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WWW.THEIMI.ORG.UK I 3

What I am about to argue, I sense, will be met by a fairly ubiquitous chorus

of disagreement. This is because I am writing in a motor industry magazine

and about to question something that if the industry did have a constitution,

would be engraved as deep as the right to carry arms is in America’s. I think

that the Chancellor’s decision not to raise fuel duty was completely wrong.

Now I do understand the benefits the decision will bring to the industry:

whether through savings to fleets or further encouragement for people

to buy cars – with prices at the forecourt as cheap as they have been since the mid-nineties.

So what’s the problem? Well, for a start, the savings households and businesses can expect to make

are not as significant as many industry factions seek to portray. Indeed if you own a car, the loss of

£75 across the year (the estimated annual fuel saving for the average household) is not something

that couldn’t be budgeted for and certainly doesn’t warrant the vituperation that pours forth from

those who promulgate a permanent freezing of fuel duty when a raise is suggested.

Other arguments I hear are that fuel duty is a tax on the poor; and that the higher the price

of fuel duty, the higher the cost of goods as companies seek to offset the concomitant higher

transportation prices. With regards the former, whilst there is some credence to it, the truly

destitute simply can’t afford a car and those that can would feel much greater benefit – to turn to

utilitarian doctrine – through the fiscal investment of the funds raised by fuel duty than they would

in keeping the odd pound on their fuel bill here or there. As for the latter, well I have little truck for

that argument. If there was a shred of evidence that companies do pass on savings when the fuel

price is low then maybe I would change my opinion – but the reality is that it only works one way.

At this juncture, let me clarify that I am not advocating high fuel prices. This is not a ‘one size fits all’

argument: it is nuanced and dependent on environmental factors. In 2016 the environmental factors

are plain and simple: the price of fuel and car ownership in general is cheaper than it has been for

years. So the obvious question is if you don’t raise fuel duty now, then quite frankly when will you?

And let us not obfuscate or seek to downgrade what is at stake here. We are talking about the

future of the planet: environmental factors in their literal sense. As the motor industry we should

be doing absolutely everything in our power to move towards an era where engine exhausts aren’t

the most significant contributor to the 40,000 deaths in the UK every year caused by air pollution.*

The UK is already criminally lagging behind EU emissions targets and short-termist thinking is

simply unsustainable and unacceptable. If we persist in boot licking the oil companies, which see

the world less in black and white and more in black and gold, then change will come too slow –

and ultimately too late.

A rise of just 1p over the rate of the inflation in this budget could have raised billions – which I

would like to have seen ring-fenced for spending on the advancement of green technologies in the

industry, ameliorating road surfaces (motorists’ greatest concern) and the development of diverse

and sustainable transportation strategies. This could have been done and fuel prices could still

have remained very low. And if prices at the pump rose disproportionately, then the villains

wouldn’t be the treasury but the corporations who set the prices.

Those industry bodies that vehemently disagree I fear misrepresent the economic arguments

and do the industry they purport to represent a disservice. This is no time for transient populism.

Raising fuel duty is not ‘anti’ the motor industry: it is a measure that could provide it with vital

funds to develop alternative-fuelled vehicles and the motorist with increased quality of driving

and choice of travel. Good for business; good for the planet – the two aren’t mutually exclusive.

* Royal College of Physicians Every breath we take: the lifelong impact of air pollution. Report of a working party. London: RCP, 2016

INDUSTRY EVENTSIMI Magazine highlights some

of the key events taking place

in the industry this month...

April 14th PREPARING YOUR PEOPLE FOR THE FUTURE Toyato GB, Epsom, Surrey

April 20th IMI SPRING RMA Bentley Motors, Crewe

April 26th – 28thTHE COMMERCIAL VEHICLE SHOW NEC, Birmingham

EVENT

April 19th – 20th MECHANEX Alexandra Palace, London

[email protected] @IMIeditorTim Kiek, IMI Magazine Editor

To join the debate on any of the issues raised in the magazine, you can email me at [email protected],

tweet me @IMIeditor or join the IMI’s LinkedIn group discussion page. I look forward to hearing from you.

6

4 I IMI MAGAZINE I APRIL 2016

25

44

BUSINESS 16 Management

& leadership

18 Finance

20 Healthcare

THIS ISSUE...NEWS3 Welcome

6 Analysis

8 Industry round-up

10 Frontline

12 Motorcycles

14 Commercial vehicles

FEATURES

24 Legal linkTwo for the price oof one in your

regular legal colummn

25 Safe cyber sellingHow to sell cars saafely online

26 Holiday bluesInsights on the leggalities of

holiday pay

27 Don’t be caught in a trapHow to avoid a contractual bind

28 Enrol with itThe auto enrolmennt pension scheme

22 Insuring success Reporting on a groundbreaking

IMI Accreditation

23 MOT-eamwork A partnership to increase

MOT testing professionalism

30 Warranting your attention An interview with The Warranty Group

32 Four for forecourt success Using research to outline a dealer

sales strategy for 2016

34 The customer: the key part Assessing the parts distribution

landscape

36 Gripping times Speaking to one

of the UK’s top

tyre company

executives

27

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Steve Nash explains why regardless

of the outcome of the referendum,

businesses must seek to maintain

strong leadership.

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28

The next few months will be

dominated by the EU referendum

and regardless of your position

on the issue, the one thing that nobody

will deny is that we are now in a state

of uncertainty over a potential Brexit.

The automotive sector continues

to perform strongly. A growing

population, low unemployment, very

low inflation and the continuation of

zero interest rates, together with such

things as confidence in house prices,

are all combining to create a positive

environment for strong car sales. The

CEO of one large PLC Dealer Group has

confidently predicted a 3mn market,

with the ongoing strength of PCP lead

sales contributing to shorter change

cycles and greater volume. This is

all good news but, regardless of the

outcome, the EU referendum and the

uncertainty it causes has to be viewed

as a potential threat to an otherwise

golden period for automotive retail.

Auto manufacturers are broadly

aligned with the ‘in’ lobby and, quite

understandably, so are some of the

larger dealer groups who have interests

in other EU countries. The rest of the

industry is probably representative of

the wider population, which means that

opinions are divided roughly 50/50,

with a great many not absolutely clear

what the true effects or benefits of

a Brexit may be. That’s fine because,

as Jeremy Clarkson stated in a recent

Sunday Times column, there are many

very senior and erudite businessmen in

the City of London and right across the

country who are struggling to get their

heads around this conundrum and who,

like most of us, can be equally persuaded

by strong orators from either camp.

Well, until the whole matter is

concluded, we will just have to live

with the uncertainty – and possibly

more afterwards if the voters favour

us leaving the EU, who knows?

The point is though that we all perform

best when we feel secure and positive

about the future. Look at sporting

teams that don’t have established

coaching or management. Invariably

their performance reflects this, as

exemplified earlier in this football

season by last year’s Premiership

Champions Chelsea FC under Jose

Mourinho. By contrast, look at those

teams that benefit from the long term

influence of a strong top team: British

Cycling under Dave Brailsford for

example, or Manchester United under

Sir Alex Ferguson. That’s what we all

strive for: strong, consistent leadership

that allows a team to focus on the job

rather than being distracted

by concerns about the future.

We can’t predict the outcome of

the referendum but we can address

uncertainty in our own workplace.

If we do that well we can create teams

that are strong enough to cope with

whatever happens in the outside world

– Brexit or no Brexit.

50

MY IMI46 IMI news and people

48 IMI international

49 Event reports

50 IMI Annual Dinner 2016

52 Forthcoming events

53 Area contacts

54 Membership

55 CPD

56 Course listings

STARTS PAGE 39

NEWS

ANALYSISBY ARTHUR WAY

Even before the doors opened,

it was clear that the 2016

Geneva Motor Show was

going to be a vintage one,

highlighting the automotive

sector’s resilience, vigour and

inventiveness. Allowing that

organisers veer towards the

excitable when talking about

their ventures in a public

relations milieu, few would take

issue with the show’s chief,

Andre Hefti, when he described

the aesthetics and technologies

of the new models on display as

more wide-ranging than ever

and proof that the industry is

constantly evolving to respond

to consumer demands.

Since there are now few

secrets of any significance in

the industry, virtually all of the

more than 120 models making

their world or European debut

in Geneva, along with the

advanced technologies which

are shaping current and future

vehicle specifications, had

been trailed in advance. Even

so, the event attracted a hefty

687,000 visitors, an increase of

1% compared with the previous

year, thereby validating the high

level of consumer interest in the

industry’s latest developments.

For motor industry watchers,

though, the main interest

concerned the ‘mood music’

as demonstrated during the

press day briefings. Vehicle

manufacturers always assume

an impression of sunniness

at motor shows, but Geneva

2016 was characterised by an

underlying and authentic vein

of exuberance and optimism.

This appeared to be fuelled by

recovering Western markets

and, especially, the realisation

that the hectic pace of product

development provides strong

marketing opportunities.

A VINTAGE YEAR

GENEVA MOTOR SHOW

Leaving aside the uproar

triggered by proposed changes

to welfare benefits, the

government’s latest budget

– presented by George Osborne to

the House of Commons on March 16 – embraced a series

of favourable short and long term measures with important

ramifications for the future development of the UK’s motor

industry and market.

By any definition this was a generous budget for motorists.

For a start, there was nothing with the potential to derail the

UK’s sprightly new car market. On the contrary, a wide range

of kindly fiscal measures are poised to boost the personal

disposable incomes of the retail motor trade’s main

customer base. Positives include higher personal income

tax allowances, tax-free interest from savings, lower capital

gains tax rates and, not least, a continued freeze on fuel duty

which is forecast to save the average household an annual

£75. Allied to the continuation of low interest rates which

is providing the bedrock for the flourishing PCP segment,

together with lower corporation tax rates for businesses,

the likelihood is that UK new car demand will remain at

an elevated and possibly rising level for at least the rest

of the year and probably beyond.

Longer term, the government’s fiscal policy is aimed

squarely at encouraging businesses and private buyers to

embrace low emission vehicles, as well as ensuring that the

UK manufacturing sector is located at the forefront of new

vehicle technologies. The declared ambition is to establish

the UK as a “global centre for excellence in connected and

autonomous vehicles”. In this regard, there is a pledge to

eliminate regulatory obstacles to the usage of autonomous

vehicles with the target of having driverless cars in everyday

use by the end of the decade, while trials of driverless truck

convoys will take place in 2017.

Those who regret that so much of the UK’s component

and vehicle manufacturing capability is now owned and

controlled by foreign interests miss the point that the new

technologies provide the chance for British businesses

to re-establish a position at the head of the global motor

industry. As an example, Dyson has indicated a commitment

to invest £1bn by the end of 2020 to develop new ‘energy

density’ battery technology with the expectation that this

will have widespread applications in vehicles. And if Google

is talking about entering the car manufacturing sector,

why not Dyson?

GEORGE’S MARVELLOUS MOTORING MEDICINE

THE BUDGET


“Even before the doors opened,

it was clear that the 2016 Geneva Motor

Show was going to be a vintage one”

SMMT SETS ITS STALL

EU REFERENDUM

Noteworthy happenings are occurring

in the parts distribution sector as some

of the largest players seek expansion

opportunities. In a sector which is still highly

fragmented and in many cases woefully

under-financed, there are considerable

opportunities for some of the more powerful

companies to extend their reach through

takeovers. In similar fashion to the vehicle

distribution sector, the chances are that

many owners will be tempted over the next

few months to sell their businesses in the

context of lower taxes on capital gains –

especially those who are reaching retirement

age and struggling to achieve a decent living

for their efforts.

One of the sector’s most noteworthy

developments for some time occurred in

mid-March when Andrew Page – one of the

country’s largest motor factors – announced

the takeover of Solid Auto, a specialist

distributor of parts for Japanese and Korean

cars. The company envisages that this move

will propel it to become the country’s leading

distributor of vehicle parts for Japanese and

Korean cars, which presently account for

around 20% of the market.

Andrew Page reports that the inclusion

of Solid Auto in its operations will strengthen

its sourcing capability in China and the

Far East, with the clear implication that

low-cost parts producers from that region

will fulfil a growing role in the aftermarket.

British and European component producers

must be hoping that parts sourcing does

not go the way of the clothing market

where major retailers like M&S have

outsourced the majority of their

requirements to Asian suppliers.

EASTERN PROMISE

PARTS DISTRIBUTION

Following US-based Group 1’s

takeover of Spire Automotive in

February, there’s growing evidence

that the pace of consolidation in

vehicle distribution is accelerating.

Major groups are scurrying to

secure high quality dealer assets

while they are still available and

before being acquired by

competitors.

Vertu Motors, the UK’s fifth largest

dealer group by revenue, is one of the

most ‘patent prowlers’. Assisted by

takeovers, turnover has more than

doubled during the past four years

while pre-tax profits have quadrupled.

Already this year the company

has purchased Mercedes-Benz

distributor Sigma Holdings in a

£22mn deal, and in mid-March raised

£35mn through a placing of 56mn

new ordinary shares as a prelude to

an acquisition splurge. According to

the company, a further three targets

have been identified and are expected

to join the group by the end of June.

With the retail motor sector

so buoyant, it might seem odd that

Group 1, Vertu Motors and others

are buying vehicle distribution assets

at what seems likely to be near

to the top of the market. However,

the share price performances of

publicly-quoted dealer groups are

also riding tall. Vertu Motors’ share

price started the year at close to

a 12-month high and significantly

ahead of a few years ago – hence

the ease of selling new equity to

investors at lofty valuations.

Moreover, a highly favourable

reduction in capital gains tax

announced in the recent budget

from 28% to 10% for the first £10mn

(and 20% thereafter) is expected

to result in many more owners of

small and medium sized dealers

seeking to vacate the sector,

thereby providing plenty of fodder

to satisfy the hunger of ambitious

mega groups.

THE SHARKS ARE CIRCLINGDEALER


visitors to the 2016 Geneva Motor Show680,000

As the referendum on Brexit draws closer and

the likely result seems less certain, business

organisations with a desire to support continued

membership of the EU are using a variety of means

– including polling of their members and the findings

of independent research groups – to make the case

for staying. One of the most terrifying of these

was released at the end of March when the CBI

announced that Brexit would result in a 5% reduction

of GDP and the loss of 950,000 jobs by 2020.

Meanwhile, an independent survey conducted

for the SMMT during the opening two months of the

year indicates that 77% of members believe that a

‘remain’ result would be best for their businesses,

with a mere 9% supporting an exit and 14% in the

‘don’t know’ category.

The views of SMMT members carry weight and

should be respected, but it’s difficult to believe that

things would be quite as dark as the CBI survey

insinuates. The UK runs a substantial trade deficit

with other members of the EU which suggests that

the construction of trade barriers between the

UK and the EU in the event of Brexit would be a

non-starter. European vehicle manufacturers have

sizeable investments in the UK and depend on the

country’s market for a noteworthy portion of their

global sales. It’s worth remembering that many

of the most strident voices against Brexit are the

same which warned of the dire consequences of

staying outside the eurozone.


NEWS

INDUSTRY ROUND-UPBY TIM KIEK

Some of the automotive industry’s top

suppliers, distributors and technical

experts will gather at Alexandra

Palace in North London on April 19

and 20 for the first MECHANEX show of 2016.

‘The People’s Palace’, based near Muswell Hill, will host the

show, essentially a live version of Professional Motor Mechanic

(PMM), for the second time, following a successful debut in 2015.

The show is completely free to attend and tickets can be booked

online at www.mechanex.info or by calling 0844 888 8339.

Leading garage comparison

company, The Motorists’

Organisation, has partnered

with GoCompare to help

motorists shop around for

car servicing and repairs.

GoCompare has become

the first leading comparison

website in the UK to help

its customers compare

car servicing, MOT and

repair providers.

Douglas Rotberg,

Managing Director of The

Motorists’ Organisation,

said: “Our partnership with

GoCompare is really

exciting… Our mission is to

demystify car servicing and

repair for cars that are three

or more years old. The fact

that over 39% of bookings are

made online via our platforms

when garages are closed is

testament to the need for this

type of service and that we

are helping to revolutionise

the industry.”

PRESSING ON IN PRESTON

TRADE SHOW

A PALACE VISIT

FRAUD EXPOSED

ONLINE

A COMPARE EXTENSION

I have written about online garage comparison platforms before

and they are a valid means for a garage to try and increase its

business. The fact that this one has the relative might and consumer

reach of GoCompare behind it probably means for garages looking

to increased their online conspicuity then it may be avenue worth

exploring. However, Douglas Rotberg appears to labouring under

the misapprehension that something new and revolutionary is being

offered. It isn’t and the site is just another one off the conveyor belt

of review-based equivalents – all of which like to claim that they are

offering the motorist a similarly ‘revolutionary’ service. The way

some go on, you’d be forgiven for thinking they’d invented the

internet. However, they are businesses and of course when

marketing any business there is going to be a natural tendency

towards the evangelistic. That isn’t a problem but I just wish in

this case that the plethora of sites offering basically the same

product would stop claiming to be saviours of the industry!

EDITOR SAYS

BBC Superfactors, a leading car parts distributor in Lancashire,

has opened a new branch in Preston, creating 15 new jobs.

The branch, in Great George Street, is the seventh operated

by the family run business, with further launches planned in the

next six to eighteen months. BBC Superfactors, an associate

member of The Parts Alliance, employs 120 people and has a fleet of

60 vans delivering parts to local garages and national fast fit chains.

The new branch is the same premises as previously occupied

by Unipart Automotive, which collapsed into administration in

July 2014. Managing Director Gary Shulman, who started BBC

Superfactors in 1984, said: “Preston is a large city with a sizeable

number of garages and workshops. They all need fast access

to a wide range of quality automotive parts, which we are able

to supply, with around 98% delivered within the hour.”

The opening of Preston represents an investment of £400,000

and the branch will be headed up by manager Gary Derbyshire,

who has ten years’ experience in motor spares, having previously

worked for General Traffic and Euro Car Parts.

MOT

PREMISES

The owners of Kyhber and Berbice Garage at Endsleigh Industrial

Estate in Southall, and two of their staff, have pleaded guilty to

conspiring to fraudulently issuing MOT certificates.

Shorab Jadunandan and Sanjay Spolia, who were the registered

owners of the garage, employed Graham Cahill and Olayinka

Fadayomi as MOT testers. During a DVSA investigation it was

discovered that MOT certificates were being issued for cars that

had never been tested on the premises.

Jadunandan and Fadayomi were each sentenced to 18 months’

imprisonment. Cahill was sentenced to 16 months’ and Spolia 6

months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years. Cahill was also

ordered to undertake 100 hours of unpaid work.

In association with


Andrew Page is set to become Britain’s

leading distributor of Japanese and Korean

car parts after acquiring a specialist rival.

The fast-growing Leeds headquartered

business has bought Solid Auto (UK) for

an undisclosed sum as part of its growth

strategy in the car parts market.

Significantly, the acquisition will also

strengthen Andrew Page’s sourcing

capability in China and the Far East.

Chairman, Jim Sumner said: “Our key brands

are increasingly differentiated from what

competitors are offering and acquiring

Solid Auto drives that further. Our goal is

to be the UK’s leading specialist Japanese

and Korean car parts player.”

GOOD KOREA MOVE

Sword Apak’s continuing expansion

has resulted in the business decision

to move to an innovative new head

office enabling the growing team to

cater for a global customer base under

one roof and to accommodate planned

future growth. Founded by Tony

Papadopoulos from a kitchen table

in Bristol in 1979, the business is

proud to be staying close to its Bristol

roots and to be creating significant

new employment opportunities to

support its leading edge technology.

