Strong Demand For Cleaner Second-hand Vans

Used Vans
The second-hand van market paints a fragmented picture for dealers with pockets of strong activity but also areas where vehicles are struggling to attain their asking price as buyers pick and choose what they think will sell on their forecourts.

There is plenty of auction data suggesting that clean, Euro 6-compliant vans are fetching good money but older ones needing prep work and nearly new ones which are close to the price of a new van, are struggling to compete. The offers available at franchised dealers for brand new vans are getting increasingly strong, turning the market towards new and reliable vans.

Manheim said that despite the usual summer slowdown LCV volumes were healthy last month, up 3% on 2018, but slow retail activity translated into lower levels of buyer interest in the auction hall. Average vehicle price fell for the second month in a row as buyers opted for retail-ready vehicles, while LCVs with high mileage or in need of reconditioning struggled to reach the cap hpi value.

Matthew Davock, Manheim’s Director of Commercial Vehicles, said:

“There was still plenty to be positive about as one in seven LCVs sold first time at Manheim, but we have recorded a YoY increase in age and mileage. In turn, more vehicles being returned with higher damage was evident through our auction lanes, and this had a direct impact on first-time conversion rates and overall buyer appetite.

“Looking ahead, current market conditions are set to continue in July as we enter the summer holiday period. On a positive note, all indicators still show a very healthy used van market and the expected fall in valuations from the pricing guides will help to improve overall conversion rates.”

Very Healthy Used Van Market

Louise Wallis, Head of the National Association of Motor Auctions, said there is a ready market for the newer generation, more eco-friendly vans, adding:

“NAMA members expect the Euro 6 van market to stay strong as government clean air policies encourage businesses to purchase these vehicles.”

Used Vans
Good Retail Demand For Used Vans Mirrors Market For Brand New Ones

The SMMT says that H1 2019 saw six consecutive months of growth with the main areas of growth being vans under two tonnes and larger ones between 2.5 and 3.5 tonnes. Registrations of brand new LCVs up to 3.5 tonnes grew by 14% in June to 39,929 units. Year to date, the market overall is up 9%.

These two segments of the market grew by 10% and 22% respectively. Following last month’s increase, vans between 2.0 and 2.5 tonnes saw a drop of 3.6% as many buyers moved up to larger models.

Sue Robinson, Director of the National Franchised Dealers Association, said:

“It is extremely positive to see a double-digit increase in sales of new light vans, which marks six months of consecutive growth in 2019.

“Sales of light commercials remain at high levels supported by a number of factors including the UK’s robust online shopping sector, where these vehicles are used for delivery purposes. With declining new car sales, the UK van market depicts an interesting picture of the UK economic situation. While several businesses and self-employed people are renewing their old vans, many private buyers are delaying their car purchases because of the current uncertainty.

“It is encouraging to see large numbers of van operators switching to new, Euro 6 vans. Going forward, we anticipate the market to continue to perform well”.

For more information about what Click Dealer can do for your company, contact us on 01782 478220 or via [email protected]. Alternatively, you can get in touch through our contact page.

 

Dealers Can Still Tap Into Growing List Of Customers Open To Digital Sales

Showroom experience
Dealers and the showroom experience they give are still the key factors for two-thirds of used car buyers who say they are not yet ready to buy online – but that still leaves a potential three million fully digital sales a year.

In a wide-ranging report called `Evolution of the Car Buyer’, video presentation specialist, CitNOW, says the overwhelming majority of buyers want a blended buying journey, doing research and comparison online but putting the human element with the dealer in the showroom as the key part of the process.

For dealers, this means they need a website and stock good enough to tempt buyers in and then being able to close the deal with their test drive and face-to-face handling of the customer.

Carol Fairchild, Commercial Director for CitNOW, said:

“Online buying will never work for everyone as many customers rightly value the dealership experience. Car retailers need to strike a balance, building a tailored digital journey for their online customers while ensuring a personal experience on the forecourt.”

