Franchised car dealers delivered an aftersales bounce-back to end Q1 following a slump in in the last quarter of 2017, according to autoVHC.

Data gathered from a sample of 500 dealership workshops by the eVHC provider showed that an additional 607,000 vehicles presented themselves to aftersales departments in March alone, when compared with December 2017.

This follows a 24% drop in workshop activity during Q4 of last year, when 323,000 fewer vehicles passed through franchised dealers’ aftersales departments in what would prove to be the final of four month-on-month declines in business.

Figures obtained at the end of Q1 2018 showed the average dealership was presented with 335 cars in March, compared to the 211 seen in December of last year.

Chris Saunders, business unit director at autoVHC, said: “It is heartening to see the numbers for March increasing so significantly.

“The last quarter of 2017 proved to be a challenging one for aftersales departments with consistent month on month falls in the number of vehicles being presented, but a strong end to Q1 gives dealerships a promising platform to build on in 2018.

“We know many dealers are investing time and money into initiatives aimed at increasing customer confidence and bolstering their aftersales departments, and hopefully they will see the fruits of their labours over the coming months.”