Dealers had a tough market in October with a slowdown in demand and lower footfall compared to a year ago.
Modix, the digital marketing arm of Cox Automotive, said October was a “challenging” month.
Its monthly dealer sentiment survey found that 55% of dealers believed demand was down year on year and 59% reported that physical footfall was down. That said 34% saw an increase in online activity.
For used cars, retailers reported that days in stock and the number of overage cars reduced in October.
Philip Nothard, customer insight and strategy director said: “Retailers faced two big challenges in October.
“Firstly, the new car market has been fairly slow, and 45% of the dealers surveyed reported an in overage new car stock.
“Secondly, good quality used stock has been in short supply, and higher prices put pressure on margins.
“While larger dealer groups have been able to offset this with smart use of part-exchange stock within the network, smaller independent retailers will certainly have found margins a challenge in October.”