Make your business easier to buy from - Donal's Diary - ECONOMIC AND MARKET OVERVIEW FROM BLUESTONE MOTOR FINANCE
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ISSUE THIRTEEN SEPTEMBER 2021 ECONOMIC AND MARKET OVERVIEW FROM BLUESTONE MOTOR FINANCE Donal’s Diary Make your business easier to buy from.
DONAL’S
DIARY
What can you change to make your
business easier to buy from?
...it’s not only about finding more of the right stock!
By Donal Murphy MD Bluestone Motor Finance
I think we were all pleased to see the new car sales There is consumer demand out there, but their
figures for August. A year on year rise of 25 percent needs and buying approach could well have
saw year to date numbers rising 22 percent. It’s changed over the last eighteen months. The
encouraging to see the momentum, but we all opportunity for dealers is to match this change.
recognise that the numbers are still some
While it is a broad-brush summary, today’s used
18 percent behind the pre-COVID market. Ever the
car buyer is likely to be better informed (car and
optimist, I’m minded to reflect that we also need to
finance), better protected and more empowered to
take into consideration the global shortage of
make a buying decision. A social and digital
essential microchips that themselves are slowing
evolution has seen a switch from people being sold
new car production.
to, to people making positive buying decisions.
What is very evident is that the new normal is not These include the car, the finance, the option for
the normal we knew pre-pandemic and much has distance purchasing and the desire to choose a
changed. It is our capacity to embrace this change dealer, reflecting their need for confidence and
that will be all-important to our businesses. service. Invariably, the customer's car-buying
journey starts online. So just how good is your
The wisdom that we can ‘only control the
digital presence and when did you last update the
controllable’ has been an important lesson for me
copy? (beyond stock details).
down the years. The evident and continuing impact
of COVID-19, Brexit, an increasingly informed and All the evidence points to a more socially aware
protected consumer and most pressingly for the buyer. It means trust in a retailer and its values is far
dealer community, a shortage of used stock and more critical. If you are not bringing these factors to
unprecedented price rises are all uncontrollable life and not updating your copy regularly, you could
realities. It is what we can do, rather than what we well be missing a trick on something that is very
cannot, that can help us grow and there is scope; definitely in your control. It’s all about making your
we can also seek out the positives to help us. business interesting and interested, trustworthy
and easy to buy from.
As a starting point, the Central Bank published
some handy data in mid-August, assessing the I hope this line of thought helps and we will
market in Q1. Household savings rose by €1.5bn, to certainly be doing the same.
stand at €7.4bn. At the same time, household debt
fell by €1.5bn. The net result was that household net Best Wishes
worth rose by 3.3 percent, or €28.5bn, to a high of
€883bn. While, very sadly, some people saw
financial hardship due to the pandemic, it seems
Donal Donal Murphy
even more were able to save and reduce their levels Managing Director
of personal debt unable to spend during lockdown. Bluestone Motor Finance
Name:
60 Seconds with... Colin B
owers
le:
Job Ro Unde· rwriter
Colin Bowers Cred it
of time
at
Length ne Motor
Bluestoe:
What is your favourite thing Financ
er
about working at BMFI? Just ov s
o n t h
2m
Without a doubt it has to be the
staff, they made me feel very welcome from day
1 and I felt part of· the team straight away. I am
also enjoying how we talk to the customer
directly to try and get them an approval, it What is th
means no two applications are the same and e best
piece of a
· dvice you
makes each day very interesting. have ever
In been give
g w it h th e words of th n?
a b o u t w o rkin e s in g
like e r Scooter
What do you 'It's nice to
be importa
il e rs? e b nt,
Motor Reta ra te fu l they are whe
nw ut it's more
im p o rt
o w g a n t
It has to be h e m out, especi
ally the to be nice‘.
to h e lp th it
are able appreciate
rs. They really
smaller deale in
e n w e ca n w ork with them Who would your fa
vourite
wh throu g h . pa rty guests be?
to g e t a sa le
order Roy Keane, Eric Cant
ona
(huge fan of both), Le
What three traits define you? e Mack
Honest, Approachable and
Optimistic - so optimistic that I
JL (think he’s hilarious
and Christina Aguiler
)
a
for obvious reasons
believe Man Utd will win the - her
singing.
league every year.
you A penguin walks into the office
afternoon
On a f ree wearing a sombrero, what does
d me… Hic!!
would fin he say and why is he here?
t the
probably a r petting Can I get a Burrrrrrrito with a shot of
do
playgroun y4 tequila and can someone call me a
the kids, m
farm with fairy taxi to P-P-Pick me up and bring me
a r o ld lov es visiting
ye ay to back to the Zoo. Also you need to sort
ys a nice w
trails, alwa . out your security, pretty bad allowing a
afternoon
spend an drunk penguin to walk into your office.