Having successfully delivered a

record sales and profit performance

in 2015, Cardiff-based MotoNovo Finance is delighted to announce a

significant investment that will see the

business creating more than 580

new jobs in the city, more than

doubling its current headcount and

relocating to a new state-of-the-art

office in Central Square, within the

Central Cardiff Enterprise Zone.

According to figures released by

online parking marketplace JustPark,

the percentage of luxury cars on UK

roads has increased at a faster rate

than GDP since the end of the

recession – with British consumers

making the most of increased financial

stability by spending more on their

vehicles. The proportion of UK cars

which are luxury has grown by an

average of 3.6% year-on-year since

2010 – compared to an average rise

in GDP of 2.1% per annum. In contrast,

the proportion of non-luxury cars on

our roads has declined by an average

of 1% per year in the same period.

RAC Car Passport for dealers

officially opened last month. Key

features include customer-facing,

downloadable RAC Car Passport

documentation designed to

maximise the credibility of the

check; £10,000 of insurance that

can be increased to up to £50,000

to protect higher value vehicles;

and a mileage adjusted valuation

that can be upgraded to a Glass's

valuation for an additional cost.

IN BRIEF

APPOINTMENTS

Caterham Cars has expanded its UK dealer

network with the launch of the BookaTrack

Caterham showroom at Donington Park

race circuit.

The new showroom, based at one of

Britain’s premier circuits, will sell Caterham’s

full five model UK range of lightweight sports

cars, as well as offering a full range of

aftersales activities, including service,

warranty and parts support.

Graham Macdonald, Caterham Cars CEO,

said: “Over 16 years, we have forged a strong

and close partnership with BookaTrack. To

open our fourth UK dealership with a brand

that is so clearly passionate about Caterham

is an exciting new chapter in this partnership.”

CATERING FOR CATERHAM

DEALER

DISTRIBUTOR

Leeds headquartered AMT Group has appointed David Edgington

(pictured right) as National Fleet Manager for its Contract Hire and

Leasing division. David has more than 30 years’ experience in the

automotive sector, latterly working for Listers Group for 17 years

where he pioneered its presence and growth into the fleet sector.

A1 Motor Stores is delighted to announce that Simon Salloway

is the new Head of Operations at the HQ in Hinckley. Simon has

over 20 years’ experience in the automotive aftermarket and

has been influential in the development of the Technopart coil

spring range.

Trico is pleased to announce the appointment of Michael Ballinger to AM Sales Director –

Europe. Mike has extensive automotive aftermarket experience, most prevalently gained

from a career at Elta Automotive (Lucas) where he was responsible for European buying

groups/motor factors for the electrical and engine management business.

Volkswagen Financial Services (VWFS) has appointed Mark Forton

(pictured right) as Mobility Services Director. Mark will be responsible

for developing the mobility strategy and the associated products and

services for the UK market. He joins with 20 years’ experience in the

industry, with particular expertise in vehicle rental, fleet management

and commercial vehicles.

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et management

In late 2009 the UK auto retail

landscape gained a new name.

When it was launched, Infiniti was

seen as Nissan’s Lexus. It was set

up to offer customers looking for

a premium vehicle an alternative

to the usual players such as BMW,

Audi and Mercedes.

At the time, Infiniti staff were

briefing journalists that by 2014 it

would be selling 8,000 cars a year

and be the brand’s second biggest

market in Europe after Russia.

However, developing a premium

brand and network from scratch did

not go to plan. 2009 was not a good

time for the economy and sales were

very poor and only last year did

Infiniti break the 1,000 sales mark.

Carl Bayliss, who took over running

Infiniti in the UK at the start of 2015,

is now the man charged with

delivering success. As far as prestige

goes, Bayliss has a glittering

background having worked for

Porsche, Ferrari and Bugatti before

joining Infiniti in 2012.

NEWS

FRONTLINEBY TRISTAN YOUNG

Despite the stellar CV, he doesn’t

indulge in sales predictions; he does

talk about success however. “Success

is that level of loyalty that sees people

come back to us again and again,”

Bayliss contends. “When we launched

the Q30 last year a lot of the

customers were on their third or

fourth Infiniti. So whilst we may not

talk about volume aspirations, you

can look at our sales historically.”

Bayliss is pointing to the fact that

Infiniti in the UK has for the past three

years almost doubled sales each year

with 2015 coming in at 1,195

registrations. It’s also safe to assume

that this year, well over 2,000

registrations are easily possible thanks

to an increasing product range which

saw the Q30 hatch introduced at the

end of 2015, an off-road version of this

called the QX30 coming later this year

and a BMW 4-series rival, the Q60,

joining the line-up in 2016 too.

“When you look at the way sales and

the dealer network have developed, you

can see a trend of growth,” Bayliss adds.

The story of Nissan’s premium brand: Infiniti.TO INFINITI AND BEYOND

LINING UP LEXUS

Not one to shy away from the

comparison with Lexus – a brand that

has been in the UK for more than 20

years and sold 13,269 cars last year

– Bayliss believes Infiniti can do

better. “There’s no exact science.

If we look at Lexus’s introduction

20 years ago, the way the world was

marketed and the way you could

communicate successfully was very

different. So, if can take lessons

learnt and the way social media works

and the way we pass information on

now, 20 years on, then yes we can

grow faster than they did.”

Interestingly, in this age of online

sales and talk of ‘alternative routes

to market’ Infiniti has stuck to a

traditional franchised retail network.

Bayliss says that the brand did look

at other options but the franchised

route is the best. The one difference

that Infiniti has made is that a few of

the brand’s sites are in high-footfall

shopping centres such as Westfield in

London. “Whilst people do all their

research online when buying a car,

having a shop in an area of high

footfall is great for us in terms

of visibility.”

In terms of outright retailer

numbers there are 20 Infiniti sales

sites in the UK, but with more to

come: “In 18 months we’ll go from

20 to 25 retailers,” says Bayliss,

“we’re also developing the authorised

repairer programme to help with

coverage and drive-time. We need to

make sure that when people make the

effort to come to one of our retailers

we can then be closer when it comes

to servicing. There will be 20

authorised repairers added in the

same time frame.”

Unlike some prestige brands, such

as BMW, and the new upstart DS,

which are both committed to online

sales, Bayliss believes Infiniti won’t

rush to this avenue.

“The future says that we’ll be

looking at online with our sales

partners and we’re also looking at

new routes to market too. We’re

always looking at that, though it’s

all well and good building a platform,

but what if no one takes that choice?”


After writing

for the magazine

for many years,

Richard Yarrow

has moved on to

pastures new.

A huge thank

you and goodbye

to him and an

equally large

hello to new

columnist,

Tristan Young.

Tristan Young is

Editorial Director

of Auto Retail

Network and

an automotive

industry

journalist with

more than 20

years’ experience

in consumer

and business-

to-business

journalism

and publishing.

Goodbye and hello

registrations of Infiniti cars in the UK in 20151,195


IMPORTANT BECAUSE…

Toyota invented the mid-size soft-roader with

the original RAV4 in 1994. The latest version

is now available with a hybrid drive system

similar to that in the Prius with a battery

and a petrol engine working together.

WHY WOULD SOMEONE BUY IT…

The hybrid version has low emissions, good

fuel economy and low taxation both for VED

and for company car users. It’s also spacious

and very refined as it can drive in electric

only mode.

WHO WOULD BUY IT…

It’s ideal for those who want space for a

family, want to be seen to be green and want

that extra height and ground clearance that

a 4x4 brings.

BEST TO GLOSS OVER…

It’s not the most sophisticated all-wheel drive

system and can deliver some odd behaviour

when power is shunted between the wheels

for maximum grip. However a front-drive

version is available.

ON THE ROAD…

The new Toyota Rav4 Hybrid is an excellent

motorway cruiser and good town car.

The 195PS SUV is also swift and good for

towing with a 1600kg rating for the 4x4.

The front-drive version is particularly refined

and suffers from none of the 4x4 system’s

indecisiveness about power delivery.

ALSO ON THE LIST…

There are few hybrid rivals in this class,

but the conventionally powered Honda CR-V,

Kia Sportage, Ford Kuga and Nissan X-trail

are all popular in this class.

PRICE AND FINANCE

The Rav4 Hybrid has a list price starting

from £26,195. It’s also available on a two year

0% PCP scheme for less than £360 a month

with a £2620 deposit.

UP-SELL OPPORTUNITIES

The start point of the hybrid range is the well

specced Business Edition Plus, but next up

the range is the Icon trim level which includes

larger alloys, a powered boot and heated seats.

HOW TO SELL IT: TOYOTA RAV4 HYBRID

PERCEPTION IS EVERYTHING

Arguably, becoming a premium

brand isn’t about sales numbers,

it’s about the acceptance of the

brand by consumers, a fact of

which Bayliss is well aware.

“Premium is a mindset, but when

you look at the materials used,

the attention to detail, the fit and

finish etc., that is something that

sets it apart from mass market,

high volume brands. And then we

have the differentiated level of

service and the quality of the

products themselves.

“We have an advantage in that

we’re not having to deal with tens

of thousands of customers, so we

have a very personal relationship

with them all the way through the

lifecycle. This is something which is

our challenge to take on as we grow

the brand, but we have a tradition

of this. When we launched

[internationally] in 1989 we were

the benchmark for warranty, it was

the benchmark for collections and

delivery – all the things that are

now the cost of entry if you want

to be a premium player.

“Setting that as part of the DNA

is essential,” Bayliss concludes,

“people may not know that now but

as soon as they ‘touch’ us they will.

We introduced a 48-hour test drive

for this reason. It’s been a

successful programme for us and

it’s a key differentiator in the

decision-making process.”

REASONS FOR OPTIMISM

Even if Infiniti keeps doubling its

sales every year – which can only

get harder with time – it will still

take four more years to overtake

Lexus. And that assumes no growth

by the rival premium brand.

However, all the right

ingredients are in place and how

many times have you heard car

buyers say they don’t want what

everyone else has?

If these buyers do ‘touch’ the

Infiniti brand and it can deliver

a first rate premium experience,

then perhaps the newcomer

will succeed.

Number of staff on site, number of

new/used cars sold per year?

There are ten people on site. We were selling

a handful of cars per month last year but we’re

already into three figures this year and we

should do 400 used in the year.

How long in your current job?

I’ve been a general manager for 10 years

and with Infiniti for just over a year.

What was your first job?

Weekend car valeter and then trainee salesman.

What’s your best seller?

The Q30 is, the new product is usually

the best seller.

What one piece of advice about selling

cars would you give to a new starter?

If you follow the process and ‘cuddle the

customer’ then sales just happen.

ON THE FRONTLINEJEFF AYNSLEY, GENERAL MANAGER, INFINITI

CENTRE NEWCASTLE (PART OF VERTU)

NEWS

MOTORCYCLESBY IAN KERR MBE


enterprise was likely to be, stating the site

KMUK has is mind is yet to be confirmed,

but a planning application had been lodged.

In an effort to head off the opposition

shouting about favourable deals, first chance

at any promotions, discounts etc. he went

onto to stress that it was vitally important

that a KMUK dealership would operate on

a level playing field and on exactly the

same terms as any other Kawasaki dealer.

Apparently the dealership will operate

totally independently from KMUK as a

separate standalone business and will have to

make a profit to survive and thrive like any

other business. He also commented that whilst

the primary reason for this investment was to

sell more motorcycles by filling a valuable open

point, it also provides the manufacturer an

invaluable dealer network tool. “We will be

totally transparent in respects of the business

operation and its trading accounts,” he said.

“The dealership will effectively become an

extension of the Kawasaki Training Academy

and we will be actively encouraging DPs and

staff of other Kawasaki dealerships to spend

time in the operation for training and

development purposes.

“Having a directly owned retail outlet will

also provide us with a platform to test new

concepts, ideas and systems to ensure that

all futures initiatives are realistic, effective

and fully operational before release.”

As you might imagine once this news became

public, the various motorcycle forums lit up

with comments, both good and bad. One

suggested it would be a good thing for the

manufacturer to “really” understand what it is

like at the sharp end dealing with customers

and working on the ridiculously small profit

margins for selling new bikes!

The trade body representing dealers, the

National Motorcycle Dealers Association

(NMDA), also responded in a positive manner.

NMDA Chief Steve Latham said: "It is hardly

surprising that a motorcycle manufacturer

has to set up its own dealership to gain

meaningful representation in an area with

expensive property costs. This practice has

been normal in the car industry, where the

levels of investment are even greater, for more

than 30 years. Peugeot-owned dealerships are

called Robins & Day, Jaguar Land-Rover own

some sites and both Ford and Vauxhall have

investment divisions.

“These divisions put up the greater

proportion of funding, along with a much

smaller investment from an operator. In

reality, they control the business and have

A DIRECT APPROACHRevealing details of Kawasaki’s recently announced plans to

launch a wholly-owned dealership in the south of England.

In February’s edition, this column ended up

speculating whether or not in a few years’

time there would be an announcement that

motorcycles could be bought directly from

the manufacturer. In case you didn’t read it,

the article concerned the relationship

between BMW cars and the Motorrad side

of the business and looked at the potential

for cross-collaboration of selling and

marketing ideas.

The link was also drawn with other

motorcycle manufacturers which have cars

as part of the parent company like Honda

and Suzuki, or those which have less obvious

links such as Yamaha (Toyota). Bring in

those companies that are owned by car

manufacturers despite retaining their own

brand identity like MV (Mercedes) and

Ducati (Audi), and all of a sudden such

collaboration does not seem so speculative!

I haven’t included Kawasaki here as its

parent company is involved in shipping,

heavy industry and aerospace to name some

of its other diverse interests, rather than any

other automotive dealings. As such, it was

quite a surprise when, during a round of

recent regional dealer meetings, Kawasaki

Motors UK announced to its dealer network

that it was looking to establish a wholly

owned dealership in the south of England.

Howard Dale, General Manager of Kawasaki

Motors UK, explained that the move was

purely driven by the number of ‘open points’

that KMUK has vacant around the UK,

particularly in the south of England. He made

it very clear that this was not the start of a

manufacturer-owned dealer network, but one

single site in a very important key trading area

where a cluster of open points have existed for

over three years. He went on to explain that it

was becoming extremely hard to find the right

business partners, particularly in the South

due to high property and set-up costs.

The cynic might suggest that part of the

problem lies elsewhere. Despite a few headline

grabbing models like the Supercharged H2R,

the brand never seems to make the halfway

mark in the manufacturers’ monthly sales

figures put out by the MCIA. Even some of

the lesser brands from the Far East show

better sales figures, so attracting dealers is

not going to be easy if the range and product

is not seen as desirable to the public!

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD

While being open and announcing this

bombshell to its dealers, Dale and his team

were still cagy as to exactly where this new


increase in European and moped registrations in 20155.6%

The latest sales figures from the

Motorcycle Industry Association

continue to show big growth in the

UK bike market with new registrations

up 17% in January 2016 compared to

the same month last year.

According to Which?-style magazine

and website Consumer Reports,

Japanese brands Yamaha, Suzuki,

Honda and Kawasaki are the most

reliable, while Triumph, Ducati and

BMW are "more repair-prone".

In the nine months of its current

financial year to 31 December 2015,

Honda’s global motorcycle presence

impressively outclassed the much

bigger Honda car business, despite

a decrease in bike sales’ volume.

The UK arm of Austrian brand

KTM Sportmotorcycle UK is moving

from its current HQ in Brackley to

new premises at Silverstone's

high-performance technology and

motorsport (HPT&M) business estate.

site control arrangements in place where

they will not lose the site/location for their

brand’s representation.

DON’T BANK ON IT

"In today’s world of more stringent banking

and business-loan opportunities, it is easy to

see why a bank would reject lending against a

new motorcycle dealership investment when

the first few questions they ask will be: how

long will your contract be with a particular

manufacturer and how much are you

borrowing for that manufacturer’s corporate

identity and signage? In the bank’s view this

expenditure gives no direct return or value.

"For a new operator entering the industry

and taking on a franchise, the banks are often

uncomfortable with the low return on small

car and motorcycle dealerships and are more

likely to reject them because they require

stocking capital and need to run tight

cash-flows to stay viable.

"I’m sure Kawasaki is honourable when it

says this new dealership will be run in the

same way as every other Kawasaki dealership

and will share a level playing field with other

independently-owned businesses.

“The reality will be that this new

Kawasaki-owned venture will be better

funded than most other dealerships and

therefore will be able to weather any

financial or funding issues better than

many others in the network.”

THE GREEN EYED MONSTER

“Irrespective of the true business model and

structure, some other Kawasaki dealers will

always believe this site will have better access

to new and used stock and or margins, plus

will have lower targets set for them to achieve.”

"Either way, I congratulate Kawasaki for

taking this stance and being open about it

with their dealers. Running their own retail

dealerships is often a great way for

manufacturers to find out what it’s like in the

real world – and that can only assist future

dealer initiatives considered by Kawasaki."

So, whilst the trade viewpoint is mainly

positive, there is no doubt that this move

will be minutely scrutinised by other

manufacturers, not to mention dealers, and

if successful could be the start of a complete

change in the way motorcycles are marketed.

Imagine a combination of online menu

ordering and then click and collect at your

local wholly owned dealer! “Click and Collect”

works for Tesco – who says it could not work

for motorcycles?

Many a rider wishes for a windscreen

on a wet, cold day! Help could now be

at hand from British company Rainpal,

which has developed a windscreen

wiper for the visor on crash helmets.

The device attaches to the top

of the visor with clamps and suction

pads in about two seconds, but will

not fall off at speed due to the

method of attachment.

A 2mm thick rubber wiper is

operated by bar-mounted switches

and has various speeds, along with

a cleaning function which allows

water to be squirted onto the visor.

The device will work for 90 minutes

continuously and is charged via a

USB connection!

IN BRIEF

It is well known that Honda’s

most successful machine is

the Cub, in fact it is the most

successful vehicle in

history – bar none! Honda

has now confirmed its

intention to produce electric

machines with this moniker,

joining Yamaha which has

already dipped a toe in the

water with the EC03.

In a speech about the firm’s future,

Honda President and CEO Takahiro Hachigo, revealed that the EV-CUB

concept bike shown in Tokyo last year will go into production in about

two years’ time, although at first it will only be offered in Japan.

Join the Cub

SCREEN IF YOU WANNA GO FASTER

NEWS

COMMERCIAL VEHICLESBY JOHN KENDALL


The Fleet Operator Recognition

Scheme began life as a project

developed by Transport for

London (TfL) in 2006 and run by

TfL until January 2015. The idea

was to introduce voluntary standards

for large vehicles to improve safety

around vulnerable road users such

as pedestrians and cyclists.

It encourages the fitting of side

guards, additional mirrors and camera

systems to vehicles to improve the safety

of vehicle operations. As Anne Johnson,

FORS Operations Director explains:

“We’re all about improving best practice.”

The scheme covers four key areas:

management, vehicles, drivers and

operations and there are three levels

of accreditation: bronze, silver and gold.

All levels require an independent annual

audit to ensure that organisations

enrolled remain compliant and meet the

bronze, silver or gold standards that they

have signed up to. For a vehicle being

used under an operator’s licence, the

starting point is that the ‘O’ licence

provides a baseline level of operation.

“The FORS Bronze standard takes

operators beyond that,” says Johnson,

“and starts encouraging them to include

best practice measures into their fleet

and their performance.

“The silver standard is very much

around safety. That’s where operators

are fitting their fleet with more safety

equipment, such as sensors and camera

systems. Drivers are trained

particularly in respect of looking out

for vulnerable road users. And operators

are also encouraged at silver level to

start monitoring and managing their

incidents, such as collisions, fuel data,

fines and charges, to try and to get

a grip of what is actually going on.

“At gold level, we see operators

actually making meaningful

Looking at the industry impact of the Fleet

Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS).

