3:10 pm, October 28, 2016
CAR Dealer Magazine has undertaken research in partnership with the BBC to reveal that up to a fifth of new cars in the UK are pre-registered.
The magazine’s founder James Baggott was interviewed by the BBC as part of an investigation into the issue of car pre-registration, having covered the issue extensively over the last few years. He appeared on BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours programme today (October 28, 12.15PM), which you can listen to again here.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4, Baggott commented: ‘I refer to it as a drug but only because that’s how a lot of dealers refer to it themselves. Once you are hooked into it, it is very hard to get off it.
‘We’re constantly talking about how buoyant the car market is. But pre-registered cars are inflating the real car market, they are often just sitting in a field somewhere.
‘I would say that isn’t transparent enough because a number of people use the car industry as a bellwether for the economy.’
Despite the fact that pre-registration cars skew car sales data, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) continues to deny that it is a problem. Tamzen Isacsson from the SMMT added: ‘Let’s be clear. This is driven by natural business demand and consumer choice. Self-registrations enable dealers to manage their stock.
‘It enables consumers who don’t want to wait months for a new car to be able to access one immediately and with a very low mileage.’
Picture credit: Andrew Matthews PA Wire/PA Images
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