Trend Tracker :: Entries about "media"

Crash risk: new report assesses outlook for the collision repair sector

Trend Tracker — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 11:35:37 +0000

New report shows resilience of £38.1 billion used car market

Trend Tracker — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 11:43:32 +0000

Information from Trend Tracker

25 September 2009

For immediate release

New report shows resilience of £38.1 billion used car market

The latest report from Trend Tracker, The Future of the Used Car Market in Great Britain 2009-2014, shows that demand for used cars in Britain has been remarkably stable compared to the new car market.

Extended service intervals far more significant than Block Exemption for franchised dealers

Trend Tracker — Sat, 16 May 2009 13:22:02 +0000

Franchised workshops are still motorists' first choice for servicing new cars despite the Block Exemption Regulation
Increasing service intervals, falling new car retail sales and increasing sales share of second hand cars, have all dramatically reduced size of the service market

Castrol (now Castrol Professional) has sponsored Trend Tracker's reports on the UK market for service, maintenance and repair since 1995 including the latest report - The Castrol Professional Car Service and Repair Trend Tracker 2008. The attached press release, from 2 March 2009, is published by kind permission of Castrol Professional. We believe you will find the contents extremely informative.

Franchised workshops gain market share; independents still dominate overall

Trend Tracker — Sat, 16 May 2009 13:18:10 +0000

Franchised workshops marginally increased their market share of own marque servicing, MOT and repair work
The independent sector still hold significantly larger market share than franchised dealerships
Honda boasts highest customer retention for servicing, with Vauxhall suffering worst loyalty

Castrol (now Castrol Professional) has sponsored Trend Tracker's reports on the UK market for service, maintenance and repair since 1995 including the latest report - The Castrol Professional Car Service and Repair Trend Tracker 2008. The attached press release, from 4 December 2008, is published by kind permission of Castrol Professional. We believe you will find the contents extremely informative.

Retail collapse will have lasting impact on aftersales

Trend Tracker — Sat, 16 May 2009 13:10:00 +0000

Castrol Professional Car Service & Repair Trend Tracker 2008 forecasts bleak five-year outlook
Recession will hit franchised workshops reliant on cars within manufacturer warranty period
Number of service and repair outlets in the UK will fall by 20 per cent
Customer focus, process improvements and employee capability critical to survival

Castrol (now Castrol Professional) has sponsored Trend Tracker's reports on the UK market for service, maintenance and repair since 1995 including the latest report - The Castrol Professional Car Service and Repair Trend Tracker 2008. The attached press release, from 11 November 2008, is published by kind permission of Castrol Professional. We believe you will find the contents extremely informative.

New research shows dearth of direct loans hitting car sales

Trend Tracker — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 11:54:10 +0000

27 April 2009

For immediate release

New research shows dearth of direct loans hitting car sales

The latest report from the automotive research specialist Trend Tracker - The UK Retail Car Finance Market 2009 - shows just how hard the financing of car purchases has been hit by the credit crunch.

The value of the UK retail car finance market has fallen by 58% in real terms in the last five years.
Direct lending has fallen faster than dealer finance.
The weakness of the car market may combine with their weakened balance sheets to encourage some banks to exit car finance.
With low interest rates already in place, the return of consumer confidence will be key to the recovery of demand.
Car finance demand will return over the next five years, but not to its peak level of 2003.

Please download the Word file to see the full press release

BMW dealer staff are highest paid

Trend Tracker — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:06:19 +0000

5 December 2008

For immediate release

BMW dealer staff are highest paid

Employees of BMW dealerships are, on average, the highest paid in the franchised dealer sector, according to the rts Auto Retail Industry Salary Survey 2009, just published.

The rts Auto Retail Industry Salary Survey 2009 analysed the total pay for six franchised dealer jobs - dealer principal, accountant, sales manager, sales executive, service manager and parts manager - across 16 franchises. BMW dealer staff were found to be the highest paid for each of these positions.

The majority of staff working for dealers with other premium franchises - Jaguar, Land Rover and Mercedes-Benz - recorded total salaries in the top fifty per cent (see table below). Ford and Vauxhall dealer staff make a good showing, as do employees of Honda, Toyota/Lexus and Volkswagen/Audi dealerships.

Please download the Word file to see the full press release

Franchised dealers freeze pay as recession bites

Trend Tracker — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 13:48:13 +0000

25 November 2008

For immediate release

Franchised dealers freeze pay as recession bites

Franchised car dealers across the UK have responded to the downturn in the economy by freezing pay scales, according to the rts Auto Retail Industry Salary Survey 2009, published today - 25 November.

The survey reports that 25% of franchised dealers responding to the survey did not increase basic pay for their staff between 2007 and 2008. More than that, it seems that dealers have been taking advantage of the industry's high staff turnover rates to actually reduce pay rates for new recruits.

Comparing the results of the 2008 and 2009 Salary Surveys on a weighted basis across all jobs, the average increase in basic pay worked out at just 1.4% and total pay - including overtime, bonuses and commission - was up 1.6% year-on-year. To put these increases into context, the government's 2008 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings reports that average total pay for all employees (including full-time and part-time) increased by 3.3% between 2007 and 2008. Therefore franchised dealer employees have probably fared worse than average.

However the increases in basic and total pay were by no means evenly distributed. The two biggest 'winners' amongst full-time staff were Dealer Principals and Bodyshop Managers with basic pay up 4.4% and 3.7% respectively. Vehicle Technicians, whilst seeing basic pay rise, experienced a fall in total pay probably due to a fall in overtime and bonus. Bodyshop Painters/Panel Beaters saw a similar fall in total pay - more than likely for the same reason.

