Car dealers are out of date and car manufacturers should directly engage with their customers instead.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

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.

The average values of used vans rose in April for the third consecutive month.

Used car values, however, are continuing to slide, down for four months running.

According to auction specialist BCA prices of used light commercial vehicles (LCVs) in April averaged £4,998 – the highest on record for any month since BCA began compiling its monthly Pulse report in 2005.

Values rose by £138, 2.8 per cent, compared to March. The average age of the LCVs on offer remained static at just under 59 months, but their average mileage was almost 4,000 miles lower.

The average monthly used car value slumped seven per cent in April compared to March, although year-on-year values were up by more than 16 per cent.

BCA’s Pulse report concluded that the slide was the result of a changing model mix combined with increasing volumes. The four-month decline has come after a record average value of £7,361 set last December.

Values of fleet and lease cars values fell back for the second consecutive month, but remain significantly higher than they were a year ago. Dealer part-exchange values climbed to a new record level, while nearly new values fell largely thanks to a change in the model mix.

Commenting on the surging van values, BCA’s Duncan Ward says that April has continued the pattern seen over recent months with demand virtually across the board from smaller car-sized vans up to large long-wheelbase panel vans.

“Condition and presentation remain important, and high mileage may discourage some bidders, but overall average values and conversion rates remain very strong,” Ward adds.

According to BCA’s UK Operations Director Simon Henstock; buyer demand for used cars has weakened since Easter, while stock availability has improved with the inevitable result that there has been some pressure on values and conversion rates.

“That said, we are still seeing plenty of interest in well-presented retail quality vehicles and here values continue to outperform price guide expectations,” Henstock adds.

“The stronger demand at the budget end of the market continues, meanwhile, and values for dealer part-exchange vehicles continue to rise.”

The UK’s new van market jumped by almost half in April, compensating for declining truck registrations to boost the CV sector.

The 43 per cent rise in van registrations, to 20,751 units, represented year-to-date growth of 17.6 per cent.

The van market has been rising consistently since the end of 2012, and the rolling-year figures are now in the black too, the 253,078 representing a 2.9 per cent lift.

According to Nigel Base, Commercial Vehicle Manager of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders which compiled the figures, the results show mixed fortunes in the commercial market.

“A lift in van demand is contributing to growth across the overall market, but truck registrations continue to decline,” Base says.

“This could be symptomatic of operators holding-off on buying vehicles in anticipation of new Euro 6 legislation coming into play later this year as well as wider economic challenges impacting the road transport sector.”

Again the biggest growth was in the 2 to 2.5-tonne sector, the 3,591 units registered up 97.3 per cent. The biggest sector, 2.5 to 3.5-tonne vans, climbed 37.8 per cent to 12,056 units.

Registrations of new cars surged by almost 15 per cent in April – the strongest climb in 14 months of solid growth.

The result, up 14.8 per cent to 163,357 units and the best April performance since 2008, brought the figures for the first four months of 2013 to 768,555 units – up 8.9 per cent.

As a result industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has revised up its full-year market forecast – it now believes the market will grow to 2.106 million units, a three per cent increase on 2012.

However this is still some 300,000 units off the pre-recession market. The SMMT expects that the market will grow further to 2.123 million units in 2014.

Registrations by private buyers led the surge – they were up almost a third on April last year.

While admitting that the UK new car market continues to perform surprisingly strongly, SMMT Interim Chief Executive Mike Baunton points out that there were more sales days in April this year compared to in 2013.

“The UK continues to perform well ahead of the troubled Eurozone as consumer confidence, regular purchase cycles, attractive finance deals and wider market factors continue to make new car buying favourable for motorists,” Baunton adds.

Ford’s Fiesta continues to lead the new car top 10, its April figure of 8,083 units one shy of 2,000 more than the runner-up, Vauxhall’s Corsa.

A slight glimmer of hope has emerged in Europe’s depressed car market after sales in Germany rose slightly in April.

The figures, up by 3.8 per cent according to the country’s transport authority, reversed a steep slump of 17 per cent in March.

