Surveys

The Motor Trader annual Top 50 survey looks at the leading independent retailers by turnover in the used car market. For many of those listed in this year’s Motor Trader Top 50, this report refers to a financial year-end in 2019. In 2016, the used car market peaked at an all-time high of 8.2 million, and has since fallen back ...

The wholesale used car market continued to grow in February, building on a strong performance in January year on year. The latest BCA Pulse Report showed that the headline used car value rose to £10,002 in February, an increase of £162 (1.6%) compared to January. This is the fourth highest monthly average on record at BCA. Year-on-year, the headline value ...

The new car market faltered in February as car dealers struggled to cope with falling diesel registrations and low consumer confidence. In fact the market declined -2.9% for the month with 79,594 models sold. Registrations by private buyers fell -7.4%, giving a true indication of consumer demand. In February diesel and petrol registrations were down -27.1% and -7.3% respectively. Diesel ...

The wholesale used car market turned in a strong performance in January year on year with values up across the board. BCA saw record dealer part-exchange values while fleet and lease vehicles reached the second highest average value ever recorded. Average values across all cars stood at £9,840 in January, which represented an increase of £364 year-on-year, equivalent to a ...

Pundits looking at the used car market have been fairly upbeat at the beginning of 2020. The National Association of Motor Auctions (NAMA) said the majority of its members expected auction volumes to stabilise in February following an increase in supply during January. NAMA members are predicting petrol vehicle values will climb and two thirds of members are forecasting stable ...

This year is expected to see dealers turn a forensic eye on costs as they strive to maintain profitability in a weak new car market. During 2019 dealers saw an increase in overheads and according to Mike Jones, chairman of dealer profitability specialist ASE, they will need to look at used cars to maintain the status quo. “Over the past ...

Just how important are extended warranties to dealers? That was one of the crunch questions we put to respondents in the Motor Trader Warranty Survey sponsored by WMS Group. Over 200 readers of Motor Trader took part so it gives an accurate picture of the state of the market in 2020. We asked dealers what aftersales products made the most ...

Franchised dealers have increasingly turned to used cars as new car registrations have come under pressure. They fell -6.7% in October to 143,251 units. The decline was driven by falling demand from private consumers, with registrations down -13.2%. Year to date the market is tough with diesel sales under the cosh and falling consumer confidence. In the used car sector ...

The September plate-change new car market was tough. Consumer confidence was hit, demand for new cars declined and dealers pre-registered cars to meet quarterly targets. New car registrations rose 1.3% to 343,255 units. The SMMT said it was a below-par performance following the -20.5% decline in the same month in 2018, when new emissions regulations and lack of testing capacity ...

This year may be remembered as the year electric vehicles entered the mainstream. EVs and AFVs have consistently seen the largest percentage increases in registrations through H1 of 2019 and there were an overwhelming number of EVs and AFVs on display at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Given that the motor retail sector has been selling internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles ...