Month: February 2019

Jaguar Land Rover Posts Loss of £3.4bn in Last Quarter of 2018

February 13, 2019 Tom Kildare 0

Last week Jaguar Land Rover announced that it had taken a £3.4bn loss in the last quarter of 2018.

A huge chunk of this (£3.1bn) was due to the manufacturer having to take a write-down on the value of its investments due to a slump in demand in China.

In addition to this loss, the company also predicts that it will take a loss for the financial year as a whole, the first time this has happened for more than a decade.

JLR are far from the only car manufacturer who is struggling however. Car manufacturers from across the globe are facing unique challenges, namely the transition to electric vehicles, Brexit and increasing regulations from governments around the world regarding the demand for diesel.

The heavy loss that JLR has suffered is no surprise when you consider that its retail sales in China fell by 40% during the same quarter, negating the growth in the UK and US markets.

In order to deal with the challenges that this loss brings, JLR has announced that it will be cutting 45,000 jobs, mostly in UK management roles.

JLR’s chief executive, Ralf Speth said: “Jaguar Land Rover reported strong third-quarter sales in the UK and North America but our overall performance continued to be impacted by challenging market conditions in China.”…

Getting The Right Cover for a Motor Trade Business

February 13, 2019 Tom Kildare 0

One of the most important aspects of running a business in the motor trade is having the right type of insurance in place. 

There are a lot of risks that motor trade operators face on a day-to-day basis so having good cover in place is vital. 

Below are the main types of motor trade insurance available as well as ways to save money. 

Types of motor insurance

  • Road risks – Road risks insurance is an essential type of cover for motor trade businesses. It will provide cover for any accidents that might occur when you or an employee are transporting or working on a customer vehicle. It’s also possible to get company vehicles covered.
  • Liability cover – When you run a business you always have to protect yourself against the risk of liability claims. Liability claims can come from customers, members of the public or your own employees. For this reason it’s recommended that any motor trade business owners get both public liability and employers liability insurance.
  • Legal expenses – In addition to getting cover for liability claims you can also get cover for legal expenses included in a motor trade insurance policy. Fighting liability claims can get expensive quickly so it’s a very useful type of cover to have.
  • Breakdowns – Breakdown cover is another very useful type of cover that it’s possible to have included in a motor trade policy. This is particularly important when you have a fleet of vehicles that need to be on the road a lot. 
  • Combined insurance – A combined motor trade policy enables you to insure every aspect of a motor trade business. It typically provides cover for road risks, the premises and tools, stock and cash. A lot of motor trade operators prefer this option as opposed to getting separate policies for each aspect of the business. 

Ways of saving money on a motor trade policy

  • Pay for the policy upfront – One very reliable way to save money on motor trade insurance is to pay for the policy annually instead of monthly. This means paying more upfront but it does enable you to make a good saving.
  • Make an effort to secure the premises – If you get a combined policy then taking steps to make your premises more secure will certainly help to keep the price down. 
  • Get quotes from different providers – It’s always recommended to get quotes from a lot of different providers since they can vary a lot. 
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