- IMI APPOINTS SECOND INTERIM CFO
- SCOTLAND TO PROVIDE £20m IN USED EV LOANS
- CAMBRIA REVEALS £14.8m 2024 PROFIT
- BUMPER ACQUIRES COCOON PAYMENTS
- WEEK AHEAD: SMMT May 2025 new car registrations
- SAVVY EV OWNERS SAVE ON TAX
- TESCO CUTS OPENING HOURS TO OFFSET NIC HIT
- BYD TAKES OVER AS AUSTRALIA DISTRIBUTOR
- GROUP 1 UPS REVOLVING CREDIT TO $3.5bn
- OPINION: Should we sell EV-specific tyres?
IMI appoints second interim CFO
The IMI has appointed Yusuf Firat as its latest interim chief financial officer following the departure of the previous interim CFO Simon Barrell. Barrell followed the last permanent CFO Simon James, who left the organisation in January 2024.
Barrell left the IMI in April, according to Companies House. He is one of nine directors to have left the IMI in the past six months.
As well as needing a permanent CFO, the IMI is also seeking a new permanent chief executive after appointing Sarah Sillars as its third interim CEO since Steve Nash left at the end of last year, as previously reported by Auto Sunday.
In the past week, the IMI has upped the salary for the role from £120,000 to between £150,000-£175,000 and drafted in Hendy Group chairman and IMI vice president Daksh Gupta to help find a new CEO.
The IMI is also planning to appoint 11 new non-exec directors in the coming weeks.
Scotland to provide £20m in used EV loans
The Scottish government is providing over £20m in 2025-26 to help lower-income households and businesses purchase electric vehicles. Funds will be provided for the Used EV Loan, Switched on Taxi Loan and Used Electric Low Carbon Vehicle Loan for Vans.
The interest-free loans are repayable over up to six years, and used EVs up to £23,000 are eligible. Vehicles must be purchased from a retailer, either a ‘bricks and mortar’ retailer based in the UK (and accredited by the Motor Ombudsman), or a solely online retailer.
To be eligible, gross household incomes must not exceed £50k.
“Scotland is currently the only part of the UK offering financial support in the form of an interest-free loan for consumers to purchase electric vehicles,” said transport secretary Fiona Hyslop.
Cambria reveals £29.3m profit for 2024
Cambria Investment Holdings, the ultimate parent company of Cambria Automobiles has posted a healthy increase in profit for the year ended August 2024 of £29.3 million, up from £20.8m in 2023. The group’s retail division, Cambria Automobiles contributed £14.8m to that profit, up from a loss of £1.4 in 2023.
Bumper acquires Cocoon Payments
Bumper has acquired UK digital payment platform Cocoon Payments, as part of plans to “rapidly grow” its digital sales and aftersales payment services for retailers. Cocoon was founded in 2021 and is used by more than 20% of the UK top 100 franchised retailer groups.
WEEK AHEAD
Monday, UK consumer credit
Thursday, SMMT May 2025 new car registrations
Friday, Halifax house price index
9-10 June, Automotive Leadership Network meeting. After dinner speaker will be Jon Sopel. Other speakers include Sylvain Charbonnier, VW Group aftersales director, Richard Bruce, director of OZEV for DfT and Chris O’Rourke, MD of LKQ
DATA INSIGHT
Savvy EV owners save on tax
£48m: Amount the Treasury lost by EV owners renewing their VED before 1 April, when electric cars lost their £195 a year tax-free status. Renewals for EVs surged 1,467% in March.
Tesco cuts opening hours to offset NIC hit
£235m: Rise in Tesco’s National Insurance contributions in the latest financial year. It will close some stores an hour earlier to offset the extra costs – and is expected to have fewer staff running them when open, reports The Telegraph.
GLOBAL AUTO
BYD takes over as Australia distributor
BYD has assumed direct control of imports and distribution in Australia. It takes over from EVDirect a year ahead of schedule. Eagers Automotive retails the national retail network through a joint venture with EVDirect under a new five-year retailer agreement.
Group 1 ups revolving credit to $3.5bn
Group 1 Automotive has upped its revolving syndicated credit facility by $1bn to $3.5bn, and extended the maturity to May 2030. It can be further expanded to $4.5bn with lender approval. The 18 lending parties include six OEM-affiliated finance companies (BMW, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Volkswagen and Hyundai) and 12 commercial banks.
OPINION
Should we sell EV-specific tyres?
Customer priorities are shifting. As electric vehicles become more mainstream, conversations that used to focus on batteries and charging points are starting to broaden out. One of the next questions may be a surprising one: what tyres does the car come on?
It might sound unlikely. Tyres are hardly the stuff of showroom excitement. They’re typically a ‘distress purchase’ only thought about after a failed MOT or a major altercation with a pothole. But tyres are the most common cause of vehicle breakdowns in the UK, and as the only part of the car that touches the road, tyres have always been a vital component on any vehicle. In the age of electric vehicles, tyres matter more than ever.
EVs behave differently toward their tyres than ICE vehicles. Most cars are getting heavier, but EVs combine the extra weight with sportscar-like performance and instant torque. They are typically used in urban, start-stop environments too. These factors take a toll on conventional tyres, leading to faster wear, more frequent replacements, and reduced efficiency, limiting EV range and increasing costs.
Fleet managers focused on total cost of ownership, and aftersales teams supporting EV customers, may soon face a new set of questions. As awareness of tyre wear and pollution grows, it’s reasonable to expect concerns such as ‘Will this EV chew through its tyres?’ or ‘Am I just swapping tailpipe emissions for tyre pollution?’ to become part of EV myth busting.
As awareness of tyre pollution grows – especially around microplastics and their impact on air pollution – early EV adopters in particular may start asking what their tyres are made of, how long they last and how they affect range and our environment.
This is putting the humble tyre in a new spotlight. The tyre is one of the few visible branded components that can differentiate and influence an EV purchase. Especially when a tyre that’s designed specifically for the unique characteristics of EV driving offers measurable benefits such as extended range, reduced charging stops and lower costs.
This isn’t a future scenario; it’s already happening today, when we speak to frustrated EV customers who spend the bulk of their SMR budget on buying tyres. At ENSO we’ve spent years developing tyres specifically for EVs, and we’ve seen what a difference that makes. What sits beneath the car and keeps you safe matters just as much as what software is on the dashboard.
In a market where EV buyers are better informed and more environmentally and cost conscious, tyres have become a meaningful point of differentiation. For our customers selling, servicing, or managing EVs, tyres are now becoming a key part of the value conversation.
When questions around EV tyres arise, having clear and confident answers is as important as knowing the ins and outs of batteries, charging points, and in-car tech. Tomorrow’s customers will know they need the right tyres, or pay the price.
Gunnlaugur Erlendsson, CEO and Founder of ENSO tyres
Get in touch with Auto Sunday: tristan@autosunday.co.uk
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