We were sad to hear of the death of Ron Sewell on 28 May. The current directors of Trend Tracker first met Ron when working for Sewells International in the mid-1980s, and later, both rejoined for a while his publishing business after he had split this from his training company and disposed of the latter.

In the late 1960s Ron pioneered the management accounting systems for franchised dealers which are now part and parcel of Dealer Management Systems and form the basis of the dealer composite accounts on which franchises rely for financial performance analysis.

Sixteen years ago Ron sold Sewells International Information and Research to emap plc, where the Sewells brand lives on as a research division of Bauer, the publisher of AM and the acquirer of various of emap’s other titles some years ago. Ron then founded the Automotive Fellowship International, a subscription membership organisation which meets three times a year to hear guest speakers and debate issues crossing the boundaries between automotive OEMs and members of their retail networks and of the aftermarket. The AFI was recently acquired following Ron’s retirement by Trevor Jones, the chairman of the motor retail accountants ASE.

Ron's outstanding contribution to the UK motor retail sector was marked by a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Institute of the Motor Industry and by being the first recipient of AM's Hall of Fame.

Ron is survived by his widow Joan. We extend our sympathies to her and wish her well.