“FORS is

even more

pertinent for

light CV fleets

operating

vehicles

below

3,500kg gross

vehicle

weight”

improvements on the statistics

that they have been starting to

collect at silver.”

FORS is not just for heavy trucks

either: fleets of motorcycles and

scooters, fleet cars, light CVs, buses and

coaches as well as trucks are covered

too. It presents an opportunity for

dealers to make customers aware of the

equipment available from them, either

as optional equipment or accessories

to help meet the FORS standards.

VITAL FOR LCVS

Arguably, FORS is even more pertinent

for light CV fleets operating vehicles

below 3,500kg gross vehicle weight,

where an operator’s licence is not

required. Whereas the maintenance

of HGV fleets is quite tightly controlled

by the need for regular safety

inspections, light CVs fall outside the

requirements. “We do have a number

of van-only fleets in FORS and we

encourage van operators to sign up,”

says Johnson. “There is no reason why

they can’t achieve the same standards

as the truck fleets.”

The scheme was initially developed

for London-based fleets where traffic

and operating conditions raise

particular issues. Inevitably, as the

scheme developed, participants started

to include organisations with national

fleets and some participants could see

the advantage of applying the FORS

standards to their operations outside

London. “Over recent years, the

scheme has grown considerably,”

says Johnson. “That has been in part

influenced by organisations such as

Crossrail putting a requirement for

FORS into their contract clauses. Last

year, TfL decided that the scheme had

grown beyond their remit and they

wanted to let it on a concession basis

because a lot of the operators in FORS

were already operating nationally.

“AECOM, the Chartered Institute

of Logistics and Transport and an

auditing and training company called

Fleet Source came together as a

partnership to deliver the FORS

concession. Last year was very much a

year of bedding things in and getting the

FORS Community Partnership working,

making sure the processes were in place.”

MAY THE

BE WITH YOUFORS

organisations accredited in the FORS scheme


3,600FORS grew quite significantly last

year too. Johnson says the number of

accredited organisations grew by 32%,

bringing the total number to just over

3,600. Of these, around 120 have

achieved gold status.

Organisations wishing to sign up

to the FORS scheme can visit the

website www.fors-online.org.uk where

they can register. Once signed up,

FORS supplies all the information

needed relating to the FORS standard.

There is also a telephone help and

support line for those preparing for

their first bronze audit. “To achieve

that first level of accreditation, it is

very much an on-site audit at the

operator’s premises”, says Johnson.

“To progress to silver and gold, it’s

then a case of an operator supplying

us with evidence. It’s a pretty

thorough audit process, which covers

management, vehicles, drivers and

the operation as a whole. At silver

they actively have to show us evidence

for each of the silver requirements.”

FORS IN CONSTRUCTION

FORS has good representation in the

construction sector, partly because

of the Construction, Logistics and

Cyclists Safety (CLOCS) scheme.

This scheme, designed to deal with the

high proportion of accidents involving

cyclists and heavy goods vehicles in

London, is one of several schemes

aligning their standards to FORS.

Others include the Safer Lorry Scheme

(SLS). A new requirement was included

in the FORS Bronze standard from

October 2014 to align it with the Safer

Lorry Scheme. Without compliance

with SLS, the bronze standard for FORS

cannot be met. SLS makes it mandatory

to fit side under-run protection

equipment and safety mirrors to all

commercial vehicles over 3,500kg.

TfL’s Work Related Road Risk cycle

safety requirements must be met for

all new and existing contracts where

deliveries are made to a TfL site or

premises. This is applicable to

contractors and sub-contractors and it

may be considered a breach of contract if

the WRRR standards are not met. FORS

silver level operators would also meet

the CLOCS and WRRR requirements.

2016 could be the ‘year of the van’ at The

CV Show given Iveco will be the only truck

manufacturer on display and its trucks will

all be on show outside the exhibition halls.

Among the van manufacturers attending will

be Citroen, Fiat, Ford, Isuzu, Iveco, LDV,

Mitsubishi, Peugeot, Renault, Toyota and

Volkswagen. A number of manufacturers will

use the show to launch the latest Euro 6

versions of their vans. Van converters will be

out in force with Bott, Bri-Stor, Rhino, Sortimo,

System Edstrom and Tevo among those taking

stand space.

Visitors can expect to see a number of new

vehicles at the show. Citroen, Peugeot and

Toyota will each be launching a new medium

van at the show, developed jointly between

them. The new vans will replace the Citroen

Dispatch and Peugeot Expert and give Toyota

a new version of the Proace van, launched in

2013. Passenger versions were unveiled at the

recent Geneva Show. The models will all be

available in three body lengths, while crew van

variants are expected too. Deliveries are

expected to begin in autumn 2016.

Besides the new vans, Citroen will also be

launching its Euro 6 engine range and new

conversions for the Relay ‘Ready to Run’

range. These will include a new small plant

carrier, new car transporter and two new crew

vans offering seating for up to five. Citroen will

also be displaying the 2016 Berlingo van

range featuring Euro 6 compliant engines,

as well as two new Berlingo Enterprise

models and a Berlingo Enterprise pack

option. The Berlingo Enterprise models

benefit from additional equipment such

as air conditioning, touchscreen audio,

an alarm, rear parking sensors and a

Bluetooth/USB port connection pack.

Ford will be featuring a new range of Euro 6,

2.0-litre diesel engines to replace the current

2.2-litre engines in the Transit Custom and

2-Tonne models.

Toyota will also be giving the new Hilux pickup

its UK debut. The latest in the line of models

to bear the Hilux name was unveiled at the

recent Geneva Show. Power comes from a new

148hp 2.4-litre diesel engine. The Hilux will

be available with single, extra and double cab

options. Toyota claims it has a stronger ladder

chassis, reinforced deck structure and greater

towing capacity.

Volkswagen will return to the CV Show for the

first time since 2011 and will be launching a

new Converter Recognition programme that

will widen the range of approved conversions

available from the company. Customers will be

able to arrange the conversion through their

VW Van Centre and conversion warranties will

match those of the base vehicle.

VAN TO BE THE MANVAN TO BE THE MAN

PREVIEW

: THE C

V SHOW

WHEN

: APRIL

26-2

8

WHERE: N

EC BIR

MIN

GHAM

WEBSIT

E: WW

W.C

VSHOW.C

OM

You know you are getting older

when younger colleagues are

bemused by your tales of the

‘good old days’ and the fact that some

of us can remember the first EU

referendum! From tales of life before

cash machines and Sunday trading,

when we had regular strikes, the three

day week, and half-day closing, it

struck me that today we live in

different times and we are all very used

to getting what we want, when we

want it and exactly how we want it.

Fast forward to today and we

are managing the expectations of

customers who want their car or

service immediately, in the colour

and specification they want and at the

price they are dictating. Why should

they have to wait? Some recent stats I

caught sight of from Google suggested

that 23% of smartphone activity by

customers on dealership premises was

to research another dealer! We couldn’t

do that back in the day, but it does

place a high and sometimes unrealistic

pressure on you.

So how do you manage the customer

with the crazily high demands?

The customer who has grown up in,

or become used to, the ‘want it now’

culture. And, despite being brought

up in a world when you had to wait

five days for your holiday photographs,

I admit I am now one of those

customers, so I have first-hand

experience of how to manage me.

So how do you manage the demanding

customer? Well, there are three rules

to which you should always adhere:

Communication

There is every opportunity

for busy people to be kept

informed, just ask me what my

preference is: email, as taking a phone

call and playing voicemail ping pong

just annoys me. If you do have to leave

a voicemail make it clear there is no

obligation on the customer to return

the call.

I am writing about all this from

first-hand experience. I had seen the

car of my dreams and my current lease

was expiring in February. I registered

my interest on the website and I was

receiving emails telling me the car had

been launched. Yet when I called the

retailer to ask if they had it yet the

answer was “no – it is on sale but we

won’t see one until next March, so you

can’t test drive it but if you want to

give me a deposit you can secure one”.

What a slap in the chops!

You can’t change the facts – in this

case the car simply wasn’t ready – but

THE BLOW

BUSINESS I MANAGEMENT & LEADERSHIP

Malcolm Miller looks at how to handle demanding customers.

MALCOLM MILLER FIMI IS MANAGING DIRECTOR OF RTS GROUP

Rule number 1. Tell me the truth.

Rule number 2. Give me the solution

and alternatives.

Rule number 3. Keep communicating

with me.

The reason I, and grumpy people

like me, would prefer the truth is that

we are busy and short of the precious

commodity of time. If you can just tell

me straight, offer me a solution and

keep me informed I do not have to

invest any more of my time in solving

the issue. In that way you make an ally.

For each of these steps there are

some words and phrases that may

help you to get your message across.

DON’T FORGET YOUR WORDS

Truth

Always empathise, that

doesn’t mean grovelling,

try just saying the facts.

Solutions

The old adage: always

under-promise and over-deliver

works here. Never be tempted to offer

the impossible. Always begin with

a phrase such as: “What I can do is …”

This is a very powerful phrase as it

says you are on their side, you want to

help and you still want their business;

it says you are owning the problem,

so saving them the problem.

If you do have a solution then say

it simply: “What I can do is to offer

you an alternative or talk with my

team and see if we can find you a

quicker route.”


Cushioning


“If you do have to

leave a voicemail

make it clear there is

no obligation on the

customer to return

the call”

that reply was like a red rag to a bull

and my solution was to buy another

car. If the sales guy had followed the

three step rule above it could have

gone like this:

“The car is ready for launch in March

– I understand that you need a new car

in February and that we are advertising

the car a long time before its launch.

“What I can do is two things: let’s

see if we can find a way to offer you

a temporary car, or failing that make

sure that I let you know as soon as

one is available to test drive anywhere

in the country.

“Demand is high and we would need

to discuss a deposit to secure an order

but I can keep you fully informed of

availability and supply as it changes

– what is best for you, email or phone?”

So there is a way of dealing with

people like me who want everything

immediately. I’d have gone with that

scenario, with the result that I’d have

had my car, and the dealer would have

had the sale.

Barry Cooper explains how a strong financial culture can transform dealer profitability.

The need toSHOW STRENGTH

“Dealer

managers live

and die by their

performance

against budget,

expecting

weekly

forecasts

to measure

performance”

BARRY COOPERIS MANAGING DIRECTOR OF SOFTWARE PROVIDERCOOPER SOLUTIONS

BUSINESS I FINANCE

multi-faceted operations that

require strong financial controls if

they are to improve profit margins

or exceed average profit levels.

EXERTING CONTROL

The fact is, most dealer management

systems enable good financial

controls in day-to-day activities, but

are poor when it comes to comparing

performance to budget on a month

and year-to-date basis.

Dealer managers live and die by

their performance against budget,

expecting weekly forecasts to

measure performance. And as month

end nears, they place as much

emphasis on forecast accuracy as

budget achievement.

DMS companies and manufacturers

do little to help the dealers manage

their performance against budget,

with the latter often placing more

emphasis on IFC (inter-firm

comparisons) which are usually a

month or quarter in arrears, when

the dealer works against budget by

the day, week and month.

However, many dealers are not

helping themselves to be as efficient

as possible in terms of financial

management and forecasting. I

believe that there are still many

smaller, privately owned dealers out

there who are offering world-class

service, despite running with

second-class financial management

processes. The holy grail for such

dealers would be to retain their

strong, service-driven cultures, while

operating their financial controls to

the standard of a PLC.

TEAR-UP THE MANUAL

Our experience in the motor

industry suggests that a surprisingly

high proportion of retailers are still

using manually filled spreadsheets to

record, manage and forecast financial

performance. This is time consuming,

requires further manual intervention

to consolidate and often becomes

a reporting requirement rather

than an operating or department

manager benefit.

It is far better to use a web-based

solution that provides month-to-date

performance versus budget in a

management accounts format at the

click of a mouse. Rather than spending

time producing reports, management

can focus on the data and how they

can add value in the month. Our

experience proves that this type

of shared platform creates a truly

dynamic, real-time reporting solution

that is used by every management

level within the dealership.

Headlines on new car sales or the

turnover of listed dealer groups make

good reading for the business pages

but are a hollow victory for hard

working dealers looking to improve

their profit margins. The industry

needs to stop worrying about external

forces it cannot control and instead

focus on those things it can.

The figures look impressive.

The combined turnover of the

country’s largest 200 dealer

groups is now worth £56.4bn, £4.4bn

up on 2014’s level. Things couldn’t be

better, right? Like many apparently

simple stories though, not all is as it

seems. For whilst turnover and profits

appear to be heading upwards, the

profitability levels among many motor

retailers are surprisingly poor.

Latest industry surveys on financial

performance show that although

certain dealers are achieving profits

in excess of 3%, many are consistently

generating margins of under 1%.

And whilst it might be simpler to

identify a particular type of dealer that

is underperforming – unwieldy, listed

groups or smaller, privately-owned

businesses are obvious contenders

– this is too simplistic an analysis.

So what’s really happening here?

Why does our industry appear to face

such deep seated, structural issues

during the journey to make strong,

sustainable profits?

Manufacturers, almost without

exception, influence volume targets,

subsequent pre-registrations and

ultimately bonus achievement. They

also produce great products, undertake

effective brand management and

generate quality leads. Manufacturers

and retailers undertake vastly

different aspects of the sales and

distribution channel and have to work

together and accept their differences.

The biggest issue all retailers face,

whether privately-owned, part of a

PLC group or stand-alone businesses,

is that they run complicated,


Managing cash flow is a challenge for all businesses whatever the size. Here, Nigel Payne outlines some of the key principles.

BUSINESS I FINANCE

ash is king – as true today as when

the adage was first coined and

particularly relevant for

businesses in the motor industry, whose

cash movements can be huge.

A business that doesn’t exercise good

cash management may struggle to make

investments, may suffer high borrowing

costs or may breach banking covenants.

If negative cash flow persists, a business

could run into cash pressure and,

ultimately, may become insolvent.

Fortunately, motor industry insolvencies

aren’t in the news, and long may this

continue, but is it because we’ve got

better at proactively managing cash?

Most businesses spend much more

time managing profit than cash and,

whilst the two are interrelated, they

are not the same. Profit contributes

to positive cashflow, but doesn’t

guarantee it. Essentially, profit is

revenues less expenses. Some expenses,

like depreciation and goodwill

amortisation, affect profitability but

have no cash impact. Conversely, many

drivers impact cash but have no direct

effect on profitability, for example:

outflows from supplier payments, stockoutflows from supplier payments stock

purchases, capital expenditure, loan

capital repayments, inflows from debt

settlements, stock funding and newly

arranged loans. It follows that good

cash management requires a laser

focus on P&L and on these other drivers.

I won’t discuss profit generation or

expenses control, as most businesses

are very skilful in these areas, so I’ll

look at the other drivers and touch

on stakeholder engagement and

cashflow forecasting.

I don’t advocate early settlement

discounts for debtors or delayed

remittances to trade creditors, except

in extremis. Such actions can be (mis)

interpreted by customers and suppliers

as signs of weakness and have little

positive effect. For example, a

franchised dealer’s largest trade

creditor by far is their manufacturer

partner, who controls the timing of

remittances via direct debits. Extending

other creditors is relatively small beer.

More impactful actions include

liquidating excess stock, ensuring

eligible stock is funded (particularly

any vehicle stocks), undertaking

creditworthiness checks to prevent bad

debts, controlling debtor settlements

within due dates and, if necessary,

renegotiating loan terms to reduce

monthly capital repayments.

HELP IPP SS OUT T THETHETHEEERERRR

This last point is a neat segue into

stakeholder engagement, by which I

mean liaison with shareholders and

key creditors such as the bank, stock

financier and mortgagee. It’s usually

best to keep stakeholders well-informed,

especially about cashflow, although

there will be occasions when discretion

is the better part of valour. If a business

generally performs well, but needs

some financial flexibility, stakeholders

will usually help. HMRC may also assist

via a ‘Time to Pay’ arrangement.

Forecasting cashflow on a monthly

basis informs the business about likely

future balances. This is particularly

important when going through a period

of change e.g. committing to a capital

project, increasing credit sales or,

for motor retailers, undertaking

pre-registration activity. If there’s

a risk of cash pressure, and internal

focus alone will not mitigate the risk,

then a forecast affords time to work

with stakeholders to agree a solution.

t is appreciated by banks

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ire focus. If cash really

yours like a royal visitor:

ake the most of it and

uick to show it the door!


FEATURED COURSE

For more

information on

the courses and

how to book,

please turn to

page 56

CPDLEARN & LOG

Financial Control in SMEsCPD Credit Value 5M £70 +VATNM £85 +VATFormat: E-learning

NIGEL PAYNE

POSITION: AUTOMOTIVE CONSULTANT

LEVEL: FIMI

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BUSINESS I HEALTHCARE

More than one in five people

have a day off work due to

stress and 14 per cent have

actually resigned due to stress,

according to research. It’s a damning

indictment that should raise alarm

bells for employers in the fast-paced

retail motor industry – and any other

industry for that matter. But what

steps can an employer take to help

their employees be at their best?

Far from just a recruitment tool,

employee benefits are recognised as an

effective method of improving staff

morale and retention, and there are a

wide range of health benefits available

to employees to help them maintain

a healthy body and a healthy mind.

One popular option is a healthcare

cash plan, a type of insurance policy

which pays employees tax free cash

back towards everyday healthcare such

as dental treatment, eye tests, glasses

and contact lenses and physiotherapy.

By supporting an employee’s health

and their finances, employers can

help reduce pressures outside of work,

improve their mental wellbeing and,

in turn, boost performance. Here are

four compelling reasons why you can’t

afford to ignore the benefits.

1. Increased productivity

From salespeople in the showroom to

mechanics in a workshop, businesses

RUSS PIPER IS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF SOVEREIGN HEALTH CARE

across all facets of the motor trade

rely on productive workers. According

to research, 93%of businesses believe

that healthier employees are more

productive. Of course it takes more

than a cash plan to ensure

productivity but whatever their role,

health benefits can incentivise

employees, boost morale and

demonstrate an employer’s

commitment to wellbeing.

2. Reduced absence

Reducing absence is often the primary

reason why many businesses offer

employee benefits and it’s easy to see

why. Absence through sickness costs

UK businesses around £16bn, with an

average cost of sickness calculated at

£554 per employee, per year, and an

average annual absence of 6.9 days

per employee. It remains one of the

single biggest threats to productivity

in UK industry.

A cash plan not only helps

employees to afford their everyday

healthcare, it also encourages them to

seek treatment and faster diagnosis

so they can return to work quicker.

3. Value for money

Cash plans offer an affordable and

cost effective way to reward and

support a workforce, giving employees

tax free cash back against the cost of

private or NHS healthcare – and at a

fraction of the cost of private medical

insurance (PMI).

With flexible cover to suit all

budgets offered by most leading

providers, the benefits available to

employees far outweigh the actual cost

of cash plans to employers and the

premiums are classed as a business

expense, and therefore reduce tax.

What’s more, they can deliver

significant savings compared to

putting standalone provisions in place,

giving staff access to a wide range of

benefits under one roof.

4. Healthy bodies, healthy minds

There is more to a cash plan than

simply protecting the physical

wellbeing of employees. Some packages

include an Employee Assistance

Programme (EAP), which offers

confidential support and counselling

on a range of personal or work-related

issues, such as finances, careers, family

or legal issues.

Crucially, with a cash plan staff can

feel supported inside and outside the

workplace. This valuable combination

of financial and emotional support can

help employees through difficult times,

contributing to the overall wellbeing

of the entire workforce – not to

mention helping organisations to meet

their duty of care obligations.

Improving morale and the overall wellbeing of employees is crucial for any business, but particularly those in high pressure environments like sales or customer service.

Russ Piper gives his top four reasons why healthcare cash plans should be on the benefits agenda for all businesses in the retail motor industry.

