The days of filling a forecourt on instinct alone are largely behind us. Experience still matters, and good stock buyers will always have a feel for the market, but today’s environment is moving too quickly for dealers to rely on gut feel alone.
Margins are under pressure, consumer demand can change rapidly, and the wrong buying decision can leave valuable capital sitting idle for months.
That is why the strongest-performing retailers are becoming far more disciplined in how they acquire stock. The starting point is access to accurate, up-to-date market intelligence that reflects what is happening now, not what happened several weeks ago. Dealers need a clear view of vehicle values, retail demand, depreciation trends, and the impact factory-fitted options can have on a vehicle’s true market value.
A multi-levelled market requires real-time data. For example, while overall values softened through May, BEVs moved into positive territory, increasing by around 1.2% at the three-year point. This marks the first sustained period of positive movement since late last year and reflects a shift in underlying market dynamics, with the gap between wholesale and retail pricing now better aligned and improvements in trade performance feeding more directly into live values.
However, having good data is only one part of the equation. Most dealerships already hold a huge amount of information within their own businesses, from sales performance and website enquiries to finance penetration, lead conversion rates and stock ageing reports. The challenge is to make sense of that information and turn it into decisions that improve profitability.
Rather than asking managers to work through multiple spreadsheets and reports, AI can analyse thousands of data points from across the business in a matter of seconds. It can identify which vehicles consistently generate enquiries, which models sell most quickly and which stock profiles deliver the strongest returns.
AI also offers a more forward-looking view of the market. By analysing local demand trends, seasonal buying patterns and shifts in consumer behaviour, dealers can make stocking decisions based on where the market is heading rather than where it has been. That creates opportunities to stay ahead of competitors rather than constantly reacting to market movements.
The retailers that combine trusted market data with intelligent analysis to buy the right vehicles at the right time and price will succeed.
Wendy Swaine is head of strategic relationships at Solera cap hpi.
