Almost half of dealers, 49%, felt their margins had become squeezed in June compared to the previous month, according to automotive data providers cap hpi.
Fewer dealers experienced an increase in retained margins, just 5% in June 2017 compared with 11% the year earlier. More respondents felt their retained margins had remained the same between May and June, with 46% answering this way, up from 42% the year earlier.
The percentage of respondents experiencing a decline in footfall in June was 47%, matching that of June 2016, though the number experiencing a rise increased to 25% from 19%.
Fewer dealers reported that physical footfall stayed the same compared to the previous month in June 2017, with 28%, versus 34% of respondents in June 2016.
When asked about online activity, fewer respondents reported a fall than the year before, falling to 41% in June 2017. The percentage that experienced an increase rose slightly to 22% from the 21% reported in June 2016.
More dealers experienced no change in online activity between May and June this year, increasing to 37% compared to the same period in 2016.
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By GlobalDataThe majority of dealers, 61%, felt their finance penetration remained flat in June, while 17% saw an increase, and 22% reported a decline.
Over half of dealers, 52%, felt demand had worsened in June 2017 compared to May, an increase of 4% from the same period in 2016. The remaining 48% were split equally between those who thought demand had got better and those who reported it had remained the same.
Philip Nothard, Black Book editor, consumer and retail, cap hpi said: “Across the dealer network, this month’s sentiment reveals some inconsistencies around attitudes towards consumers and demand.”