The UK’s franchised dealerships missed out on more than £17m worth of service revenue in the final months of 2018, according to new data published by autoVHC. 

The results have highlighted a sharp drop in the percentage of completed health checks during October and November of this year.

According to autoVHC, the average dealership completed checks on just 64% of vehicles presented in October, compared to 73% during October 2017.

In November, the average dealer then completed checks on 65% of vehicles, down from 74% in the 2017.

With a completed health check creating an average invoice uplift of £72 over the two month period, the year-on-year fall in completion rates has cost the average dealership £1,944 in October and £1,656 in November.

The results coincide with a recent report from Coachworks Consulting stating that franchised dealers are also losing revenue with poor vehicle health check management. 

AutoVHC’s business unit director, Chris Saunders, said: “To see a fall in completion rates at this period of the year, given the wider challenges facing the industry, is particularly disappointing.

“Winter presents an opportunity for dealerships to provide a range of additional services, including winter health checks for example.”

Across the UK’s 4,900 strong network of dealerships, this equates to missed service revenue of £17,640,000.

The drop comes at a time when many dealers are battling shortfalls in vehicle sales and preparing for the traditionally quieter Christmas period.

“At the very least, dealers should look to maintain a healthy completion rate where standard checks are concerned, especially with the quieter nature of the Christmas period,” said Saunders.

“The rates seen in 2017 were by no means spectacular, so to see these slip as low as 63% represents a significant lost revenue opportunity which could prove costly with the forecast looking uncertain for 2019 too.”