Volkswagen scandal: Vertu sees no slowdown in VW or Audi sales

On track: Sales of VW cars have not yet been affected by the emissions scandal, according to Vertu Motors

William West/AFP/Getty Images

14 October 2015

Vertu Motors has seen no decline in VW or Audi sales from its 12 dealerships since the emissions scandal broke a month ago and could actually see a boost from the million-plus vehicles recall, its boss said.

Robert Forrester, chief executive, said: “There’s a silver lining to every cloud.

“While it is disappointing what has happened and it’s early to see the full impact we have seen total sales across the VW brands, new and used, unchanged and no significant decline in used car prices.

“It looks as though people see things on the news, it has a very short-term impact on the customer’s awareness and then the strength of the VW brand kicks in again.”

“At the same time the manufacturer will pay for the recall, which will see over a million customers come back to dealerships over the next year.”

Although its after sales business, which will handle the recalls, accounted for just 8% of Vertu’s £1.2 billion revenues (up 14%) in the first half, it made 40% of its £17 million profit (up 28%).

With September trading strong the group said its profit for the year would beat City forecasts.

Broker Liberum raised its forecast for the year by £600,000 to £26.2 million and the shares rose 2.5p to 69.25p.

Volkswagen scandal: Vertu sees no slowdown in VW or Audi sales

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