IN GOOD HEALTH

“According

to research,

93% of

businesses

believe that

healthier

employees

are more

productive”


FEATURE I F&I

2016 is set to be the year when the

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

exerts influence on the way motor

retailers select and prioritise the F&I

(finance and insurance) offering in

their showrooms.

The FCA’s pursuit of “better customer

outcomes” is already being made evident

in its market study of general insurance

add-on sales, including GAP, because

it’s convinced that selling a regulated

insurance product as an add-on often

leads to consumers purchasing products

that are of poor value.

With the changes set to impact the

way every showroom operates, the IMI

is taking the lead to develop an IMI

Accreditation that incorporates the

imminent changes.

Franco Boscarelli, Business Development

Manager at the IMI, commented: “The IMI

F&I Accreditation has been designed with

the help of leading F&I professionals to

measure candidates on a wide range of

competences through a series of practical

and knowledge based tests.

This is a voluntary assessment that will

not only help test industry professionals’

understanding of finance and insurance

products currently on offer to the consumer,

but will offer candidates a unique

opportunity to prove their current

competence. As with all IMI Accreditation,

those taking part will sign the IMI’s Code

of Conduct and, in doing so, pledge their

commitment to ethical behaviour.”

THE INDUSTRY SAYS…

Ruth Goymer, Automotive

Trainer – Conquest Training

“F&I forms an integral part of

the car sales process and with

today’s regulations governed by the FCA

it is essential that dealer staff have the

right skills and competence to articulate

and transact F&I products accurately.

The IMI F&I Accreditation will recognise

excellence, identify any skill gaps and offer

recommendations for further training

and development.

It is an essential programme for the industry,

designed to help eradicate malpractice, offer

a route to evidencing competence and a

platform to raising professional standards

in a fast moving environment.”

André Bozon FIMI,

Business Consultant

“I am very excited to be part of

this work. We live in a changing

world where customers have greater

awareness of their options and the Financial

Conduct Authority is focusing on ensuring

we are treating customers fairly.

Today, there is a lot of uncertainty as to

what customers can expect from the motor

trade, especially in respect of the principles

laid down by the Financial Conduct

Authority. Therefore, it is great to see

the IMI, in conjunction with leading

manufacturers such as Fiat Chrysler

Automotive Services, taking control

of the situation – this will provide dealers

with concrete guidelines to follow.

The ability to sell finance and insurance

is critical to the success of our dealers and

this accreditation should help ensure our

future success.”

Keeley Sherry, Training Manager,

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

Automotive Services

“The IMI Finance and Insurance

Accreditation will illustrate to customers

our recognition of the importance of

a professional and compliant delivery

of our finance and insurance solutions.

This accreditation provides a benchmark

for competent sales people and business

managers to develop throughout their career

in the industry. We are, therefore, pleased

to be the first manufacturer finance company

to deliver this accreditation and will continue

to work closely with the IMI to ensure the

accreditation is achievable and relevant to

the industry – now and in the future.”

Reporting on the development of a ground breaking IMI Accreditation.

INSUR NG SUCCESS

During the car sales process, the sales

executive should establish whether the

customer had taken out an extended

warranty or GAP insurance on the car

they will be trading in to indicate their

likelihood to purchase again.

Cars aged three years and older that have

been through the workshop for

replacement tyres or an MOT test could

have a monthly-payment tyre insurance

or MOT cover quotation left on the driver’s

seat, together with contact details for the

service desk, to appeal to customers

needing to control their budget.

Use the dealership’s website and social

media accounts to educate and inform

customers of the variety and role of

different add-on insurance products,

from cosmetic repair cover to GAP,

that are available from the dealership.

THREE TIPS FOR SELLING ADD-ON INSURANCE


Anyone who carries out statutory

road worthiness tests (MOTs) on

behalf of the Secretary of State for

Transport must be authorised to do so by

the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency

(DVSA). The DVSA is responsible for

administering the MOT scheme on behalf

of the UK government.

Up until now any prospective new MOT

testers have to be working in an MOT test

centre and be nominated by the authorised

examiner. They then attend a three day

DVSA course and have to pass a short

multiple choice test. Testers then apply

to the DVSA, which comes out to observe

them carrying out an MOT test.

Currently all authorised examiners

(a person or a company) must have an

authorised examiner designated manager

(AEDM), more commonly known as an MOT

manager. This is the person with overall

accountability for the MOT testing service

provided in an authorised vehicle testing

station (VTS). Before being authorised to

run testing stations, they have to attend

a two day DVSA course and pass a short

multiple choice test.

The DVSA wishes to raise the standards

and professionalism within the sector, while

making MOT testing more accessible. It is

working closely with the IMI to ensure new

qualifications are developed to provide

all MOT testers and managers with the

necessary skills to carry out their role.

NEW QUALIFICATION IN THE OFFING

From September 2016 all new MOT

testers will have to complete a regulated

qualification at a training centre

approved by an awarding organisation

such as the IMI. The qualification will

incorporate a minimum of 24 guided

learning hours of which eight must be

practical. Testers will also need to pass a

practical test and online knowledge exam

under controlled conditions.

All prospective MOT managers will have

to complete a regulated qualification at a

training centre approved by an awarding

organisation. The qualification will include

a controlled knowledge exam – likely to be

an online multiple-choice test. Holders of

the qualification can apply to DVSA to

become an AEDM.

One significant change to the process is

that anyone meeting the pre-requisites will

be able to attend the MOT tester course and

gain the regulated qualification. This opens

up opportunities for those in the vehicle

maintenance and repair sector who have not

previously worked within an MOT test

centre to gain the qualification and apply

to be an MOT tester with the DVSA.

The IMI, along with other awarding

organisations, is engaged with the DVSA to

run a pilot in three phases beginning from

April 2016. This will incorporate MOT testers

for classes 1 and 2, 4 and 7 and MOT

MOT-EAMWORKRevealing the collaboration between the IMI and the DVSA which is set to increase professionalism in the MOT sector.

managers. The pilots are being tightly

controlled and supported by the DVSA,

and no other centres can get involved at this

stage. From September, the qualifications

will be widely available for IMI-approved

centres to offer.

From April 2016, to maintain MOT tester

status, all current and new MOT testers will

be required to record a minimum of sixteen

hours training over a rolling five year period.

This must include a minimum of three hours

per year and an online annual assessment.

The IMI will provide approved centres with

a training and assessment solution based

upon DVSA requirements. The IMI is also

developing flexible eLearning resources

to keep industry costs down.

For information on the changes visit:

www.theimi.org.uk/mot

FEATURE I MOT


RESIGNATION

LEGAL LINK

Firstly, it is important to be clear on whether

you are buying the shares in another company

or you are buying the business and assets as

a going concern. If you are buying a company which

owns the other garage then the normal rules on fair

redundancies will apply. You will still need to follow

a fair procedure and it may be tricky making their

staff redundant if you are going to redeploy one of

your own employees to work in that garage.

However, if you are buying the business as a

going concern then it is likely that the Transfer

of Undertakings (Protection of Employment)

Regulations 2006 (TUPE) will apply. The TUPE

Regulations protect the employment rights of the

employees who are transferring. Their continuity

of employment will be preserved and they will have

the right not to have their terms and conditions

of employment altered to their detriment (any such

changes would be legally void). Any dismissal of a

transferring employee will be unfair if the reason

for the dismissal is the transfer itself, although

an employee still needs to have two years’ service

to bring such an unfair dismissal claim. If a dismissal

is for an “economic, technical or organisational

reason entailing changes in the workforce” then

you may be able to justify redundancies, but it will

not be easy on the facts as described.

The TUPE Regulations are one of the most complex

areas of employment law and it is recommended

that you seek specialist advice before you consider

dismissing any employees who may have transferred

to you under TUPE.

Don’t forget... as an IMI member

you receive 45 minutes of FREE

legal advice and a further 15%

discount on any future consultation

with Taylor&Emmet.

For more membership benefits

turn to page 54.

HELPLINE

FEATURE I LEGAL CLINIC

MY IMI Legal and Sales CPD courses, page 56

MEMBERBENEFIT

QUESTION

I am buying another garage in the nearby

town because the owner is retiring.

It employs five members of staff but I

don’t really need all of them as I will be

working there myself and bringing across

one of my own technicians to work from

their site. Is this simply a case of making

redundancies?

David Poddington of solicitors Taylor&Emmet LLP, the firm behind

the IMI Legal Link helpline, highlights questions recently received.

It sounds like his request would be

considered to be a “data subject access

request” under the Data Protection

Act 1998. Any person can make such

a request of an organisation which

is a “data controller” and which holds

personal data about the person. This

could certainly include an ex-employee.

You are entitled to request that the

former employee pays £10 to cover your

administration costs and it would be

prudent to request that he provides

identification documents to be sure

that you are providing data to the right

person. You then have a maximum of

40 days to provide the personal data.

Personal data means data which

relates to a living individual who can

be identified from the data or from

the data and other information which

is in your possession. It includes

any expression of opinion about

the employee and any indication

of your intentions in respect of him.

Personal data about the employee

which you hold within your computer

systems or in a relevant filing system,

such as their own personnel file, may

well have to be disclosed to them.

However, you may not need to

disclose all personal data. There

are exemptions such as information

regarding your negotiations with

them and legal advice you may have

received. You also need to be careful

that you are not disclosing the

personal data of another employee

in replying to the request. For

example, sometimes other parties

to an email can be redacted.


I have been in dispute with an employee who resigned from his

job four months ago after having only been employed for nine

months. The dispute concerns sales commissions which he says

are owed to him. He has now written to me requesting a copy

of his personnel file and all emails and other documents

which relate to him. Do I have to send him these documents?

QUESTION


The main risk is that a consumer

buying a car online always has a

right to cancel their order before

delivery and also after delivery during

a ‘cooling-off’ period (previously seven

working days). This right to cancel

applies even if there is nothing wrong

with the car. Historically, many

potential online dealers were put-off

by the losses that they might incur if

a consumer exercises this cancellation

right during the cooling-off period after

delivery. There were anecdotal stories of

consumers purchasing a new car online,

driving it around for a week or so

and then exercising their legal right

to cancel and so getting a full refund

of the purchase price paid. Meanwhile,

the dealer is left with a substantial loss

as the resale value of the now used car

is far less than the refund paid.

Under the Consumer Contracts

(Information, Cancellation and

Additional Charges) Regulations 2013,

which came into force in June 2014,

the cooling-off period of seven working

days was extended to fourteen days

after delivery.

There was, however, some good

news for dealers under these

regulations: the dealer was given the

right to reduce the refund to reflect any

loss in value of the car as a result of its

use. This means that if the consumer

exercises the right to cancel during the

cooling-off period, the dealer need only

refund the resale value and not the

purchase price. This makes selling

cars online much more attractive.

CRUCIAL TO BE CORRECT

However, there is a major potential

sting in the tail: the dealer only gets

the right to pay the reduced refund if,

in the first place, the dealer has given

the correct legal information to the

SAFE CYBER SELLINGSimon Bates looks at the laws associated with selling cars online.

consumer about the right to cancel.

Worse still, failure to give the

correct legal information extends the

cooling-off period by twelve months.

Consequently, where an online

dealer fails to give the correct legal

information, a consumer could buy

online, drive the car for twelve

months, cancel, return the car and

be entitled to a full refund. The value

of the returned car will, of course,

be significantly less than the refund.

The correct legal information which

the dealer must give is set out in the

regulations and includes information

relating to the conditions, time limits

and procedures for exercising the right

of cancellation. Giving the correct legal

information is harder than it sounds.

A report by unofficial consumer

champion moneysavingexpert.com

in March revealed numerous well

known high street brands were giving

incorrect time limits and procedures

for the return of online purchases.

This may not have material financial

consequences when it comes to, say,

a pair of jeans, but when it comes

to a car, as can be seen above,

the financial consequence of

giving incorrect information

can be severe.

Remember that these

regulations apply when the

consumer simply changes their

mind even if there is nothing

wrong with the car. Different rules

apply if there is a defect with the car.

If you are looking to sell online, it is

vital to ensure that your website, terms

and confirmatory emails are legally

checked to ensure that you are giving

the correct legal information. Do not

just rely on copying your competitors’

documents and websites. They could

well be wrong! These regulations

are extremely technical and, as

moneysavingexpert.com has demonstrated,

it is easy to make an expensive mistake

in implementing them.

SIMON BATES IS DIRECTOR AT JORDANS CORPORATE LAW


“...failure to

give the

correct legal

information

extends the

cooling-off

period by

twelve

months”


ast month IMI Magazine

reported on a Bolton

dealership which sold a

rare Porsche 911 GT3 RS4 model

to a different customer from the

one whom it had already received

the required deposit and signed

vehicle order form from.

The case found its way to

court and perhaps unsurprisingly

the dealership ended up paying

multiple thousands in costs

and damages.

Many will think it is obvious

when a contract is in place what

the terms of it are but it is

actually quite common for those

terms and conditions, which you

thought applied, to be varied by

email, telephone conversations

or even your actions. This may

result in you being bound by

an agreement that does not

reflect your standard terms

and conditions.

FEATURREEEE II LEGAGAL CLINICIC

Don’t be CAUGHT IN A TRAP

David Stedman looks at the simple steps a dealer can take to avoid being caught in a contractual bind.

DAVID STEDMAN IS A LAWYER SPECIALISING IN CLASSIC CAR LITIGATION AT CLARKE WILMOTT

Dealers should follow these tips

which may avoid contractual traps:

1. Ensure any documents and other

communication is clear and

accurately reflects your intentions.

2. Make sure you know what any

terms and conditions or other

documents oblige you (and the

customer) to do.

3. If in doubt, ask a solicitor to look

over your terms and conditions to

ensure that they have the legal

effect that you want them to.

4. Be careful not to alter well

drafted terms and conditions

through your actions: verbal and

written statements can form part

of the contractual terms.

5. Ensure that what you are saying

is consistent with your terms and

conditions. In this case, Porsche’s

terms and conditions gave the

dealer discretion not to fulfil

orders it received. This could have

enabled it to sell the vehicle to the

other customer before Mr Hughes

without breaking the contract.

However, this clause did not help

the dealer because it had made

later assurances to Mr Hughes that

if the car was allocated to the

dealership it would be sold to him.

6. Remember that you don’t need to

sign anything at all to create a

legally binding contract. A contract

can also exist even if certain

important aspects of a contract

remain unspecified (such as price,

specification and delivery).

7. Have polices in place when

offering rare or specialist cars to

potential purchasers. Think about

what you want to achieve: do you

want the customer to enter into a

binding contract or a non-binding

expression of interest, or

something in between?

8. Make sure you know exactly

what the customer wants to

achieve. Do they want to commit to

buying or are they simply

expressing interest or wanting to

secure a first option to purchase?

9. Simply inviting an ‘expression of

interest’ will not necessarily mean

that a binding contract can’t form.

Do not over rely on the seemingly

natural meaning of the terminology

used if your conduct or other

communication suggests

something else.

10. Porsche thought Mr Hughes

would resell the vehicle to make a

profit, which was in breach of its

policy. If you have any policies like

this they should be catered for

appropriately in your terms and

conditions so that they can be

enforced if necessary. Ask a

solicitor whether such policies

are legally binding or easily

enforceable.

TEN TIPS TO AVOID TRAPS

“Ensure any

documents

and other

communication

is clear and

accurately

reflects your

intentions”


Simon Whiteshares his inson the legalitcommission aholiday pay.

The story began when Mr Lock,

a sales consultant at British

Gas Trading Limited, brought

a claim for lost holiday pay. Like many

sales consultants, Mr Lock was paid

a basic salary plus commission (the

latter forming approximately 60% of

his actual pay). Although he received

holiday pay, this was based on his

basic salary only. While he was on

holiday, Mr Lock was unable to earn

commission. He therefore suffered

financially in the months following

his holiday.

Thinking this unfair, Mr Lock

brought a claim based on lost holiday

pay before a UK employment tribunal.

UK legislation establishes a

worker’s right to 5.6 weeks’ annual

leave. Holiday pay is paid in line with

UK rules based around calculating

one week’s pay. The UK legislation

was intended to implement EU

legislation which gives EU workers

the right to at least four weeks’ paid

annual leave.

The UK tribunal asked for the

European Court of Justice (ECJ)’s

views on how the EU legislation

should be read. It confirmed that

holiday pay should include an

element to cover the commission

a worker would normally earn.

If it didn’t, someone who depended

on that commission (like Mr Lock)

would suffer financially when he

or she went on holiday. This would

discourage the taking of annual

leave, which was contrary to the

objectives of the EU legislation.

The ECJ left the question of

calculating Mr Lock’s actual holiday

pay to the national courts. The case

returned to the UK employment

tribunal which had to first decide

whether UK law could be “interpreted”

in line with the ECJ’s ruling.

It ruled that it could. This required

some judicial creativity (adding

words into the UK legislation).

British Gas appealed this decision,

however, the Employment Appeals

Tribunal (EAT) dismissed the appeal.

It agreed with the employment

tribunal that UK legislation could

be interpreted in a way which is in

conformity with EU Law. British Gas

has sought permission to take its

case to the Court of Appeal – so this

isn’t over yet.

WHAT NOW?

Currently, the law states that

commission should be included when

calculating holiday pay. But this could

change depending upon whether British

Gas is allowed permission to appeal.

If there’s an appeal it’s likely to

be some time before this is heard. The

many cases that have been waiting for

a conclusion, may well remain 'on hold'.

If there’s no appeal the case will

go back to the employment tribunal

to progress to a full merits hearing.

It’s at this point that we may get some

answers to key questions such as

‘what is the correct reference period

for calculating [Mr Lock’s/an

employee’s] holiday pay?’

In the meantime employers may

wish to “wait and see”. It’s certainly

time to take stock: looking at how the

inclusion of commission in holiday pay

will impact on financials etc., whether

any back-claims are anticipated and

whether the time versus cost balancing

exercise favours limiting commission

to the four-week period required by

this line of cases, or whether a blanket

approach across all of the holiday

entitlement would be best.

SIMON WHITEHEAD IS PARTNER AT HRC LAW

“Currently, the

law states that

commission

should be

included when

calculating

holiday pay”

head sights ies of

and

Holiday BLUES


Auto enrolment was introduced

by the UK government just over

three years ago. In that time

six million workers have been auto

enrolled into a pension scheme and

started saving for their retirement.

But it’s not over yet. Over the next

three years 1.8 million small

employers, including those with

just one or two workers, will need

to comply with their new duties.

That means auto enrolment could be

coming to you soon – are you ready?

We know from our research that

support for auto enrolment is high,

with 86 per cent of small and 75 per

cent of micro employers saying that in

principle it’s a good idea. For many of

these employers however, workplace

pensions are unknown territory and

complying with these duties may

seem daunting. If you aren’t sure what

auto enrolment means for you and

your business, so here are some of

the most commonly asked questions.

Why was auto enrolment introduced?

People in the UK today can expect

to live longer than ever before.

The number of retired people will rise

by more than a third by 2050 but

millions of workers aren’t saving

enough for retirement. In 2008 the

government introduced new pension

laws to get more people saving for

their retirement. The idea is to give

them access to a workplace pension

scheme so they don’t have to rely

on just the state pension.

How will it affect me and my workers?

These new laws mean that all UK

employers will need to automatically

enrol their eligible workers into

a qualifying pension scheme and

make contributions on their behalf.

An eligible worker is aged between

22 and 65, earning over £10,000 and

working in the UK. Some workers that

don’t meet these criteria can ask to

join and their employer will have

to offer them a pension too.

After they join, workers will be

able to put money from their pay into

a retirement pot that will be ready

for them later in life. Most workers

will also be entitled to a contribution

from their employer and from the

government. Workers can choose to

opt out if they don’t want to save into

a pension, but so far opt out levels

are low at 10% nationally.