Favourite tipple… a lovely pint of
Guinness and maybe a nice whiskey chaser.
Who would you most like to meet
and why? Alex Ferguson, would be
fascinating to get an insight into his
knowledge of football and hear stories
of how he managed different
personalities throughout his career.
tes you?
What car do you What motiva
a successful What was the last
drive or would you To be part of
ereby I am TV Show you
like to drive? company wh
be a binged watched?
Drive a Seat Toledo considered to
r of the
but would love to drive valuable membe Bridgerton -
ting
The A-Team Van, team contribu My wife made me
rowth and
a lifelong dream to be towards its g watch it with her.
ets.
part of The A-Team. achieving targ
Motor Industry News
Key economic data summary
as at 08/09/21
Consumer Confidence - (Aug) 86.5 Up from 84.9 in July
August 2021 Annual Inflation CPI (July) 0.4% Up from 0.2% in June
·
New Car Annual Inflation HICP (July) 0.4% Up from 0.15% in June
Registrations ·
Unemployment Rate (Aug) 6.4% Down from 6.5% in June
·
source SIMI 01-09-21
6,013 new cars registrations Consumer confidence improves – KBC 16/08/21
for August compared to Irish consumer confidence improves on further
4,808 in August 2020 (+25.1%) opening-up of economy.
and 5,088 in August 2019 · Slight rise contrasts with declines in confidence in US, Euro
(+18.2%). area and UK.
96,309 new cars registered Irish consumer sentiment uptick driven by improvement
year to date compared to in outlook for economy and jobs.
78,864 for the same period in 15% see personal finances improving in next 12 months with
2020 (22.1%) and 110,527 in 2019 similar number expecting deterioration, implying most
(-12.9%). consumers don’t see material pick-up in living standards as
Light Commercial Vehicles economy rebounds.
(LCV) saw an increase of 2,972
registrations compared to
August last year 1,689 and NEWS
1,890 for the same month in
2019. Year to date 24,783 new UPDATE
LCVs were registered an
increase on last year’s 16,701 Quarterly Financial Accounts
(+48.4%) and on 21,904 in Central Bank Q1 2021 – published 11/08/21
2019 (+13.1%).
Gross household savings continued to increase, up
5,088 used cars were imported
by €1.5bn in Q1 2021, to stand at €7.4bn.
in August 2021, compared with
8,141 imports in August 2020, a Increasing deposits and housing assets has led to
decrease on the 9,706 imports household net worth reaching a high of €883bn in
in August 2019. Year to date Q1 2021. It should be noted that this may not reflect
used imports were up 16.4% the underlying experiences of all households, or the
(46,185) on 2020 (39,668) and distribution of wealth.
down 36.0% on 2019 (72,214).
The domestic economy was a net lender in Q1 2021,
831 new electric vehicles following nine consecutive quarters as a net borrower.
registered in August
compared to 294 in August Household debt fell by €1.5bn over the quarter.
2020. YTD, 7,057 new electric
Total debt now equates to €25,717 per capita.
cars had been registered in
comparison to 2,954 for the Household debt as a proportion of disposable
same period 2020. Electric income fell by 1.9 percentage points, to stand at
Vehicle, Plug-in Hybrids and 102 per cent.
Hybrids continued to
increase their market share, Gross household savings increased by €1.5bn in Q1
with their combined market 2021, to stand at €7.4bn for the quarter. The rise in
share now over 30.76%. Diesel savings correlates to an increase in financial assets,
now accounts for 34.09%, totalling €6.1bn in Q1 2021. This was primarily driven
Petrol 32.5%, Hybrid 16.32%, by investment in currency and deposits, while
Electric 7.33% and Plug-in investment in housing and other valuables has
Electric Hybrid 7.11%. remained steady, at €5.3bn and €1.4bn respectively.
T: 01 644 8951 E: info@bluestonemf.ie W: bluestonemf.ie
Lines open: 9.00am - 5.30pm Monday to Friday. Calls may be recorded.
Bluestone Motor Finance is a registered business name of Bluestone Motor Finance (Ireland) DAC.
Directors: A Curtin, A Jeffery (British), P McGuinness (British), D Murphy.
Registered in Dublin, Ireland No. 507250. Registered Office: Unit 18 Northwood House, Northwood Business Campus, Santry, Dublin 9.
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