- AW ROSTAMANI IN THE FRAME FOR JOHNSONS ACQUISITION
- GROUP 1 BUYS JOHNSONS TOYOTA LEXUS DEALERSHIPS
- WORKERS’ ‘RIGHT TO SWITCH OFF’ POLICY TO BE SCRAPPED
- RETAILERS CHALLENGED BY MORE COMPETITION, LESS LOYALTY
- WEEK AHEAD: February new car registrations
- AFTERSALES MARGINS AT THREAT FROM ‘QUICK FIX’ DISCOUNTS
- ARNOLD CLARK, LUMEN OPEN ORDERS FOR NEW UK-SPEC CORVETTE
- CARVANA’S FRANCHISE MOVE
- ‘ECONOMIC TURMOIL’ FROM TRUMP’S THREATENED 25% TARIFFS
- OPINION: The difference between registrations and sales
AW Rostamani in the frame for Johnsons acquisition
Dubai-based AW Rostamani is understood to be looking to significantly expand its UK presence with the acquisition of Johnsons Cars, Auto Sunday sources have claimed.
AW Rostamani operates under the Brayleys name in the UK which it bought in November 2018. AW Rostamani also bought West Way Nissan in November 2022 and rebranded the nine previously Nissan-owned sites to Brayleys.
When contacted by Auto Sunday, Brayleys’ recently-appointed CEO Jose Blanco did not deny the acquisition was happening, saying only: “At this point I can’t share any information.”
Blanco took over from Paul Brayley at the start of 2025 with Brayley moving to a non-exec role.
Auto Sunday also contacted Johnsons Cars for comment.
Johnsons Cars had a turnover of nearly £1 billion with a profit before tax of £7.8 million in 2023, according to the most recent accounts filed at Companies House.
Redditch-based Johnsons, until recently (see Group 1 story below), ran 52 franchise points for brands including Volkswagen, Honda, Toyota, Lexus, Ford, Hyundai, Skoda and several of the Stellantis bands.
Johnsons was formed in 1999 and has grown both organically and through acquisition. As recently as 2022, Johnsons added several VW, Skoda and Ford sites.
It is unclear how much of Johnsons is being sold to AW Rostamani with one source claiming the deal was complex. However, the deal has the potential to more than double the size of AW Rostamani’s UK operation which had a turnover of £552m in 2023 with a profit before tax of £4.4m.
Group 1 buys Johnsons Toyota Lexus dealerships
Group 1 Automotive is growing its Toyota and Lexus footprint while shrinking its VW Group operations.
Group 1 has bought three Toyota and one Lexus business from Johnsons Cars for an undisclosed sum. The move comes as other Johnsons Cars operations could be bought by AW Rostamani (see story above).
Speaking exclusively to Auto Sunday, Mark Raban, Group 1 UK CEO, said: “I am very pleased to confirm we have completed the purchase of Toyota Liverpool, Toyota Southport, Toyota Wirral and Lexus Liverpool from Johnsons Cars Limited.
“This is an exciting opportunity to further our relationship and success with Toyota GB as a valued partner. These additional stores are a fantastic fit for us strategically and geographically and complement our existing Toyota Lexus stores.
This brings the total number of Toyota Lexus stores operated by Group 1 UK from 14 to 18 covering an extensive span cross the South, South-East, Midlands and North-West.
Group 1 is also closing its Volkswagen Cars operations in Cheltenham and Wirral at the end of March as well as its Audi approved used business in Hyde, Greater Manchester.
Workers’ ‘right to switch off’ policy to be scrapped
Labour will scrap a manifesto pledge to give people the right to “switch off” outside of working hours. The move is intended to reduce the impact of Labour’s new employment rights on businesses.
France introduced similar laws in 2017, making it illegal for employers to expect their workers to be contactable outside designated work hours.
Ministers will confirm the policy has been dropped on Tuesday as part of a series of amendments to the Employments Rights Bill, reports The Times. “The right to switch off is dead,” said a government source. “We have to lower business compliance costs as much as possible.”
Retailers challenged by more competition, less loyalty
More than 70 car brands are expected to be in the UK by the end of 2025, up from 47 in 2020, leading to retailer challenges over competition and loyalty. EV buyers are already half as likely to buy from the same brand as ICE buyers, according to a new Auto Trader report.