“With personalised video and mobile technology becoming the norm, the online research and purchasing process can be as transparent and trustworthy as going to a dealership.”

A Tailored Digital Journey For Online Customers

The report revealed a North-South divide when it comes to adopting online car buying, with drivers in Northern Ireland (53%) and the North-West (42%) of England most likely to buy a car entirely online. Buyers in the East Midlands are least likely to consider a purely digital purchase.

Perhaps unsurprisingly it also showed a difference in age groups being willing to fully trust a digital purchase with 35 to 44-year-olds being the most likely to buy without physically seeing the car or visiting the dealer. In stark contrast, those over 55 are the least likely to go down this route and there is even some reluctance among the youngest buyers, those aged between 18 and 24 despite them having grown up in a far more digital and online environment.

For more information about what Click Dealer can do for your company, contact us on 01782 478220 or via [email protected]. Alternatively, you can get in touch through our contact page.

Van Dealer’s Should Take Advantage of Click Dealer’s Range of Services | Episode Two

ClickEngage
Being the industry’s leading performance partner for dealerships, Click Dealer is primed to assist independent van dealer’s in increasing their profitability in a very competitive market.

With much smaller marketing budgets to compete against franchises running national campaigns, it’s essential that independents take advantage of what Click Dealer can offer.

This is the second edition of a four-part blog saga. Each version will focus on how a different Click service can help your van dealership improve efficiency and profitability. If you haven’t read part one yet you can catch-up by clicking here

Episode Two: ClickEngage

The majority of purchases are now completed online. Consumers are becoming more trusting when inputting their card details on the internet and perhaps less confident when it comes to speaking to sales staff at a dealership. The Beauty of ClickEngage comes from its ability to allow potential customers to reserve and buy vehicles online there and then.

When it comes to buying a car, this is often an emotional purchase. People want to test drive the car, see it’s imperfections up close and spend a long time shopping around for the perfect car to fit their lifestyle. Van dealers, however, are brilliantly poised to benefit the most from ClickEngage. Buying a van, be it for work or otherwise, is often more factually driven.

  • Does it have good mileage?
  • Service history?
  • Any major damage? (Most customers will expect light wear and tear on a used van)
  • Affordable?
  • Tow capacity?
  • Storage space?

All these questions can be answered in a van’s listing on your website. With this knowledge and a strong image gallery, a willing buyer knows everything they need to, to make a reservation.

Creating More Time To Sell

ClickEngage is also a 24/7 process. When you go home for the day, you’d normally expect to reservations to cease until after opening the next day. But we’ve found that around a third of all vehicles reservations from our current Engage customers, have come from outside of working hours. This maximises the time when you can be selling vans and taking enquiries. Thanks to the portal integration feature, any enquiries from third-party portals will also receive an SMS and email in response to their enquiry. Reducing the chance that they will move on to another option in the meantime by keeping them engaged.

Enquiry Chart Click Engage

More Features

ClickEngage is also available on all devices. So whether someone is browsing from a desktop or a mobile phone, they’ll be able to make a reservation on your vans.

The service also allows customers to build their own deal by choosing their own add-ons and seeing how much each add-on costs. By providing this openness, your customer is much more likely to buy into the stacked deal, increasing conversion and profit margins.

They’ll also be able to choose from a range of different finance options to best suit them based on the stacked deal they’ve built. We’ve found that this increases the uptake on add-ons and total profits for your van dealership.

We hope you enjoyed our second edition and are keen to find out more about ClickEngage. You can do so by clicking here! Join us next time when we’ll be looking at why having strong SEO and website is so crucial for van dealers!

For more information about what Click Dealer can do for your company, contact us on 01782 478220 or via [email protected]. Alternatively, you can get in touch through our contact page.

Click Dealer’s Women Raise Money For Douglas Macmillan Hospice

Douglas Macmillan
Last Friday on the 5th July, Click Dealer’s team of ladies took on a 7.5-mile moonlit trek around Stoke-on-Trent, to raise money for Douglas Macmillan Hospice.