Please download the Word file to see the full press release

Crash repairs fall behind rise in car numbers

Trend Tracker — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:52:58 +0000

News from Trend Tracker Ltd.

Release Date: June 2008

New Trend Tracker mfbi UK Car Body Repair Market report:

Crash repairs fall behind rise in car numbers

The UK car population increased by 18% between 1998 and 2008, but the number of collision repairs to cars rose only 1%, thanks to a 10% decrease in the average distance travelled per car over the same period. That in turn has been caused in part by growth in the number of cars owned per household. As a result of this static market and ongoing margin pressure the UK analyst Trend Tracker forecasts a decline of over one-fifth in the number of bodyshops over the next five years, leading to seasonal shortfalls in repair capacity as soon as 2010.

These are just some of the many facts and figures reported by the latest, 2008 edition of the biennial mfbi study The UK Car Body Repair Market just published by the independent research firm Trend Tracker Limited.

Why the number of repairs has fallen away in relation to the distance travelled by cars is partly due to what many will see as an astonishing rise in insurance write-offs. Annual total losses declared by insurance companies increased by 86% between 1998 and this year, to a total of to 0.79 million, representing 17% of all motor insurance accident damage claims. If claims for theft, glass and personal injury are deducted, write-offs account for virtually a quarter (24%) of claims.

The £6.8bn estimated current value of the UK body repair market is only 4% higher after inflation than in 1998, and the number of accident repairs this year - to 5.78m vehicles - is set to remain below the peak of 5.83m in 1999.

Current average repair costs of £1,175 (including fleet and private cars, excess payments and VAT, but excluding claims for motor theft, glass and personal injury) are in real terms only 3% higher than a decade ago, after cuts in replacement parts prices brought prices down in 2004 and 2005.

The effect of these less than inflationary trends on the bodyshop sector forms a major part of this latest Trend Tracker report. It estimates that there are now 4,010 businesses in operation whose primary work is car body repair, which represents a decline in numbers of 36% since 1998. Bodyshops operated by franchised dealers as opposed to independents have declined faster, by 60%, from 2,200 outlets to just 870 now, with many dealers switching resources to the more profitable business of mechanical repair and servicing.

The shrinking of authorised repair networks by insurance companies is one reason for the decline of bodyshop numbers. Surplus repair capacity enabled insurers to put more work through smaller numbers of larger groups. Another is consumers' preference to have smaller, lower-value repairs carried out without paying insurance excesses and risking no-claims bonuses. These repairs are increasingly carried out by SMART (Small to Medium Area Repair Techniques) repairers rather than by conventional bodyshops, few of which have invested in SMART techniques. This has effectively reduced the volume of the repair market for bodyshops.

This decline in numbers has not led to steady growth in the numbers of large bodyshop groups, as happened over the last decade in the franchised dealer sector, though the top 20 bodyshop groups now operate 196 outlets between them, compared with an estimate of only 40 in 1999. The vast majority of independent bodyshops in the UK are still relatively small, single-site businesses employing fewer than ten staff and repairing up to 20 cars per week - and many of them are at risk of being unable to fund the investment needed to repair vehicles featuring advanced structural materials and electronic equipment.

In stark contrast, the largest bodyshop group, Nationwide Crash Repair Centres, operates 70 outlets, and had sales turnover last of £151.9 million with a healthy net operating margin of 4.3%, comfortably beating most franchised dealers' returns.

The mfbi reports forecasts average repair costs will rise by 17% at 2008 prices, from £1,175 in 2008 to £1,370 over the next five years. That 17% increase in average repair costs combined with a 2% increase in volume repair demand will result in a 19% increase in market value at constant 2008 prices, to £8.09 billion. Within that figure, the proportion of repair costs accounted for by labour and replacement parts will rise as vehicle complexity continues to increase, with premium marques increasingly requiring specialist repair skills and more expensive parts.

The recent introduction of the EU Paint and Products Directive (PPD) and the development of the PAS 125 repair standard will continue to work through the supply structure of the car body repair market as bodyshops, and in particular smaller bodyshops, face the greater investment burden that compliance will require. Consequently, Trend Tracker expects that the number of primary bodyshops operating in the UK car body repair market will decline by 21% between 2008 and 2013, from 4,010 outlets to 3,160. Small bodyshops will experience the sharpest decline, by 37% from 1,930 outlets in 2008 to 1,210 by 2013.

The declining number of repairers, combined with a projected 2% growth in repair demand will have a significant impact on total UK repair capacity. Even taking into account the approximately 0.5m annual repairs capacity provided by SMART repairers, the market will move into absolute repair capacity deficit by 2010. But Trend Tracker analyst Robert Macnab believes this deficit may not result in enhanced labour rates for bodyshops. Most are members of at least one and usually several insurer-authorised networks, and committed to contracted levels of service and labour rates.

Capacity generally only becomes a severe problem for insurers when they are unable to have their non-fault accident claims repaired promptly; otherwise, they can overcome delays by providing non-fault customers with courtesy cars, the costs of which are claimed against the at-fault party's insurer. Moreover, repair capacity shortfalls tend to occur only during the winter peak demand period, when insurers may find an increase in variable claims costs preferable to a fixed cost increase from higher labour rates applying through the year.

Global brand portfolios are key to Ford's survival, argues latest Trend Tracker White Paper

Trend Tracker — Thu, 09 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Immediate Release - In a new white paper entitled "Building brand portfolios and managing investors: The case of Ford", UK automotive research firm Trend Tracker's analyst Michael Wynn-Williams suggests that rumours of Ford selling off brands to survive is testament to Ford's short-sighted planning horizon, and argues that in order to survive the roller-coaster ride of its booms and busts, Ford should spread market risk amongst its brands as it looks to the longer term.