Diesels Could Be Making A Comeback In The Used Car Sector

Dealers who push the eco-benefits and cost advantages of the latest Euro 6 diesel could see their sales rise as the message gets home that these engines can be cleaner, and cheaper, to run than a petrol or hybrid.

For the past four years (since September 2015) all-new diesel vehicles sold in the UK have had to meet the tougher emissions standards and the steady flow of them being remarketed is now set to be joined by a healthy supply coming back from four-year lease contracts.

Retailers making the most of the low emissions/high mpg message of Euro 6-compliant diesel vehicles could be rewarded with better sales if they are seen as being the best `green’ solution until hybrids and EVs really appear in significant volumes among owners in the second-hand sector, something which many believe is still years away.

Diesels remain the preferred fuel type given their lower running costs, especially among heavier cars, and last week Auto Trader confirmed that of the top ten fastest-selling second-hand cars last month, seven were diesel.

Diesels fastest selling
Pendulum Swings Back To Diesel

One remarketing platform, Shoreham Vehicle Auctions, says the arrival of Euro 6 cars and vans in big numbers creates an opportunity for dealers.

Alex Wright, managing director, said:

“Despite the tipping point that has arrived for EV vehicles, we will see the diesel market recover and, due to the reduction in new diesel sales, the pendulum will swing back to an increase in demand in the second-hand market.

“The new generation of petrol owners in an SUV will realise the extra running costs versus diesel, and when the green light is given by the government that these new generation diesel vehicles are actually helping the country reduce CO2 and NOx emissions, it will be accepted as a ‘green’ solution until EVs fully establish themselves.

“We must remember that petrol powertrains’ generate CO2 and NOx emissions too and, arguably, have progressed less than diesels in recent Euro standard iterations.”

Auto Trader said that for the second consecutive month, the 2016 SEAT Alhambra (diesel, automatic) is the UK’s fastest-selling used car, and that if correctly priced, bigger MPVs and SUVs should sell sooner than smaller hatchbacks or five-seaters. Seven seems to be the magic number with the Alhambra joined in the top three by its seven-seater stablemate the Volkswagen Sharan, with the 2017 and 2016 models ranked second and third.

For more information on Click Dealer’s services, contact The Clickers on 01782 478220. You can also reach us via [email protected] or through our contact page.

Click Dealer Are Finalists Once Again At The Car Dealer Power Awards 2019

Car Dealer Power Awards
This Thursday marks the 10th annual Car Dealer Power Awards! Click is nominated for three supplier awards in 2019.

The Car Dealer Power Awards give automotive retailers the opportunity to have their say about how manufacturers and suppliers have performed throughout the year.

In last year’s awards, Click Dealer scooped up the Dealer Management System of the Year Award thanks to your votes. We were also highly commended in the website provider category.

A September to Remember?

Voted for by readers of Car Dealer Magazine, the gongs will be presented at a glittering awards night on Thursday, September 26, 2019, in Portsmouth at the Spinnaker Tower.

The Clickers have shortlisted in the following categories:

  •  Independent Website Provider of the Year 2019
  •  Franchise Website Provider of the Year 2019
  •  DMS Provider of the Year 2019

We’d like to thank everyone for voting for us, we’re really looking forward to attending the awards again! We are aware that a number of our dealers have been nominated as well. Please come and say hello and we wish you the best of luck!

For more information on Click Dealer’s services, contact The Clickers on 01782 478220. You can also reach us via [email protected] or through our contact page.

 

Click Dealer’s Accelerator Pack Delivers Exciting Results

Sales
Click Dealer services such as our Accelerator Pack have helped our partners see sales of second-hand vans soar from just over 500 in September 2016 to more than 1,300 this year, and car sales from around 12,350 to 26,250.

Monthly sales graphs for Click Dealer customers show healthy and consistent growth in volume over the past three years and although some of that is down to the growth in the number of garages buying and using our DMS software, a lot of is due to the efficiencies our systems provide.

Leaving aside the usual seasonal peaks and troughs which always happen – such as the December drop-off followed by a rise in January. Our data shows a clear and upward trend in sales.

