Scottish dealer group John R Weir saw pre-tax profits fall from £424,000 to £249,000 in the year ended October, 31.

However, sales were up from £91.5 million to £92.1m last year.

According to a report in The Scotsman the group’s profits were squeezed by smaller margins on new and used cars.

John R. Weir is a family owned company who represent Mercedes-Benz, Smart, Kia, Subaru, Isuzu and Chrysler cars (including Dodge and Jeep). It operates 16 franchise agreements across the east of Scotland.

John R Weir saw profits treble in 2010 following a jump in sales and action on costs, which puts the challenging market in perspective following its drop in profits last year.

The drop in margins has continued from 2010 when they fell across the group by 1%.