8:46 am, September 16, 2026
Market conditions are currently ‘as good as it gets’ for car dealers, despite wider economic uncertainty.
That is the verdict of former Lookers and Inchcape chief James Brearley, who believes retailers are currently enjoying a strong period of growth.
Brearley has been out of work since leaving Lookers earlier this year but is now preparing to get back into the motor trade.
Ahead of his potential return, the 60-year-old had been giving his views on the current state of the motor trade in a lengthy post on LinkedIn.
Analysing current market conditions, the experienced figure said the new car market was performing strongly against a backdrop that might ordinarily be expected to weigh on consumer demand.
He pointed to new car registrations being 10% ahead year to date, with retail registrations up 12.5% and said that September success is already ‘in the bag’, following a record-breaking August.
He said: ‘People are saying that this month will define the year, September is already in the bag, it is more of the same and the big groups will be way ahead of prior year, unless there is something seriously wrong with their operation.’
Brearley believes affordability is playing a major role in keeping demand strong, with Chinese brands forcing stablished European brands to compete more aggressively on price.
‘Affordability is the new cool with Chinese entrants forcing Euro brands to fiercely compete,’ he wrote.
‘Add in the frankly outrageous oil prices at the pumps and suddenly the market is fuelling (pun) demand for electric cars.
‘It is as good as it gets.’
Looking ahead, Brearley expects the market to remain resilient into the early part of next year.
He said further negativity around tax and government policy could dampen demand in October (2026), but argued that economic uncertainty could also encourage consumers to look for ways to reduce their motoring costs.
He said: ‘More negativity around tax and Government doom and gloom will dampen October, but as a repeat of last year that negativity will drive consumers to save money, which in turn will drive demand for electric cars and affordable payments, so the early part of next year will be okay.’
Four-year PCPs could cause headache
Despite feeling positive for the months ahead, Brearley does believe there could be problems down the road.
He pointed to the growing popularity of four-year PCP agreements as a potential issue, due to extending customer replacement cycles.
He questioned why more attention was not being paid to the shift towards longer finance agreements.
‘Four-year PCP is now mainstream,’ he said. ‘Quietly to combat massive post-Covid price increases, car manufacturers have shifted from 24-month to 48 month agreements.
‘Right now 65% of advertised PCP offers are around 4 years.’
He added: ‘The market is locking out consumers for at least another year in order to fuel a short term counter economic boost in sales,’ he said.
‘At some point that is going to bite with market contraction and that is when the bubble bursts and experience matters most.’