Car dealers are out of date and car manufacturers should directly engage with their customers instead.

That’s the view of former car company head Martin Leach who wonders why an industry that invests trillions of dollars in designing and manufacturing vehicles then “does its best not to be involved with the end user”.

The former chief of Ford of Europe, Mazda and Maserati believes that the industry needs to better engage with the people who buy its products, rather like computer manufacturer Apple does.

“Look at the Apple model where the manufacturer goes straight into the front line with the customer – this is one of the most successful and trusted businesses in the world,” Leach tells Headline Auto.

“Visits to car dealerships are falling as people increasingly do their research online and many of them still don’t trust dealers. There needs to be a huge move towards customer satisfaction via online and social media to draw manufacturers into relationships with consumers.

“The dealer distribution model has been with us for decades. It costs a fortune and is diminishing in influence. The industry needs to find ways to reduce the time and money it spends on this model – just as it has done right through the design, engineering and manufacturing systems using new technologies to take cost out and reduce lead times.”

Leach, who now runs Magma, the automotive industry consultancy and service provider, adds that there is a need to find new ways of dealing with customers.

“The number of people wanting to actually drive a car before buying is declining and this is partly due to model complexity. The chances of a dealer having the car to the exact specification required is remote.

“Customers may want to try the car for a few hours or just 30 minutes – they may only want to see if it fits in the garage. Why not have regionally-based demonstrator fleets and take cars directly to the customer?

“This would reduce the financial burden on dealers and free them to concentrate on the more profitable aspects of their business such as service, repair and used vehicles.”

BMW is to sell its new i range of cars through 46 of the brand’s UK dealers.

On stream at the end of this year they will initially show off the first two members of BMW’s electric sub-brand.

Each of the dealers – which BMW says are located in high population areas – will set up specialist aftersales services allowing them to carry out repairs to the vehicles’ high voltage batteries.

BMW adds that a wider service network is planned to offer extended coverage for the general service, maintenance and repair of the i vehicles.

The first two i cars will be the fully-electric BMW i3 megacity vehicle and the plug-in hybrid BMW i8 sports car.

The i3 is BMW’s first fully-electric production car and will be the first of the range in showrooms. Both it and the i8 have all-aluminium chassis combined with a passenger cell made entirely from lightweight carbon-fibre reinforced plastic.

According to BMW Group UK Managing Director Tim Abbott customer enquiries concerning the i range are already extremely high with more than 6000 people registering their interest.

“With the announcement of our BMW i retail network we are open for business and taking deposits on the i3 and i8,” he says.

BMW’s i programme stretches significantly beyond the vehicles themselves. Also included are a range of mobility services focusing on parking spaces, recharging infrastructure, ‘smart’ navigation systems, route planning and access to other BMW vehicles on an ‘on-demand’ basis.

Abbott says that the programme offers “game-changing” technology. “It will revolutionise the way we move through a completely new driving and ownership experience.”

Aston Martin celebrated its 100th birthday on Sunday (19th) and marked the day by unveiling a radical concept car.

The CC100 Speedster Concept is described as very much a one-off, harking back to the earliest Astons but also boasting hints to the brand’s future design direction.

It celebrated Aston’s birthday in style at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring race meeting in Germany, by completing a lap of the 14-mile Nordschleife, alongside the Aston Martin DBR1 that won the Nürburgring 1000km in 1959.

Formula One legend Sir Stirling Moss drive the DBR1, while Aston Martin CEO Dr Ulrich Bez piloted the CC100 – a car he says he has nicknamed the ‘DBR100’.

Aston Martin claims to have taken just six months to design and build the CC100. Special Projects and Motorsport Director David King led the team while Design Director Marek Reichman and the brand’s Chief Exterior Designer Miles Nurnberger created the look of the car.

According to Nurnberger the brief was very simple, yet enormously testing: “Create something that reflects the 100 years of Aston Martin heritage and signals the future of the brand.

“The idea of an iconic speedster concept that nods to the Le Mans and Nürburgring- winning cars of 1959 soon came, and we have had complete freedom to shape this car.”

The CC100 measures almost 4.5 metres long and is more than two metres wide. Both the body and interior are made from carbon fibre, while power comes from the latest AM11 6-litre V12 petrol engine mated to a six-speed hydraulically-actuated automated sequential manual transmission with steering column-mounted paddle shifts.

The car boasts a 0-62mph time of just over four seconds, and an electronically-limted top speed of 180mph.

According to Bez the CC100 shows off the best of Aston Martin. “It represents our fantastic sporting heritage, our exceptional design capability, our superb engineering know-how and, above all, our adventurous spirit,” he says.

“But this car is more, even, than a simple ‘birthday present’ to ourselves: it shows that the soul of Aston Martin – the thing that differentiates us from all the other car makers out there – is as powerful as ever and I very much hope that everyone who catches a glimpse of it at the Nürburgring today enjoys seeing it.”

Skoda expects a significant improvement in its UK fleet business from its new Superb.

The updated car arrives in July in hatchback and estate versions, promising several gains including lower emissions.

