
April’s Startline Used Car Tracker also shows that 22% agree customers feel better about their deal if they achieve a small discount – although 33% believe fewer customers walk away because they don’t get the discount they want.
Used volumes rise as seasonal trends return
With the exception of seasonally attractive convertibles and coupe cabriolets, all sectors experienced an average drop in values in April’s Cap Live at the three-year age point. Upper medium, or D-Sector, cars dropped by the most, with BEV and diesel models most heavily affected. Volumes continue to reduce in this sector, with the overall share of the used market for these cars halving over the last 10 years.
Road and track – BMW M5 CS
The CS suffix has been used recently by BMW’s Motorsport in-house tuning division to identify special M cars and the limited-edition 2024 M5 CS here, dates back to 2021 and fully loaded, as our test car was, would set you back some £140,00. So here might be a good opportunity to seek out a used model which may be at least back in five figures - if you can find one.
Hyundai launches its first European Brand Space on Amazon
With the new Brand Space, Hyundai aims to introduce new audiences to the brand, as well as drive awareness and consideration in customers navigating the popular store. Hyundai seeks to foster brand affinity among potential customers and interact with them within a familiar environment.
Is the government sleepwalking into an EV crisis?
The government last week rejected recommendations to approve a wide range of proposals to accelerate the take-up of electric cars, which included the re-introduction of the electric car grant. Fiat said the the government is now well and truly on the cusp of the crisis the carmaker predicted.
Vauxhall unveils next gen Grandland
The All-New Grandland brings many design features first seen on the Vauxhall Experimental concept car to life for the first time on a production model. These features include the 3D Vizor with illuminated Griffin logo proudly sitting at the centre and the permanently illuminated “VAUXHALL” lettering at the rear.
Webb appointed as key account manager at epyx
Reporting to business development director Marc Lees, she will work on areas including strategic planning, communication and collaboration, performance analysis, and account growth and retention.
EVs selling faster than ICE vehicles according to digital remarketing specialist
Study also showed that EVs achieved 106.87% of cap Live, with ICE vehicles at 106.39%. Julian Humphreys, co-founder and Chief Executive of MOTOM, said: "The data shows that confidence in EVs continues to grow. There is a clear buyer appetite for the right EV, and demand has recovered since the middle of last year.
Dealers have fewer used EVs in stock than any country in Europe
Through a combination of growing used EV sales and dealers limiting their stock levels of zero emission cars, their Market Days’ Supply (MDS) of 54 days is the lowest in Europe. To put this into perspective Austria and Spain have the highest MDS of 143 days and 135 days respectively for EVs and Denmark the lowest at 55 days.
Q1 used car market bounces back followed by a strong start to Q2
Liquid Fleet experienced a buoyant used market from the start of 2024, where normally it takes about two weeks for the trade to return to buying stock. April looks to have continued in the same vein with retailers reporting a healthy Easter weekend and Liquid Fleet forecasting a strong Q2 used market
Citroën uncovers next C3 Aircross
New C3 Aircross is 4.39 metres long providing greater interior space, the long wheelbase is the largest in its category. This allows for more legroom for rear passengers. The design of the rear quarter panel provides a dynamic and vertical rear end, ensuring generous space for occupants in the third row.
Marketing Delivery appoints former Lookers’ exec to support growth
With over 15 years of automotive retail experience, Glasgow-based Gerber brings a wealth of knowledge and insight into how marketing solutions can benefit retailers within the industry. She joined Taggarts – part of Lookers Motor Group – in 2008 as Group Marketing Manager, later advancing to Divisional Marketing Manager in 2014 where she oversaw a diverse range of volume and prestige brands.
BEV sales set to hit 400k in 2024
Latest analysis from the cap hpi POWER UPdate identifies a significant shift in size segment in January 2024, with a considerable decline in upper-medium vehicles, from 45% to 30% of all UK BEV sales, and an increase in smaller cars, from 20% to 30%.
Dealer profit return satisfaction dips
Assessing the trends, from previous DAS surveys, current profit return scores have been variable with dealers having had to weather shortages in the global supply chain and a cost-of-living crisis. Kia held the top spot with a score of 8.8, a reduction of – 0.3 from their score of 9.1 in the previous survey.
Classy touch – Peugeot E-308
Now in it third generation, some 1.3 million Peugeot 308s have been sold globally since launch 15 years ago, highlighting how important this car is to the brand. So this latest version has to be right, and in looks it certainly scores highly.
How vulnerable are your finance customers?
Motor retail technology company said that, from a sample of more than half a million sessions of consumers using its motor finance tools, 4.3% were potentially classified as vulnerable. Of these, almost one in five (17%) were successfully signposted to third party and lender links such as support lines.