Click has Van and Car Sales On the Up

Sales graphs

Katie Pemberton, Click Dealer Client Services Manager, said:

“This data proves what we say, which is that our systems help dealers grow in a competitive market. It is true that some of the extra volume is because over the past three years this company has grown from having around 850 dealers to 1,400 today so there are more businesses using our management systems but it is equally true that what we supply works – after all, the increase in sales volumes outstrips the increase in the number of our customers.

“Take the Accelerator Pack for example. It has three elements, the Facebook marketplace integration, the Click Leads and the Click Media Plus app. Together these make uploading images and stock details much easier and faster, provides a slick and efficient response to leads coming in from a platform such as Auto Trader which builds confidence from someone interested in that vehicle that they are dealing with a professional business, and crucially, it analyses and breaks down the cost of those leads from various channels the dealers are advertising on.

Vital Management Data at a Single Point

“It gives them that vital management data at a single point which they can readily access so they can see which ones are working for them and which are not, where they need to perhaps spend a bit more or a bit less, and gives them the accurate information they rely on to steer their business towards maximising sales and profit.

“The Accelerator Pack is an end-to-end service; at the front end it makes displaying and describing stock much easier and faster and that has to be a big tick in its favour with our customers. At the back end, it gives them reliable, accurate and instant data on what is selling and on which platforms and how much it costs them to get that business.

“The short version is that it gives our dealers what they need to know to make sales and this new data proves that.”

For more information on Click Dealer’s Accelerator Pack or any of our other services, contact The Clickers on 01782 478220, via [email protected] or through our contact page.

Pendragon decision shows difficulty for franchises versus independents

Stock
This week’s news that Pendragon is closing 22 of its Car Store supermarkets has put a sharp focus on the challenges facing large franchised dealer groups. One of those challenges is trying to win a larger part of the used car market from independents to compensate for dropping new sales.

It is to shut 17 ex-franchise conversions and five small-format locations which average stock of 30 cars. The shrinkage policy means that 22 of its 34 sites and one prep centre will be shut over the coming months as it deals with the twin problem of having too many cars for sale and some Car Store websites not delivering the profits needed to justify the cost of opening their doors.

It has also taken the axe to used cars at its franchised dealerships. At the end of the last financial year it had £375 million in used cars but by the end of H1 this year that had dropped to £236m, a cut of £140m.

However, it is confident that going forward the Car Stores should have a strong and healthy future, ideally targeting cars and vans between two and seven years old which is a market it says has an annual sales volume of around 3m units. Pendragon further says that Car Store is aiming to deal primarily in two to seven years old vehicles.

Short-term actions to improve performance

In a statement released on Wednesday, it said:

“The Board initiated a detailed strategic and market review of the Car Store business and the challenges it has faced. This review confirmed that there continues to be a significant and attractive market opportunity for Car Store, however, a number of short-term actions are required to improve performance, including a number of site closures.”

Chris Chambers, Non-Executive Chairman, added:

“Whilst market conditions have been challenging in the first half of 2019 with headwinds in both the used and new car markets the Group has continued to deliver like-for-like revenue growth. However, there has been a material decline in the Group’s profitability principally as a result of the actions taken to address excess used car stock. We made significant progress reducing this exposure in the latter period of the first-half and we remain committed to the strategy of growth in the Group’s used car proposition. The business is fully focussed on maximising performance, but we expect the market to continue to be challenging during the second half of 2019.”

For information on Click Dealer’s services please contact the Clickers either via [email protected] or 01782 478 220.

 

How to buckle up and thrive in the declining automotive market

High Customer Service Demand
When the motorway is clear everyone gets to where they want to go. But all of a sudden, there’s some roadworks, a broken-down vehicle, an oil spill… and the motorway grinds to a halt. Anyone who knows how to sell cars benefits when things are going well, but knowing how to navigate when traffic slows down is the key to success.

Those dealers who understand the importance of customer relationship management using a controlled CRM – driven by accurate and valid data – allows them to stand head and shoulders above the rest and continue to grow by keeping their retention rates high.

By sticking to strict processes and principles, you can nurture your customer data and vastly increase your retention rates. The most difficult sale you can make is to a new customer. It’s also likely going to be the least profitable initially – minus your marketing costs, the possibility of paying for things such as a referral fee or doing a really good deal to get them to sign. These customers are also unreliable, most likely to cancel, and likely to expect a flawless customer journey.

Do I Have Your Retention?

