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UK car dealers enjoyed a ‘stunning’ December, according to ASE

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Time 8:56 am, February 13, 2014

audi dealershipTHE average UK motor dealer enjoyed a ‘stunning’ performance in December, and ended the year very strongly indeed, according to the latest information from automotive services provider ASE.

The company says that significant bonus income was expected given the strong vehicle registration levels recorded in previous months – but the average dealer recorded a profit of £21,000 for December, a figure it describes as exceptional.

December is normally a break-even month, with bonus income making up for the fact that the service department is productive for just over half the month. This was eclipsed in 2013, with motor dealers making £19,000 more profit than in the corresponding month of December 2012.


As a result of this strong performance average profitability per site topped £200,000 for a calendar year for the first time. At £206,000 this is the first time average profit has tipped over this key milestone and has been driven by the vehicle sales department results.

Whilst the average dealer did not quite get to a return of 1.5 per cent on sales, the final result for the year of 1.47 per cent is the highest since ASE have been reporting statistics on average motor dealer performance.

Success has been evenly spread across dealerships with the bottom 10 per cent significantly reducing their losses and the top 10 per cent of dealers averaging a return of over 5 per cent for the first time.


In a statement issued as part of the profitability statistics, ASE says: ‘The outlook for 2014 looks rosy, with there being no let-up in the growth in registration levels and the desire of the brands to drive the UK vehicle parc.’

Dave Brown's avatar

Dave, production editor on Car Dealer Magazine, is a journalist with more than 30 years' experience in the worlds of newspapers, magazines and public relations.



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