Croxdale Group pledges £150K commitment to protect local jobs despite Spring Budget pressures

Despite significant financial pressures from today's Spring Budget, Croxdale Group managing director Anthony Rockingham has pledged to absorb an additional £150,000 annual cost to retain its committed staff and continue expansion, launching new automotive brands in Durham.

Rising household and business costs from 1st April 2025, coupled with several significant announcements in today’s Spring Budget, have the potential to adversely affect the automotive industry, according to Croxdale Group’s managing director Anthony Rockingham. However, Croxdale Group remains committed to investing in new brands and plans to absorb the increased costs from the Living Wage increase and National Insurance contributions, where other businesses could be taking extreme measures to reduce costs.​​

"There will be an increase on April 1st to National Insurance contributions and the Living Wage, which will impact our business in the same way as others,” Anthony says.

“Some companies are already holding back on their growth plans and even making redundancies, but we are planning to absorb the cost and keep all our people, even though it’s going to cost us about £150,000 extra per year. Businesses like ours are striving to grow and improve, but workforce costs are becoming increasingly significant. That’s why we’ve recently introduced new brands like Leapmotor, Jeep and Alfa Romeo to broaden our appeal and give everyone more options in one place.”

Customer Expectations

Anthony notes customers’ expectations of high standards of service will remain – and that is why it is important to retain its talented workforce to ride any economic storm.

“Some businesses are cutting back on staff, but we know that customer expectations on our performance will not change, so we need to retain talented people to help us serve our customers to the high standards they are accustomed to” Anthony said.

“We’ve recently taken on more staff and we’ve seen an increase in applications from people wanting to come and work for us. I believe they want to be part of our growth plans, but the increase in applications also reflects the fact there are fewer jobs around as businesses tighten their belts. Where you couldn’t find talent before, there is now a bigger pool of people.”

Electric and ICE Vehicles

The cessation of electric vehicle (EV) tax exemptions from 1st April 2025, and the freeze on fuel duty being extended to March 2026 announced in the Spring Statement could also influence consumers’ car-buying decisions.

That is why Anthony believes it’s important to provide a wide range of internal combustion engine (ICE) and electric vehicles during this turbulent economic time.

He said: “Whether you want to downgrade, upgrade, choose an electric vehicle to reduce fuel costs or have an ICE vehicle and benefit from the freeze on fuel duty, we have a wide range of vehicles to suit all needs” Anthony explained.

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Motability Scheme

However, Anthony also noted that one in five new cars sold is through the Motability scheme. While the Chancellor announced £1bn to support claimants finding work, today’s Spring Budget also revealed plans to reduce the welfare bill by £3.4bn. Measures include cutting health-related entitlements within Universal Credit by 50%, followed by a freeze. Changes tightening eligibility to Personal Independence Payments (PIP), which has a mobility component, have also been announced, along with £500 million of extra cuts to incapacity benefit.

This could have a knock-on effect on the automotive industry, as well as broader areas of the economy, as the available funds of people who are currently on benefits are squeezed.

“The Government’s efforts on tackling the cost of benefits will have an impact on the new car market, so the economy will be adversely affected in one way or another by the decision to squeeze the expenditure limits of people who currently receive the mobility component of Personal Independence Payments (PIP)," Anthony said.

"No doubt this will also impact on other significant spending decisions, such as home improvements, so other areas of the economy will also suffer. However, overall as a business, we remain confident that the recent investments we have made, both in terms of the new car brands introduced and staff employment and retention, will bear fruit for the business over the longer term.”​

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