Retailer news

So how does Autodata repay its loyal subscribers for their support in openly discrediting those garages that are foolish enough to contemplate using counterfeit data and discs?
Simple – it hits them with a nifty little nine percent increase in their annual subscription price

Denso has joined TRW’s Diamonds customer loyalty programme to give garages more opportunities to earn points to spend on luxury gifts. The new partnership will be rolled out across the UK and certain other European markets including Germany, France and Poland

Unipart Automotive’s study into the comparative performance of its brake pads against five other manufacturers has caused quite a stir. TMD Friction has issued a rebuttal of the results and instructed lawyers, while others are considering their positions. We’ll put every development at the top of this timeline so you can see at a glance what the latest twist or turn might be. Things are likely to develop quickly and we will add them as and when they happen

TMD Friction has issued a statement regarding the inclusion of its Pagid brake product in Unipart’s comparative test: Braking materials specialist TMD Friction the World’s leading brake products manufacturer, today responded to recent advertising material issued by Unipart Automotive, purporting to set out the results of comparative tests between Unipart’s own brand brake products, TMD’s Pagid products and several other brands

Unipart Automotive (UA) has kicked a hornets’ nest following comparative tests it conducted alongside brake pads from five rival suppliers. The tests were conducted by Quay Brake Testing at the MIRA research facility in Hinckley to demonstrate the quality of UA’s own line of braking products

LKQ Coatings is the new name for Iris and five distributors of automotive paint and body supplies purchased by Euro Car Parts’ parent company. It has announced that the new name will come into effect by the end of the year. JCA Coatings, MKPE, Sinemaster, BeeBee and Premier will continue trading under their existing names during the transition

A1 Motor Stores held a busy and successful Trade Show in Leeds recently where members networked, trained and saw the group launch its new Technolube oil range.

A1 says it received a large number of orders for the range of 18 grades at the two-day event which was held at the Queens Hotel.

Automotive industry charity BEN has started work on its new, state-of-the-art facilities and headquarters in Berkshire. The multi-million pound project will create a new retirement community and care facilities on the charity’s existing Lynwood site in Sunninghill near Ascot.

Franchised dealerships are presenting the independent aftermarket with a golden opportunity, according to research by BTC.
The findings from the automotive training and consultancy firm shows that dealerships miss out on 57 percent of servicing work, which is costing them an average of £35.45 revenue per job.

LKQ Euro has added Iris Coatings and five UK distributors of paint and body shop supplies in its latest acquisition. The group who owns Euro Car Parts, has finally concluded the deal that sees them take a 100 percent shareholding in Iris Coatings, a sales and marketing specialist for refinishing distribution.