The answer to selling in times like these is simple – your CRM. If you can maintain a strong retention rate from your customers, then you won’t ever have to worry if new enquires dry up slightly. Make sure you keep track of when customers have finance expiring, warranty expiring, services due, and target them with a simple text message, a more formal email or letter, maybe even follow up with a phone call. By doing this, you’re maintaining that customer relationship, and you’re hopefully reminding these people before they start thinking about competitors.

Year on year, you can keep adding to your CRM, and if your retention and customer care is the best it possibly can be, you’ll grow into a very successful business. Always ask yourself if a customer is unhappy – how much would it cost me to replace this customer? If this customer buys a car every three years, has his servicing and MOT done with your dealership, you could be losing thousands of pounds in income. It’s easy to think, another customer will walk in to replace them, but who knows if they will be as loyal, have their servicing done with you or maybe at their mate’s garage.

It’s worth doing what you can, within reason, to persuade a customer to stay. If they’re unhappy with the condition their car was returned in after a service, give them a free valet, and leave them a nice present in the car as well when they come to pick it up. By being memorable and caring about your customers, you can build the perfect sales machine that you’re guaranteed to keep selling to year after year.

For information on Click Dealer’s services please contact the Clickers either via [email protected] or 01782 478 220.

Business Car Sales Drive Used Sector Finance Growth

Business sales drive used sector
Point-of-sale financing for used car sales to businesses fuelled a dramatic increase in the total sector with the second-hand market comfortably accelerating ahead of the new car sector.

The latest data from the Finance & Leasing Association show the POS consumer used car finance market reported new business in July up eight per cent by value and the number of cars transacted by seven per cent to 134,000. In the 12-month period, the figures were plus seven and three per cent respectively.

But these gains were dwarfed by the uplift in the used cars-to-business market which performed particularly well. There was a 12% increase in the number of cars bought and sold this way with almost 4,000 deals being done in July, a 13% gain in the three months to July against the same period last year for 14,000 cars. The 12-month timeframe saw an 11% rise to 61,500 sales.

In contrast, POS growth for new cars did nearly as well in July with 11% more being written but in the previous three months it was static and the annual figures saw a drop of five per cent.

The Main Driver of Headline Growth

The used car sector generally became the main driver for the first uplift in total point-of-sale finance since February and earlier figures show that POS financing for second-hand cars has more than trebled this decade and volumes doubled.

Geraldine Kilkelly, head of research and chief economist at the FLA, said:

“In July, the point-of-sale consumer car finance market reported growth for the first time since February 2019. The consumer used car finance market was the main driver of headline growth in July as new business volumes increased at their strongest rate since October 2018.”

Last year FLA members provided £136 billion of new finance to UK businesses and households. £103b of this was in the form of consumer credit, over a third of total new consumer credit written in the UK in 2018. £46b of it supported the purchase of new and used cars, including over 91% of private new car registrations.

For more information, please contact the Clickers either via [email protected] or 01782 478 220.

Dealers Should Resist Price Cuts To Sell

Dealers
Used car dealers should hold their nerve and resist the temptation to discount to get a sale but instead demonstrate extra value and be able to justify their prices as the market faces outside pressures.

The message from Rupert Pontin, Director of Insight at Cazana, is that with downward pressure on forecourt prices from a slowing of consumer demand fuelled by the Brexit situation, it makes little sense for all dealers to cut prices because the relative competitiveness will be the same, just at a lower level.

He said they need to show `tenacity and resilience’ before adding: “It is important to note that whilst retail pricing is reasonably steady, the compromise has been in how long it has taken to sell each car. This is the difficult piece at the moment where the sales teams are having to demonstrate extra justification and greater value for the customer into each deal. The reality is that it may not be worth dropping the retail price if all the dealers are facing the same situation as this does not guarantee a quicker sale.”

Elsewhere in Cazana’s monthly analysis of the used car market, he notes that late plate models (12 months/12,000 miles) seem to be holding onto their value and have only lost a single percentage point of original value cost over the past year. In contrast, ex-fleet and PCP cars coming back are being harder hit because of the healthy new market in 2016.

