Motoring Middle East: Car news, Reviews and Buying guides

Better customer service can improve sales by 23%

By Shahzad Sheikh

Autodata Middle East’s monthly report on the state of the UAE market is out for the first month of 2012 but paints a confusing picture of the car market at large. On the one hand used car sales appear to be struggling, but on the other, some new car dealers are running short of supply.

Used Car sales

Bill Carter, head of valuations at Autodata Middle East reports that at least one used car outlet said it had more customers wanting to sell cars than those wanting to buy.

Of course this means that should you be thinking of getting into a nearly-new car, now is the time to get out there and bargain hard. Private owners are apparently trying to off-load their cars, and dealers maybe sitting on stale stock that needs to be shifted. Pick something you like, get it checked and throw the seller an offer – you never know, you might bag a bargain!

New Car sales

Meanwhile one dealer group reports that it has more orders for new cars than it has stock. ‘We know that some manufacturers are still having supply issues following the problems in both Japan and Thailand last year,’ says Carter.

‘In fact one manufacturer has told us that one model line will not be back until June/July of this year…’ he adds. The Autodata report doesn’t reveal which companies, but it wouldn’t be hard to conclude that it’s the major Japanese brands that have been impacted by the natural disasters.

I’m speculating but Honda seemed to be hit particularly hard hit – remember the staggered launch of the new Civic last year? On the other hand the sheer numbers of brand new Yaris and Camry models already on the roads would suggest Toyota has recovered quicker.

Many non-Japanese manufacturers were also hit by component supply issues too. Meanwhile we know that at least one of the big three is having trouble sourcing enough new cars from its American factories, and stories about Hyundai not being able to build its cars fast enough have been circulating in the press recently.

However not everyone is in the new car buying mood: ‘Customers are recovering from the holiday period of December and New Year and so are looking to stabilize their finances before considering a change of car, even with all the DSF offers…’ says Carter.

Customer service is key

One clear lesson that emerges from this month’s report, one that we endorse and which can only be good for everyone, is that these days customer service is genuinely driving sales. ‘One dealer has reported a 23% increase in sales by improving the customer experience,’ he reveals.

Buy a Dodge Charger

For this month’s model focus, Autodata looked at the Dodge Charger and is predicting solid residuals for the new-shape Charger with the reprofiled sides and sexy taillights. ‘We believe the new model, with its improved build quality, will benefit from stronger long term residual values as time goes on,’ states the report.

This is helped by slower depreciation after the three year mark (typically where there’s a steeper fall due to the end of the warranty period) since the cars now come with a five-year warranty as standard.

Depreciation trends

SUVs remain the strongest when it comes to residuals as demand stays strong even in the used market, whilst saloon cars show steady and consistent depreciation. Meanwhile hatchbacks seem to be growing in popularity showing stronger used values than MPVs and People Carriers after two years.

Conclusion? If you have a large family, and want a big comfy cheap used car to ferry them all around in, forget the SUV and find yourself tidy two-year old MPV.