While car sales in the UK have been growing consistently over the past year, Europe’s markets have gone into freefall.

Such declines have affected British factories making cars for export into Europe. Honda this week announced that most of the 800 job cuts at its plant in Swindon that it was forced to announce in January had been achieved through voluntary rather than compulsory redundancies.

Speaking to the BBC, Honda Director Kim Ballamy says that the future still looks difficult; “We do expect Europe to remain tough for a least another two years.”

The President of Germany’s car importers association, Volker Lang, tells Automotive News that consumers appear to be growing more confident about making major purchases such as a car – 40 per cent of the market was made up of private sales.

Over the first four months of 2013, however, the German market remains down nine per cent at 960,000 units, the lowest since 2010.

Skoda intends to add a second SUV to its line-up, larger than the Yeti, as part of its bid to increase global sales by 50 per cent over the next few years.

The big sister to the Yeti (pictured) is seen as a vital cog to the brand’s ambitious expansion plans.

The Volkswagen Group, of which Skoda is a part, is aiming to be the world’s largest auto-manufacturing conglomerate in the world by 2018. To help reach that target, Skoda plans to increase sales from just under a million last year to 1.5 million.

The brand is now well into a product renewal and expansion programme. A new Octavia estate, the third stage of the plan after the launch of the Rapid and new Octavia hatch, goes on sale in the UK in June priced from £16,790.

The estate range will include front- and four-wheel-drive versions and hopes to build on the success of the outgoing model, which became Europe’s best-selling estate for the first time in 2012 with sales of 124,000 – a third of the Octavia total.

A new Scout version of the estate, with greater ground clearance, lower body cladding and SUV-style additions, will be introduced next year to broaden the appeal of the range.

Before then the Skoda will unveil a five-door Sportback version of the Rapid at the Frankfurt Show in September.

The Czech brand will also need new production facilities to reach its sales targets. Last year’s sales of 940,000 cars equalled Skoda’s production capacity at its plants in the Czech Republic, China, Russia and India.

Two more factories are being built in the brand’s number one market, China, which will more than double capacity to half a million cars a year, and further expansion in Russia is likely.

Skoda aims to make Russia its top market in Europe in the next few years – currently it sells 100,000 cars a year there, 30,000 less than in Germany. UK sales were around 65,000 in 2012.

BMW is promising buyers more choice than ever before in its 3 Series range.

By the time the range is complete it will boast more body styles and a greater diversity of trim packages than seen before, and the availability of four-wheel drive for the first time.

The third of five body styles – or six if the X3 SUV is included – is about to arrive in the UK with the launch of the Gran Turismo.

This is a stretched-wheelbase model that combines some of the looks of a coupe with the practicality of a hatchback, along with elements of the raised seating position of an SUV.

The Gran Turismo will join the saloon and touring (estate) that are already on sale, while a coupe and a convertible will follow in due course.

The first 3 Series from 1975 was only ever sold as a saloon. The second-generation model expanded the choice to three by adding a touring and a convertible, while the third, fourth and fifth variants also included a coupe.

Initially, the first 3 Series GT will be available with three petrol engines (320i, 328i and 335i) and two turbodiesels (318d and 320d).

There will be up to four trim packages, with prices starting at £28,835 – £1,300 more than the equivalent touring.

A 325d, xDrive all-wheel drive for the 320i and the option of M Sport trim will be added soon after launch, and further xDrive models will be offered in 2014, following the precedent set by the saloon and touring.

BMW says the harsh winters of 2010 and 2011 have created a small but important market for all-wheel drive among customers who do not want an SUV.

BMW’s 3 Series Saloon.

The 3 Series range accounts for slightly more than a third of BMW’s global sales, with the UK the fourth-biggest market after America, China and Germany.

BMW expects to sell around 4,000 GTs in Britain in a full year and 23,000 in the lifetime of the car. In the same period the UK will absorb 145,000 3 Series saloons and 47,000 touring (estate) models.

Germany will be the leading market for the GT, but BMW is also counting on the car doing well outside Europe in markets where there is little appetite for estate cars.

