Industry News

Dealers are being asked to take part in a survey looking at staff retention in the motor trade.

Dealers will have the opportunity in October to preview the first Chinese cars planned to go on sale in the UK in mid-2011.

The Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) has revised its Specialist Automotive Finance (SAF) competence test.

Its research indicates that 7.7 million people intend to buy either a new or used car in the six months to February, a 49 per cent increase on the same period last year.

Steven Baillie, head of Loans, Sainsbury's Finance said: "We've been conducting our car buying index for the past seven years and our findings would indicate that the numbers looking to purchase a car are certainly starting to pick up again.

People typically expect to spend around £6,600 on average on cars in the coming six months.

The latest index suggests that 20 per cent of people planning to buy a new or used car over the next six months will use finance for some or all of the purchase price.

The research also found that the numbers of people expected to buy a new car also showed an increase.

Saab has appointed a firm to design and manage a new customer relationship management (CRM) system for its dealer networks.