Morgan managing director Steve Morris says the British sports car firm is set to meet its sales target in 2014 after sources close to the company suggested new car sales had stalled since the departure of former chief Charles Morgan last October.
Sources told Autocar that while the used car and maintenance parts of Morgan’s business were performing well, it was having a “very difficult year” for new car sales and waiting lists had gone down from around a year to almost nothing.
This, one source said, is because customers are still disgruntled at Charles Morgan’s surprise departure last year, and are uncertain of the direction the company is heading under new management. Subsequently, the source claims the business is “a weekly concern”.
However these are all allegations emphatically denied by Morris, who told Autocar the firm was “on target to achieve budgeted numbers for 2014” and the situation was “very straightforward”, although exact numbers, including the 2014 target set in November 2013, were not revealed.
He did, however, state the mix of sales between the 3 Wheeler and the Malvern-based company's traditional and classic models was good.
He added: “The departure of Charles Morgan has not had any impact on vehicle sales notwithstanding the negative comments that Charles has made in various media platforms from time to time.” He also said he was “disappointed” to learn of the allegations.
On the subject of waiting lists, Morris said there were a lot of “Morgan myths” surrounding this. The company head office officially quotes six months, but depending on the business model of its 60 dealers worldwide this can be shorter or longer.
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