Vaculug promotes Craig Rudkin to national accounts director
Craig Rudkin has been promoted to the position of national accounts director at Vaculug. Rudkin has been part of Vaculug for 31 years and has experience in many aspects of the business. According to the company, this appointment comes at a time when Vaculug is experiencing “major growth and making investments in strengthening the…team ready for another successful year.”
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Increased UK, EU new car registrations in December
According to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), new car registrations across the EU expanded 12.8% in December 2022, the fifth consecutive month of growth during the year. Despite this positive result, only two of the region’s four major markets recorded growth. UK registrations – counted separately from EU figures – grew 18.3% year-on-year in December, to 128,462 units.
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Final quarter doldrums for ETRMA member replacement tyre sales
A positive first half of 2022 gave way to an increasingly bleak picture for replacement tyre sales according to overall figures published today by European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA) members. Overall this meant replacement consumer tyre sales were 2 per cent down on 2021. Commercial replacement tyre sales remained largely flat, except for the agricultural tyre market, which was down more than a fifth (-22 per cent), having been in contraction all year. Quarter four saw double-digit percentage falls versus the fourth quarter of 2021 as the effects of war in Ukraine, including spiralling energy prices and a continental cost of living crisis, bit. The European replacement tyre segment’s first half of the year had been relatively buoyant, with double-digit growth in replacement truck and bus tyres the highlight.
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NFDA hosts industry get-together
On Tuesday 17 January, the evening of the NFDA Executive Meeting, NFDA brought together franchised dealer members, MPs, and Lords to the House of Lords to discuss the significance of the automotive retail sector, in addition to some of the pertinent issues the sector is facing.
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CAM renews sponsorship of pool player Richard Gifford
CAM will continue its sponsorship of pool player Richard Gifford in 2023, starting with The Ultimate Pool Challenger Series, which breaks on 20 January. Chris Allen, head of product and people at CAM, says, “We’re delighted to sponsor Richard again for the 2023 pool season. With the new format of international rules now being played in all competitions this should play to Richard’s strengths, as it will benefit the more aggressive, positive players with the best potting ability.”
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Delphi Technologies to support independent auto technicians with new information hub
BorgWarner brand Delphi Technologies has launched its new Masters of Motion hub aimed at independent garage technicians. The company said the launch heralds a “sustained campaign to support technicians and workshops even more closely.” The availability of qualified technicians adequately prepared for the rapid changes in the car parc, including the rise of electric vehicles and increasingly complex advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), is one of the key challenges currently facing the automotive aftermarket.
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Shades of grey remain in demand – SMMT
Grey is officially the nation’s favourite new car ‘colour’ for the fifth year in a row, with the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reporting that 25.7 per cent of UK buyers chose the shade in 2022. Some 415,199 grey cars were registered last year, up 1.7 per cent, while black and white took second and third place overall, completing a monochrome podium.
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Government consulting on MOT changes, again
The Department for Transport (DfT) has launched a public consultation on the future of MOTs in Great Britain, which closes at 11:59pm on 28 February 2023. According to the DfT, “Views are being sought to update MOT testing for cars, motorbikes and vans to ensure roadworthiness checks continue to balance costs on motorists while ensuring road safety, keeping up with advances in vehicle technology, and tackling vehicle emissions.” But the short story is that they are once again proposing to “change the date at which the first MOT for new light vehicles is required from 3 to 4 years” under the guise of saving “motorists across Great Britain around £100 million a year in MOT fees” based on a £40 MOT.
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Point S building on UK investment
As part of its endeavours to be the “UK’s leading independent tyre dealer and car maintenance network,” in 2022 Point S Tyre & Autocare made a “substantial investment” in its independent auto centres. Point S says its members “can expect a year of further network development and progress in 2023” that builds upon this investment.
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Yokohama UK names Lucie Dalton as marketing manager and Charlotte Hodgson as price and demand planning manager
Yokohama UK reports that it has appointed Lucie Dalton, as its new marketing manager and Charlotte Hodgson as price and demand planning manager in a move that completes its senior management team.
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Prometeon names Yilmaz as MD for UK, Eire and Nordics
Prometeon Tyre Group has appointed Ali Yilmaz as the new managing director for the UK, Ireland and Nordics, effective from 1 January 2023. The move sees Yilmaz promoted from commercial director to the leadership role of the cluster, replacing interim MD Francesco Antonacci.
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Recruitment a clear-and-present-danger to aftermarket profitability
There has been talk about closing the recruitment gap in the automotive aftermarket for years. More recently certain training bodies and associations such as the NTDA have taking significant steps to renew efforts to recruit and upskill the tyre and aftermarket workforce. Now, however, is clear evidence that these much-discussed issues are not just theoretical. Rather, the lack of skill people in the trade is affecting the ability to service already depleted demand, which is hitting profitability even amongst some of the largest, fastest-growing and most profitable tyre-selling businesses.
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Recruitment roadblock reduces Halfords profitability, but tyres continue to drive growth
Halfords Group plc (Halfords)’s third-quarter 2023 trading update for the 13 weeks to 30 December 2022 show that group revenue grew 38.3 per cent and like-for-like group sales were up 12.6 per cent compared with 2020 levels. Other headlines included the news that Halfords’s services business represents 50.3 per cent of group revenue, and B2B, which includes the Avayler system 28.2 per cent. At the same time, Halfords hailed its “strong Commercial Fleet performance”, with this part of the business growing 138 per cent year-on-year. However, the company reduced its full-year 2023 underlying profit before tax (PBT) guidance from £60 million to £50 million.
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T&C Site Services: Port & OTR success with Continental
Praise for Continental from T&C Site Services Ltd. Not only does the UK’s largest independent earthmover and OTR tyre specialist think highly of the Continental range of radial and v-ply tyres, it appreciates the company’s “forward-thinking and advisory approach.”
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First Stop UK makes round of tyre retail appointments
Following the news of Brenden Marais’s promotion to First Stop Tyres & Car Services UK and Ireland franchise manager, First Stop has recruited two new retail business consultants to accelerate its expansion plans. With 155 stores now operating under the First Stop banner, the company’s pledge to reach the 220 mark by 2024 remains on course.
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