Employers can find out when they’ll

be affected by visiting The Pensions

Regulator’s website and searching

for ‘staging date calculator’.

Getting ready for auto enrolment

Once you’ve chosen your pension

provider, there are often several routes

you can take to set up and manage auto

enrolment. With NEST, for example,

employers can sign up themselves using

the NEST website. Alternatively, there

Paul Budgen explains why small employers need to keep on top of the auto enrolment pension scheme.

are accountants, IFAs and business

advisers that employers can turn to for

help. Employers may also be able to set

up and manage auto enrolment from

within their payroll system. Check with

your payroll provider to see if it has an

auto enrolment or NEST option.

How much will it cost to set up

and manage?

Charges vary depending on who you

choose as your pension provider.

NEST was set up by the government

so is free for employers to use and

open to everyone.

How are other small employers

coping with auto enrolment?

We looked at the experiences of small

and micro employers and found that

they are setting up auto enrolment with

little cause for concern. In fact, there

are signs that smaller employers may

find it easier than the larger, more

experienced employers. This may be

because their worker set-up is much

less complex, with one group of workers

paid at the same time. We also found

that during the initial set up process

small employers said they called us

about half as much as larger employers.

And a large majority (72 per cent) say

they expect to rarely or never have to

call NEST in the future. This indicates

that smaller employers are facing auto

enrolment head on and finding the

process straightforward.

Enrol WITH IT

PAUL BUDGEN IS HEAD OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AT THE UK WORKPLACE PENSION SCHEME, NEST

“Workers can

choose to opt

out if they don’t

want to save

into a pension,

but so far opt

out levels are

low at 10%

nationally”



STARTING FROM A BLANK PIECE

OF PAPER, HOW DO YOU GO ABOUT

CONSTRUCTING A WARRANTY?

All of our warranties are white label

products, so initially it is a question

of talking to the client – be they

manufacturer, dealer group or independent

– about what they want to provide and

then researching how to deliver it.

To do this, we look at our data covering

the profiles of their customers and the

vehicles they drive, as well as taking advice

from our customer care and claims teams.

From there, we are able to calculate the

cost of providing cover. There is always

a balance between affordability and level

of cover – a ten-year-old vehicle could

potentially be given the same kind of cover

as a new one but it would probably cost

more than the windscreen price of the car.

WARRANTING YOUR ATTENTIONWith warranties an integral part of customer retention, IMI Magazine conducts a revealing

Q&A with The Warranty Group on the art of warranty provision and the health of the sector.

HOW HAS THE WARRANTY MARKET

EVOLVED IN RECENT YEARS?

The main trend has been the lengthening

of new car warranties to first three then

sometimes five and seven years. Because we

work in the used car sector, this means the

average age of car we cover has gradually

increased although a parallel development

– that the increased reliability of all cars is

leading most to have a longer life – means

that our potential market has grown rather

than shrunk.

DO YOU FEEL INCREASED COMPETITION

IN THE MARKET HAS IMPROVED SERVICE

OR LESSENED IT?

In virtually all markets, competition works

to the benefit of the customer and warranties

are no exception. In recent years, we have

seen – across the board – ongoing

improvements in customer service levels

especially surrounding the claims experience.

The most recent of these from The Warranty

Group is to offer warranties and process

claims online.

DO YOU THINK THE SECTOR HAS AN

IMAGE PROBLEM AMONG CONSUMERS?

At a fundamental level, the fact that few

consumers would consider buying a used car

without a warranty indicates that they trust

the overall proposition implicitly and have

probably had a good claims experience in

the past.

Also, on a company level, we have an

excellent reputation as can be seen from

the quality of partner that chooses to work

with us such as the RAC, Toyota and Honda.

The fact is that 95% of people say they are

happy with the service we provide.

FEATURE I WARRANTIES


There are sometimes stories about motor

warranties on consumer affairs programmes

on radio and TV, and these create noise, but

they tend to be very much isolated instances.

SOME VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS NOW

MAKE UNLIMITED MILEAGE WARRANTIES

STANDARD, EVEN FOR TAXI DRIVERS?

WOULD YOU CONSIDER THIS?

Yes, of course. As with any warranty,

it is question of what the cover would cost.

It is worth pointing out, however, that other

motorists with the same cover but driving

fewer miles would effectively be subsidising

a handful of taxi drivers in this scenario.

For this reason, specialist taxi warranties

are available in the market.

WHAT SORT OF THINGS MAY WE BE

SURPRISED TO HEAR YOU COVER?

It depends on the specific warranty but we have

some products that cover key fob batteries and

others that cover hybrid batteries.

WEAR AND TEAR APPEARS NOT TO BE

COVERED IN A LOT OF INDEPENDENT

WARRANTY PROVIDER OFFERINGS.

WHY NOT?

Again it comes back to the balance between

cost and cover. If you are a customer in the

market for a 5-8-year-old car, for example,

then our research will tell us what amount

you would consider reasonable to pay for

a warranty. This amount may effectively

preclude cover for wear and tear on certain

items although it should be pointed out that

we – and almost all warranty providers – offer

products with different levels of cover. We

undertake research carefully to understand

what customers would like covered at each

price point and make the features of each

product as easy to understand as possible.

WHAT MAKES THE WARRANTY GROUP

AN ATTRACTIVE OPTION FOR GROUPS

LOOKING FOR A PROVIDER?

As both the administrator and underwriter

for the warranty, we are probably in a unique

position in the UK to construct warranty

products. We have invested heavily in systems

and customer service, so our administration

is, we believe, industry leading – while our

underwriting experience may be unrivalled

not only in the UK, but worldwide.

We see our role very much as not just selling

warranties but creating products that help our

clients retain customers through delivering

excellent levels of customer satisfaction.

DO YOU FEEL THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE

MORE TRANSPARENCY IN THE ORIGINAL

SALES PROCESS SO THAT MOTORISTS

KNOW YOU, NOT THE VM, IS THE

WARRANTY PROVIDER?

Where we work with a manufacturer,

we are always the administrator rather than

the underwriter and are therefore not the

warranty provider. This is made clear in

all of the documentation provided.

WHAT IS THE TYPICAL APPROACH TO

RESOLVING A CLAIM AND WILL YOU

ALWAYS SEND OUT A MEMBER OF THE

TEAM TO GATHER EVIDENCE?

The claims process is very much how we are

measured by the customer and so we put a

lot of effort into ensuring it works as well as

possible. Our systems allow us to respond to

claims where further evidence is not required

within a two-hour window and typically

about 83% are accepted in this way. The

remainder are normally responded to within

24 hours. Assessors are usually only required

to make a visit in fewer than 5% of claims.

This does normally add to the time required

to complete the claim but the time taken is

normally days rather than weeks.

WITH MORE AND MORE NEW CARS BEING

PURCHASED THROUGH FINANCE, HOW DO

YOU FORESEE THE FUTURE OF THE SECTOR?

With the rise of PCPs in both the new and

the used car sector, there is a definite trend

towards what you might describe as fixed

cost, pay monthly motoring. We see motorists

buying a used car PCP over perhaps three

years also opting for a three-year warranty

and a three-year service plan. We have just

introduced a hybrid service plan-warranty

product, partially to meet this need.

FEATURE I WARRANTIES

As The Warranty Group’s answers

make clear, the process it undertakes

to develop a warranty is scientific by

nature: precise and nuanced

measurements based on a range of

differing factors. The result of this

risk-based alchemy can often be a

potent potion with which dealers can

retain custom over many years;

certainly the pairing of a warranty

and service plan in the one product is

a sensible progression in the ongoing

fight to keep customers coming back.

However, I have two problems. Firstly

I don’t subscribe to the idea of

‘competition’ being the panacea for

improved service: often far from

increasing innovation and product

quality it just drives down price –

concomitant to poorer product and

service. Secondly, specific to the

warranty market there is an

argument that says the more layered,

conditioned and tailored a product is,

instead of becoming better for the

customer it actually provides more

means for the provider to evade

payment. It would be interesting to

see how successful a company was

which simply said name your time

period and we will cover the cost of

any repair (subject to customer

adherence to the servicing schedule)

that goes wrong throughout the

duration of cover. I am sure providers

would counter that this is naïve,

impractical and open to exploitation

and would result in a level of

premium that would dissuade

buyers. However, speaking with a

consumer hat on, that would be a

product I would buy. So perhaps,

in conclusion, whilst The Warranty

Group’s professional excellence is

not in question, perhaps the warranty

sector could benefit from a little less

science and a little more simplicity.

Editor says


To join the debate on any of the issues raised in the magazine,

you can email me at [email protected], tweet me

@IMIeditor or join the IMI’s LinkedIn group discussion page. I look forward to

hearing from you.


The entire automotive

marketplace has been in a

sustained period of growth

with new and used car markets

performing strongly in 2015. New car

registrations in 2015 hit their highest

levels since 2008 with more than

2.6 million new cars, representing the

fourth consecutive year of growth.

The used car market has also been

riding high with almost 7.2 million

transactions in 2014, a figure likely

to be exceeded in 2015, as more used

cars that are one to two years old

would have entered the market.

These clear signs of high consumer

confidence suggest that any lasting

effects the recession may have had on

today’s car buyer are at best minimal,

with 64% of UK motorists surveyed

in Auto Trader’s Market Report –

a survey of 5,000 consumers –

predicting that in the next six months

the economic situation will either

remain the same or improve.

So what should dealerships be

focusing on in 2016 to make the most

of this uplift in consumer sentiment

and rise in car sales? There are four

key areas:

FEFEFEFEFFFEFEATATATATATATTTTTATTTATURRRRURURRURRURURURREEEEEEEEEEEEEE I DEDDDEALALERRER SSSTRRTRATATEGEGEGEGEGEGGEGEGEGGGYYYYY

Following its recent market report, Auto Trader

provides a strategy which dealers can follow to

improve their chances of commercial success in 2016.

• Forecourt mix – getting the

balance right

• Finance – how it fuels consumer

aspirations

• Marketing – rise of the online retailer

• Consumer trends – death of haggling

1. FORECOURT

Ensuring the right mix

Getting this right ensures you have

cars with strong appeal to consumers

at competitive prices, so what are the

new trends to be aware of? Firstly,

according to the SMMT, new car

registrations marked a significant rise

in hybrid and alternative-fuelled cars,

with demand for them rising 40%

and and taking nearly 3% of the

market share in 2015. Evidence

suggests, however, that much of this

growth is driven by the fleet market

as company car drivers look to drive

down their tax bills.

Alternatively-fuelled vehicles seem

to be holding their used value well,

however, according to the Auto Trader

Retail Price Index. Consumers may

be considering them for reduced

ownership costs rather than

environmental considerations

though. According to Auto Trader’s

recent market report only 9% of those

surveyed considered their carbon

footprint when buying their last car.

FINANCE

10%GROWTH IN

POINT OF SALES

CONSUMER NEW CAR FINANCE

(2014-2015)

ENVIRONMENT

9%OF THOSE

SURVEYED CONSIDERED

CARBON FOOTPRINT

IN PURCHASE DECISION

FORECOURT SUCCESS


There are regional differences with

19% of recent car buyers in London

revealing they did think about

reducing their carbon footprint.

This drops significantly outside

of the capital with only 3% in the

South East and Wales saying they

thought about reducing emissions

when purchasing their next car,

while not a single consumer in

East Anglia considered it.

The scandal surrounding

Volkswagen’s cars and the fitting of

‘cheat’ devices did seem to have an

effect on new car sales with a 13.9%

decrease year-on-year in January

2016 according to SMMT figures.

Average used VW prices, however,

remained relatively unchanged

according to Auto Trader’s Retail Price

Index. Consumer appetite for the

affected models didn’t wane either,

as online classified advert views on

Auto Trader showed stable results

across the board for a recent six

month period (Aug 2015-Jan 2016).

Any retailer, however, should

always leverage data to run its

business to help ensure it buys

desirable stock for its area, at

the right price and to sell it for

market value.

2. FINANCE

Fuelling car buying aspirations

The rise in new car sales has been

mirrored by a rise in finance packages

being sold to facilitate their purchase.

The Finance and Leasing Association

(FLA) reported a 10% growth in 2015

compared to 2014 in point of sale

consumer new car finance. For used

car finance it was up 9% year-on-year.

Cheap finance deals have inspired

many car buyers to upgrade their

search to more expensive brands.

Premium models make up half of

Auto Trader’s most viewed online

car adverts over a recent six-month

period (August 2015 – January 2016),

with BMW’s 3 Series taking the

number one spot. Looking at the top

ten most viewed cars for the same

period there are two other BMWs

(1 and 5 Series), Mercedes-Benz

C-Class and Audi’s A3. It’s clear

consumers’ car-buying aspirations

have risen and affordable finance is

enabling car buyers to realise them.

FEATURE I DEALER STRATEGY

HAGGLING

56%OF CAR BUYERS

PAID ASKING PRICE OR MORE

ONLINE

RETAILERS

11 THE NUMBER

OF HOURS SPENT BY CONSUMERS RESEARCHING A CAR PURCHASE

3. MARKETING

Rise of the online retailer

Increasingly car dealers are becoming

online retailers. It reflects consumer

behaviour as car buyers conducted

nearly 11 hours of research online

choosing the exact vehicle that’s right

for them. This shift online has created

a ‘digital forecourt’, which allows

consumers to make their car buying

decision long before visiting a

physical dealership.

Dealers need to operate as digital

retailers to adapt to these changes

including implementing multi-channel

approaches so the on- and off-line

experiences for consumers are

consistent and meet the needs

of today’s car buyers.

4. CONSUMER TRENDS

Death of haggling

Strange as it may seem one of the key

features of car buying is disappearing

from showrooms. Auto Trader’s

market report revealed that 56%

of car buyers they surveyed claimed

they have paid the asking price or

more. The majority of consumers

simply don’t haggle over price.

The reasons are down to price

transparency and the increased use

of mobile devices by consumers to

continue their research right up to

the point of purchase. Across all age

groups, 14% of all those surveyed

had used a mobile device while on

the forecourt to fact check, and 80%

of those did so to check a car price.

With 66% of those surveyed saying

they will use a mobile in future when

at a dealership, it’s clear smartphones

will increasingly play a more integral

role in the car buying process. So

consumers are more likely to benefit

from online price transparency

by knowing what price to pay for

their next car.

With more consumers becoming

increasingly informed on what to pay

for their next car, they are being met by

more car retailers adopting market-led

pricing strategies to sell more cars

in light of this trend. It’s why on an

average day, Auto Trader sees over

11,000 vehicles repriced on its website,

as car sellers adjust their prices to

improve the potential of a sale.

Average used car price by fuel type

SEGMENT ADVERTISED AUG-JAN 2015

ADVERTISED AUG-JAN 2016

AVERAGE PRICE CHANGE

A MINI £3,939 £4,384 -£445 -10.10%

B SUPERMINI £5,086 £5,280 -£194 -3.70%

C LOWER MEDIUM £6,498 £6,465 £34 0.50%

D UPPER MEDIUM £7,132 £7,034 £98 1.40%

E EXECUTIVE £9,802 £9,678 £124 1.30%

F LUXURY SALOON £28,255 £27,065 £1,190 4.40%

G SPECIALIST SPORTS £27,315 £23,507 £3,808 16.20%

H DUAL PURPOSE £13,446 £12,848 £598 4.70%

I MULTI-PURPOSE VEHICLE £6,748 £6,861 -£113 -1.60%

PETROL

DIESEL

£10,000

£9,900

£9,800

£9,700

£9,600

AUG 15 SEP 15 OCT 15 NOV 15 DEC 15 JAN 16 17-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+

AGE

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

10%

67%

33%

69%

31%

57%

42%

48%51%

35%

65%

46%

54%

PAID THE ASKING PRICE OR MORE

NEGOTIATED ON PRICE

PE

RC

EN

TA

GE

OF

CA

R B

UY

ER

S

The death of haggling: negotiating price

Used car average price changes


FEATURE I PARTS DISTRIBUTION

As existing market leaders

and new players continually

introduce initiatives to tighten

prices and reduce delivery times, fastest

and cheapest have very much become

the buzzwords across the automotive

parts distribution landscape.

However, despite this backdrop,

there is still an opportunity for the

most customer-centric organisations

to flourish.

This is not a naïve stance. It is

a given that speed and cost will

always be hugely significant factors

– particularly on mass-market parts.

That said, in every industry there is

a demand for a high quality product,a demand for a high quality product,

specialist expertise and exceptional

customer service.

The challenge is to find the

customers that appreciate this added

value (often those who pass the same

benefits on to their customers) then

work hard to find out what challenges

they face and what support will help

them build a better business. Equally

crucial is delivering it, every time.

That could be a technical helpline,

product support materials, technological

innovations or simply a more personal

service. There is no single answer,

the key is two-way communication

– finding out the obstacles they face

in their day-to-day operations and

investing heavily to develop and

deliver solutions to these headaches.deliver solutions to these headaches.

Then once you have something,

keep working at it to improve it.

By placing the customer at the heart

of everything it does, a parts supplier

can make a positive difference to

many elements of their customers’

businesses; providing levels of service

and support that cannot be met by

companies solely focused on lowest

possible prices or fastest possible

delivery time: services that can help

take the hassle away from the workshop

manager so he or she can focus on

running an efficient operation.

THE TRUE MEANING OF

CUSTOMER-CENTRIC

Keep it personal – build a

relationship, learn what our

customers need and use technology

to fulfil information needs (help with

queries, identifying the correct part

and providing technical support).

Make their job of repairing the car

easier and more professional.

Not every supplier can be the

fastest but they must invest to

continually improve logistics.

Ensure the part is easily identifiable,

readily available and distributable

in the shortest possible timeframe.

Storing parts closer to the customer

with a cost efficient delivery partner

is vital for sustainability.

With the market ever more

competitive, it is also important to

consolidate and leverage purchasing

power to achieve the lowest possible

sourcing costs.

Branding and reputation are also

key to sustained success, enabling

a parts supplier to stand out with

a recognisable difference from the

competition. Bold and impactful

branding can help with ongoing

recognition while establishing and

retaining a reputation for quality

and fitability will create positive

pull-through from workshops.

Diversification – in terms of both

products and services – helps to stave

off the ever-chasing pack. Incorporate

new services that workshops need

and are not readily available from all

mass-market suppliers. Try to become

a convenient and reliable ‘one stop’

shop for all parts related business and

continually reinvest in systems and

new functionality across the business

to the benefit of the customer.

It is also fundamental to keep

CORIN RICHARDS IS ORIO UK MANAGING DIRECTOR

Orio UK Managing Director, Corin Richards, assesses the current parts distribution landscape in the UK and identifies great opportunities for suppliers to provide added value for their customers’ businesses.

The customer: THE KEY PART


FEATURE I PARTS DISTRIBUTION

pace with industry technology and

manufacturer practices – such as the

complexity of diagnostics and the

increasing use of unique electronic

control units. And on the subject of

innovation, look to provide a range of

services to independent garages to help

improve the efficiency and functionality

of their business and differentiate in

what they can do for their customers.

For example, our parts ordering system

can now generate a detailed quote

(including parts and labour) for any

job, on any vehicle – saving time,

increasing efficiency and being

more professional all-round.

THE ORIO DIFFERENCE

To date at Orio, our stand out and

unique point of difference has always

been clear. We are the exclusive

supplier of Saab genuine parts. With

175,000 Saab vehicles still on UK

roads, this has always provided a

strong niche. Born out of Saab GB in

2012, Orio has historically distributed

Saab Original parts through a network

of franchised workshops with orders

picked and dispatched from the global

warehouse in Nykoping (Eastern

Sweden near Stockholm).

