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We’re coming in hot with round two of our Extra Mile Award winners, catching up with Top Car Inverness, Amanah Prestige and Foray Motor Group.

If you’re not sure what we’re talking about, you can learn more about our Extra Mile Awards by clicking here. 

What do you think was the driving force behind your win?

Absolutely our planning of the business model at the very beginning of opening the business. Every part of our business was set up with the customer in mind. Before Top Car opened its doors, our business plan had great customer outcomes at its heart. We had to think ‘how easy are we to do business with?’. We then went looking for the holes in our process and filled them with a mixture of technology and experience. 

What’s your secret to providing excellent customer service every time?

Genuinely caring about the customer. All the customer wants is to feel they are being looked after. You may sell 20-30 cars per month but make that customer feel like they are the only one you are dealing with. Regular updates, let them know what to expect and follow through on your promises. If the car breaks, fix it. Mistakes won’t define your business, reacting well to them definitely will.

Do you have any positive feedback or customers stories you can share in relation to MotoRate?

MotoRate has been a game changer for Top Car. The product has transformed our finance penetration from mid 20% to 50%. Our customers are receiving the finance rate they deserve. Top Car is delighted we’re helping customers with great finance deals, MotoNovo supply the finance to the dealer/customer and the customer is often delighted with the payments, the dealer and their new car. MotoNovo coined the phrase “The Triple Win”. It’s playing out a treat at Top Car Inverness. 

What does supporting the community mean to your dealership?

Charity starts at home, so I want to support the local community and where you can see the results.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Tell us a bit more about the community work you’re involved with?

We work within the local community and a portion of our profit donated goes to a variety of different areas such as the community and schools, but also to those who are less fortunate.

How do you decide how to raise money/give back?

Wherever it is needed locally. I have a strong local support for my business and am keen to aid other where and how I am able to also.

What made you want to partner with MotoNovo?

We saw MotoNovo as a ‘forward thinking’ and innovative finance company, and this suited our business strategy. Anecdotally, we’d heard very good things and good feedback from others.

What’s been a standout moment from your relationship with MotoNovo?

Definitely the introduction of MotoRate. Our teams have adjusted really well to presenting finance in a different way and our customers are finding the process very transparent. They can access the quoting system the minute they find a car online and get an idea of the rate and monthly payments right at the start of their journey.

The driving force has been the focus of our teams on used car growth whilst also focussing on finance penetration. There was a need to reset our processes when the showrooms opened again to customers. The sales management team have worked tirelessly to take advantage of the strong used car market and at the same time have increased finance penetrations.  

Meet the other winners here and keep an eye out on our socials for more stories from the winners!

Read the latest top tips from round two of our Extra Mile Award winners.

The Extra Mile Awards winner's circle - part 2

While 2021 is ending much as it began, with further concerns about a COVID-19 wave, I am clear that 2021 has been a year of progress against a challenging and ever-changing backdrop for all of us connected and invested in motor retailing.

As a starting point, I am immensely proud that MotoNovo and our team members have won an impressive ten awards over the course of the last 12 months. Two of our colleagues were recognised at the Women in Credit Awards, we won awards for complaint handling, training, an agent of the year award for helping vulnerable customers and five awards as a business, mainly relating to our ground-breaking risk-based product, MotoRate and for the support provided to dealers and customers during the pandemic. 

Delighted as I am, we took nothing for granted, and we will never rest on our laurels. Improvement, innovation and listening to and adapting to our customers' needs continues to be crucial.

From a business perspective, we have enjoyed a successful year in what has been another unusual and testing 12 months. The well-publicised supply issues for new cars has continued. The knock-on impact for the used cars has been nothing short of phenomenal, with values rising by around 30% as supply-demand issues created an unprecedented used vehicle marketplace. Dealers have adapted with characteristic agility. Today, the impact of the pandemic sees dealers operating in a leaner fashion in terms of both stock and people. The reported profits have been impressive.

