Dealerships and manufacturers’ finance providers talking to
Motor Finance seem positive about sales and finance of new
cars, with the 12 number plate available in March.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders
has predicted £5bn will be spent on 350,000 new cars this month but
while nobody expected a return to the levels before the 2008 credit
crisis, there seemed to be ‘good news’ at dealerships of Ford and
Vauxhall, the biggest-selling brands last March, and of recent
years.
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Glen Waldram, sales manager at Peugeot and
Ford dealership John Harrison Group said everything was in place to
make the most of an anticipated sales boost.
“The backend of 2011 was very difficult,”
explained Waldram. “There was good, pent-up demand when January
dawned.”
Waldram added that consumers would always be
excited by the new registration plate, which went hand-in-hand with
the showroom’s ability to capitalise on finance deals.
“We have seen increases in finance because
we’re manufacturer-backed and Ford Credit has some offers that have
increased footfall.”
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By GlobalDataNick Jones, group finance manager at Vauxhall
dealers Greenhous, said the marque’s sales would see a similar
improvement “due to the flexible finance options”, which he added
were “a massive incentive for customers to fit a budget.”
To make the most of this, Greenhous has been
contacting its database of customers and advertising in the local
press.
“It’s good news for a change!” said Jones.
“It’s taken us three or four years for Vauxhall to go down a
finance structure, but it’s proven very successful.”
On the lending side of car finance, Joe
Pattinson, general manager for sales and marketing at BMW Financial
Services, said customers were now aware that finance need not be
“daunting” or only about long-term hire purchase, and that
showrooms needed to make the most of manufacturers’ offers to get
people visiting.
“We’ve continued to see a big uptake in
personal contract purchase over the past year, which represents a
seismic shift in consumer attitudes to buying cars,” said
Pattinson, noting that 62.9% of new car sales were facilitated by
dealer finance in 2011.
Further comments and analysis of the new
plate registration will be published in
March’s issue of
Motor Finance
magazine.
richard.brown@vrlfinancialnews.com