However, with vehicles no longer

in production, the Saab parc will

inevitably dwindle and we have

recognised the need to significantly

enhance our parts distribution model.

Initially we have had to work smarter –

striving to retain contact with as many

of those vehicles as possible.

Going forward, Orio would like to

forge a new identity and reputation,

with quality, reliability, choice and

customer service at the centre.

Capitalising on the unrivalled

knowledge we have of Saab vehicles

and the workshops that service and

repair them, we have gone back

to basics in terms of putting our

customer at the centre of what we do.

We are striving to make ordering

systems easier to access and

navigate, with parts quick to find

and seamless to order. This has seen

the introduction of a brand new

online product catalogue – The Orio

Portal – complete with reg-search

functionality and direct ordering.

It marks a massive improvement in

customer usability and convenience.

Looking to the future, we will

build on the elements we have put

in place for Saab, and apply the same

customer-focused approach and

differentiated service to other make

parts. Drawing on the learning from

Orio’s sister companies in Germany

and Spain, which have already

successfully migrated from Saab

Original parts distribution to an

‘other makes’ offering, we will prospect

and expand our trade customer base

to more than 500 accounts.

“Going forward,

Orio would like

to forge a new

identity and

reputation,

with quality,

reliability,

choice and

customer

service at

the centre”

GRIPPING TIMES

The UK’s tyre sector is enjoying

a period of steady growth at

the moment. More vehicles on

the road than ever before and

more tyre manufacturers mean that

business is good. But it’s a changing

world, and one that presents an

intriguing mixture of challenges and

opportunities, as the way consumers

use and purchase tyres continues

to evolve.

To find out more, we’ve come to

meet Farrell Dolan, formerly head of

Goodyear Dunlop’s retail operation

in the UK and now Consumer Sales

and Marketing Director for

Bridgestone in Northern Europe.

Affable and straight talking,

he’s responsible for all the

sales and marketing

activities across

Bridgestone and

It’s a fascinating time for the tyre industry. Chris Pickering speaks to one of the UK’s top tyre industry executives to find out what the future holds.

its sister brand Firestone.

So what does the future hold for the

UK’s tyre retailers? “We expect to see

continued growth for the market as a

whole over the next four or five years,”

he comments. “It’s very much fuelled

by the increased volume of vehicles on

the road, but there are other factors to

take into account such as the average

number of miles driven and the

growth of the commuter market.”

Particular areas of growth include

4X4 tyres, runflats and larger rim

sizes, he explains, all driven by

changes in car buying.

Further down the line, it’s very

much a question of predicting

consumer habits. Widespread

adoption of electric vehicles and

increasing use of car sharing services

like ZipCar may not be a huge factor

at the moment, but those are the sort

of things that could have a profound

effect in years to come. Increased

emphasis on rolling resistance to eke

out every last drop of battery capacity

could change the design of the tyres

themselves, while range anxiety

could change the type of journeys

undertaken – at least by city dwellers

– and hence the rate of tyre usage.

THE FUTURE IS HERE

To some that might sound like science

fiction, but it’s not as far off as you

might think. “You can already see a

change in the consumer’s appetite, in

everything from Uber through to the

Barclays Bikes [now Santander Cycles]

in London,” comments Dolan. “We’ve

noticed that the younger generation

is less eager to get a licence and own

a vehicle. They’re much more part of

a sharing community, so it will be

interesting to see how that evolves.”

For now, the challenges are rather

more prosaic, but the way people buy

tyres is changing. Online sales still

account for a relatively small portion

of the overall market – Bridgestone

estimates them at less than 9 per cent

– but there is a huge swing towards

so-called ROPO sales. This ‘Research

Online; Purchase Offline’ behaviour

allows the customer to shop around

at home before visiting their local

tyre retailer for one-to-one service.

“UK consumers aren’t generally

as aware of tyres as those in other

countries, so they are very much

led by the tyre retailer,” says Dolan.

“They will often research price points

and find their local suppliers online,

but they ultimately want the

confidence that comes from going

to talk to a reputable retailer.”

Bridgestone’s research suggests

they are then heavily influenced by

the recommendations of that retailer.


FEATURE I TYRES

CHRIS PICKERING IS AN EXPERIENCED FREELANCE AUTOMOTIVE JOURNALIST

g g,

he’s responsible for all the

sales and marketing

activities across

Bridgestone and

p

adoption of electric vehicles and

increasing use of car sharing services

like ZipCar may not be a huge factor

at the moment, but those are the sort

of things that could have a profound

effect in years to come. Increased

emphasis on rolling resistance to eke

out every last drop of battery capacity

could change the design of the tyres

themselves, while range anxiety

could change the type of journeys

undertaken – at least by city dwellers

– and hence the rate of tyre usage.

estimates them at less

– but there is a huge sw

so-called ROPO sales. Th

Online; Purchase Offli

allows the customer to

at home before visiting

tyre retailer for one-to

“UK consumers aren

as aware of tyres as tho

countries, so they are v

led by the tyre retailer,

“They will often resear

and find their local sup

but they ultimately wa

confidence that comes

to talk to a reputable r

Bridgestone’s resear

they are then heavily in

the recommendations

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CUSTOMER ADVICE

The current EU tyre labelling standard,

introduced in 2012, provides a

relatively basic indication of a tyre’s

performance, with fuel consumption

[rolling resistance], noise and wet grip

rated from A to G. Tyre retailers and

distributors are obliged to include this

information as a sticker on the tyre or

in their documentation – as, technically,

are dealers selling new cars.

It’s not the most comprehensive

guide, but it’s a first step to helping

the customer choose the right tyre,

says Dolan: “EU tyre ratings are very

influential in online purchases and

they’re increasingly prevalent in sales

conversations in-store. But ultimately

it should still come down to a retailer

posing the right questions to the

customer. It’s about establishing

what their driving style is, how many

miles they cover and things like that.

The sales process is still absolutely

vital – if anything more so, because

you have to explain the story behind

the labelling, and the features and

benefits that it brings to the consumer.

“We provide training for key

retailers, along with sales aids, point

of sale materials and e-learning to help

them advise the customer. It’s also

important that they stay abreast of

new developments in the tyre industry

– but it all comes back to asking the

right questions so you understand

the customer’s needs.”

ON A BUDGET

The last few years have seen a

considerable rise in the number of

budget brands entering the market.

Some of these offer tyres that match

or even outperform their premium

counterparts in the official ratings –

although with manufacturers left

to self-certify their own tyres, it’s

perhaps wise to apply a degree of

caution. Nonetheless, they present

a very attractive proposition

to cost-conscious consumers.

So what explains the price difference

to the more established brands?

“Premium manufacturers have access

to vast R&D and test facilities. We

cover a wide spectrum of different

tests, far beyond those captured on

the tyre labels, to ensure we can justify

the position that we occupy as a

high-end brand,” comments Dolan.

“I think the impact of budget

brands has plateaued now, but there’s

no doubt they still constitute a fairly

large proportion of the market.

Ultimately, though, the consumer is

looking for value for money and the

sales process helps you to determine

how they define that. If they walk

away with the right tyre for their

vehicle, having had the right buying

experience, they will feel they’ve

had value for money.”

With many consumers unsure

about the specific features or

attributes they want in a tyre, brand

awareness becomes a particularly

important selling tool. Maintaining

this brand awareness is about

investing in marketing and ensuring

the products are available in the

right retail centres, Dolan explains.

Tyre manufacturers operate a

variety of different routes to market

and these also form an important part

of the perception of the brand. “We try

and maintain as many different

channels as possible," concludes Dolan,

"but we also want to make sure that we

deal with the stronger, more

professional routes to market. We try

to ensure that we have a longstanding

relationship with whoever we deal

with and work together on a

collaborative basis to ensure we have

the right representation.”

RELATIONSHIP-BUILDING

It’s also about nurturing relationships

with vehicle manufacturers, as car

owners are often drawn to the OE-fit

tyres if they’re available in the

aftermarket. This is particularly

important with runflats and specialist

high performance tyres, where they’re

often designed with a specific vehicle

in mind.

Another aspect is the increased

uptake of mobile fitment, with

time-starved consumers choosing to

have their tyres fitted at home or at

work, at a time that fits in with their

own schedule. This is perhaps an

opportunity for smaller independent

firms, either acting on their own or

as part of a franchise.

Whatever the future holds for the

technology of cars and tyres, it seems

clear that a closer relationship between

manufacturers, customers and

distributors is the key. As the products

evolve, it’s vital that the various routes

to market and the information available

to the customer do too.


FEATURE I TYRES

FEATURED COURSE

CPDLEARN & LOG

Tyre technology and tyre pressure monitoring systemsCPD Credit Value 8M £166.50 +VATNM £185 +VATFormat: Classroom/workshop

For more

information on

the courses and

how to book,

please turn to

page 56

From a standing start in 2013, EDT has

generated over £2.5m in additional

turnover for franchised dealers and high

end independent garages. Better still, it

operates a unique pay-as-you-go model,

similar to a vending machine company, so the

up-front costs are minimal.

Managing Director, David Holmes FIMI,

points out that extra revenue is still only

part of the appeal. “The profit potential is

what attracts people,” he says. “We’ve got

garages doing nearly 100 treatments a

month, which equates to £5,000 in

additional aftersales revenue; but the

positive customer feedback is just as

important, and the fact that we’re helping

to save the planet.”

HOW HAS THE NETWORK GROWN

SO QUICKLY?

“In early 2015, we decided to expand our

selection criteria to include the best

independent garages as well as main dealers,”

says David. “We haven’t looked back since.

We’ve discovered a strong compatibility

with Bosch Car Care Centres and we’re

looking to fill open points now, especially

ADVERTORIAL

EARN AN EXTRA £5K A MONTH

TREATMENTS COMPLETED PER MONTH

3 MONTHS MINIMUM PROFIT

25

£3,750

50

£7,500

75

£11,250

100

£15,000

in Norfolk, Suffolk and Lincolnshire.

“For our workshop partners, EDT is an

exciting new product – a valuable new

revenue stream which delivers much-needed

profit while tackling pressing environmental

concerns. In these days of advanced

diagnostics, it is something their customers

can see and feel. We find the analogy of

removing cholesterol is easily understood.”

SO HOW DOES IT WORK?

“You drain off the oil and connect our

machine via a hose on the oil

filter housing and another on the sump,”

explains David. “The machine then

circulates a very fine, light, soya-based oil

around the engine. It takes just thirteen

minutes to remove up to half a litre of thick

black sludge (carbon and metallic particles,

varnish, even the odd broken-off dipstick),

that doesn’t come out in an ordinary oil

change. The results are close to doing

a manual engine strip, with fuel economy

increased by up to 25%, power increased by

up to 6bhp and torque increased by up to

7ft-lb. Harmful emissions are also

significantly reduced: CO by an average

69% and diesel smoke by an average

58%. These are real world figures.”

AND WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?

“Some of our partners are already using it in used

car preparation and to reduce their fleet running

costs,” reveals David, “so we’re looking at that.

We’re also launching new products and

expanding into HGV. It is good for us, good

for our dealer and garage partners, good for

motorists and the environment – a win-win-win.”

For further details, call EDT on 01233 712 341,

email [email protected]

or visit www.edtautomotive.com

“We’ve been really

impressed with EDT – the

performance improvements

for customers, the revenue

potential for us and the

environmental benefits.”

NEIL HUTCHINSON,

OWNER OF MERCURY

CAR CENTRE IN BRENTWOOD

”The first thing we did was

get our technicians to test it on

their own cars. They can be quite

sceptical about anything new but they

all said EDT makes a real difference.

We are lucky that our workshop is

always at maximum capacity, but we

were looking for extra profit. EDT does

exactly that. You plug it in and leave it.

The technician gets on with his work and

it earns an extra £40 or £50 per job.”

ANDY DOYLE, GENERAL MANAGER

AT KIA DEALER VICTOR WOOD OF GRANTHAM


“A no-brainer

for motorists because

the treatment pays for

itself in fuel savings.”

ROGER WOOLLENS OF THE

GREEN ORGANISATION

EDT’S PAY-AS-YOU-GO ENGINE DETOX GENERATES CLEAR AFTERSALES PROFIT


Although developing

technology is part of

everyday life, within the

modern vehicle it is positively

exploding, which means that

in order not to be locked out of

future service and repair work,

workshops have to understand

these developments as

technology is an increasingly

crucial component in vehicle

design. Nowhere is this trend

more evident than within the

field of advanced driver

assistance systems (ADAS).

As one of the original

equipment (OE) manufacturers

that have pioneered ADAS

technology, HELLA is ideally

placed to help the service and

repair sector rise to the

significant challenges it presents.

First however, what constitutes

ADAS technology? In short,

systems that are designed to

automate/adapt/enhance vehicle

safety functions and enhance

driving standards.

A perfect example of ADAS

technology is adaptive lighting,

such as HELLA’s ingenious Matrix

LED system, which, through

camera-controlled information

processes, provides ‘intelligent’

intense, but glare-free lighting,

which has already helped to

reduce road accidents

at night by 30%.

A NEW MINIMUM STANDARD

From this year, any new vehicle

will require a minimum of two

items of ADAS technology to

achieve the current ‘industry

standard’ 5 star Euro NCAP

safety rating. This minimum

requirement includes autonomous

emergency braking (AEB) and

lane departure warning (LDW),

both of which are complex

systems that require specialist

equipment to diagnose any faults

and for their recalibration.

By its very nature, ADAS

technology, which also includes

hazard recognition, blind spot

detection and fatigue warning,

is of fundamental importance

to driver and pedestrian safety

and therefore needs to function

precisely, efficiently and reliably.

These systems, and the associated

actions they perform, are all

controlled by sensors, cameras

and complex software, which

means that incorrect inputs from

any of these elements can have

catastrophic consequences.

As a result, service and repair

work on these vehicles carries

extra responsibility from those

undertaking it.

At this point it is worth stating

that while it is obvious that ADAS

technology will have the biggest

impact on the bodyshop and

windscreen replacement sectors,

where accident damage and glass

replacement logically requires the

system to be reset, traditional

workshops concentrating on

mechanical repair will also be

confronted by it because even

something as commonplace

as adjustment to the vehicle’s

steering geometry will require

the system’s recalibration!

Ultimately therefore, every

workshop will need to have access

to the necessary calibration

equipment and training to be

able to correctly reset the ADAS

components following an

accident, windscreen replacement

or geometry related repair. In

fact, the vehicle manufacturers

HELLA LOOKS AT THE TECHNOLOGICAL STRIDES BEING MADE IN ADVANCED DRIVER ASSISTANCE SYSTEMS (ADAS).

ARE YOU READY FOR ADAS?

now specify that recalibration

of ADAS must take place after

work has been performed,

otherwise the workshop could

potentially face liability.

A SOLUTION

HELLA GUTMANN SOLUTIONS

(HGS), a joint venture company

between HELLA and diagnostics

specialist Gutmann Messtechnik,

has developed a solution for the

service and repair sector, with

its Camera System Calibration

(CSC) tool. The unique, cost

effective CSC tool is quick and

simple-to-use and allows precise

recalibration of the vehicle’s

ADAS components.

Naturally there could be serious

repercussions if recalibration is

not undertaken or is carried out

incorrectly, with the potential

deactivation of systems and

corresponding ADAS function.

There is also the possibility that

the motorist could pursue legal

action against the workshop if

the calibration is not carried out

properly. The cost effective HGS

CSC tool package is, therefore,

a sensible investment.

“The release agents

used to free plastics

from the mould can

also release the

paint coating from

the plastic”

Repairs on plastics can

present refinishers with

numerous problems. There

is a variety of plastic on different

places on a vehicle – from the

wheel arches to the bumpers

and spoilers. The most common

problems encountered when

refinishing plastics come from

inadequate preparation,

unsuitable cleaning agents,

applying the coating too soon

after cleaning, and not using

enough plasticiser. Standox offers

the following advice to help

refinishers get the best results

when tackling these tricky repairs.

IDENTIFICATION

Once the correct colour has been

chosen, the refinisher should now

thoroughly inspect the plastic

part to determine whether it is

old or new, and whether it is

painted, primed or untreated.

STANDOX PROVIDES THE DEFINITIVE

GUIDE TO PLASTIC REPAIRS.

Old plastic parts which have

already been coated must be

carefully examined as the

refinisher needs to know:

• Is the part damaged?

• Does the paint film adhere

everywhere?

• Are there any cracks?

• Is the paint resistant

to solvents?

If defects are found, these must

be repaired before continuing.

Old plastic parts that are

unpainted tend to be the most

problematic as their history is

often unknown. The refinisher

needs to know:

• Has it been looked after?

• If so, what care agents were

used and how?

• Has the plastic material

absorbed wax or silicone from

polishes or preservatives?

• Can these be removed?

Unfortunately these questions

can’t always be answered, which

may lead to the adhesion of the

refinish paint being impaired,

in spite of thorough preparation.

For uncoated new parts, the

most important rule to follow is to

ensure the substrate is free from

release agents. The parts must be

cleaned thoroughly in accordance

with the Standox technical data

sheets’ recommendations.

Coated new parts can be

refinished with relative ease.

Primed new parts are trickier

because the primers used can

differ considerably, and the

composition and suitability

for subsequent processing are

unknown. Preliminary tests are

recommended and the product

manufacturer’s instructions

should be checked if possible.

If unknown primers have been

used, and information for further

processing is not enclosed with

the part, it is very difficult to

make any reliable assessment

of whether or not these criteria

have been met:

• Adhesion between primer

and plastic

• Suitability for coating with

primer fillers, topcoats or other

Standox products

• Appearance in the paint system

(sinkage or lifting)

• Elasticity in the paint system

• Re-dissolving when cleaned

In these cases, the refinisher

should check the manufacturers

refinishing recommendations.

MAXIMISING PAINT ADHESION The release agents used to free

plastics from the mould can also

release the paint coating from

the plastic, but some release

agents will stubbornly adhere to

the plastic. There are three basic

types of release agent that can

be dealt with as follows:

• External release agents are

based on wax and oil, dissolved

in organic solvents. They can

be removed with a silicone

remover or plastic cleaner

and a sanding pad

• Internal release agents are

usually made from zinc

stearate and must be

conditioned before they

are cleaned. They can be

cleaned with a silicone

remover or plastic cleaner

and a sanding pad

• Release paints – polyvinyl

alcohol dissolved in water – are

not very common. However,

they are easily identified by the

numbers imprinted on the

back. These parts must always

be cleaned with water first, as

polyvinyl alcohol is insoluble in

organic solvents

PLASTICFANTASTIC

IDENTIFY PLASTIC PART

POOR ADHESION ON PLASTIC PARTS


This can be done using a soft

brush or high-pressure cleaner.

After cleaning the plastic parts,

it is vital the cleaning agents are

allowed to evaporate entirely

before further processing.

PRIMING AND BASECOAT

APPLICATION

After cleaning, the refinisher

can apply the primer. For a

plastic with a smooth finish,

the part can then be flashed-off

for fifteen minutes before the

application of the basecoat.

If sanding is required to

remove texture, the part needs

a short bake and a light sand

before applying the basecoat.

CLEARCOAT APPLICATION

After the recommended flash-off

time, the clearcoat can be

applied. While most modern

plastics don’t always need

plasticisers, older and more

flexible plastics may need the

addition of a plasticiser into the

clearcoat. Full instructions can

CONDITIONING

Conditioning parts before they

are cleaned can be useful as the

heat helps the part ‘sweat out’ the

release agent. Stresses in the

plastic are also relieved, which

can prevent cracking, and

trapped air or voids can be

identified and treated before the

part is coated. If necessary, the

parts must be supported in order

to avoid deformation.

CLEANING

Repeated, intensive cleaning with

a pad, brush and fresh cleaning

agent is absolutely essential.