For used vehicle finance, the most recent FLA data revealed that in the nine months to September 2021, new business volumes in this market remained 11% higher than in the same period in 2020. I suspect volumes will have moderated in the final quarter. The overall picture is fewer cases but more volume.

As the UK reopened, we saw the challenge from unsecured personal loan providers return. Direct Lenders who had moderated lending during the pandemic became more active. Independent research commissioned by MotoNovo indicated that by H2, they were taking market share from dealer finance with highly competitive APRs used as a typical core marketing weapon.

Pricing brings me back to the significant strategic change in dealer finance, the ban on discretionary commission that came into force back in January. The FCA was prominent on the outcome they were seeking from the ban;

"Ultimately, once motor finance firms move away from discretionary commission models, we expect to see consumers' financing costs reduce."

The FCA estimated the ban would save consumers £165M pa.

Since September, the regulator has been undertaking supervisory work to assess the ban's success concerning its desired outcomes to help assess whether the potential for customer harm remains and, if so, how they address it.

It is impossible to speculate on the outcome of the FCA's work; we will have to wait. We are in the unique position of being able to compare risk-based pricing with a flat-rate model, and the former is achieving notably higher penetration, most especially with more creditworthy consumers. As I noted previously, there is evidence that dealer finance is losing ground to personal loans and interest rates are part of this for the creditworthy customer. Commercially more dealers may choose to opt for risk-based pricing to counter this threat.

Whether we can expect more regulatory changes in the year ahead is an easy question - Yes. Quite apart from the outcome of the FCA's ongoing supervisory work, we already know that the regulator plans to launch its new Consumer Duty across retail consumer credit. Quite what this will mean is as yet unknown but as always we will engage with a sense of energy and opportunity.

So, in conclusion, 2021 has been a positive year overall for motor retailing based upon classic dealer agility, and I don't doubt more of this will be required in 2022.

With 2022 on the horizon, Managing Director, Karl Werner, reflects on what a year 2021 has been. 

2021 in review

Can you believe we’re nearing the end of 2021? Well for us, it’s a time of celebration as we honour our latest Extra Mile Award winners! We’re recognising  those who make a difference in their community, provide exceptional customer service and fully embrace our products. If you want to see what the Extra Mile Awards are all about, click here. 

Find out top tips for making your customers feel safe when visiting a dealership, which MotoNovo products are proving to be hot favourites and how to get started with supporting charities. We catch up with Lindleys Autocentres, Stratus Cars and Hippo Motor Group below.

One of our main core values is caring, whether that be for colleagues, customers, or charity. Supporting our community is vital part of that, we care for our community and believe in giving back. With over 70 local employees, we feel an obligation to give back to the place which helped us grow as a business and a family.

Tell us a bit more about the charity work you’re involved with?

We contribute funds and labour time to many charities and causes across the Nottingham area. Our main charity partner is called Switch Up. Nottingham has issues with knife crime and gang violence from younger people in underprivileged areas of the city. The charity tries to intervene when younger people are seen to be slipping through the net via the medium of sport which helps regain commitment and focus. We contribute a monthly sum to the charity which goes towards rent, counselling costs, equipment, or however the charity deem fit. We’ve also contributed to Nottingham Blood Bikes, MIND mental health charity and many more.

Our main aim is to try and support those who need it the most. It’s impossible to support every cause so we choose carefully which charity we feel aligns the most with our core values.

How do you help customers along their car buying journey?

We’ve invested heavily in our website to ensure customers have free access to any information needed, as a team we all share responsibility for a sale, meaning all team members have sales access and knowledge to ensure the customer journey is as smooth as possible. For example, a typical sale will start online with a customer finding the vehicle required, that is usually followed by a conversation with one of our sales staff who will log all the necessary information including vehicle details, finance information, site address and confirmation of any appointments. Customers are invited to test drive the vehicle which would have been sanitised beforehand. Following this, we go through all of the paperwork, including explaining the road tax for the vehicle.

