Andy Hook of ARH Vehicle Solutions is celebrating the launch of his new website and online vehicle leasing capabilities at a time of interest for the car industry. An expert of 34 years in the motor industry, Andy’s experience spans many industry departments and automotive companies.
“This year has certainly thrown many of us business owners into a state of change, and we have all had to change our focus and re-plan. It’s also given some of us time to improve on our services.”
Several customers have asked Andy about the current state of the car industry and what they can expect if needing to order vehicles for the following year.
“My experiences are that at present there is a delay in the release of many electric vehicles destined to be here in 2020, which in the industry we had named ‘the year of the EV’. These delays are going to have a knock on effect for at least the next 18 months to 2 years. Whether this will affect the rate of uptake into electric vehicles beyond this remains to be seen, but it’s certainly going to impact research and development of new vehicles.”
If your company or you as an individual lease or finance vehicles, there are several ongoing issues that may affect you.
Firstly there is a vast increase in the length of time that finance applications to funders are taking with these applications. Whereas your average finance application for vehicle finance used to be within 24 hours - these are taking anything from days to weeks to get a decision.
Secondly, these applications are being scrutinised in a manner not seen previously. It would seem that most funders have switched off their automated systems, and channel all applications through human underwriters (which has led to the increase in timescales mentioned previously).
Thirdly, the criteria and element of risk that funders work with has changed, and this has been seen in a much higher rate of decline or further information requests adding to the stresses of small and large businesses alike.
“For those who can get funding there is still a shortage of vehicles available globally. This is made up of factory shutdowns during the Covid Lockdowns across the globe, along with manufacturers' reluctance to keep sufficient stock levels in the UK with Brexit again on the horizon. There are options available, so it’s worth having a chat to an expert at this time.”
Visit arhvehiclesolutions.co.uk