28 March 2018

The number of franchised new car sales point in the UK fell by 216 in 2017 to drop below the 5,000 mark to a new low of 4,832 sales points, the 2018 edition of the Franchising Report has revealed.

The fall was driven by changes in the volume brand network with Ford surrendering the largest number of sites with an 18-point cut.

The Franchising Report 2018, published by Auto Retail Network, also includes data on group influence on the manufacturer networks, franchise requirements, franchise churn rates and network average return on sales figures. The RoS figures chart was topped this year by Porsche with a 3.0% return, while Jaguar was last with a -1.1% return, which more than one retailer told Auto Retail Agenda amounted to an average loss of just shy of £200,00.

Included in the 2018 report are return on sales figures for all major UK franchises, detailed analysis of fleet and retail registrations by brand, and new car sales forecasts from IHS Automotive through to 2019. Plus the latest NFDA Dealer Attitude Survey results and franchise value ratings.

New in the Franchising Report this year are statistics on pre-registration and nearly-new volumes by brand plus expanded information for each manufacturer listing that includes term in office for the brands managing director.

To order you copy of the Franchising Report 2018, go here.

Tags: Franchising Report 2018, total UK dealerships