We’re very proud to announce that they not only completed the route and picked up their well-deserved medals. They managed to raise a fantastic £610 for the charity!  If you haven’t donated but would still like to, you can click here.

Douglas Macmillan Hospice commended all the walkers for their support on Facebook:

“To all #DougieMac Moonlight Walkers, a HUGE thank you for your amazing support and for doing so well in tonight’s event. It really was a night to remember.

If it wasn’t for you superstars, we would not be able to provide care to over 3,500 patients and their loved ones a year both at the hospice and in the community.

Before you head home to bed, give yourselves a high five – you’re the bees knees!”

For A Good Cause

As a heart-warming display of support and solidarity, our team of Clicker’s rallied behind one of their own and arranged to take part in the women-only event. Customer Support Executive at Click, Charlotte Barber, sadly lost her Dad to cancer this year. To commend the unrivalled care and attention that Douglas Macmillan Hospice provided her Dad and countless others, we’re tremendously proud they have raised such a great sum of money.

The Dougie Mac Hospice provides free hospice care to over 3,000 patients with life-limiting illnesses every year in the North Staffordshire area, also giving supportive care to their families and carers. They help people living with cancer and non-cancer life-limiting illnesses such as advanced heart failure, motor neurone disease and incurable lung diseases.

The hospice relies purely on donations from the public and doesn’t receive any government funding (other than GiftAid) making the work of most staff and volunteers heavily reliant on the support of the local community and charity raffles and events such as this one.

Charlotte will be supporting Dougie Mac once again in the near future as she and her sisters take on the 3 peak challenge on the 17th August. You can donate to this cause by clicking here and help Charlotte reach her £1000 goal! Incredibly she’s already almost three-quarters of the way there!

Good luck to Charlotte and well done to our Clicker Ladies once again!

For information about how Click Dealer can help independent dealerships to increase efficiency and profitability, get in touch today via 01782 478220, [email protected] or through our contact page.

Family Holiday Cars Top Sellers In June

Fastest Selling Used Cars
Families and summer holidays seem to be dominating the thoughts of car buyers at the moment as MPVs, SUVs and estates were the fastest-selling used cars last month – with a few optimistic buyers perhaps believing our summer will continue pushing convertibles up the sales charts too!

A low mileage, 2018 Citroen Grand C4 Picasso seven-seater was the fastest off the forecourts last month. It took an average of just 18 days from going on sale to finding a buyer. Perhaps it is a sign of the times that in the case of the absolute fastest selling cars, petrol versions were preferred over diesel vehicles.

In fact, June was an excellent month for the French family favourite MPV. As well as the Grand C4 Picasso taking first place nationally, it secured top 10 positions across a number of the 13 regions and countries tracked. North West (2018 diesel manual – 28 days), Scotland (2018 diesel manual – 14 days and 2016 diesel manual – 17 days), Wales (2018 diesel manual – 19 days), West Midlands (2018 diesel manual – 22 days and 2016 diesel manual – 25 days) and Yorkshire (2018 diesel manual – 20 days).

Elsewhere, Citroen rounded off a successful start to the summer with its C1 city car topping the list in both Scotland (2017 petrol manual – 10 days) and the North East (2017 petrol manual – 20 days).

According to Auto Trader’s monthly second-hand car market analysis, estates were the most popular body types looked at on Auto Trader. Making up one in five (21%) of all body type searches in June, followed by SUVs which accounted for 17%.

 Seasonal Trends

Karolina Edwards-Smajda, Auto Trader’s Director of Commercial Products, said:

“We naturally often see seasonal trends and spikes on our marketplace, with car buyers heavily influenced by the weather. However, keeping on track with changing consumer demands and ensuring your forecourt reflects the most desirable makes, marques and body types is not always easy. Using data to help complement your own expertise can not only help drive more sales, quicker and for more profit, but also give your business a competitive advantage.”