But despite these hurdles, the Auto Trader 2025 Road Ahead for Automotive Retail report, published next week, will identify “significant opportunities for retailers”. Leading US independent automotive researcher Glenn Mercer conducted a survey of more than 80 retailer groups, while Auto Trader conducted its own analysis of more than a million data points from thousands of international retailers.
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WEEK AHEAD
Monday–Tuesday, Automotive Leadership Network Spring Programme at Luton Hoo
Monday, UK consumer credit
Tuesday, latest OBR economic forecast presented to Treasury
Wednesday, SMMT February new car registrations
Wednesday, EU action plan to boost EV demand published
Friday, Halifax house price index
Friday 5pm, extended deadline for NFDA Winter 2025 Dealer Attitude Survey
DATA INSIGHT
Aftersales margins at threat from ‘quick fix’ discounts
3 in 4: Number of motorists who expect retailers to offer an initial discount on the prices quoted for aftersales work. The figures will be in the forthcoming Bumper UK Automotive Aftersales Report – which will urge retailers to rethink “quick fix” discounting or face margin erosion. Instead, it will encourage retailers to offer interest-free financing.
Arnold Clark, Lumen open orders for new UK-spec Corvette
3: UK retailers selling the new right-hand drive Corvette Z06, officially offered for the first time in the UK. Lumen Automotive will handle sales in Shropshire, with Arnold Clark in Altrincham and Glasgow. The car costs from £179,791; US prices start from $112,000, equivalent to £88,300.
GLOBAL AUTO
Carvana’s franchise move
US online used car retailer Carvana has made its first move into franchised retail. It has acquired Stellantis retailer Jerry Seiner Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram in Arizona. “We’re always experimenting and this is a small test in a single market,” a spokesperson told Automotive News.
‘Economic turmoil’ from Trump’s threatened 25% tariffs
Donald Trump’s threatened 25% tariffs on EU imports could trigger “economic turmoil”, the Guardian reports. German thinktank The Kiel Institute also warns they could sharply push down growth and send inflation soaring. The German car industry would be particularly badly hit.
The president said last week he would impose the levies “very soon”. He also said 25% levies on goods from Mexico and Canada would go ahead, and the tariff on Chinese products would double to 20%.
OPINION
The difference between registrations and sales
This week’s report from the Climate Change Committee, setting out the need to switch to electric vehicles as soon as possible, has highlighted the need for clear guidance so that businesses, individuals and government can make informed decisions.
With so much hanging on the uptake of electric cars, it is worth highlighting the difference between new car registrations and new car sales.
The world of electric cars is a highly emotional area, something that’s rare in the world of business, although perhaps less so in politics.
Depending on your viewpoint, the automotive industry is either on track to hit the various targets that are in place, and all that’s needed is less negativity, or it’s the complete opposite.
But it can’t be both.
2024 saw BEVs take at 19.6% of the market. While that’s not the 22% of the ZEV Mandate, with CO2 mitigations, it’s close enough. What’s more, January 2025’s EV mix was above 20%. So all is right with the world?
Except that it isn’t. Those at the coal-face of retail sales know different.
Obviously, retail EV sales vary by brand, but the consensus seems to be that overall we’re looking at maybe a 10% mix.
And it’s this lack of transparency that’s the issue.
Registration figures are just that; registrations, they’re not the same as sales.
In an industry facing such upheaval in the coming months and years, wouldn’t it be better to have a clearer picture of the UK’s progress to decarbonisation and the uptake of electric cars?
Government may only be interested in the total number of EVs, but it needs to know what consumer demand is to inform its decisions around support to hit the ZEV targets.
Of course, car manufacturers know what the retail demand is for EVs, but dare not say because it would be potentially self-defeating; harming RVs and the message that EVs are the future.
The solution? Surely the SMMT has to at least produce clear and regular data for the industry as a whole for each of the channels to market showing where the EV registrations are going and giving a good indication of where help is needed.
Tristan Young
Editorial Director
Get in touch: tristan@autosunday.co.uk
ISSN 2977-6597