Supermarkets look set to be worst hit by stock shortages in the coming year.
At a Finance & Leasing Association Conference this month on the Future of Automotive Finance, Auto trader director of automotive finance Rachael Jones said supermarkets would suffer more than independent or franchised dealers because they were exposed to cars aged three to five years old.
With a shortage of these vehicles due to low new car sales in recent years, the impact is significant.
“The impacts of the lack of new car supply from 2020 onwards is about to significantly impact the 3-5 year old car parc with 39% less available stock compared to 2019.
“As a result, supermarkets will be most affected from this change as their stock in recent years was mostly 45-50% in this age bracket.”
The market has already seen supermarkets react to the stock shortage with Peter Vardy shutting two CARS outlets and announcing a dent in profits in 2022 due to stock shortages.
Meanwhile Motorpoint announced earlier this year that it was stalling further expansion.