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November 2023 - Automotive

Car dealer concerns over the growth of agency agreements have doubled: A survey of car dealers in the UK has revealed that in the last month, concerns have grown about the growth of agency agreements. In September, the proportion of used car retailers who said that the growth of agency agreements was a future challenge to their business was found to be 22%, while the monthly tracker has increased to 42% in October, although the reasons why are not clear.

The Startline Used Car Tracker is a monthly report prepared for Startline Motor Finance by APD Global Research, with 336 consumers and 60 dealers taking part in the latest research.

Other future challenges identified by dealers include the shift towards electric vehicles (62%, up from 49% the previous month), stock shortages (57%, down from 59%), availability of financing (47%, down from 57%), growing compliance demands (40%, up from 39%), and declining interest in car ownership (25%, down from 39%).

The tracker also looked at dealer optimism, with the proportion who feel optimistic remaining largely the same as in September (72% versus 73% in September). This is a steep climb from the 37% recorded in July.

Paul Burgess, CEO at Startline Motor Finance, said: “For most of this year, around 20% of dealers have mentioned the agency model as a challenge but there has been a definite increase this month. Why this has happened is not clear, but it may just be that the full implications of manufacturer plans to attempt to manage their vehicles in the used market for a longer period of time – into second and third lives – are becoming more obvious.”

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