The automotive industry needs to find more talent. The sector is shifting, with a raft of technologies and social approaches coming that will take it in new directions. That will require fresh perspectives.

But when there is so much competition for new talent, and industries such as consumer electronics that can appear more appealing, how can automotive succeed?

The simple answer is to break away from old models. You don’t find new people by always looking in the same places. But, more than that, you have to appeal to a wider spectrum of society to attract the best people. There are positive signs as OEMs work to make change.

Stellantis, the company that includes brands such as Fiat, Jeep, Vauxhall and Citroën, appointed Rebecca Seymour as head of global diversity and inclusion earlier this year. Her role is to expand the company’s approach to inclusion and bringing in new people.

Regional approach

When Seymour took the role she said: “We live in a polycultural world now. Our presence spans across six regions, from Europe to the Middle East and Asia-Pacific, from China to North and South America. Each region has different dynamics and expectations. So we have set up regional diversity and inclusion leads to create the right initiatives, content and actions for every country in which we operate.”

The approach should help to bring new people to the company who arguably wouldn’t have been attracted before.

“I think that, when we recruit talent, they want to work at Stellantis because we’re doing something that matters, because we share the same values. That’s so important for us, because we aspire to be a magnet for the best and brightest,” said Seymour.

Solving the skills gap isn’t just about changing the direction a business takes, it’s also about pushing the message that automotive is a great place to pursue a career. And that needs to start from a very early age. That’s why the likes of Ford and the IMechE have backed initiatives such as Primary Engineer that help create educational content and put engineers in front of kids, inspiring the next generation.

Debbie Chennells, Ford Fund manager at Ford of Europe, said: “As the charitable arm of the company, we want inspire young people to see the wealth of possibilities ahead of them. We simply don’t have enough young people choosing to study a STEM-related subject at higher education to support the vast number of exciting job opportunities. Showing children how fun, relevant and aspirational STEM learning can be, is what we strive to do, working with our fantastic partner, Primary Engineer.”

And Ford needs lots of fresh talent. Ford’s commitment to reaching 100% all-electric passenger vehicles by 2030 in Europe is spearheaded by a $1bn investment in EV regional manufacturing, but without talented engineers that’s a challenging target.

Role models

Thankfully Ford has a lot of inspirational people to help programmes run by organisations such as Primary Engineer. At this year’s The Autocar Great British Women in the Car Industry event, 15 Ford employees were nominated for awards. From Usha Raghavachari, innovation lab director at D-Ford, to Sarah Haslam MBE, chief engineer, software and features integration for commercial vehicles, at Ford of Europe.

The need to attract new talent affects every business, and it’s not just about saying the right thing, but making real, tangible differences.

Dr Karen Lange, board member for human resources at Bentley Motors, said: “We talk about diversity and inclusion not just because they are buzzwords, but because they are key to the future success of our business at this time of unprecedented change. Creating an environment where we can bring together fresh perspectives, celebrate diversity and ensure a true sense of inclusion and belonging for all colleagues, is one of the key elements of our strategy.”

Article courtesy of: www.imeche.org/news published 16th September 2022

Profits on stock remain strong for car dealers despite the cost-of-living crisis – and Land Rover models are driving the largest margins.

That’s the word from Dealer Auction. Its Retail Margin report shows the British premium brand locked out the top four spaces in its most recent data.

Leading the way was the Land Rover Discovery 4, bringing in an average retail margin of £5,100 in August.

The family favourite was followed by the Range Rover Evoque (£3,780) and the Discovery Sport (£3,610). The Freelander 2 was ranked in fourth place (£3,100).

The Jaguar XF brought the next largest average profit margin at £3,070, followed by the Mazda CX-5 (£3,020), Volvo XC60 (£3,000) and the Vauxhall Zafira Tourer (£2,940).

The top 10 list was rounded off with the Nissan X-Trail and Skoda Superb which have a margins of £2,930 and £2,700 respectively.

Dealer Auction’s marketplace director Kieran TeeBoon said: ‘This is not a complete surprise considering Land Rover has successfully held top ranks for several months now, proving dealers aren’t shying away from sourcing premium brands, and that there is still considerable profit to be made on the right vehicle.’