UK’s Top 10 Fastest Selling Used Cars in June 2019 with the average time to sell and average price:

 

  • 2018 Citroen Grand C4 Picasso MPV petrol/manual. 18 days, £16,069
  • 2017 Mercedes-Benz GLA Class SUV diesel/manual. 22 days, £17,835
  • 2016 BMW Z4 Convertible petrol/automatic. 22 days, £20,574
  • 2016 Volkswagen Sharan MPV diesel/manual. 23 days, £16,547
  • 2017 SEAT Leon Hatchback petrol/automatic. 23 days, £13,851
  • 2016 Peugeot 308 SW Estate diesel/automatic. 23 days, £10,318
  • 2016 BMW 2 Series Gran Tourer MPV diesel/manual. 24 days, £13,708
  • 2016 Seat Alhambra MPV diesel/manual. 24 days, £15,329
  • 2012 Hyundai ix35 Estate petrol/manual. 24 days, £7,035
  • 2018 Citroen Grand C4 Picasso MPV diesel/manual. 25 days, £14,339

For information about how Click Dealer can help independent dealerships to increase efficiency and profitability, get in touch today via 01782 478220, [email protected] or through our use our contact page.

Dealers Missing Out On Motorhome Sales

Motorhome
Dealers in the profitable used motorhome market say there is plenty of demand but supply is not keeping pace and a shortage of stock is losing them vital business.

Earlier this year the signs seemed good for a strong market. New models were going up in price and that, coupled with a rise in the number of people planning a staycation in this country, set the scene for a good summer but sourcing vehicles has rapidly become a major headache for retailers looking to capitalise on the opportunity.

Glass’s says that the two most popular and sought after price points are what it calls the entry-level – £25,000 to £30,000 – and then the £30,000 to £40,000 bracket. Anything above this ceiling is a bit too high for the used sector as buyers can spend that on a brand new motorhome.

One-step forward and two steps back

In its latest market report Glass’s said:

“By all accounts, it feels like it is one step forward and two steps back for the used market. Going into 2019, the used market appeared to be stable. Sales and demand were buoyant due to the rising costs of new models, and a surge in first-time buyers wanting to ‘staycation’. However, the constant threat of low stock availability was lurking, and it seems to be responsible for almost grinding the market to a halt. The demand is still very much there, but sales are reportedly down for the majority of dealers. It has long been a fact that the pool of available used units is a small one, and after a positive few years, demand has completely outweighed the supply.”

Unfortunately, there does not seem to be much light on the horizon as the leisure market was particularly hard hit by the recession a decade ago when such vehicles were seen as a luxury and manufacturers slowed or even stopped their production lines. The knock-on effect of that is still being felt now because owners typically hold onto their motorhomes for much longer than they would a family car.

“The biggest worry is that there does not seem to be a solution; after all, manufacturers cannot make used motorcaravans. Unit production was not huge following the economic crash of ten years ago, and owners generally hold onto their motor caravans if it is up to eight years old.”

For information about how Click Dealer can help independent dealerships to increase efficiency and profitability, get in touch today via 01782 478220, [email protected] or through our contact page.

Van Dealer’s Should Take Advantage Of Click Dealer’s Range Of Services | Episode One

digital-advertising-campaign
Being one of the industry’s leading performance partners, Click Dealer is primed to assist independent van dealer’s increase their profitability in a very competitive market.

With much smaller marketing budgets to compete against franchises running national campaigns, it’s essential that independents take advantage of what Click Dealer can offer.

This will be the first edition of a four-part blog saga. Each version will focus on how a different Click service can help your van dealership improve efficiency and profitability.

Episode One: ClickDMS

Click Dealer’s Dealer Management System is a one-stop-shop where you can run the day to day operations of your business. Designed to save you heaps of time and make your life easier!

Sol Adam at Auto Capital Van Centre said:

“We have been with Click Dealer almost three years now, I don’t know what we would have done without them. The Click DMS system and website has made our lives so much easier by coordinating our whole company from accounts and adverts to customer service.”

“They are always trying to keep up with market needs, developing new ways to enhance the system all the time. The biggest compliment has to be for the team behind the scenes, big thank you to Gary, Gerry and all the team who have always been there for us.”

