28 August 2012

It’s always good to spend time with Peter Cooke, professor at the Buckingham University Centre for Automotive Management. He’s been authoring the BCA Used Car Report (among other things) for the last 22 years and has a wealth of background knowledge on auto retailing.

By his own admission, Peter has the luxury of time to think about the factors that affect our industry, rather than worrying about filling the workshop or meeting next week’s sales targets.

He’s great at posing the interesting questions, but he’s also realistic enough to recognise that academia doesn’t have all the answers.

For the past few years he’s been telling us the industry’s view of used cars needs to change. Supply is drying up, demand is likely to rise as economic conditions worsen and customers want cars that are cheaper to run.

This isn’t rocket science; even if it does come from a professor. But is the industry listening?

The news that Marshall Motor Group is to recruit five new used car buyers is a sign that some are getting the message. However many are still stuck in the same old groove; pushing what the national sales companies want them to sell, rather than what customers are actually looking for.

That leaves the market wide open for good independents, which can respond more quickly to changing demand. And the problem is not just switched on independents.

Prof Cooke is concerned that the carmakers might start to take more interest in the used car market; setting price levels by controlling supply and putting the squeeze on their own franchise networks.

In a characteristic flash of plain speaking, he said: “OEMs need to learn to handle used with a light touch; not put their size 14 boots all over it and try to control the market.”

We couldn’t put it better ourselves.

Rupert Saunders

Is your manufacturer stomping all over your used car market? Do let us know via our comment page.

Tags: Buckingham University, Marshalls Motor Group, Peter Cooke, used cars