Dealer demand for nearly new stock increasing thanks to new car waiting times, reports Meridian

Demand from dealers for nearly new stock is increasing thanks to long waiting times for many new cars, says Meridian Vehicle Solutions.

Phil Jerome, managing director, explained that his company’s medium term rental model meant that it almost exclusively defleeted 6-12-month old prestige and semi-prestige cars, and so had a strong insight into this sector.

He said: “We have seen a definite upturn in demand in our area of the market thanks to the long waiting times for many new models.

“The retail buyer used to have a good chance of finding the car they wanted in a dealer’s pipeline stock but that is often no longer the case.

“Instead, if a dealer can’t get that buyer a new car, then they now often want to be able to offer a quality, nearly new option.

“Certainly, we have seen trade values generally rise by 3-4% and more over the last year, notably where we are able to supply vehicles that are attractive at the moment, such as prestige plug-in hybrids.

“There are not too many sources of this kind of stock available, especially in the premium sector, but we are one. The cars that we offer effectively fall into the same kind of age, price and equipment category as demonstrators, so dealers know how to sell them.”

Jerome added that Meridian was also potentially benefiting from dealers using its medium term rental as a transport solution for dealers who had customers waiting months for their new car order to arrive.

“This is something that is in its infancy but our medium term model does fit dealer needs in this area,” he said. “We can supply a high quality, brand new car on a lease of 6-12-months with a monthly rate that is broadly the same as a daily rental company would charge for a week.”