The firm said that the rising cost of living is not deterring dealers from sourcing stock, especially as they are seeing good returns on premium models.

When it comes to brands, Land Rover leads the way again with an average retail margin of £3,780.

Jaguar is next at £3,280, followed by Jeep and Lexus both at £2,910, Subaru (£2,800), BMW (£2,750), Audi (£2,590), Volvo (£2,570), Mercedes-Benz (£2,470) and Alfa Romeo (£2,380).

TeeBoon added: ‘The current market uncertainty is unavoidable. But there are readily available tools that dealers can utilise to ensure each asset brings them the maximum profit.

‘When it comes to vehicle remarketing, time is money. So, whatever can be done to speed up the process will have an impact on the bottom line – ensuring a diverse list and affording dealers the largest possible profit.’

Dealer Auction is a joint venture between Cox Automotive and Auto Trader, and the latter’s data and insights director, Richard Walker, said: ‘Despite concerns or speculation of a market in decline, levels of consumer demand remain robust and above pre-pandemic levels, and so for retailers who arm themselves with the right information, there’s plenty of profit opportunities.

‘Our data shows that the recent decline in used car sales is heavily linked to the availability of stock; where available, sales are healthy – in the under five-year-old age cohort, stock levels dropped 19 per cent in Q2 of this year against 2019, and sales followed suit seeing a 24 per cent dip.

‘However, in the over five-year-old age bracket, where stock levels were up 14 per cent, sales saw a 15 per cent increase.

Article courtesy of: www.cardealermagazine.co.uk published 23rd September 2022

Supplier of digital video services to the motor sector CitNOW Group has bought Auto Imaging for an undisclosed sum.

Auto Imaging is a supplier of digital solutions for the UK motor industry, enabling dealers to capture more consistent vehicle imagery, provide immediate quality control of imagery, automated stock video, and accelerate their deployment within online listings.

Geoffrey Page-Morris, CEO of CitNOW Group, said: “Bringing Auto Imaging under the CitNOW Group umbrella is sure to enhance the value of our collective proposition for dealers, helping them improve the standard of their vehicle listings and workflow efficiency.

“The end-customer is always at the forefront of our minds, and this latest addition is part of our ongoing effort to improve effectiveness and efficiency in automotive retail by delivering rich digital solutions.”

Chris Gray, managing director of Auto Imaging, said: “We feel our Imaging and Video solution is a natural fit within the wider CitNOW Group portfolio. We look forward to enhancing an already strong product offering in the next stage of what has been a very exciting journey for us so far.”

CitNOW Group has also acquired sales lead management provider AutoSLM, and dealerdesk, a multichannel customer relations management hub.

UK-based AutoSLM helps dealers in multiple markets improve sales conversion rates by optimising the efficiency and effectiveness of their customer relationship management processes.

The dealerdesk suite of products is designed to connect customers to retailers through all communications channels. The company helps synchronise dealership operations, improving customer relationship management, time management systems and customer database accuracy.

These latest acquisitions follow the recent integration of RTC, Web1on1, Dealerweb, Tootle, Reef Business Systems and US-based Quik.

Article courtesy of: www.motortrader.com published 22nd September 2022

Cox Automotive Europe has told car retailers to focus on “potential storms” ahead as they continue to balance limited vehicle supplies with faltering consumer demand.

The automotive retail services provider highlighted the need for retailers to ramp-up the quality of their marketing wherever possible as the visibility of stock took priority in a sector likely to be impacted by waning demand from consumers exercising caution due to the cost-of-living crisis.

Its monthly market tracker for August showed that competition for the sector’s limited car stocks had continued unabated.

Average wholesale prices are at a three-year high of £7,283 compared with £6,519 recorded last year, while the average ago of a vehicle has risen from 96 months in August 2019 to just over 104 months. Mileage remains almost static at around 70,000 miles, however.

Highlighting the uncertainty surrounding a vehicle supply recovery, and the economic climate, Cox’s insight and strategy director Philip Nothard said: “Automotive businesses must keep an eye on the horizon to navigate potential storms.

“With consumer confidence affected by the rising cost of living in the UK, coupled with political changes at the top of government and expected economic struggles on the way, the sector faces a potentially tricky time in the coming months.

