Dealers are pre-registering diesel vehicles to be sold at a loss in the hope of making some money from their back-end standards or volume bonuses from their brand partner.
According to Coachworks Consulting, some manufacturers are still encouraging their networks to achieve ambitious diesel targets, which have led to these “guerrilla tactics”.
Demand for new diesels fell -29.6% in 2018, and the SMMT has forecast a further drop of -16.9% for 2019.
Karl Davis, managing director of Coachworks Consulting, believes these activities will increase in March as dealers focus on hitting their Q1 targets.
He said: “With diesel demand down across Europe last year, many manufactures took steps to rebalance their engine mix. However, for those who have not, these distress actions are likely to remain in play over the course of March and the foreseeable future, particularly for those brands lacking in viable petrol, hybrid or EV alternatives.”
A few brands have already implemented with fast start bonuses aimed at incentivising diesel sales during the earlier part of the Q1 trading period.
Davis said: “The switched on OEMs and their retailers will be entering this all-important sales period with their eyes open and fast start bonuses in place to get the job done early in the month, as an overly conservative approach is likely to cost a great deal more if action is delayed until the end of the period.
“At times like this it is best to take a hit on the chassis profit and then try and claw back the difference through other trading options.
“There is a place for guerrilla tactics and fast start bonuses are certainly a tried and tested way to incentivise dealers and hopefully alleviate some of the pain being felt by OEMs and retailers due to the falling demand for new diesels.”