In January, new and used orders fell by 36% and 45% respectively, as consumer demand finally ran out of steam in the face of a third national lockdown, reports Dealerweb.

Recent data from the firm revealed that, alongside a decline in new and used orders, enquiries also fell year-on-year, with new enquiries down 29 and used by 34%.

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Despite two previous lockdowns, consumer demand remained strong across 2020 facilitating exceptionally high rates of growth for used car prices in particular.

In December alone, demand for new cars grew by 9.5% year-on-year thanks to a marked increase in conversion as dealers focused on nurturing each lead.

James Hill, managing director at Dealerweb, praised the resilience exhibited by UK dealers so far: “The focus on delivering excellent service and maximising the value of every enquiry has helped to support some relatively robust numbers throughout 2020.”

Yet all good things must come to an end. Hill continued: “It seems that the combination of a third and strict lockdown in January, alongside some terrible weather, has hit consumer demand.”

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Reinforcing the role of data in navigating the restrictions, Hill concluded: “In a challenging market, it is vital to follow up each enquiry in an efficient way and to ensure that the whole team can access sales data in real-time to inform commercial decisions.

“We find that data adds value to every business, but it has a multiplier effect when it is used across the business to drive growth.”

Conversely, the latest data from Auto Trader suggested that the UK automotive market had in fact surpassed expectations in January.

According to data from Auto Trader, strong performance across the industry was evident from the high volumes of traffic to the online marketplace, whilst Dealerweb reported that, positively, used car sale values have also increased by 14% to £20839.