Simply wiping the plastic part

clean is not sufficient, even if the

recommended cleaning agents

are used. Textured parts must be

cleaned even more intensively to

remove release agents and dirt.

BASECOAT APPLICATION

be found on Standox technical

data sheets.

If all the steps as described are

carefully followed, the refinisher

should achieve an excellent

plastic repair.



The Volkswagen Golf has

been on the road since

1974, and on average there

are 2000 Golfs sold per day

worldwide, so the likelihood

of seeing one for a replacement

clutch is quite high.

The model in question is the

2011 MK6 1.4 petrol with a

CGGA fitted. No special tools

are required, just the usual

workshop equipment, a two post

ramp, engine support and

transmission jack.

Before starting the repair,

if the vehicle is fitted with alloy

wheels ensure that the locking

key is available.

With the car on the floor,

disconnect and remove the

battery, battery carrier and the

air duct pipes allowing access to

the top of the gearbox and bell

housing area. Remove the clutch

slave cylinder and bracket from

the top of the gearbox. It is not

necessary to disconnect the

hydraulics as this can be stowed

safely out of the way from the

working area. Remove the gear

change cables by loosening

three bolts from the bracket and

unclipping the cables from the

selector mechanism, they can

then be stowed safely (Fig. 1).

Next, the starter motor can be

extracted by removing the wiring

SCHAEFFLER’S TECHNICAL TEAM ADVISES ON HOW TO REPLACE AN LUK CLUTCH ON A VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 1.4 PETROL CGGA ENGINE.

harness and multi plug. Take

extra care as to not break the

small red tab – this must be

pulled back about 3mm to allow

the locking tab to lift (Fig. 2)).

Remove the earth cable and then

two bolts that secure the starter

motor in place and finally remove

the starter. The top two bell

housing bolts can also be

removed at this stage. Install the

engine support and remove the

top gearbox support mounting.

CREATING ACCESS

Raise the vehicle and remove

the N/S/F wheel and the lower

section of the wheel arch liner to

give better access to the gearbox.

Remove the engine under tray.

Disconnect the reverse light

multi-plug and then remove the

flywheel protection plate (Fig. 3).

Disconnect the oil lever sensor

plug. Remove the swivel bolt

from the front of the N/S

wishbone and then remove the

six bolts from the inner

driveshaft flange. With the bolt

removed from the wishbone the

hub assembly will pull out far

enough to remove the N/S

driveshaft (Fig. 4).

Remove the six bolts from the

O/S inner driveshaft flange, the

driveshaft will move clear of the

gearbox flange and remove the

GOLF IN CLASS

FIG. 1

FIG. 2 FIG. 3

FIG. 4 FIG. 5

FIG. 6 FIG. 7


gearbox flange by removing the

centre bolt with a 6mm Hex drive/

Allen key (Fig. 5) (some oil may

escape which gives more clearance

when removing and installing the

gearbox). Using the transmission

jack support the gearbox load.

Unbolt the stabiliser link and

remove the holding bracket and

pendulum support for the gearbox

(Fig. 6). Remove the remaining

bell housing bolts and separate

the gearbox from the engine and

lower the gearbox to the floor.

FINAL PREPARATION

Remove the old clutch assembly

from the flywheel. Check the

flywheel for signs of heat stress or

excessive wear. If the surface of the

flywheel is to be skimmed, make

sure that the same amount is taken

from the clutch bolting surface.

Failure to check and rectify these

areas may cause the clutch to

operate incorrectly. Clean the bell

housing and remove any debris. If

any oil leaks are visible then these

must be repaired before refitting

the gearbox. Replace the release

bearing and fork and ensure any

pivot points are clean. Before fitting

the new clu tch disc make sure the

input shaft is clean and free from

any wear. Put a small dab of high

melting point grease (not a copper-

based product) on the first motion

shaft splines and make sure the

new driven plate slides freely back

and forth. This not only spreads the

grease evenly but also makes sure

you have the correct kit. Wipe away

any excess grease off the shaft and

driven plate hub. Using a universal

alignment tool and checking the

driven plate is the correct way

round (note ‘Getriebe Seite’ is

German for ‘Gearbox Side’),

the clutch can be bolted to the

flywheel evenly and sequentially.

Make sure any dowels have not

become dislodged or damaged and

replace any that have (Fig. 7).

Install the gearbox and make sure

the bolts are secured and all

mountings are refitted before

removing the supporting

transmission jacks. Remember

when the drive shaft flange is

reinstalled to check the oil level

and top up as necessary. Refitting

the remaining components is the

reverse of removal.

In addition to LuK clutch

tensioner products,

Schaeffler (UK) Ltd also

supplies INA tensioners and

FAG wheel bearings to the

independent aftermarket. It

has also recently introduced

the Ruville engine, cooling

and suspension components

range and all brands are

backed by technical support

and repair installation tips

through its industry leading

internet site REPXPERT

(www.RepXpert.co.uk)

and a technical hotline:

UK Tel: 08457 001100, Ireland

Tel: +44 (0)1432 264264.


“When dismantled, it’s imperative to

remove any rust or residue from the

contact surfaces and caliper bucket

as this can result in brake judder”

Whilst most mechanics

replace brakes

efficiently, some are

cutting corners to save time,

meaning simple tasks such as

cleaning rust and dirt are often

overlooked. This has led to

Mintex entering colleges around

the country to teach trainee

mechanics best practice tips,

making sure these simple, yet

effective steps aren’t ignored,

which ultimately ensures

customers don’t return with

complaints such as brake judder.

REPAIRING BRAKES AND

REMOVING RUST

Before beginning the brake

repair process, it’s key to look

for uneven wear on the discs, as

well as checking all components

surrounding the axle and

examining the hydraulic system

or any broken parts. Parts

showing signs of heavy wear

or defectiveness should be

replaced in accordance with

the vehicle, system and brake

manufacturer’s guidelines.

When dismantled, it’s

imperative to remove any rust or

residue from the contact surfaces

and caliper bucket as this can

result in brake judder, which

gives a vibration through the

brake pedal or steering wheel.

To prevent the likelihood of brake

judder, use a wire brush or emery

paper to get rid of any rust from

the contact surfaces and hub.

Once removed, use a brake

cleaner to clean the surface and

check the cleaned hub with a

measuring stand for any possible

lateral run-out deviations.

During the cleaning

process, it’s important to take

great care not to damage the

caliper bracket.

GREASING THE SURFACE

Grease the newly cleaned areas

with a non-conductive,

heat-resistant and solids-free

agent such as Mintex CereTec

Advanced Lubricant. Do not

use copper paste on the brake

surface, as it conducts heat

and can react negatively with

the vehicle’s ABS system.

FITTING THE NEW

BRAKE DISC Fit the new brake disc onto the

wheel hub and secure the newly

fitted disc with the screws, wheel

studs or nuts. A DTI gauge

should be used to check for any

lateral run-out. We recommend

a lateral run-out of 0.07mm

below the maximum radius.

PUTTING THE PISTONS BACK

INTO THE CALIPER

Using the correct adjusting

tools, the brake piston(s) must

be moved back into position,

taking note of any brake fluid

that may spill out of the brake

fluid reservoir. Also, be sure to

pay attention to the different

versions of the caliper and

brake systems, as well as

manufacturer-specific

requirements and special tools.

LONG-ESTABLISHED BRAKING BRAND MINTEX PROVIDES SOME TOP TIPS ON CHANGING BRAKES THE CORRECT WAY.

ON THE BRAKE

AFTERCARE

To optimise braking

performance, Mintex

recommends the new brakes

require approximately

200 miles to become fully

conditioned. Hard or aggressive

braking must be avoided

during this period as it can

affect the overall performance

of the new system.

For more information on Mintex’s

college training programme,

please contact Scott Irwin on

[email protected]

FEATURED COURSE

CPDLEARN & LOG

Braking and chassis systems: ABS and ESPCPD Credit Value 17M £333 +VATNM £370 +VATFormat: Classroom/workshop

For more information on the

courses and how to book,

please turn to page 56

MY IMI THE LATEST NEWS, EVENTS AND CPD COURSE LISTINGS FROM THE INSTITUTE

CLOSE WIN FOR BROADSTAIRS

The event, hosted by East Kent

College, saw competitors from the

Broadstairs and Dover Campuses,

Canterbury College and North Kent

College complete six diagnostic

tasks for the chance to be crowned

KAFEC skills champion.

Volunteers from the East Kent

member association judged the

tasks and Chris Millan, from

Halfords, carried out judging

duties as well as supplying prizes

for the winning team. Competition

was fierce and only five points

The Kent Association of Further Education Colleges

(KAFEC) staged a skills competition last month in

preparation for the national qualifiers in May.

separated first and third places

with the Broadstairs team gaining

half a point more than their Dover

rivals to clinch the trophies.

At the end of an enjoyable day all

were presented with IMI goodie

bags and certificates to reward

their efforts and Skill Auto exams

were taken, all hoping for the

chance to go to the Nationals at

Jaguar Land Rover in May.

The colleges are now looking

forward to a Level 2 competition

planned for June.

TAXI FOR THE IMI

The London Taxi Company

(LTC) has become an IMI

Awarding Centre. It will be

offering IMI Accreditation

in air conditioning

initially and soon will

offer hybrid and electric

vehicle qualifications.

The news comes at an

exciting time for the

company as it is currently

building a new R&D and

Production site in Ansty,

Coventry to construct

hybrid and electric black

cabs. This investment

was announced in the

presence of the Prime

Minister and Mayor Boris

Johnson last year.

JOIN THE IMI FOR ITS FIRST REPRESENTATIVE

MEMBER ASSEMBLY (RMA) OF THE YEAR. THE

EVENT IS FREE TO ATTEND AND OPEN TO ALL IMI

MEMBERS, WHO WILL BE UPDATED ON THE VAST

RANGE OF IMI ACTIVITIES AND GAIN FREE CPD.

THE AGENDA HAS NOW BEEN RELEASED AND AS

YOU CAN SEE, IT PROMISES TO BE AN EXTREMELY

INFORMATIVE AND ENGAGING OCCASION.

THE IMI HOPES TO SEE YOU THERE…

AGENDA

09:30: Registration

09:45: Welcome

10:00: IMI update and news – Steve Nash, CEO, IMI

10:30: Communications update – Richard O’Brien,

Head of Communications, IMI

11:00: Refreshments

11:30: International development – Herbert Lonsdale,

International Business Development

Manager, IMI

12:00: The Road to SUV – Dr. Marcus Abbott,

Head of Product Marketing SUV, Bentley

12:30: Lunch held in the Bentley Showroom

13:30: Attraction and Retention of Talent –

Jo Hollingdale, Careers IAG Development

Manager, IMI

14:00: Preparing your people for the Future:

Reflection from the Ennis & Co Conference

14:30: Open Floor Session

15:15: Close

15:30: Event end optional tour of the Bentley Museum

ARE YOU DUE FOR CREWE?


From left to right: Peter Ellis FIMI, Head of Learning and Development, LTC; Michelle Barrett MIMI, Business Development Manager, IMI; Trevor Harttersley MIMI Head of Aftersales, LTC

WH

AT: THE IM

I SPRING RM

A

WHEN

: 20TH APRIL 2016

WHERE: BEN

TLEY MOTORS, CREW

E

WWW.THEIMI.ORG.UK I 47WWW.THEIMI.ORG.UK I 47

The winning campaign focused

on the needs of female users

of motor industry services

and set out to promote the

IMI’s Professional Register

as the only way to identify

skilled technicians who have

undertaken to demonstrate

and maintain the currency of

their abilities and knowledge

and also to sign up to an ethical

code of conduct.

The media’s attention was

captured with research which

showed that women drivers

were unlikely to have their

car serviced between MOTs

because of fears over costs

and not being treated with

respect. The story generated

considerable coverage in the

national and regional press and

across the broadcast media.

The IMI also produced a

series of short videos aimed

at helping drivers with basic

vehicle checks. The IMI worked

with BBC1 presenter, Suzi

Perry, and vehicle technician,

Vicky Kempton, to explore the

most common maintenance

checks every driver should

carry out in-between their

annual services.

IMI CEO Steve Nash said:

“Winning this award means a

lot for both us as a professional

body and the highly skilled

professionals we represent

within the motor industry.

The Professional Register

campaign was designed to

raise awareness of the simple

but effective checks that every

driver (both male and female)

should carry out on their

vehicle, including such things

as checking your tyre tread,

engine oil and understanding

when it’s time to call in an

expert.”

THAT WINNING FEELINGReporting on a win for an IMI PR campaign at The Association Excellence Awards 2016.

SCREEN IDOLS

Auto Windscreens opened its

new Training and Innovation

Academy last month. Serving

as a centre of excellence for

vehicle glass repair technicians,

it is fully approved by the IMI.

Auto Windscreens’ Technical

& Innovation Manager Tony

Green said: “Our technicians

have always been trained to a

high standard but the academy

provides a renewed focus on

excellence and offers learning

in a vibrant, fresh environment.

The centre will be used to train

individuals new to the business

and to develop the skills of

experienced technicians in line

with industry standards and

advancements in technology.”

Phil O’Neill, External Quality

Assurer at the IMI, added:

“IMI-approved training courses

ensure that high standards

are set and maintained across

the motor industry.

Auto Windscreens has a

long-established reputation for

training excellence and we are

delighted that its new Training

and Innovation Academy is now

an IMI Approved Centre.”

NOTICESObituariesWe wish to express our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of:

New Fellows A P BOZON Managing Director, Bozon People Development Ltd, Oxfordshire

N CLAPHAM Sales Training Manager, The Colt Car Co Ltd, Gloucestershire

G S DAMPIER-BENNETT Director, Devonshire Motors Accident Repair Centre, Devon

P G JONES Head of Faculty Engineering and Construction, Warrington Collegiate, Cheshire

PETER BOXWELL MIMI, Hampshire, aged 72

MICHAEL CLAYTON FIMI, Cornwall, aged 65

RONALD CRITCHLOW FIMI, Devon, aged 85

WILLIAM GOUGH MIMI, Surrey, aged 89

JAMES HILLIARD AMIMI, Kent, aged 96

GEOFFREY HUNWICKS MIMI, Essex, aged 67

STANLEY KEMP AMIMI, South Yorkshire, aged 88

MICHAEL MACDOWEL FIMI, Gloucestershire, aged 83

PETER SAYER MIMI, Norfolk, aged 90

DERRICK STAMMERS FIMI, Suffolk, aged 73

C R MANNING Aftersales Training Manager,The Colt Car Company, Gloucestershire

P S RANDHAWA General Manager, Baldwins Repair, Group Ltd, Buckinghamshire

M J REES National Fleet Engineering Manager, Petit Forestier UK Ltd, Staffordshire

M VEKARIA Director, PMC of Pinner, Middlesex

Congratulations to the

IMI on its attainment

of 69th position in the

Sunday Times 2016

Best Not For Profit

Organisations 2016: an

exceptional achievement

for a first time entrant.


INTERNATIONALNEWS AND PEOPLE

Adrian Stevenson, External

Quality Manager at the IMI,

recently visited the National

Automotive Higher Institute

(NAHI) in Oman to certify it

as an IMI Approved Centre –

the first in the country.

“Through the IMI’s

endorsement we will deliver

important opportunities

for the national workforce

and the domestic industry,

particularly talented local

students and motivated

professionals seeking fresh

prospects in one of the

world’s largest industries

worldwide,” said Haji Al

Balushi, General Manager

of NAHI.

Adrian Stevenson added:

“We expressed our interest

in establishing an Approved

Centre in Oman, and were

inspired when we received

such a promising application

from the Sultanate’s first

specialised automotive

organisation. By becoming

IMI certified, NAHI will equip

local professionals with the

skills required to overcome

some of the challenges faced

by emerging automotive

markets, and therein

contribute to the growth of

the domestic industry and

Oman’s economy.”

In order to support NAHI’s

operation as an IMI Approved

Centre, the IMI will deliver a

series of follow-up visits and

workshops from April 2016,

spearheaded by Adrian.

A GOOD OMAN

According to RMI President and business

owner, Jeanne Esterhuizen,

there is a complex framework of

regulation around training in South Africa

that many businesses find difficult to

negotiate. This is a major hurdle to raising

skill levels across the sector, and the main

reason the RMI is interested in the work

of the IMI around Return on Investment

(ROI) for training.

Jeanne Esterhuizen said: “We hope

to use the ROI study to convince more

employers in our country to take on

trainees to help with business growth.”

The delegation, that included trade

union leaders Bennie Classen and

Hermann Kostens, Regional RMI Manager

Louis van Huyssteen, and Tom Mkhwanazi,

Head of the Motor Industry Bargaining

Council, were shown the very best practice

in training and development in the British

vehicle industry during their stay.

The tour included visits to BMW’s

training centre, where electric vehicle

qualifications are being assessed, EMTEC

motor college in Nottingham, and the state

of the art Kwik-Fit centre in Slough.

The week was rounded off with a chance

to network with IMI members from across

the UK at the IMI Annual Dinner.

IMI CEO Steve Nash said: “This week

was a tremendous opportunity to build our

relationship with the RMI in South Africa.

We share many common challenges in

our sectors and our values are the same.

We hope that our many international

qualifications and accreditations will

assist the RMI drive up standards and

productivity in their country.”

A GLOBAL SKILLS SHORTAGE

AUTOMECHANIKA DUBAI,

8–10 MAY 2016The largest international

automotive aftermarket trade show

for the wider Middle East is taking

place 8-10 May 2016. With 2,000

exhibitors across 59 countries

showcasing over 2,000 products,

Automechanika Dubai is set to

attract over 31,000 trade visitors

throughout the event.

Book your ticket by visiting

www.automechanikadubai.com

On a visit to IMI’s headquarters, CEO of the RMI of South Africa, Jakkie Olivier, was keen to stress at a meeting with

IMI managers, his organisation’s sympathy with the IMI’s aims. “Raising standards in our industry is our top priority,”

he said. “With 44,000 motor employers in our country we can only vouch for our 14,000 members. Training for

experienced employees and leanerships for young people and the unemployed are vital to growth in our sector.”


Newcastle MA was host to TMD

Friction braking brand, Pagid,

last month. The presentation

covered the history of Pagid

and included the significant

market that it supplies

including OE parts. This was

an informative and interesting

opportunity for members to

update their CPD on the latest

braking technologies and best

practice when working on

braking systems.

Sussex Centre members enjoyed a thought-provoking lecture about

LPG-fuelled vehicles. With one on show in Northbrook College's

workshop, Autogas' Marketing Manager Paul Beesley brought the

audience up-to-date with today's LPG environmental, cost and fuel

distribution facts. Far from being on the wane, Ford will soon be selling a

new Transit van fuelled by LPG, endorsing the business case and choice,

alongside petrol and diesel.

Autogas' Technical Adviser, Auke Faber, answered questions from

the audience based on negative tales of old, such as fuel distribution,

unlicensed conversions and sluggish driving performance – these

are issues addressed at the Autogas website, including some

1400 UK LPG stations.

Today Autogas is converting taxis to LPG to meet demanding city

emission levels, cutting operating costs and pollution wherever they go.

How strange that LPG is considered an old-fashioned fuel by so many,

despite being available 'here and now' without any National Grid supply

challenges or battery recycling concerns with a view to the future?

THE LOWDOWN ON LPG

SUSSEX MA

PAGID PROFILED

NEWCASTLE MA

BIRMINGHAM MA

MY IMI

EVENT REPORTS

BIRMINGHAM MA

SUPER-CALIBirmingham MA was recently

visited by vehicle system

manufacturer Hella. The

subject was the calibration of

advanced driver assistance

systems (ADAS) and the

repercussions to the trade

of not certifying the repair

process properly. The

presentation covered the

operation of hardware

which contributes to ADAS:

AEB (automatic emergency

braking), collision warning,

lane departure guidance

and adaptive cruise control.

