New research from Motors.co.uk based on data from over 500,000 vehicles reveals that dealers are stocking more used cars, and selling them after fewer days on the forecourt.
Phill Jones, MD of Motors.co.uk said: “Looking at the data, it would appear that dealers are anticipating higher levels of interest from consumers than this time last year, and therefore keeping stock levels high on forecourts in preparation. At present, it does appear to be paying off. Used vehicles are selling more quickly than a year ago, in contrast to the new car data recently shared by the SMMT.”
In terms of the stock that is out there; the research found that the proportion of petrol vehicles advertised was 42% of total vehicles advertised, down 5% year-on-year. The scarcity focused consumer demand, with petrol vehicles generating 48% of vehicle views and selling four days faster than the same period last year (34 days compared to 38).
Jones said: “Although diesels are still in demand, and we can expect them to be the dominant fuel type for many months to come, there is evidence that the on-going negative media attention, as well as increased taxes and road charges for diesel vehicles compared to petrol are slowly having an impact on buyer behaviour. In terms of reacting to this emerging change, we advise dealers to use data to understand the right mix of stock to match demand.”
The data also points to an improvement in the fortunes of hybrid vehicles. They sold in just 21 days on average. This is eight days faster than in August, and 59 days faster than in September 2016. There was also evidence of on-going consumer interest in smaller, supermini and convertible vehicles, which all saw a reduced stock turn during September.
Phill continued: “Affordable, lower asset risk vehicles continue to maintain interest, but larger vehicle segments are not evoking the levels of interest we usually see at this time of year. 4x4s in particular, although in demand, are taking two days longer to sell than in September 2016, although there were widespread thunderstorms and floods last year which we didn’t see this year.
“As we move into the wetter, winter quarter ahead, we expect demand for 4x4s and cross overs to pick up, but for the month ahead in particular, we would encourage dealerships to adopt the necessary marketing and display tactics for their smaller vehicles to ensure consumers are aware of the models they have on offer.”
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