A mixed bag of new customer behaviour findings will deliver a little optimism for car dealerships in Gloucestershire, with data suggesting that new-model enquiries are still likely to become a purchase.

Year-on-year, new car enquiries in total for the first quarter of 2023 fell by a whopping 17.4%, says automotive showroom management analyst Dealerweb.

The figure marks the second successive quarter of declining new car leads, being in the wake of a 30.1% fall, year-on-year, from October to December 2022.

But conversion rates remain strong, with orders resulting from new car enquiries dropping by just 1% in the latest quarterly figures, a trend that is reflected in March's rise in sales by 8%, as reported by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

In the used-car sector, Dealerweb, part of CitNOW Group, has also said that demand remains strong, with enquiries rising 5.2% in Q1.

Steve Thomas, sales director at Dealerweb said: "The SMMT has highlighted how fleet demand has driven registrations over recent months, and that is echoed in our dealer enquiry data."

"With fewer retail enquiries than in previous years dealers need to make the most of every lead they receive, using all of the tools at their disposal to respond to enquiries as quickly and effectively as possible."

CitNOW Group research highlights the importance of response times, with a quarter (24%) of consumers saying they would expect a dealer to respond within 30 minutes of an initial enquiry.

Two thirds (65%) of consumers would expect a dealership to respond to them via the same method of communication as they used.

Elsewhere, Dealerweb reports that lead times for new car deliveries remain long with some manufacturers, but are slowly improving.

"Customers are also gradually coming to terms with the delays that the industry is facing, and are increasingly more accommodating and understanding of the fact that they may have to wait a while after placing their order."