Skoda already makes around 60 to 70 per cent of Superb hatch sales to businesses, while the proportion for the estate is slightly higher, but brand director Alasdair Stewart feels both models have been held back to some extent by their CO2 figures.

“The new car will be a strong entrée into the fleet market for us and improve our overall market penetration,” he tells Headline Auto.

“The retail side of the business is up 30 per cent this year, but if you are going to grow, you have got to grow in the fleet market and the outgoing car had relatively high CO2 figures,” Stewart says.

Emissions of the new engine range have been reduced by up to 19 per cent. It includes a 1.6-litre diesel and a couple of 2.0-litre units, which will be particularly appealing to business drivers.

There are also 1.2, 1.8 and 3.2-litre petrol units, the last a V6.

All diesels now have engine stop/start to help achieve the CO2 reductions, and all but the V6 recover braking energy when decelerating. Emissions start at 109g/km for the high-economy Greenline diesel hatch, and 113g/km for the corresponding estate, while both feature more economical gearing and aerodynamic additions.

The revised Superb range has been completely restyled at the front, with less extensive changes elsewhere, and has an upgraded interior with more standard equipment in most versions.

The hatchback’s clever luggage area access, which can be opened like a conventional boot lid or a full-depth tailgate, now has two buttons instead of one for easier operation. And with the all-important Chinese market in mind it is possible for rear passengers to move the front passenger’s seat using a control on the door.

Stewart believes Skoda can achieve a record 60,000-plus sales in the UK this year, boosted by the introduction of eight new models, and become a 100,000-cars-a-year brand within five years.

Already in 2013 an all-new Octavia hatch and estate and an Octavia 4×4 have been revealed, and at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in July the high-performance Octavia VRS will make its debut.

The new Superbs go on sale on July 17. Later in the year there will be a facelift for the Yeti crossover and a new Spaceback version of the Rapid while Skoda also plans special editions of its compact MPV, the Roomster, to freshen up the range.

The next all-new Skoda will be a replacement for the Fabia at the start of 2015.

Jeep has an identity crisis, according to the brand’s product manager.

He believes that while the Jeep name is known throughout the world, not enough people know what a Jeep is.

Luca Ricci, European product manager for the brand’s Wrangler, Cherokee and Grand Cherokee, says that people tend to call any 4×4 a Jeep in the same way that they call any vacuum cleaner whether it’s a Dyson, Miele or Henry, a Hoover.

“They will point to a Toyota Land Cruiser or a Land Rover and describe it as a Jeep,” he tells Headline Auto.

Ricci, whose remit also covers Africa, the Middle East and Russia, says that this problem of awareness in markets outside North America is one the company is addressing.

It starts with the launch of the heavily revised Grand Cherokee with its ZF 8-speed automatic gearbox, on sale in key European markets including the UK from July.

This will be followed by the new Cherokee, unveiled at the New York show in April and set to have its European debut at the Frankfurt show in September, before going on sale by the end of the year and early in 2014 in the UK.

The new Cherokee is built on the Alfa Romeo Giullietta platform and will feature a ZF nine-speed automatic gearbox first seen in the Land Rover Evoque.

Later next year comes a B-segment SUV – said to be about the same size as a Skoda Yeti, based on a Fiat platform and likely to be built in Italy at an existing Fiat factory.

Part of Jeep’s identity challenge is sorting out the dealer network, something that the UK is well advanced at according to brand director Nigel Land.

He has helped pioneer the Chrysler-Jeep-Alfa Romeo tie-up in the network, a model that is expected to be followed in other European countries.

Land is optimistic that, as Chrysler Jeep moves away from its reliance on North America with more European-influenced design and technology thanks to the Fiat input, the company will finally be able to crack the UK and Europe after years of trying.

The UK dealer network is now 57 strong and will be 65 by the end of the year. “Our optimum number will be 87 when we have the full range of Chrysler Jeep products,” he says.

Sales this year are on track to reach 6,000 with Ypsilon the best-seller and Grand Cherokee accounting for some 1,500 units, mostly the new model in the second half of this year.

Land describes the arrival of the Grand Cherokee as “the relaunch of the brand in the UK.” With 50 per cent of the dealer network also changing it is also the end of the Daimler legacy from when Chrysler Jeep was partnered with Mercedes-Benz. More than 40 per cent of dealers are now joint outlets with Fiat.

Mercedes-Benz has unveiled its new S-Class, boldly stating that the intention was to produce ‘the best automobile in the world’.

The car is expected in UK showrooms in September and expected to fill a larger chunk of the Mercedes range than ever before.

While the S-Class has always been the flagship model from the three-pointed star, the new version will also be expected to target buyers from Mercedes abandoned Maybach luxury sub-brand.

As part of this aim the new S-Class will be offered as a saloon, coupe, cabriolet, a long-wheelbase version and according to reports even an extra long-wheelbase variant.

A sea-change in the design process has seen development centred around the long-wheelbase car with the shorter model, 130mm less between the wheels, derived from it.

Mercedes says that the reason for this is that while European owners like to drive the car, in many global markets the S-Class is a prime chauffeur-driven model.

As part of this concept much work has been carried out on the interior under the branding of ‘Essence of Luxury’, offering more space and quieter surroundings. Highlights include a ‘first class rear’ that can include a business console.

The body is an evolution of previous designs, designed to be significantly more aerodynamically efficient than its predecessor, and to take advantage of all the latest technology advances down to the smallest features – Mercedes says that the new S-Class does not have a single light bulb in it, LEDs used instead.

A wide engine choice will be offered, beginning in the first year of UK sales with a 254bhp diesel, a 449bhp petrol, and a hybrid diesel of 228bhp. A plug-in diesel hybrid is planned for 2015 and widely expected is an AMG S63 model of well over 500bhp.

Announcing the car, Mercedes head Dieter Zetsche says that customers expect the new S-Class to set standards across the board, like all its predecessors, to retain its accolade as “the best automobile in the world”.

“Rather than being about safety or aesthetics, power or efficiency, comfort or dynamism, our aspirations were ‘the best or nothing’ in every respect, he adds. “No other car stands for the Mercedes-Benz brand promise more than the S-Class.”

Mercedes is quoting European prices of just under 80,000 Euros for the cheapest S-Class, the short-wheelbase S 350 BlueTEC. UK prices are yet to be revealed but are predicted to start around £68,000.

Peugeot has opened order books for its 2008 crossover, with a starting price of £12,995.

The new extension to the brand’s line-up will arrive in showrooms on 18th July.

It will be offered in four trim levels: Access+, Active, Allure & Feline. Each will cost under £1,000 more than the equivalent model in the 208 supermini line.

Headlines for the 2008 include CO2 levels starting from 98g/km and official combined cycle fuel economy figures of up to 74.3mpg.

The new three-cylinder VTi 82bhp petrol engine first seen on the 208 features in the six-strong 2008 range.

The crossover also gets the Grip Control traction control system for poor road conditions, combined with ‘mud and snow’ tyres and standard on Allure and Feline models.

Toyota is to release a version of its Auris Hybrid family hatch with CO2 emissions cut to 84g/km.

The 6g/km shaving will enable the Auris to claim the lowest emissions figure in its class.

Tuning efficiencies and aerodynamic improvements such as new aero-stabilising fins in the rear glazing have resulted in the saving.

Toyota says that the measures achieve the vital emissions saving without and sacrifice in performance. They were first seen on the 85g/km Auris Hybrid Touring Sports estate version unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

The new levels will be offered on Icon versions of the Auris from June. Excel versions will remain at 91g/km.

Toyota is enjoying significant success with the new Auris. European sales in the first quarter of 2013 are up 27 per cent, and by 31 per cent in the UK.

The full hybrid variant is certainly proving a hit, sales up by 69 per cent year-on-year.

Peugeot has revealed the look of its next 308 family hatch.

The car will be unveiled at the Frankfurt show in September and go on UK sale in January 2014.

The latest model to follow Peugeot’s new design language, the new 308 is described by its creators as striking and contemporary.

Design Director Giiles Vidal says that the car; “has a pure and technological exterior design that speaks of high strength and high quality.”

The body measures up a 4.25 metres long, and sits on Peugeot’s latest EMP2 modular platform, which helps it to save some 140 kilos in weight over its predescessor.

The cabin, described as cockpit-style, is dominated by a 9.7-inch touchscreen of the type already seen in the 208, removing many buttons from the centre console. Premium materials and exceptional build quality are also promised.

Details of the engine line-up have not yet been revealed but Peugeot says they will comprise a range of highly efficient petrol and diesel units with emissions starting from a class-beating 85g/km.

The new Peugeot 308 will be an all-French car, built at the Sochaux plant with its engines coming from factories ar Trémery and Douvrin.

Volkswagen is to add its R-line trim level to the Passat range.

A new turbo and supercharged 1.4-litre TSI petrol engine will also join the line-up.

R-Line models will be fitted with a bespoke bodykit, a front bumper with foglights including a cornering function, sports suspension lowered by 15 mm and side skirts.

Also included are a new rear bumper,18-inch ‘Kansas’ alloy wheels with low-profile 235/40 tyres and a bootlid spoiler – estate models get a tailgate spoiler.

Further styling touches include chrome trim on the bumpers and window surrounds, dark-tinted rear windows, bi-xenon headlights with LED daytime running lights and LED taillights.

The R-Line is based on the Passat S, standard equipment including Bluetooth, USB and iPod connectivity, a DAB digital radio and a leather-trimmed multifunction steering wheel.

A three-way engine choice is offered, either the 1.6-litre 104bhp TDI diesel unit with six-speed manual gearbox, a 2.0-litre 138bhp diesel with either the manual or a DSG auto ‘box, or the new 1.4-litre TSI petrol that offers 157bhp in six-speed manual or seven-speed DSG form.

Energy saving measures, Stop/Start and battery regeneration systems are standar don all three engines.

VW is also offering the 1.4-litre TSI in Passat Highline models and the Volkswagen CC. It replaces the 1.8-litre unit, offering the same power for lower CO2 emissions and better fuel economy.

R-Line models can now be ordered at prices starting from £24,470 to £26,385, with first deliveries in June. The bodykit can also be ordered for Passat Highline and Sport models for £900 including fitting.