Dealers continued to see rising demand in May as enquiries increased by 3% and sales of new and used vehicles lept 37%, against the same month last year.
According to data from iTrackLEADS, May marked the fourth consecutive month of rising enquiries this year.
However, the number of enquiries converting to test drives fell from 8.3% to 7.7%, which created a 4.6% fall in the overall number of test drives.
The positive outlook for dealers follows recent data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which anticipates the UK will avoid a recession in 2023.
The IMF now expects the UK economy to grow 0.4% in 2023, up from the 0.3% contraction predicted in its April World Economic Outlook.
Adrian Favill, director of iTrackLeads, said: “It appears that consumer confidence is remaining resilient as we head into the summer period.
“It is still essential that dealers focus on the fundamentals of quickly responding to every enquiry and using technology to deliver a professional and consistent service.”
Data from iTrackLeads shows that around 78% of sales go to the dealer that reacts the quickest to an enquiry. While responses to enquiries within 30 minutes improve conversion rates sevenfold, the best chance of converting a lead is within five minutes.
iTrackLeads is part of Mad Devs, a technology company that supports over 800 dealers across the UK.
It most recently saw the Peter Vardy Group move all its sites to iTrackLeads to help its teams deliver a better customer experience.
Freelance writer for AM, Tom Seymour has been a specialist B2B journalist covering the automotive sector for over 14 years. He started his freelance career in 2015 and currently writes for a variety of automotive, business and technology publications.
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