- Existing BYD retailers first in line for new Denza brand
- Budget cools car buyer confidence
- Roadside Garages in awards hat-trick
- UK car market to hit 10.2m in 2026
- WEEK AHEAD: November new car registrations
- Impact warning of AI stock market crash
- Swiss reject wealth tax
- Europe’s 2030 ‘backdoor ban’ on ICE
- Fresh tensions with chipmaker Nexperia
- OPINION: Even Motability struggles to define ‘premium’
Existing BYD retailers first in line for new Denza brand
Retail groups already partnered with BYD will have priority access to BYD’s premium brand Denza, which is set to be launched later in 2026.
Speaking exclusively to Auto Sunday, deputy country manager Steve Beattie said he was already talking to retailers about the launch of the new brand.
“We’ve got a nucleus of incredible investors already. We’re talking to them about the opportunities of them taking on the Denza franchise. And we’ve had many conversations with a lot of them, looking at different opportunities and different solutions they’ve got,” said Beattie.
However, he added that he’d not ruled out adding new investors, especially if they were groups with an already strong mix of premium brands. “Potentially there’ll be some more premium investors that have just premium brands that we’ll also consider. It’s a bit fluid, but of course I want to give my current investors the opportunity first.”
CI and minimum standards for Denza are both flexible and still being discussed, according to Beattie. However, he said: “What you won’t see is just a BYD showroom with Denza in the corner. It will be very defined that it’s a Denza showroom.”* Read the full interview in sister publication Auto Market Insight, where Beattie discusses what’s in store for BYD in 2026, CI upgrades and retailer profitability.
Budget cools car buyer confidence
Car buyers are revising their purchasing plans following the Budget, research commissioned by Motors has revealed. 1 in 4 are less confident about buying a car, with confidence lowest among those aged 45-64. 30% said they may delay their purchase as a result.
Notably, 54% said they are less likely to consider an EV following Rachel Reeves’ pay-per-mile announcement.
“Widely reported speculation and leaks in the media in the weeks leading up to the Autumn Budget undoubtedly dented consumer confidence,” said Motors marketing director Lucy Tugby.
“The results will be disappointing for dealers who have worked hard over the course of this year… [but] we believe the views of some customers will soften over the coming months once they accept and understand pay-per-mile for what it is – a long-expected alternative to the fuel duty paid on petrol and diesel cars.”
Roadside Garages in awards hat-trick
Roadside Garages Kia Coleraine has been named a three-time winner at the annual NI Motor Industry Awards. The awards are exclusively given to Northern Ireland-based retailers, and Roadside has won Best Franchised Dealer, Best Customer Service and Best Employer Excellence. Automotive technician Dominic Clyde was highly commended in the technician category, too.
The Motor Ombudsmen also recently announced Roadside Garages as the winner of a Regional Star award for 2025.
UK car market to hit 10.2m in 2026
The UK car market to rebound to 10.2 million new and used transactions in 2026, matching pre-pandemic levels for the first time, according to Autotrader.
Used cars will drive the recovery, rising 3% to around 8.2 million sales, while new registrations edge up just 1% to 2.035 million. A shortage of 3–7-year-old stock, including 1.6 million fewer 3–5-year-old cars than in 2019, will intensify competition across retail channels.
WEEK AHEAD
Monday, UK consumer credit
Thursday, November new car registrations
* Have an event or announcement coming up? Let us know and we will include it for FREE
DATA INSIGHT
Impact warning of AI stock market crash
£26bn: Hole in Britain’s public finances in the event of an AI stock market crash, warns the OBR. It outlined the potential damage if global stock prices fell by as much as 35%.
Swiss reject wealth tax
50%: Proposed 50% tax on all transfers of money or assets above 50m Swiss francs (£47m) put to a referendum in Switzerland. More than 80% of voters rejected the Young Socialists’ proposal.
GLOBAL AUTO
Europe’s 2030 ‘backdoor ban’ on ICE
The EC plans to force the electrification of the rental and company car markets by 2030 through a proposal for quotas on large businesses to buy mostly EVs, reports the FT. Industry executives have called the plans a ‘backdoor ban’ on ICE cars.
The proposal for quotas to buy mostly EVs is expected to be made at the same time as Brussels plans to loosen the 2035 ban on ICE cars on 10 December.
Fresh tensions with chipmaker Nexperia
Netherlands chipmaker Nexperia has published a letter to its Chinese subsidiary acknowledging it was still unable to restore supplies after its calls, emails and requests for meetings were all rejected, reports the FT. However, Chinese owner Wingtech said the letter contained “a large number of misleading and untrue allegations”.
Car executives are warning of further disruption to global vehicle production as a result.
OPINION
Even Motability struggles to define ‘premium’
What defines if a brand is ‘premium’? I’ve asked that question multiple times in these opinion columns. However, usually it’s been in relation to a self-made claim from a new entrant brand trying to conquer the UK market.
However, this week the government gave its verdict on what constitutes ‘premium’ in the car world.
Asked by Auto Sunday what the criteria was for defining ‘premium’ – resulting in the banning of BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Lexus and Alfa Romeo from the scheme – a spokesman for Motability Operations simply said it has removed “recognised premium brands”.
With tongue in cheek, that’s got to be harsh words for a few brands such as Volvo, Polestar and Genesis.
Obviously it’s a double-edged sword. The upside being, these brands are still available on Motability.
Using such an arbitrary measure to ban cars seems both daft from a business perspective (opening Motability up to legal challenges) and, I’d argue, discriminatory to disabled people. Why shouldn’t a disabled person be able to make the same choices as a an able person?
And if that confusion isn’t enough, the government’s documentation talks about the removal of “luxury vehicles” rather than ‘premium’ ones.
What’s been little reported is that in the Chancellor’s full Budget document, there are a host of changes to Motability that are far better playing-field levellers which it claims will save the Treasury £1 billion over five years.
The Budget 2025 document sets into play the removal of the VAT relief on any top-up payment (aside from payments for adapted vehicles) from July 2026. IPT will also be introduced in Motability insurance contracts, and overseas breakdown cover removed. There’s also the phrase “reduce their lease mileage limit” from the current 20,000 miles a year. To what, it doesn’t say.
Taken together, these shifts hint at a scheme moving toward tighter cost control wrapped in confused language and muddled logic. That lack of clarity risks becoming the real story. Unless Motability sets out transparent, defensible criteria for brand eligibility, its decisions will continue to invite challenge.
Tristan Young
Editorial Director
Get in touch: tristan@autosunday.co.uk
ISSN 2977-6597