With a 110mm longer wheelbase than the touring and a 59mm higher seating position, the GT provides significantly more rear legroom as well as more front headroom and a larger boot, factors which should ensure it gets a good reception in the growing Chinese market.

Mazda expects its UK market to grow by a remarkable 20 per cent by the end of the year.

According to the brand’s UK boss Jeremy Thomson the sales target is bold, but entirely realistic.

He believes Mazda’s recent strategy of introducing cars to new segments and entering new sales channels, along with a streamlining of its dealer network and an improving market, has made the prediction achievable.

“After five years of challenging business conditions I finally feel we have turned the corner and we are in charge of our own destiny,” Thomson says.

“While a 20 per cent growth might sound ambitious, it is all growth from our new generation cars. There’s nothing in our forecast that worries me,” he adds. “Our network is reporting exceptionally strong interest in our cars and customer offers. Independent surveys and data from our media partners backs that up and order take is strong.”

Mazda’s CX-5 Crossover, SkyActiv debutant.

The major plank of this growth will be the product-led recovery, new models such as the CX-5 crossover and the latest Mazda6 with the brand’s much-praised SkyActiv technology.

Mazda is targeting a 2013 financial year sales figure of more than 31,000 units, compared to the 26,200 the brand achieved in 2012 – a fall of 16 per cent over 2011.

Mazda believes its 2012 slump was due to several factors. Cutting the sales network from 157 to 135 outlets to boost sales per outlet and improve dealer profitability, pus the run-out of the previous generation Mazda6 and short supply of the CX-5 had their effect on the final figures.

“However, our capacity for growth has never been greater – SkyActiv technology has given us a point of difference to other makes,” Thomson claims.

“Winning the What Car? Green SUV Award with the Mazda CX-5 proved that – it’s the sort of award that a few other manufacturers might have expected to win.”

SkyActiv has already earned a second What Car? accolade, the coveted Ultra-Low Carbon Award 2013, and is progressively being introduced across the Mazda range.

According to Sales Director Peter Allibon while year-on-year sales were down last year, Mazda UK; “achieved its planned registration volumes for the year – we are now looking up.

The Mazda6 is looking like a fleet favourite.

“The newly-launched Mazda6, second of the SkyActiv technology models after the Mazda CX-5 crossover, is doing well in the fleet sector with weekly order take getting close to the levels the previous generation Mazda6 enjoyed in its heyday and when the segment was much larger,” he said.

“The launch was phenomenal and I’m very confident about the car’s performance and look. The press reaction and the awards it has already won speak for themselves.”

Allibon adds that UK demand for the CX-5 has outstripped supply; “We sold almost 3,100 in FY2012 and we’re planning for more than 6,000 in this financial year as supply of the car ramps up.”

UK car manufacturing slid 6.3 per cent in March as British plants felt the effect of slumping sales in mainland Europe.

The total of 126,909 units contributed to 393,416 over the first quarter of 2013, down two per cent.

Analysts also blamed the early Easter holiday for the slump, encouraging plants to extend shutdowns.

The burgeoning UK car market, bucking the trend in Europe, was reflected in production, output for the home market increasing some 22.5 per cent in quarter one.

SMMT Interim Chief Executive Mike Baunton admits that UK vehicle manufacturers are continuing to grapple with weak demand in Europe, but remains optimistic. “Despite ongoing difficult market conditions, UK automotive manufacturing is expected to grow overall in 2013 and beyond, fuelled by significant investment from global automotive companies,” he says.

Commercial vehicle output, which includes vans, fell 18.8 per cent in quarter one to 23,854 units, only slightly mitigated by a five per cent rise in output for the home market. An 18.7 per cent decline in March added to the gloom, the ninth monthly fall in the past year.

Baunton admits that the industry anticipates a tough year for CV manufacturers; “yet the recent success of the CV Show highlighted many positives in the sector and the importance of the UK road transport sector to the whole economy.”

UK engine manufacturing is down too, 5.4 per cent in quarter one to 660,255 units and six per cent in March. Again weak car sales in continental Europe are blamed.