“The latest key indicators on Cox Automotive’s Data Dashboard reflect the impact of the ongoing shortage of used vehicles, with marginal increases in average age and mileage and the supply and demand imbalance remains that we have seen for some time.

“In addition, first-time conversions for cars and LCVs remain positive as retailers focus on keeping their forecourts full. However, although the September plate change created those much-needed used vehicles, it won’t be enough to cause significant oversupply for some time.”

Voicing his advice for retailers, Nothard added: “The key is understanding the variance between supply levels down to a model and derivative level.

“Alongside this is the understanding that we are no longer in a period of heavy demand as we were in 2021.

“Therefore, it is ever more critical to ensure vehicles are advertised with strong imagery and descriptions and that vehicles entering the wholesale market are appraised and valued accordingly.”

Earlier this month Cap HPI director of valuations Derren Martin told AM that used car values were almost static during August.

His comments came days after Auto Trader asserted that there was no price crash on the horizon, slamming reports to that effect as “sensationalist speculation”.

Yesterday (September 20) data published by Indicata showed that the UK remains the only European country to experience a decline in used car values during 2022.

The automotive management and marketing software provider showed that UK price inflation fell 0.3% during August to leave values down by 3.6% year-to-date.

Significant declines seem unlikely as the market’s supply constraints remain, however. Indicata UK group sales director Jon Mitchell said: “The restricted used car stocks and new car supplies are not going to change anytime soon. Dealers will need to be in tune with the used market on a daily basis to see how it shapes up over the coming months.”

Article courtesy of: www.am-online.com published 21st September 2022

Car retailers have been told “there can be no compromise” when it comes to the technology leveraged to ensure compliance with the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) new Consumer Duty.

James Tew, the chief executive of motor retail technology provider iVendi, said customer journey tracking and the gathering of auditable finance agreement data would have to be implemented to ensure retailers do not find themselves in breach the new regulations’ core principles.

Sharing his views as the business attempts to work with retailers to adapt to the changing motor finance regulations, announced in July, Tew said: “The FCA has been explicit that the new principle very much raises the bar when it comes to how customers are treated when being sold finance products – and the motor retail sector must react accordingly.

“Essentially, it places an onus on dealers and motor finance companies to track consumer activity every step of the way, whether that is happening online or in the showroom.

“The decision-making process and the information placed before the consumer at every point must be recorded and auditable. Those who cannot do this – and there are quite a number of them, in our experience – run the risk of potential action.

“We believe that the systems that we offer already meet the requirements that the FCA has outlined but this is an area we are investigating closely and will be discussing in detail with the dealers and lenders with which we work.

“It’s a subject around which there can be no compromise and we are committed to ensuring that the technology we provide does as much as possible to ensure that the new principle is met in full.”

AM editor Tim Rose hosted a webinar on the new FCA Consumer Duty and its implications in partnership with legal firm Freeths last Thursday.

The webinar can be viewed on-demand here.

Back in July AM reported how the FCA had shifted its expectations of finance firms and dealers from the old “treating customers fairly” principle to now an adage of “put their customers’ needs first” with its changes.

Speaking at the time Sheldon Mills (pictured), executive director of consumers and competition at the FCA, said: “The current economic climate means it’s more important than ever that consumers are able to make good financial decisions.

“The financial services industry needs to give people the support and information they need and put their customers first.

“The Consumer Duty will lead to a major shift in financial services and will promote competition and growth based on high standards.

“As the duty raises the bar for the firms we regulate, it will prevent some harm from happening and will make it easier for us to act quickly and assertively when we spot new problems.”

Tew acknowledged that the FCA had explicitly indicated that the move to Consumer Duty had a strong relationship to how personal finances would be affected by the expected forthcoming recession.

He said: “The FCA are anticipating that the cost of living crisis will have an impact on personal finances within the next few years, and want to make sure that customers are receiving the best possible advice, guidance and product choices within that framework.

“While Consumer Duty doesn’t take effect for 12-24 months, there is every reason to expect that the FCA will want our sector to up its game as we face what could be the worst recession in a long time. Motor retail should be taking note of this shift in tone.”

Article courtesy of: www.am-online.com published 20th September 2022