VW emissions scandal having 'no impact' on UK car buyers, says Pendragon boss
The Volkswagen emissions scandal is being roundly ignored by the great British car-buying public, the chief executive of the UK’s biggest dealership has declared.
Pendragon chief executive Trevor Finn, whose firm unveiled a bumper 15.2% rise in used-car profits in the four months to November 2, said: “On the used-car front we’ve seen no impact, as you’d expect because used-car buyers are more financially conscious. Emissions aren’t high on their list (of priorities).”
Finn was speaking as US regulators said cheating software had also been installed on VW-owned Porsche diesel cars, a claim contested by the German company.
Pendragon, which sells through the Stratstone and Evans Halshaw chains, said used-car sales had been helped by initiatives including “click and collect”.
More broadly, the market is being buoyed by the prevalence of leasing deals where buyers make a small deposit and monthly payments under a two-year plan.
That encourages drivers to switch more often — in turn creating more stock for the second-hand market, Finn added.
Globally there is also good news for UK buyers as weaker Chinese and Russian markets encourage European manufacturers to push into the UK with more-competitive deals.
Its best seller remains the Ford Focus.