What measures do you have in place for customers who may be nervous about visiting a dealership?

We’ve optimised our website to make customer purchases as comfortable and stress free as possible. We ensure that our photographs and vehicle descriptions are completely accurate to allow our customers to make an informed decision before they ever arrive at our site, we are also big advocates of the MotoNovo Self-Serve system as this allows the customer to apply and read all the information at their own leisure without needing to be in the showroom. For those that are still uncomfortable in open spaces, we have the offer of a large high ceiling office that is sanitised regularly should they wish to have more privacy when on site.

There is no secret to providing excellent customer service, our philosophy is very simple - to make the car buying journey as simple and enjoyable as we can. Each customer is treated as we would want to be treated, with respect and patience.

At heart, Hippo Motor Group and MotoNovo have continually developed a strong working relationship over the course of eight years. This blossomed even further during lockdown, with MotoNovo introducing the Covid Recovery & Reinvention Hub for partners. Our Account Manager and the Regional Sales Manager have both helped us to maintain and grow a harmonious and strong working partnership, maximising all opportunities.

The great technology, speed of decision and flexibility of the products were all big factors with choosing to partner with MotoNovo. These unique offerings ensure the partnership is unlike any other in the industry.

How does support from your Account Manager help with the operation of your dealership?

A close and collaborative working relationship with our Account Manager is vital to our continued success. Not only does it help us to ensure the best possible customer journey is given to everyone who comes onboard, but it provides a smooth process when an obstacle is encountered.

Keep an eye out on our socials for more stories from the winners!

Hear top tips from our latest Extra Mile Award winners on making your customers feel safe, which MotoNovo products are proving to be hot favourites and how to get started with supporting charities

The Extra Mile Awards winner's circle - part 1

News from Cap HPI that used car values have plateaued come as little surprise. However, with new car supply remaining constrained, albeit it is starting to regain momentum and the new car focus on electric cars, which candidly are more expensive to purchase than their fossil-fuel equivalent predecessors, then I find it hard to see anything other than a modest realignment in values in the months ahead. After all, the supply of new-2 year sold stock will inevitably remain low for many months to come.

The change in the market right now is the shortage of buyers. For the first time in many months, we have seen a return to a seasonal norm. Christmas is coming and pretty much everyone wants to make up for the situation last year. Classically, this was the time of year when the available buyers were people who had to buy a car rather than those choosing to buy one. It does appear to be the case right now.

At the same time, we cannot ignore some other negative headwinds. Inflation has risen to 4.2% (Consumer Price Index), the highest inflation rate reported since 2011. Used cars were referenced by the Office for National Statistics as one of the notable drivers being this rise. Cars apart, prices are rising in many areas consumer confidence had been in decline. However, on November 19th, GfK’s long-running Consumer Confidence Index increased three points to stand at -14 in November.

Good thought this may be, the assessment by GfK is that the improvement is likely to  be linked to a Christmas ‘splurge’ to enjoy the type of Christmas they missed out on in 2020 (I’m glad they agree with my view!)

I doubt any of this will come as news to dealers; they will simply be disappointed that the momentum gained this year has tailed off.

One part of stocking that is harder to speculate upon will be stock levels. Traditionally November and December have seen dealers de-stocking to an extent. Throughout much of this year, this has been the default position as a result of stock shortages. In my conversations with dealers, I sense there is some de-stocking but only at a limited level and that trade buyers are in short supply.

So, to bring this assessment to a conclusion, agility in stock management remains crucial, but let’s be honest, wasn’t this always the case?

Debbie McKay, Head of Motor Major Accounts


Hear from Head of Motor Major Accounts, Debbie McKay as she takes a look at what the tail end of 2021 could hold.

News - December 2021

The Extra Mile Awards winner's circle - part 2

2021 in review

The Extra Mile Awards winner's circle - part 1

Stocking trends to the year end

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