Is it really that bad out there?

Mena

Now I know we have had various dealerships closing over the last days/weeks/months, but I was in a prominent BMW dealership today and was told they sold over 30 vehicles last week alone.

Now it's possible this was creative usage of the truth, but the person had no reason to lie.

Are we really seeing a wholesale collapse of the market here or simply a consolidation in an area already oversupplied?

I note with interest Paraic Mooney's letter to the Taoiseach and minister for finance last week. The closing comment in that quote: "This is a plea for survival, it's time for brave action." sounds like desperation, but my, albeit limited, experience differes somewhat.

Yes, every job lost is a catastrophe to those involved, and a further burden on the social welfare system et al, however the figures stated by Mr Mooney equate to a paltry 210 job losses. Paltry when viewed in the wider context of overall job losses of course.

So my question is, is it really that bad out there or is it just a correction to the market?

I know there are a good few people on here that are actually in said market so I'd be interested to hear their views.

R.O.R

Selling vehicles isn't the problem, there's plenty of stuff moving.

Selling at a profit is the hard part. Majority of the stuff moving from here (ex. lease) is going for a loss or just about wiping it's face.

Volume unfortunately doesn't mean profit at the moment.

--amadeus--

Mena wrote: »

Now I know we have had various dealerships closing over the last days/weeks/months, but I was in a prominent BMW dealership today and was told they sold over 30 vehicles last week alone

Pat Keough (BMW) in Limerick generated between 50 - 60 million in revenue last year and have just gone into voluntary liquidation. New car registration are down 65% according to some reports.

I don't see any value in a govt bailout or intervention but yes it is that bad out there. Remember that all dealers but especially prestige marques will carry a significant overhead (those fancy showrooms weren't cheap to build nor are they cheap to staff). I wouldn't be convinced by a claim of selling 30 cars in a week - they must be teh only dealer in the country doing so if they are - but even shifting stock doesn't guarantee making a profit or maintaining a viable business.

[edit] ROR - the faster poster

Drummerboy08

R.O.R wrote: »

Selling vehicles isn't the problem, there's plenty of stuff moving.

Selling at a profit is the hard part. Majority of the stuff moving from here (ex. lease) is going for a loss or just about wiping it's face.

Volume unfortunately doesn't mean profit at the moment.

+1 on that. We can move the stuff pretty quick, trying to move it on with the smallest loss possible is another story.

omega man

I changed my car 2 weeks ago and the dealer (BMW) said that they were selling a huge amount of used stock but new cars had died a death. There are some great deals out there and if you can look beyond the initial shock of the value of your trade-in and think cost to change and how much the car you are looking at has depreciated then it can still be worth it.

Lord Trollington

210 Jobs i suppose does sound paltry, but when you put it into context that 10,000 people were employed in the industry this time last year and now i suspect there are less than 6,000 people with the recent closures.
Just because all these garages arent closing at once, we arent hearing about it in the news.
As i said before Dell close in Limerick 1900 jobs lost and there was opublic outcry.
4000+ Jobs lost in teh Motor industry no onle blinks an eye.
Paraic Mononey is a very very experienced operator, he is a director of EP Mooney and once once Head of the SIMI.
Let me assure you Mena, he knows what he is talking about, and things are really that bad.
When you have well established delaers such as White Bishop and Chapmans closing, both in Business years, we have a problem on our hands!

Tipsy Mac

The imported UK numbers are staying pretty much where they were last year, if I was in the car business this would be the stock I would be chasing for my forecourt, diversify or die.

lifer_sean

Tipsy Mac wrote: »

The imported UK numbers are staying pretty much where they were last year, if I was in the car business this would be the stock I would be chasing for my forecourt, diversify or die.

Any dealers I talk to that have been importing cars from UK have stopped because of the higher prices now in UK, and lower prices here. Any UK cars I have left in the yard are ones I bought at the end of last year, all the newer stock is Irish. Unless prices in the UK drop now that the reg has changed over there, the market for importing is dead from a trade point of view. This excludes the import of niche models that are difficult to get here ... if you want a niche model badly enough, importing will always be your only option.