Dealer enquiries fell 18% year-on-year in October

The ongoing cost of living crisis continues to dampen consumer appetite for new cars as data from iTrackLeads shows dealer enquiries fell by 18% year-on-year in October.

The data also shows sales and handovers fell by 17% and 39%, respectively.  

Compared to September’s data, enquiries fell by 3% and sales by 0.4%. Handovers grew by 0.4% month-on-month, reflecting a busy plate change period.

Test drives continued to prove a highly effective part of the customer journey, with over half (55%) of test drives converting into sales.

Adrian Favill, director of iTrackLeads, said: “It’s clear that concerns about the cost of living and energy crises are having a dampening effect on the market. However, dealers have become adept at using technology to effectively manage enquiries through to sales while navigating the supply chain issues that have proven a brake on the industry this year.”

The UK automotive sector remains on course to deliver its lowest new car registrations total since 1982, despite a 26.4% growth in October, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has said.

The market remains down 5.6% year-to-date on the same period in 2021 and a third below pre-COVID levels.

Ongoing supply chain shortages, surging inflation and a growing cost of living crisis have led to a -2.2% downward revision of the SMMT’s market outlook for the year, with 1.566 million registrations now anticipated – putting 2022 on course to be the market’s toughest year since 1982.

Mad Devs is establishing a new global technology hub in Leeds to help accelerate innovation and service its customers in the UK, Europe and Australia.

The automotive retail lead management software provider said the new technology hub will bring together data experts, developers and automotive analysts to develop software and integrations for the global market.