August 2024 –Dealer Auction’s Retail Margin Monitor for July shows some attention-grabbing performances among the top profit-turning models. While observers might not be surprised to see the Land Rover Discovery Sport claim the top spot once again (with an average retail margin of £3,525), digging deeper into the data revealed an extra incentive to stock up. The model sold in 26 days on average – eight days faster than its average for the first half of 2024 and close to the all-time top 10 record (held by the Mazda CX-5 which sold in 23 days in May 2023).
Dealer Auction’s Marketplace Director, Kieran TeeBoon, commented: “The Discovery Sport might be a consistent top-performer in the profit stakes, but historically, it hasn’t been the fastest mover. In our half-year round-up for 2024, its average was 34 days and it has often clocked more than 40 days. So July’s performance is very interesting indeed. The top profit-turner and the fastest seller of the top 10 – talk about doubling your firepower!”
Another notable model in July was the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, which achieved its highest-ever position and margin – claiming third place with an average retail margin of £3,000, hot on the heels of the second-place Land Rover Range Rover Evoque (£3,450). The Land Rover Freelander 2 also rejoined the chart this month – a triple treat of Land Rover models.
A mainstream entry also caught the eye of Dealer Auction’s analysts. The Vauxhall Zafira Tourer staked a claim in the top 10 for the first time since September 2022. With other family-friendly models like the Nissan X-Trail, Volkswagen Tiguan and Peugeot 3008 sitting just outside the top 10, this may well point to families and groups needing bigger vehicles for summer holidays.
At brand level, Land Rover drew the highest profit (£3,675) once again, followed by Jaguar (£3,000) and Mercedes-Benz (£2,850).
TeeBoon commented: “The previous Retail Margin Monitor was the half-year round-up, so this edition is the first opportunity to see how brands are shaping up for the remainder of 2024. The consistent presence of Land Rover, Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz in the top three highlights these brands’ resonance with drivers and shows why savvy dealers are continuing to gravitate towards premium brands.”
Opportunities abound for dealers to drive profit – TeeBoon points to the recent Regit survey, cited in Cox Automotive’s Q2 2024Insight Quarterly, which suggested that consumers are willing to pay more with the right dealer.*
He concludes: “Almost 7 in 10 (68%) people said they would rather spend more on a car as long as it came with excellent customer service. Dealers, take note!”*
Richard Walker, Auto Trader’s Data & Insights Director, added:
“As always, the RMM offers invaluable insight into the market, and along with our data, points to a healthy used car market; demand is strong, cars are selling quickly, and there’s some good margin to be had. Importantly, the underlying fundamentals remain robust, so as we look ahead, there’s certainly room for optimism. On the current trajectory, we expect around a 5% rise in transactions by the end of the year. Using the wealth of available data to help source and set prices will ensure retailers are maximising the potential opportunities.”
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About Dealer Auction
Dealer Auction is the UK’s leading digital remarketing platform. We give buyers and sellers more choice, better insight and greater margins. Dealer Auction is an independent company, created through a joint venture between Cox Automotive and Auto Trader. For more information, visit www.dealerauction.co.uk.
Launched in January 2022, Dealer Auction’s Retail Margin Monitor tracks the potential retail margin that can be achieved on vehicles bought via Dealer Auction’s open network. We track models meeting two key criteria: more than 20 units sold with a retail price of less than £25,000. We then compare the sold price for each model with the Auto Trader market average to reveal the potential margin. For the brand table, we compare models with more than 50 units sold. We crunch the numbers at the start of every new month.
Notes:
1The average ‘Auto Trader Retail Rating’ uses three key metrics to determine the consumer demand for the vehicle:
- Average days to sell – Calculated for the whole of the UK and then adjusted for the variations Auto Trader have observed locally in your area.
- Live market supply – Comparing the national supply level for the vehicle over the last seven days with the usual level of supply Auto Trader have seen in the market over the last six months.
- Live buyer demand – Analysing how many people are currently searching for the vehicle on Auto Trader, comparing consumer search behaviour over the last seven days against the level of interest over the last six months.
