Nearly three-quarters (74%) of buyers who visit dealerships are being offered test drives, the highest post-Covid level recorded by JudgeService. This is up from 70% in 2022 with the data identifying steady year-on-year increases.
The research is based on analysis of 1.7 million customer responses to JudgeService’s ProAct lost sales surveys from 2022 to 2026.
Neil Addley, managing director of JudgeService, said: “Dealers have always known the value of offering test drives, with our research encouragingly showing how they are more likely to offer them now than at any time since the Covid pandemic and this is having a positive impact on their NPS.
“Our data shows the intrinsic link between test drives, sales and customer satisfaction remains strong. Yet there are still easy wins that some dealers are missing, especially when responding to online enquiries and making sales calls to customers.
“What better way to engage with customers and get them to visit the showroom than to offer a test drive?”
Customers not being offered test drives is down from 26% to 22%. Customers needing to ask for test drives has remained constant at 4%.
The offer of test drives to showroom visitors currently results in an average Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 46%, falling to 17% when not offered.
The data also found a small YoY drop in offers of test drives for customers enquiring over the phone, from 54% to 53%, having peaked at 56% in 2023.
Test drives offered to customers making online enquiries has remained constant every year since 2022 at 50%. While dealers offering them to customers they contact is tracking at 52%.