Not worth dropping the retail price

Rupert said: “The data shows that whatever the age and mileage profile, retail pricing is now falling away. Of note is the fact that the later plate cars seem to be holding value slightly better and have dipped in pricing terms by a single percentage point of original cost new. Three-year-old cars from both the private and fleet sector are being affected more severely. This will in part be due to the level of new car registrations that took place in the new car market 3 years ago.”

Turning to the various fuel types, 12-month old pure battery cars are benefitting from improved range and their values are (a) stable and (b) substantially higher than earlier models.

Hybrids are doing well as they find more favour among drivers with Cazana saying `Looking at the hybrid data it is evident that there is greater pricing stability as all lines remain fairly flat across the twelve-month period. There is also a consistent gap between the value of each age and mileage profile which is similar to the pattern exhibited by ICE cars. Finally, there has also been consistent retail price increases at all age and mileage profiles which supports the view that consumer demand for alternative fuel vehicles is increasing.’

Looming over everything though is the political situation and until this is clarified consumers will continue to be wary of big-ticket purchases and Rupert doesn’t forecast a significant improvement in market sentiment in Q4.

He said: “This time of year may traditionally be more difficult from a sales perspective but the political and associated economic challenges are an unwelcome complication. As it stands today this position looks set to continue until early 2020. Indeed, we may see another general election and new prime minister coming to the fore to conclude the Brexit process in the coming months and as such stability and recovery seem quite a way away.”

For more information, please contact the Clickers either via [email protected] or 01782 478 220.

 

Improve Your Dealership’s Efficiency With ClickDMS!

Over the years, Click Dealer has branched out to become far more than just a DMS and website provider to independent car and van dealerships across the UK. It now boasts a wealth of products and services and is the must-have performance partner to independents across the land, but the business hasn’t forgotten the very foundations upon which it was built, the award-winning ClickDMS.

What started off as a system created to help dealerships with their strenuous, overly-complicated, time consuming administrative tasks has grown and evolved spectacularly. Working closely with dealers, ClickDMS has been constantly updated and enhanced over the years to become the stalwart that it is today, full of amazing tools, reports and functions that the majority of Click Dealer’s partners simply couldn’t do without.

With the massive amount of improvements made to the system over the years, it’s easy for some of them to go amiss, which is why we decided to create a blog, to highlight a few of the hidden gems deep inside ClickDMS that you may not know about!

1) The FCA Gabriel Report

At the end of every financial year, comes the dreaded FCA Gabriel Report to HMRC, full of breakdowns into their dealer’s yearly finances. Ordinarily, business owners or accountants would spend hours having to sort through invoices, paper reports and more, just to get the information that is required by HMRC. With ClickDMS, all of the requested information is available to dealers at the touch of a button, in one solitary report!

Although you can’t officially submit the report via ClickDMS, this report is sure to save dealerships hours upon hours of valuable time which could ultimately be spent elsewhere within their business, like selling more vehicles perhaps?

2) VOSA Integration

When a dealership is purchasing a vehicle, it’s common practice to search the internet high and low to find every tiny detail about the automobile in question. Is it road-legal? Has it been in any accidents? Does it have a valid MOT? All of these questions are answered within seconds when using ClickDMS, thanks to the brilliant VOSA integration. Just enter the vehicle’s registration, click a button and voila!

3) The New Sales Enquiries Screen

Although technically quite a popular function, many dealers don’t realise that this groundbreaking screen displays all of your sales enquiries from across the web! Auto Trader, eBay Motors, website enquiries, you name it! They’re all displayed on one page, meaning that there is no reason for leads to go missing again!

4) You Can Submit Your Tax Digitally Through ClickDMS

Amidst all the panic and preparation for HMRC’s new ‘Making Tax Digital for VAT’ regulation, it was possible to miss the news that ClickDMS is officially an HMRC-recognised software provider for MTD. Dealerships needn’t worry about finding a piece of software that they can submit their tax digitally on when they can do it within ClickDMS and there is no shortage of friendly Clickers on standby to guide dealerships through the entire process.

5) The Amount of Digital Invoice Layouts Available

With ClickDMS there is no need for handwritten invoices any more! Digital invoices are automatically created and are available to view and print within seconds. Even though that’s quite a well-known feature, not many dealers are aware of the number of invoice layouts available to them. There are designs to suit all wants and needs, all fully-branded with the dealership’s logo and colours to ensure that the final step of the customer’s journey is as professional as it can be!

