A new report released by Trend Tracker reveals that car dealerships give their attention to the sale of used cars .
Out of all car sales in 2005 by franchised dealers new cars accounted for 46.4 per cent the total compared to 36.2 per cent for used cars. However dealers profits from used cars was 17.6 per cent as opposed to 4.0 per cent for new cars .
Compared to previous years, there was a decline in service charges. Service intervals are longer on newer cars which contributed to the decline and because of competition from independent garagesn .
Franchised dealers are also suffering with a decline in sales of new cars. The reason is the growth of car supermarkets that can heavily reduce the price for new models.
Trend Tracker observed that some franchised dealers have taken advantage of the popularity of the used car market by selling used cars on dedicated sites separate from new car areas.
According to figures from 1999 to 2005, the UK’s fastest growing brand in the used car market is Lexus which has seen sales go up by 401 per cent. The next brand is Kia with an increase of 317 per cent, Alfa Romeo with 202 per cent and Skoda with 140 per cent increase in sales. The following group of cars have all increased their sales by over 100 per cent these include Mercedes Benz, Jeep, Audi, SsangYong, Subaru and Porsche . Whereas the used car market for some models has declined, these include Ford (11 per cent), Volvo (12 per cent) and Proton (20 per cent.)
