63% of car dealers expect sales to increase over the next 12 months, according to research from information management specialists EDM Group.

More than a quarter (28%) expect demand for Hire Purchase (HP) schemes to rise, against 24% who anticipate a decline. However, only 13% expect demand for 50:50 schemes to increase, compared to 18% who anticipate sales of these products will fall.

77% anticipate more customers taking out Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) schemes.  Only 2% think there will be a decline here.

With strong growth in the car finance market, 89% of car dealers believe there will be an increase in the volume of paperwork they have to process. More than two-fifths (44%) believe there will be a dramatic increase, while only 6% expect volumes to fall.

Only one in ten (10%) expect sales to fall.

Associate director – automotive at EDM Group, Matt Collinge, said: “These are exciting times for the automotive industry.  Sales of vehicles are up and as the industry develops more innovative finance schemes to help customers pay for their cars, the prospect for continued growth is good.  However, with these changes comes a growing focus on more information and data, and the importance of managing this properly.

“This is going to become fundamental in terms of ensuring high quality service levels, but also protection against fraud or claims of mis-selling.”

EDM Group provides companies with effective and efficient ways to manage the rapidly growing volumes of information flowing into and through their businesses every day.