Buying habits & trends

Online tyre retail group Colewood Automotive has hired Mark Widdows as its network director, tasked with increasing its online presence and broadening its tyre fitter network.

Online car dealer Cazoo is beginning to sell off its used car stock, transporters and customer care centres as it has announced it will switch to a new business model as a car marketplace, competing with rivals such as Auto Trader, eBay Motors and AA Cars.

Online searches for used cars are expected to see a traditional bounce in the days following Christmas, according to Motors.

The lack of incentivisation for private motorists to choose electric vehicles has again been highlighted by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders as it fears the uptake of zero emission vehicles is "plateauing".

The e-commerce giant Amazon has announced that its USA operation will begin online sales of new cars in 2024.

Consumers are continuing to change their car buying plans because of the cost-of-living crisis according to the latest Forecourt Foresight research from Close Brothers Motor Finance.

Franchised dealers avoiding older, cheaper cars are missing out as Young people about to sit their driving tests are preparing to spend an average £4,124 on a used petrol manual car.

Investors in online car dealer Cazoo are still having to wait for share price growth despite its announcement this month that its gross profit on every car sold is almost four times higher than it was achieving during the first half of 2022.

The UK has seen the biggest growth in brands offering online new car sales compared with seven other markets, according to new analysis by BearingPoint.

Dacia is introducing a new range of digital sales tools to work alongside newly appointed “Guides” as part of a new omnichannel customer journey.

Experience of the process of selling new cars direct to fleets is hoped to help Audi UK as it prepares for direct-to-consumer sales and dealers operating under agency agreements.

Cazoo has said its plan to control costs and improve its margins on used car sales is “coming together” in its latest performance update to the market.

Volvo Car UK is informing consumers of its switch to direct-to-consumer sales in June with a reminder that this doesn't mean Volvo dealerships are closing down.

Automotive Transformation Group (ATG) has opened subscriptions for its new Fusion omnichannel software-as-a-service (SaaS) offering.

Drivers aged 55 and over are the age group most reluctant to make the change to electric vehicles (EV), according to Carwow.

Online automotive marketplace giant eBay has relaunched its Certified Recycled parts business, which has seen a 10% year-on-year increase in sales.

Car finance products are amongst the most confusing automotive terms for car buyers and it could be hampering sales, according to new research.

Women will soon be majority of drivers and car buyers, expert suggests, so car dealers and OEMs need to improve their marketing to "trigger" a female shopper into buying.

Cazoo founder Alex Chesterman said he was “incredibly proud of everything the team at Cazoo has achieved” in a financial results statement that revealed the online used car retailer’s £704 million losses for 2022.

Waylands Automotive has officially opened the doors to its new Polestar Space at Cribbs Mall in Cribbs Causeway, Bristol.

The number of car buyers who have bought a used car without seeing it first has doubled since the Coronavirus pandemic.

A software enhancement for the moDel logistics platform has gone live with Toyota and Lexus GB to support their dealers with handovers to buyers using the brands' direct-to-consumer online sales channel.

The number of people planning to buy their next car entirely online has fallen to just 4% in recent weeks, as buying habits shift back towards the traditional showroom model.