Three quarters of manufacturers’ main dealers admit they are failing to match the choice they offer in their used car stock with customer preferences according to research by CAP, the UK’s leading independent auto industry data provider.

Although so many dealers recognise the problem – one even described his ‘bread and butter’ stock as stagnant – the search for a solution is producing no clear overall direction with each dealer looking for their own remedy.

The revelation comes as no surprise to top non-franchised car retailers like Motorpoint. The ability to offer customers a constantly refreshed and broad choice of cars is absolutely key to success in this area of car retailing. Motorpoint, for example, maintains a stock of more than 3,000 cars at any given time across a wide range of brands and models.

Motorpoint general manager John Hood said, “Franchised dealers are limited by the fact that they can only stock cars from the manufacturer whose franchise they hold.

"There has been a lot of takeover activity too, which brings its own restraints. This lack of flexibility restricts the ability to respond quickly to what customers want. If everyone suddenly wants a Fiesta those cars will soon fall into short supply and people will start looking for something else.

“But even if the stock mix is more in line with what people are looking for, you still have to offer value for money. Right now we have new and nearly new cars from £3,999 to £59,999 at an average saving of around £5,000 per car. Franchised dealers are restricted on value pricing too – because manufacturers want to influence the forecourt value of used cars.”