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

  Thursday, November 09 2006 :: 0 comments

  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.

• Independent garages lose ground to fast-fits in car repair

  Tuesday, October 31 2006 :: 0 comments

  The latest Castrol Business Services Car Repair Trend Tracker report published this week shows that independent garages account for 47% of all work carried out on cars in the UK, while franchised main dealers account for 25% and fast-fit outlets, 9%. But independent garages are revealed to be losing share to fast-fit outlets, with franchised dealers holding steady, when data from the report's 2005/06 survey is compared with the previous 2003/04 survey period.

• Car dealers losing share of lucrative service market

  Tuesday, October 31 2006 :: 0 comments

  Industry research shows manufacturers' dealer networks are losing share of the lucrative new car service and repair market to independent garages.

• Falling insurance accident repair costs brings mixed blessing to car manufacturers

  Tuesday, September 19 2006 :: 0 comments

  Immediate Release - A detailed research study of the accident repair market in the UK shows that the average cost of insurance repairs to motor vehicles fell last year by 8% last year, from £1,420 in 2003 to £1,310 in 2005. The research found that this has been due to the reduction in the cost of parts used in accident repairs which in 2003 amounted to £702 for an average insurance repair but which fell by 16% to £592 in 2005. Parts costs now account for 45.2% of the cost of insurance accident damage repairs compared with 49.4% in 2003. This has occurred largely as vehicle manufacturers have reduced the cost of the most commonly fitted parts used in accident repairs as a result of the 2002 Block Exemption Regulation which introduced more competition for the car manufacturers' original equipment (OE) replacement parts.

• New study reveals growing importance of used cars to dealer profits

  Monday, September 11 2006 :: 0 comments

  Immediate Release - Highlights:

  • Market volume has risen 25% and market value by 68% in last decade to reach 7.73m and £43.5bn in 1996, down 270,000 units/£2.4bn from the peak of 2004.
  • Today's average used car price is estimated at £5,625, again down from 2004.
  • Market growth is forecast to resume from 2008, to reach 8.33m units and a value of £55.4bn in 2011
  • Average used car prices will rise by 18% to £6,650 by 2011
  • Independent dealers' market share has risen since from 27% to 34% over the past decade; although on average franchise dealers sell 50% more used cars than 10 years ago, their share has stuck at 28%.
  • The number of used car outlets is forecast to fall over the next five years - independent dealer numbers falling by 8% and franchise dealers by 7%.
  • On average, independent dealers make bigger profits per used car sale than franchised dealers, despite selling lower-priced cars with lower operational efficiency - because they can control their purchasing and stock profiles.

• Fleets should take care when choosing collision repairers, says new MFBI report

  Wednesday, August 09 2006 :: 0 comments

  Immediate Release

  • A new report from research firm Trend Tracker Limited on the UK car body repair sector has uncovered a significant investment and skills gap in the body repair industry which could leave many accident-damaged cars repaired in ways that could compromise their crashworthiness.
  • Making sure this doesn't happen with potentially fatal consequences to company car drivers could be an important element in fleet managers' risk management, whether or not the impending Corporate Manslaughter Bill proves tougher than the Health & Safety at Work Act when it is passed later this year.
  • The warning applies particularly to self-insured fleets which take direct responsibility for vehicle repairs.

• Body repair: opportunities for franchised dealers

  Wednesday, August 09 2006 :: 0 comments

  Immediate Release - Significant changes ahead in the car body repair market are threatening the already weak bodyshop sector, while also opening up new opportunities for businesses prepared to invest, according to the latest MFBI report on the sector published by Trend Tracker Limited.

• New report highlights dangers of repair cost saving by motor insurers

  Monday, August 07 2006 :: 0 comments

  Immediate Release - As new cars become significantly more complex requiring new advanced repair equipment and manufacturer-specific repair methods, attempts to reduce repair costs by insurance companies could result in increased risk of injuries or fatalities if repaired cars are involved in any subsequent accidents, according to a new research study on the car repair industry. It says independent bodyshops need to invest in new equipment and techniques, but many are not making enough money to do so.

• Motor insurers face rising vehicle damage liabilities, says new report

  Thursday, August 03 2006 :: 0 comments

  Immediate Release - Vehicles will soon become too complex for general all-makes bodyshops to repair competently, which could result in insurance companies being liable for personal injuries or fatalities that arise from incorrectly repaired cars, according to a new research study on the car repair industry. Report co-author and Trend Tracker director Robert Macnab explains...

• Car body repair faces structural decline

  Thursday, August 03 2006 :: 0 comments

  Immediate Release - Car body repair is on the verge of long-term structural decline, according to the latest MFBI report published by Trend Tracker Limited which analyses current trends and future developments in the market. 2006 market volume at 5.6m repairs is more or less back to where it was in 1996, and MFBI expects repair market value in 2006 to be below its 1996 level in real terms, at £4.7bn. The company forecasts no increase in repair demand volume for the next five years, while in the longer term the market is expected to shrink markedly.

• New Trend Tracker white paper says Nanjing should have secured MG's expertise, not its aged roadster design

  Wednesday, August 02 2006 :: 0 comments

  Immediate Release - In a new white paper entitled NAC-MG: losing heart, UK automotive research firm Trend Tracker's analyst Michael Wynn-Williams suggests that for Nanjing Automobile Corporation, MG Rover's engineering talent would have offered the only short cut to a future as an independent car maker. But with R&D to be undertaken in China, the spirit of MG that Nanjing Automobile hopes to revive won't spring forth from the physical assets lifted from Longbridge.

• Trend Tracker offers two new previews on MFBI Used Car and Car Body Repair studies

  Tuesday, June 20 2006 :: 0 comments

  Immediate Release - In their latest automotive analysis newsletter, research specialists Trend Tracker are giving subscribers a sneak preview of two new MFBI automotive studies, due to be published in July.

• New white paper from Trend Tracker advocates vertical joint ventures to achieve scale in vehicle manufacturing

  Monday, June 12 2006 :: 0 comments

  Immediate Release - 'Scale economy and vertical joint ventures: how MG Rover was strangled at birth' is the title of a new white paper on automotive manufacturing issues published this month by Trend Tracker. The UK automotive research firm's analyst Michael Wynn-Williams is the author of the paper, which is based on post-graduate research he was conducting into the history of
  MG Rover and its forbears at Cardiff Business School's Centre for Automotive Industry Research.