1:32 pm, January 12, 2024
Helping dealers navigate turbulent times in the used car industry will be top of the agenda for experts from Auto Trader at this year’s Car Dealer Live event.
At our ticket-only event, Auto Trader will delve into used car pricing fluctuations, how the online used car buying journey is evolving and what’s really happening with EV buyers.
Catherine Faiers, COO of our event’s headline sponsors, will be taking to the live stage alongside an as-yet-unnamed car dealer, to discuss the marketplace’s research created exclusively for the event.
Headline speakers at the event also include franchised car dealer Peter Vardy and used car whizz Peter Waddell. The full line-up is available on the event website alongside ticket details for car dealers and suppliers.
The event takes place on March 7 at the British Motor Museum, Gaydon.
In a video discussing what attendees can look forward to (above), Faiers said: ‘As always, at Auto Trader, our goal is to help retailers, manufacturers, and all the partners in the industry, to act with confidence in times that are full of a change.
‘We do that through our insights, our tools and through our research and at Car Dealer Live that will be no different.
‘We’re going to be showing up and talking about what we see is the key trends, the key industry themes that are going to shape 2024 for our partners.’
At last year’s Car Dealer Live, Auto Trader presented its Forces of Change data which was incredibly well received from attendees who said they took that information back to their dealerships and implemented it.
For this year’s event, Faiers promised similar advice.
‘Clearly in the last couple of weeks, the last few months, the headlines have been dominated by the news around pricing and valuations and then we’ve always got loads of new insights into that,’ she explained.
‘We’ll also look at how the car buying journey is changing, look at consumer habits and the journey that they go on to buy their next car and what that means.
‘We’ll look at what that looks like for them and how it might be different in 2024 to some of the trends we’ve seen in the past.’
EV demand
Auto Trader will also look at demand for electric vehicles and the difference they are seeing from consumers when it comes to new and used EVs.
Faiers said there’s a chance dealers could ‘miss a big opportunity’ if they don’t look at the detail of the used EV market too.
She said: ‘The reality is, at the moment, we’re seeing really big differences in the new EV market compared to the used market. And then within both of those markets, different segments of vehicles are actually performing very differently.
‘So within that overall EV umbrella I think there’s a lot to talk about. And to ignore the detail would be, potentially for some people, missing the bigger opportunity that is definitely still there in the used market in particular.’
Used car pricing
The end of 2023 saw used car prices in the trade market stumble with a drop back of more than 10% in three months.
However, Auto Trader’s data pointed to a ‘missed opportunity’ for many car dealers when it came to pricing their used stock.
Faiers added: ‘We’re seeing the fundamentals of the used car market still looking strong. We’re seeing good consumer engagement and demand, we’re seeing good speed of sale.
‘The big question and the big challenge for everyone is absolutely around price. And we see that big disconnect between retail valuations, and then what’s happening in trade.
‘And at the moment, the behaviours we’re seeing, the changes we’re seeing, are being driven by what’s happening in that trade market, rather than necessarily the observations that we’re seeing in retail.
‘So, at Car Dealer Live, we’ll be exploring that disconnect between those two different valuations and what that might mean for retailers.’
Faiers said she believes Car Dealer Live is a great opportunity for the motor industry to learn about the ‘broader ecosystem’ in automotive and consider changes to make for the better.
She added: ‘It’s a great opportunity to listen to consider what changes you want to make within your business and then to act and set your plan for the year ahead to make sure you’re being as successful as you possibly can be.
‘It’s a great event and I’m really looking forward to it.’
All partners at the event – which include Auto Trader, Google, Cox Automotive, Automotive Transformation Group and iVendi – will deliver exclusive research at Car Dealer Live.
This will be discussed on stage with car dealers and attendees will be able to download the exclusive research from the event website.
Attendees will also enjoy panel sessions with franchised, used car, luxury car dealers as ell as car manufacturer representatives. Tickets are selling fast and available from the event website today.