You’ll be able to spend more time with customers, visit auctions, work on marketing strategies or perhaps managing your van dealership’s social media accounts. The possibilities are endless!

The Key Benefits
  • Run your dealership through ONE platform!
  • Clean and intuitive front-end which staff members can be quickly trained to use.
  • We’ll help you backdate and migrate data over from your previous processes and systems.
  • Compatible with many third-party systems across the board.
  • Improve the reliability of your dealership’s data
  • Create professional, branded, digital invoice templates. No more writing out receipts!
  • Add stock in bulk with pre-populated fields using our DVLA look-up
  • Track expenses for each vehicle, attach suppliers and make payments
  • Create finance quotes and take customers through a streamlined order process where you can select vehicle add-ons and transfer a part exchanged vehicle directly into your stock.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg! Our comprehensive DMS is an affordable and straightforward system that we know can help independent van dealers of all kinds thrive in a challenging market. We hope you enjoyed our first edition and are keen to find out more about our DMS. Join us next time when we’ll be looking at why ClickEngage is perfect for van dealers!

This August we’re giving commercial vehicle dealers a three month FREE trial of our DMS as well as ClickEngage, with every new Click Dealer website! Find out more by clicking here

For more information about what Click Dealer can do for your company, contact us on 01782 478220 or via [email protected]. Alternatively, you can get in touch through our contact page.

Do Hybrids Pose Dangers For Dealers?

EV
Dealers handling hybrid or electric vehicles either on their forecourts or workshops have been advised that they should not face higher insurance premiums – but have been issued with a health and safety warning about the dangers of lithium-ion batteries catching fire.

The Independent Garage Association says it has heard that some members are being charged higher premiums but a survey of major insurers showed there are no specific policies or exclusions regarding hybrids/EVs. However, they also say that if there is an incident the garage can expect the insurer to ask if the person involved was adequately trained to handle the car’s power unit.

It is also circulating a report from a Swedish H&S research organisation about the dangers of the lithium-ion (Lion) batteries used in these vehicles combusting and then being impossible to put out. There have been some high profile cases of EVs igniting, often after a crash, and then continuing to burn.

Potential Risks Increase

An IGA spokesman said:

“As the number of EVs, PHEV’s and hybrid vehicles on our roads increase, so do the potential risks associated with the lithium-ion batteries that power them.

“There are many different types of lithium-ion batteries, all with different chemistries, packaging and the way they are integrated into vehicles, but one commonality with these batteries is that they must be kept within a specific voltage and temperature range. These limits can be exceeded if the battery or its casing become damaged due to an accident or even a fault with the vehicle.

“As more lithium-ion battery-powered vehicles are in use on the roads there will be a greater risk of them becoming involved in accidents, which poses threats to everyone involved including responders and those associated with repairing the car. Therefore, it is vital to understand how these batteries work and how to identify, manage and prevent fire hazards.”

To download the full report click here

If you are an IGA member and have any insurance concerns regarding working on or handling hybrids or EVs call the direct member helpline on 0845 305 4230.

For more information about what Click Dealer can do for your business, contact us on 01782 478220 or via [email protected]. Alternatively, you can get in touch through our contact page.

AFV Shortage Means Good Profit Chance For Dealers

Retail-price-index-total-may-AFV
Used car dealers can make a good margin on second-hand hybrids or electric vehicles with a new report showing their values accelerating into the fast lane with a growth of nearly 5% as demand far outstrips supply.

The latest Auto Trader Retail Price Index shows that Alternative Fuel Vehicles (AFV) are seeing spectacular rises and the average advertised price of £21,663 is nearly double that of petrol or diesel cars. EVs are the stand-out performers specifically with price growth remaining in double digits at 12% and they continue to rise in average price too with the figure of £23,771 the highest on record.

There is a window of opportunity for dealers to cash in on a huge but currently unfulfilled demand for AFVs. Auto Trader says 8% of the searches by fuel type in May were for AFVs, but at the moment they account for just 1% of the listed stock.