These are but a few of the incredible amount of functions available through ClickDMS and Click Dealer is constantly working to improve the entire system with a huge number of exciting and industry-changing updates coming in the not too distant future. Keep your eyes peeled and if you aren’t already a ClickDMS user, what are you waiting for?

For more information about ClickDMS, please contact the Clickers via [email protected] or alternatively, call 01782 478 220!

Higher Spec Used Vans Deliver Sales

Dashboard

Higher spec vans are finding favour with buyers in the second-hand sector with new data showing that the Ford Transit Custom is the most popular model in most of the UK’s regions.

Analysis of 411 of our dealers from January 2018 to Q2 2019 shows that the Ford van is the best seller in five of the 12 regions – which includes Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – and the second best seller in another five.

The Custom is a smaller version of the Transit and generally has several driver aids such as Bluetooth, blind spot assist and a better-equipped driving environment. There is a price premium for the better specced Limited model but despite that, the Click Dealer data shows it is more popular too with customers happy to pay a little more over the standard Transit.

Generally speaking, where the Custom was not the best seller the standard Transit was so Ford has a stranglehold on the top sellers’ spot. In only two regions, Newcastle and the East Midlands where the VW Campervan and the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter respectively had the most sales, did it lose its dominance. The only other van to regularly threaten it is the Vauxhall Vivaro but there are significantly less of them sold.

Sophie Bates, Data Analyst at Click Dealer, said: “Although we see variation in make-models in the top 10’s for each region it’s interesting to see that Ford Transit/Transit Custom are the highest selling model for our dealers in 80% of UK regions.”

London ULEZ Drives Sales

Smaller vans such as the Citroen Berlingo or Transit Connect did reasonably well but the Vauxhall Astra appeared just once in our top ten sellers, in the Newcastle region.

Unsurprisingly, with their big rural areas, Scotland and Wales saw the lowest number of sales and while most regions sold near or more than 1,000 over the period nowhere came close to London’s figure of more than 12,000 which accounted for more than a third of all the 32,577 used van sales in the 18 months.

Earlier this year remarketing specialists, Aston Barclay, said the introduction of the Central London ULEZ has prompted many buyers doing business in and around the capital to change their stock profile in and hold more Euro 6 compliant vans.

Sophie added: “Greater London sees the greatest number of regional van sales, accounting for 37% of all van sales.”

Charity Football Event Round Up And Special Thanks

Charity Football Event
Last month Click organised a charity football event to raise money in aid of Ward 17 at Leighton Hospital, part of the Mid Cheshire Hospitals Charity. We’ve counted all proceeds and donations from the event, and we’re thrilled to announce a total of £1,739 was raised!

Click Dealer came from behind twice to beat Codeweavers 4-2 at Pershall Park with a double from Jamie Baker and one each from Lee Rawlinson and Jack Ganley. You can read the full match report here

We’d like to take the opportunity to thank everyone for the part they played in making this event a success!

Eccleshall FC – Huge thanks to all the staff who opened their football ground to us once again and looked after both teams and all guests extremely well. Hats off to Jim, Neil, and John for helping us organise this great event and supply us with our kit!

We simply couldn’t have had this event without our partners at Codeweavers. Thank you for a competitive and friendly game, and for your donation to our raffle and cause.

Some of our very generous customers donated money to help us fund raffle prizes and event running costs, thanks to you, our event went beyond expectations! Round of applause for Saxon Bridge, Cheshire Vehicle Supplies, California Car and Commercials Ltd, Durham Cars 4 U, and Angus Mackinnon!

What’s an event without some top draw food and drink? We were delighted to have had both Perry’s Of Eccleshall and The Giddy Aunt Mobile Gin Bar join us, we hope the day was a success for you!

It’s great to be able to look back at the event, the football game in particular through some of the incredible photos captured by Photographer James Daley. Thanks for lending us your skills, James!

Thank you to ‘Passage to India’ for donating a voucher for your restaurant to our raffle!

And finally, to our team of Clickers! Whether you played football on the pitch or supported from the sideline, if you helped with the organisation or the setup and clean up on the day or maybe you simply supported us with a donation, we couldn’t ask for any more! A fantastic effort that we hope to see continued in the future!

We hope to see you all again next year! If you’d still like to make a donation then please visit our Just Giving page