The Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) has appointed Sally-Anne Hodder as head of equity, diversity, inclusion & belonging. She was head of HR & business support at the IMI in her previous role. EDI was a significant focus for Sally, including being a key stakeholder in the implementation, launch and ongoing development of the IMI’s Diversity Task Force. “In ...
Read More »BLOG Making the motor industry more accessible
Findings from the IMI Diversity Task Force Report, published earlier this year, revealed that just 7% of those working in the automotive retail sector are from an ethnic minority, compared to non-automotive industries where the proportion is 11%. It is important to be specific and precise around the language we use. But one of the challenges of terminology is that ...
Read More »MT Top 200, Diversity in motor retailing, EV Retail Summit 2022
Check out the April issue of Motor Trader, which features our annual look at the Top 200 Dealer Groups in the UK by turnover. Dealers turned in an impressive performance in the latest report with profitability and return on sales showing strong gains. While turnover fell 17% to £63.6bn, profitability increased with average return on sales for the entire MT ...
Read More »New FCA rules to require listed dealer groups to reveal board diversity make-up
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has finalised rules requiring listed companies to report information and disclose against targets on the representation of women and ethnic minorities on their boards and executive management. In motor retailing this will apply to listed companies like Inchcape, Pendragon, Caffyns and Lookers. The FCA said the move will make it easier for investors to see ...
Read More »IMI report highlights lack of diversity in motor sector
Lack of diversity is a real problem in the motor sector and the higher up the management ladder you go the worse it gets. That’s a key finding of the Institute of the Motor Industry’s final report from its Diversity Task Force. The report was led by IMI President, Professor Jim Saker and IMI Chief Operating Officer, Lesley Woolley and ...
Read More »Women outnumber men in Marshall Future Leaders intake for first time
Marshall Motors intake for its future leaders programme for 2021 has recruited more women than men for the first time. Marshall Motor CEO Daksh Gupta (pictured) sat through 65 interviews to select the individuals. Gupta was making the case for greater diversity in motor retailing in a new report published today by Auto Trader and Ennis & Co. The report ...
Read More »Showrooms open, pent-up demand, motor finance
Welcome to the April issue of Motor Trader and welcome, too, to showrooms opening earlier this month with dealers working to cater for the pent-up demand for cars and services halted in the lockdown. This time around we look at motor finance in our survey of 200 dealers. The new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) finance rules have been in place ...
Read More »Automotive industry lacks diversity despite making it a priority
There are too few people from diverse backgrounds in leadership roles within the automotive industry, despite diversity and inclusion (D&I) climbing the agenda for the majority of businesses. A White Paper, produced in partnership by Auto Trader and executive search specialists, Ennis & Co, reports that 88% of the automotive organisations surveyed encouragingly identify D&I as a key priority, which ...
Read More »Motor sector faces diversity challenge and recruitment crisis
Dealers and companies within the motor industry need to change the perception of the sector particularly for young people in order to avoid a potential recruitment crisis in the future. That was a key message of a seminar attended by dealer groups, car makers, trade bodies and motorsport firms. Companies who aired their views included the factory-owned TrustFord, Inchcape, Jardine ...
Read More »Driving a better gender balance in the motor business
As the boss of Citroen, Linda Jackson (pictured) is notable for reaching the top rung of the ladder in a very tough, male-dominated industry. She is also wary about being identified as such. I have watched as her smile imperceptibly freezes when some eager young journalist wades in with an all too predictable question about her rarity as a woman ...
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