A spokesman said:

“The number of people searching for an AFV has increased to an all-time high, with 8% of all fuel related searches on Auto Trader for the fuel type this month. Petrol has lost the share gained by AFVs, accounting for 51% of all fuel related searches. Searches for diesel remains flat at 41%. The continued surge in prices of low-emission vehicles can be attributed to supply and demand. On Auto Trader, the UK’s largest automotive digital marketplace, AFVs currently account for just 1% of the stock listed, whilst petrol and diesel account for 52% and 47% respectively.”

Prices are still growing but at a slower rate

Speaking of the used car sector generally, Auto Trader said that the market remains robust despite the wider economic and political concerns and that there is still growth in values – at 0.8% – even if the rate of it has slowed to the most sluggish since December 2016.  The average diesel price now stands at £14,163 and £11,174 for petrol although this is a monthly rise of 1% for unleaded fuelled cars.

Karolina Edwards-Smajda, Auto Trader’s Director of Commercial Products, said:

“There has been much rhetoric around the strength of the used car market in recent weeks, namely that prices have plummeted. However, Auto Trader data tells a different story. Prices are still growing, it’s just that the rate of growth is slower than we’re accustomed to and that we’ve seen in recent months.

“Looking at circa three-year-old stock with around 60,000 miles on the clock, it’s clear the seasonal trend has an impact annually, driven by the March registration plate change. Month-on-month impact on price is down 3.6% which is less severe than we saw in 2018, 2017, 2012 and 2011.”

For more information about what Click Dealer can do for your business, contact us on 01782 478220 or via [email protected]. Alternatively, you can get in touch through our contact page.

Can You Help Create a Central Service History Database?

Car Maintenence
Used car dealers are being asked to play their part in creating a central database where service histories of cars and vans put through workshops for routine work, an MoT, recalls or anything else which could affect their value is stored for others to access.

The campaign is being led by the Vehicle Remarketing Association which says that missing service histories can easily wipe 5% or more of a vehicle’s value.

VRA chair, Sam Watkins, said: “Absent service histories are almost certainly the number one factor that unnecessarily reduces the value of a car when it comes to being sold. It is seen by traders and buyers as proof that a car has been properly maintained and cared for. Yet at auction, around a quarter of vehicles are presented without a service history.

“On a typical vehicle, the value lost is probably counted in terms of hundreds or low thousands of pounds but on high-value, specialist vehicles, it can potentially run in a five-figure sum. The only time that a service history starts to become less important is near to the end of a car or van’s life, when the condition starts to outweigh all other factors.”

Sam said there is widespread frustration with the knowledge that the information needed is already there. Dealers and workshops record when a job has been done and because it is stored electronically it should be easy to set up a central resource where dealers can look at a vehicle’s history.

Limited Effort To Make This Available

“Virtually every garage in the country now carefully records all the jobs that it carries out on a vehicle on some form of IT system and, in 2019, many of these use cloud storage. It would take a limited effort to make this available through some form of central portal that shows work has been carried out. A vehicle’s MOT is available to anyone online on this kind of basis, so why not the service history?”

Sam acknowledged that it would be easier for franchised retailers who tend to use similar dealer management systems to input their data but said it would not need much effort for independents to do so as well although some may take issue with adding yet another layer of work unless it is automatically uploaded.

He added: “Even if we could only get franchise dealers to do this, it would be a big step forward and would likely help to underline the value of the most expensive cars that are remarketed. Independent garages would undoubtedly present more of a challenge but, as already mentioned, this is successfully done for MOTs. It should not be a significant task.”

Sam said the VRA is keen to talk to anyone, dealer or IT provider, who may be interested in finding out more on the scheme and helping to push it forward.

“Anyone from manufacturers to dealers to technology providers who believe they have a contribution to make to this debate would be very much welcomed.”

For more information about what Click Dealer can do for your business, contact us on 01782 478220 or via [email protected]. Alternatively, you can get in touch through our contact page.