Please turn to page 39

for more on ADAS

IMI CONTINUES TO DRIVE CHANGEReporting from the IMI

Annual Dinner 2016,

held last month at The

Grand Connaught Rooms

and the setting for the

launch of the new IMI

and ITN production:

Driving Change.

MY IMI

IMI ANNUAL DINNER 2016

Senior representatives from the motor

industry gathered in London to

celebrate outstanding contributions

to the sector and the launch of the

IMI and ITN’s ‘Driving Change’. Guests were

joined by former England rugby star Will

Greenwood and British racing driver Vicki

Butler-Henderson.

This year’s prestigious Sue Brownson

Award for outstanding leadership in the motor

industry went to Richard Burden MP, Shadow

Transport Minister, for his commitment to

the industry’s advancement. Last year’s

winner, Joe Greenwell, picked up an Honorary

Fellowship of the IMI, as did Senior Traffic

Commissioner for Great Britain, Beverley Bell.

Honoured for their outstanding contributions

to the sector in the awards categories were:

Paul Killingsworth, from PK Automotive, who

was recognised for his contribution to the

work of the IMI; National Association of Motor

Auctions (NAMA), for its contribution to the

motor industry; and Tony Ball MBE, who picked

up an award for his individual achievement in

the sector following his successful career from

an apprentice to launching the legendary MINI

in the 60s. Tony was joined at the dinner by his

son, musical doyen, Michael Ball OBE.

IMI CEO Steve Nash took the opportunity

to discuss licensing vehicle technicians in

his speech, as well as encouraging industry

leaders to consider employing an apprentice to

support the government’s ambitious target of

creating three million new apprenticeships by

2020. He commented that drastic action was

also needed with the lack of careers advice

in schools having a profound impact on the

number of high quality young people taking

on vocational training.

“The IMI believes strongly in the need for

the licensing of technicians working in the

motor industry,” said Steve, “which is quite

a tough sell to a vehemently anti-regulation

government which is already challenged to

THE WINNERS’ ROSTRUM

Outstanding Individual Achievement

Tony Ball MBE FIMI

Contribution to the Motor Industry

National Association of Motor

Auctions (NAMA)

Contribution to the work of the IMI

Paul Killingsworth MIMI,

PK Automotive

Honorary Fellowship of the IMI

Joe Greenwell CBE; Beverley Bell,

Senior Traffic Commissioner

Sue Brownson Award

Richard Burden MP

deliver on a manifesto which doesn’t include

this! However, while maintaining our longer

term aim, we believe the priority must be for

the licensing of individuals working on electric

and hybrid vehicles.

“With the current rate of advancement

in technology and the demand for electric

vehicles continuing to increase, a situation

where literally anyone can set themselves up

to work on such cars is clearly unsustainable

and potentially dangerous.”

THE IMI WISHES TO THANK THE EVENT SPONSORS:

(Lead Sponsor)


IMI CEO Steve Nash

on stage for his

annual address

MY IMI

IMI ANNUAL DINNER 2016

A packed Grand

Connaught Rooms

Award recipient

Richard Burden MP

IMI Patron Prince Michael of Kent

opens the dinner


Guest speaker Will Greenwood uses

the occasion to practise hypnosis

MY IMI

FORTHCOMING EVENTS


FEATURED EVENTSussex MAThu 21/04/2016, From 7pm

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND AN

EVENING WITH STEVE NASH

Speaker: Steve Nash, CEO of IMI

Venue: Northbrook College, Shoreham

Airport, Cecil Pashley Way, Shoreham-by-

Sea, West Sussex, BN43 5FF

RSVP to Douglas Wragg

The AGM will start at 19:00 and finish by

19:30. There will be a 15-minute break before

the talk by Steve Nash, which will start at the

normal lecture time of 19:45.

Although everyone is welcome, you do not

have to attend the AGM and can arrive at your

usual time for Steve’s presentation. Steve’s

talk will essentially be an update on what the

IMI is engaged in and what the key strategic

objectives and aims are for the future. It will

be an ‘open forum’ type event with every

opportunity throughout and at the close of

the evening to ask questions about the IMI

objectives and the industry in general.

APRILNorthampton MATue 05/04/2016, 6.45pm for 7pm start

A BRIEF INSIGHT INTO THE GREY AREA OF

WHEEL ALIGNMENT

Speaker: Jerry Barker of Supertracker

Venue: Northampton College, Booth Lane,

Northampton, NN3 3RF

RSVP to Colin Parker

IRTE North LondonWed 06/04/2016, 7.30pm for 8pm start

LEGISLATION UPDATE

Speaker: Esmond Shepherd,

Head of Member Advice, FTA

Venue: The Jolly Farmers PH, 2

Enfield Road, Enfield, EN2 7QS

IRTE SOE South Wales MATue 12/04/2016, 7pm start

A COMPLIANT OPERATOR

Speaker: Geraint Davies of John Raymond

Transport Ltd

Venue: Holiday Inn Express Newport, Lakeside

Drive, Coedkernew, Newport NP10 8BB

RSVP to Georgia Foley

Kent events are organised as part

of a joint programme with IMI, IRTE/SOE,

The Welding Institute (TWI) Kent Branch,

and the Chartered Institute of Logistics

and Transport (CILT) Kent group.

Please book your attendance for each

event via the CILT on 01536 740 104 or

email [email protected] using

the unique reference codes supplied.

East Kent MATue 12/04/2016, 7pm start

VISIT AND TOUR OF AB CRUSH BODYSHOP

& TALK ON MODERN REPAIR TECHNIQUES

Venue: AB Crush Panelcraft, Five Oaks

Business Park, Geddinge Lane, Wooton,

Canterbury CT4 6RY

Reference code: KTG0354

East Kent MATue 19/04/2016, 7pm start

JAGUAR E-TYPE: STORY OF THE LEGEND

Speaker: Peter Leake

Venue: East Kent College, Ramsgate Road,

Broadstairs, Kent, CT10 1PN


East Kent MAThu 21/04/2016, 7.30pm for 8pm

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Venue: Dover Transport Museum,

Willingdon Road, Dover, CT16 2HQ

RSVP to Alan Earp

West KentThu 28/04/2016, 7pm for 7.30pm start

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING & FORENSIC

VEHICLE INVESTIGATIONS

Speaker: Paul Fagan of Forensic Support

International.

Venue: Grangemoor Hotel, St Michael’s

Road, Maidstone,ME16 8BS


Kent TWIThu 19/05/2016, 7pm for 7.30pm start

SAFETY REGULATIONS AROUND

CYLINDERS IN FIRES

Speaker: Chris Birch, BOC

Venue: Blake Room 028, Greenwich

University, Chatham, ME4 4TB


Birmingham MAWed 13/04/2016, 7.45pm for 8pm start

ADVANCED DRIVER

ASSISTANCE HARDWARE

Speaker: Brian Newell MIMI,

Technical & Training Manager of

TRW Automotive Aftermarket

Venue: RAC Control Centre,

Brockhurst Crescent, Bescot,

Walsall, WS5 4AW

(Free car parking and easy

access via public transport)

Oxford MAWed 20/04/2016, 8pm

THE JAGUAR E-TYPE,

THE STORY OF THE LEGEND

Speaker: Peter Leake

Venue: Hawkwell House Hotel,

Iffley, Oxford, OX4 4DZ

RSVP to Peter Lang

Teesside MAWed 27/04/2016, 6.30am departure

THE COMMERCIAL VEHICLE SHOW 2016

Venue: NEC Birmingham

(coach to the venue will be put on

costing £10 per person)

RSVP to Dominic Calvey

MAYIRTE North LondonSat 07/05/2016, 6.30pm

QUIZ AND SUPPER EVENING

Venue: Jolly Farmers,

2 Enfield Road, Enfield, EN2 7QS

Please contact Paul Arber for further

details and to book tickets

Derby College MAWed 11/05/2016, 6.15 for 7pm start

CAMSHAFTLESS ENGINE

TECHNOLOGY AND NEW

DOUBLE CLUTCH TRANSMISSION

DEVELOPMENTS

Speaker: Schaeffler UK

Venue: Rooms B1 & B2 - Derby College,

The Johnson Building,

Locomotive Way, Pride Park,

Derby, DE24 8PU

JOINT PROGRAMME EVENTS (APR-MAY)

KENT REGION


MY IMI

AREA CONTACTS

Birmingham

Paul Jarvis MIMI 0121 357 6272

[email protected]

Bradford

Michael Ward AAE MIMI 01274 672303

[email protected]

Bristol MA (interim contact)

Georgia Foley LIMI 01992 511 521

[email protected]

Cheshire

Malcolm Yearsley AAE MIMI [email protected]

Cornwall

Bob Laity MIMI 01209 616382

[email protected]

Cumbria

Gerry Braddock AAE Hon FIMI 07776 294744

[email protected]

Derby College

Matthew Curtis FIMI 01332 387454

matthew.curtis@derby–college.ac.uk

East Kent

Alan Earp MIMI 01843 592688

[email protected]

East Midlands

Roger Denniss AffIMI 01283 702269

[email protected]

Hull

Bill Woodall MIMI 01964 542981

[email protected]

Lancashire MA

Robert Oldale Tel: 01253504325

[email protected]

Leinster

Joseph O’Connor CAE MIMI (+353) 0872 800 314

[email protected]

Mid Yorkshire (Leeds)

Andrew Gledhill CAE MIMI 01132485855

[email protected]

Newcastle

Michael Jackson CAE MIMI 01912 722708

[email protected]

Norfolk

Pio Altarelli AAE FIMI 01986 895559

[email protected]

Northampton

Colin Parker AAE MIMI 07905 037593

[email protected]

Nottingham

Eric Braham AAE MIMI 07966 136 561

[email protected]

Oxford

Peter Lang MIMI 07791 646105

[email protected]

Shropshire MA

Stuart Thomas MIMI (Telford College) 01952 642375

[email protected]

Steven Lloyd MIMI (Shrewsbury College) 01743 342543

[email protected]

South Devon

Graham Tribble AAE MIMI 07711 425 512

[email protected]

South Wales MA

Georgia Foley LIMI 01992 511 521

[email protected]

NORTH LONDON

AND HOME COUNTIES

IMI members are invited to

IRTE/SOE North London Centre

events, normally held on the first

Wednesday of every month

(unless otherwise stated).

IRTE North London Centre

Paul Arber I Eng FSOE FIRTE 07747 116264

[email protected]

Suffolk Robert Sharman AAE MIMI 07766 981 429

[email protected]

Sussex

Douglas Wragg AAE MIMI 01444 811349

[email protected]

Teesside Dominic Calvey CAE MIMI 07505 144137

[email protected]

Ulster

James Brady MIMI [email protected]

Warwickshire

Dave Wadsworth FIMI 07917 554883

[email protected]

West Kent

Fred Holmes AAE MIMI 01634 388886

[email protected]

West of Scotland MA

John Taylor AAE MIMI 01698 232 453

[email protected]

Yorkshire Region

Kevin Scholey AAE MIMI 07860 914349

[email protected]

MEMBER ASSOCIATIONS

AA GARAGE GUIDE PARTNERSHIP A BOOST FOR IMI MEMBERSAA Garage Guide, the online search and booking platform,

has announced a strategic partnership with the IMI to

help steer motorists towards dealers and garages that

consistently deliver high service levels to customers.

MY IMI

MEMBERSHIP


*Please note some terms and conditions

apply, for full details on the membership

benefits you receive please visit

www.theimi.org.uk/member

MEMBER BENEFITS INCLUDE:

Post nominal letters

Professional Registration*

10 editions of the IMI magazine

Networking opportunities through local event

Legal helpline

Membership card and certificate

Careers information, advice and support

Human resources support and advice

Health & safety resources and advice

Discounted CPD training and learning opportunities*

Resources to help you work smarter

Halfords trade card*

Discounts on SP Diagnostics products

Free AA Garage

Guide listing

NEW

Working in conjunction with the AA Garage Guide – www.garageguide.theaa.com

– makes for a perfect partnership, with both parties determined to improve

national industry standards for trade and retail consumers.

The IMI will promote the AA Garage Guide to those working in the industry

and to members as it provides the perfect platform to present their businesses

online to customers who value professionalism and expect the highest

standards of service – rather than the ‘cheapest deal’ available.

The partnership will see the IMI’s Professional Register promoted to

AA Garage Guide visitors and to the 60,000 AA members who require an

MOT each month.

AA Garage Guide Co-founder, Lucy Burnford, commented: “We anticipate

that the partnership will help to underpin the mutual goals of each company

and promote the shared vision of ensuring that motorists are directed to

garages which unfailingly deliver high-quality and professional service.”

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF THIS NEW BENEFIT

With four million members generating thousands of MOT and

servicing requirements per week, now is the ideal time for you to list for free on the platform. To make the full use of your listing

on the AA Garage Guide site to be visible to millions of motorists,

go to www.garageguide.theaa.com/content/imi and follow the

simple steps to activate your profile.

MY IMI

CPD


If you need help logging your

CPD but don’t have time during

the day, CPD Support Evenings

are a great opportunity to call

the team outside working hours.

This month we will be available

to call until 19:00 on Tuesday 5th

April and Wednesday 20th April.

Call us on 01992 519025 for

a quick tutorial, a reminder

of your log in details or for

help with what to log.

MOT TESTER AND MANAGER CHANGES

CPD STAR OF THE MONTH

Gary Tacey MIMI

Everything you need to know about the upcoming changes

“In my role as lead technical and

product trainer I continually remind

our dealer staff – every day’s a school

day! And there is no better way of

recording your learning than logging

it as CPD with the IMI. Not only does

this improve on your own brand

knowledge and generic knowledge,

it also contributes to a more positive

overall customer experience.”

Meet the CPD team…LEFT TO RIGHT: REBECCA, HAYLEY, GEMMA, SUE, CIARA AND LISA

We’re here to help with all of your CPD questions

and to support you in reaching your target.

Call +44 (0) 1992 519025 or email us on [email protected]

CPD SUPPORT EVENINGS

September 2016 will see changes in how to achieve MOT tester and manager status.

The IMI can provide all your training and development needs.

ALREADY APPROVED?

For those already approved to undertake MOT tests, you will be required to complete

3 hours’ annual training, based on a CPD model, to remain up-to-date with best practice

methods. All testers must complete an annual re-authorisation exam, based on this

learning, to maintain your professional status.

MOT ANNUAL TRAINING

The IMI eLearning module (available from April 2016) provides all the learning content

that you need, and after completing the re-authorisation exam allows you to print a unique

certificate. This is ideal evidence to keep and show the DVSA, when requested, that you

have done the annual training and the exam and so keep your nominated tester status.

HOW CAN THE IMI HELP?

To meet your needs and provide flexibility, it has created these packages:

• Combined option: Tester annual training/CPD eLearning and re-authorisation exam £80

• Assessment only option: Re-authorisation exam £50

• Learning only option: Tester annual training/CPD eLearning modules £50

Its training packages are designed with your business needs in mind. Both the training

and the re-authorisation exam can be undertaken via the IMI eLearning platform meaning

that your staff won’t even have to leave the workplace.

NOT YET APPROVED?

For those individuals not currently authorised to undertake MOTs, the IMI will also be

providing MOT qualifications. From September 2016, it will be authorised by DVSA to offer

MOT tester and manager qualifications, in both Light Vehicle and Motorcycle. By enrolling on

an IMI MOT qualification through the Approved Centre Network, you and your staff will have

access to market-leading qualifications, preparing them for a successful career.

For more information about the MOT qualification

offer please email [email protected]


The IMI is able to bring you a range of approved continuing professional development (CPD)

courses delivered by industry specialists, with some exclusive offers for IMI members.

Please email [email protected] or call 01992 519 025 for more information.

MY IMI

COURSES AND EVENTS

FEATURED COURSE

HYBRID AND ELECTRIC VEHICLE: ROUTINE MAINTENANCEAll vehicle repair technicians should attend training before attempting to service or repair any hybrid or electric vehicle. This course is an essential introduction to safety critical procedures for Level 2 technicians.

FEATURED E-LEARNING

PROMOTING YOUR SMALL BUSINESSThis course provides

practical marketing advice

to enable learners to achieve

maximum results for their

efforts and investment.

It covers how to differentiate,

attract and retain customers

and how to develop a

marketing database.

OSCILLOSCOPE OPERATION AND SIGNAL TEST METHODS

Learn to competently operate an oscilloscope and use all its functions, a ‘must have’ skill set for technicians.

Date: 4 & 5 May 2016

CPD Credit Value: 17

M £333 NM £370

SELECTIVE CATALYTIC REDUCTION SYSTEM (SRC) – ADBLUE

Learn to confidently test these systems on modern commercial vehicles correctly for accurate diagnosis.

Date: 11 & 12 May 2016


M £342 NM £380

AUTOMOTIVE AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEMS DIAGNOSIS

Provides knowledge essential to the servicing of light vehicle air conditioning systems.

Date: 12 & 13 May 2016


M £333 NM £370

E-LEARNING

THINKING STRATEGICALLY

CPD Credit Value: 6M £70 NM £85

PRINCIPLES OF CONSULTATIVE SELLING


FOUNDATION-UNDERSTANDING TRADING LAW AND BUSINESS COMPLIANCE


MICROSOFT OFFICE SPECIALIST 2013 - WORD


To purchase a course visit: www.theimi.org.uk/

courses-and-events or call +44 (0) 1992 519 025

M = Discounted price for IMI members

NM = Full price for non-members

All prices subject to VAT.

HOW TO BOOK

SOCIAL MEDIA FOR PROFESSIONALS


ADVANCING THE SALE


MANAGING WORKLOAD


CONVERSATIONS WITH CUSTOMERS


ALTERNATIVE FINANCE


Date: 10 & 11 May 2016


Available online now


Exhibiting categories include:

Parts & Components – Electronics & Systems – Repair & Maintenance – Accessories& Customizing – Car Wash, Care & Reconditioning – Management & Digital Solutions

Speakers from IAAF, DVSA, SMMT, IMI, Motor Codes & others will cover topics including:

» Updates on the MOT, qualifications & certification

» The growing impact of hybrid & electric vehicles

» The changing car parc & keeping workshopsup to date with both current & future vehicles

» Technology & the retail sector

» Business seminars for workshop managers(managing distribution, insurance, warranties)

» Staff skills & training

Register today for the UK’sleading aftermarket trade show!

With over 550 domestic and international exhibitors,

Automechanika Birmingham offers you the chance to see the

atest services, parts, components and garage equipment in one

place. From independent garages and workshops, to distributors,

dealers and retailers, Automechanika Birmingham will give you

the opportunity to meet current and potential new suppliers,

as well as learn about the latest innovations to improve efficiency

across the entire aftermarket.

Don’t miss your chance to be a part of this landmark

automotive event by registering today. Use code IMI003 at

www.automechanika-birmingham.com

Confi rmed exhibitors include*:

*See website for full list

Trade association partners:

In association with:

7-9 June 2016The UK‘s leading exhibition for the automotive aftermarket and supply chain

550EXHIBITORS

FROM 30COUNTRIES

RECRUITMENT


IMI ADVERTISING

To find out more contact Wendy Hennessy at:[email protected] or 07721 127 983 SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES ALSO AVAILABLE

THERE ARE MANY

WAYS TO REACH BOTH

IMI MEMBERS AND

THE MOTOR INDUSTRY

BY USING OUR

ADVERTISING PLATFORMSMS

Engage every month with over 40,000 industry professionals with IMI Magazine and our e-newsletters.


RECRUITMENT

Giving customers control over , giving you new

ways to

0845 226 0503

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