Richard Foan, Audit Bureau of Circulations managing director, is urging dealers to get involved with the internet immediately or risk missing out on its full potential.

“The web gives more flexibility and is becoming a powerful entity. It will help dealers to get to the right people and bring them into the showroom, but it won't replace dealerships,” he said at the 'Used car crossroads' Automotive Management spring conference.

“The internet is a valuable business tool where you can market products and services. But it is also a global medium operating in a global market so, therefore, it must embrace and adopt global standards,” Mr Foan said.

ABC audits users, visits and page impressions for internet sites. Visits measures the number of times a website has been visited, while page impressions reveal how busy a user was by assessing the number of requests made for information.