The Coventry plant...
The Coventry plant, where the 206 is made, has been the subject of much political manoeuvring in the past few years. A ÷£14.4m Government grant was offered in 2004 to help attract the production of new models, but the offer was not accepted, leading ultimately to the decision to close the plant this week.
Industry analysts say...
Industry analysts say franchised garages are making significant improvements to their used vehicle operations to combat the threat posed by low-cost car supermarkets.
That could see extended warranty packages and the kind of low-rate finance offers employed to promote new models make an appearance on used car forecourts.
Franchised operations often charge a premium for second-hand motors purchased through their approved used schemes, but many drivers are unwilling to fork out extra money because they consider nearly new cars to be a relatively safe purchase. Robert Macnab, director of published research at Trend Tracker, explained: “Thanks to the increasing reliability of cars, used models are becoming more of a commodity. And main dealers’ current programmes scarcely add enough value to justify a premium. Makers’ approved used car schemes are virtually identical, and need to be reinvigorated.” Only last week, we reported how franchised garages are losing out to online and high street lenders (Used News, Issue 937).
Research from Trend Tracker claims car manufacturers need to help their dealers by providing subsidised finance rates, so zero per cent finance terms and low interest rate deals look set to reach second-hand buyers.