8:36 am, June 14, 2023
Land Rover’s Discovery Sport made used car dealers the most money last month – with an average retail margin of £4,150.
Meanwhile, Mazda’s CX-5, pictured, proved to be the quickest-selling used car.
That’s according to new data from Dealer Auction, which said it had added two metrics to its Retail Margin Monitor to give dealers more help in identifying the most profitable stock for their forecourts.
The digital platform has included ‘Average Auto Trader days to sell’ and ‘Average Auto Trader Retail Rating’ alongside its top 10 profit-generating models for May 2023 to add extra context to the results.
The Discovery Sport – a consistent top performer – continued to reign supreme, with an Average Auto Trader days to sell of 30 and an Average Auto Trader Retail Rating of 89 on top of its £4,150 average retail margin.
Dealer Auction marketplace director Kieran TeeBoon commented: ‘You could say the Land Rover Discovery is the ultimate “triple treat” for your stock.’
However, he pointed out that ‘value’ wasn’t just about profit.
The new metrics show that models appearing lower down the top 10 profit chart might prove the most suitable stock for dealers.
For example, the Mazda CX-5 at number 9 might have a lower average retail margin (£2,605) than those above it, but it’s the fastest seller at 23 days on average and also has the highest Average Auto Trader Retail Rating of 94.
TeeBoon added: ‘The new data metrics reinforce what we’ve always said – it’s essential for dealers to have a healthy stock mix of “quick wins” and opportunities for higher profit.
‘The performance of the Mazda CX-5 and also the Nissan X-Trail shows that dealers shouldn’t shy away from mainstream brands when seeking extra profit.
‘In theory, you could sell two Mazda CX-5 models with a combined profit of £5,210 in a similar amount of time to selling one BMW 5 Series with a £2,750 profit.’
Talking exclusively to Car Dealer, Sarah Marley, Dealer Auction’s sales and marketing director, said: ‘We’re always going to preach the value in using data to guide your decision-making, and this month’s top 10 is yet another illustration as to why we can’t afford to be complacent and assume profit always comes from the same few marques and models.’
At brand level, Land Rover topped the chart with an average retail margin of £3,510, followed by BMW (£2,720) and Mercedes-Benz (£2,670).
Richard Walker, Auto Trader’s data & insights director, said: ‘A retailer’s forecourt is prime real estate – a car that isn’t selling is not only eating into its own potential margin, but it’s also preventing the sale of stock that could be sitting in its place.
‘These new metrics offer a powerful new layer of intelligence, which will help retailers to maximise overall profit potential by not only identifying stock with the best individual return, but also those most likely to fly off forecourts.’
Top 10 models by retail margin – May 2023
1 – Land Rover Discovery Sport
Average retail margin: £4,150
Average Auto Trader days to sell: 30
Average Auto Trader Retail Rating: 89
2 – Land Rover Range Rover Evoque
Average retail margin: £3,620
Average Auto Trader days to sell: 32
Average Auto Trader Retail Rating: 76
3 – Volvo XC90
Average retail margin: £3,475
Average Auto Trader days to sell: 37
Average Auto Trader Retail Rating: 68
4 – Mercedes-Benz E-Class
Average retail margin: £2,820
Average Auto Trader days to sell: 43
Average Auto Trader Retail Rating: 54
5 – Volvo XC60
Average retail margin: £2,810
Average Auto Trader days to sell: 34
Average Auto Trader Retail Rating: 72
6 – BMW 5 Series
Average retail margin: £2,750
Average Auto Trader days to sell: 44
Average Auto Trader Retail Rating: 51
7 – Jaguar XF
Average retail margin: £2,700
Average Auto Trader days to sell: 39
Average Auto Trader Retail Rating: 64
8 – Mercedes-Benz A-Class
Average retail margin: £2,650
Average Auto Trader days to sell: 41
Average Auto Trader Retail Rating: 62
9 – Mazda CX-5
Average retail margin: £2,605
Average Auto Trader days to sell: 23
Average Auto Trader Retail Rating: 94
10 – Nissan X-Trail
Average retail margin: £2,600
Average Auto Trader days to sell: 29
Average Auto Trader Retail Rating: 90
Source: Dealer Auction
Top 10 brands by retail margin – May 2023
1 – Land Rover
Average retail margin: £3,510
2 – BMW
Average retail margin: £2,720
3 – Mercedes-Benz
Average retail margin: £2,670
4 – Volvo
Average retail margin: £2,510
5 – Audi
Average retail margin: £2,450
6 – Mini
Average retail margin: £2,330
7 – Mazda
Average retail margin: £2,230
8 – Kia
Average retail margin: £2,220
9 – Volkswagen
Average retail margin: £2,070
10 – Nissan
Average retail margin: £2,050
Source: Dealer Auction
