Since COVID-19 closed down the automotive market in March, AutoPlay have been actively tracking how kiwi dealers are performing in the key pre-sales KPI's of Leads, Test Drives and Appraisals.  Although slightly down in July (vs June), overall the NZ auto market continues to be solid in July. Here’s a snapshot of the number of sales leads flowing to dealerships along with test drives and vehicle appraisals completed:

AutoPlay are always interested in supporting ways that can help dealers streamline their processes.  We have recently started working with Ripa who are a brand new app designed to help motor dealers in NZ buy and sell stock in just 1 hour.
 
Install the Ripa app on your device, complete the easy signup and Register now to be able to buy and sell motor vehicles. Their unique tender / auction model lasts just an hour - in just 60 minutes you'll have an offer for any vehicle you list. Aged stock or trade ins - you decide!

For a limited time Ripa are offering the service for only $1 per completed deal and no cost for any deals not completed!

You can Download the App from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store today.
You can visit https://www.ripa.co.nz/ to learn more about Ripa or just click on the relevant app store for your device to install the app and register today.
 
AutoPlay have integrated with Ripa and - if you are an AutoPlay user, go to your Ripa settings and link your Ripa account with AutoPlay.

Once AutoPlay receive the set up request we will activate a button located on the Appraisal and Listing screen for you to push the listing to Ripa.  Ripa will handle the rest including listing your vehicle and removing it when required.

In June we saw the market bounce back quickly with pre-sale lead, test drive activity returning to levels comparable to pre Covid-19 levels.  Although June was such a strong month for many dealers across the market, it was of course due to the market returning to normal levels after the trials of shutting down during Level 3 & 4.  The strong performance continued in July with just a small drop off from June to July.  Overall Lead volume was down 4.6% from June, Test Drives decreased by 4% and sales decreased by 4.5%.

Leads - Down 4.6%
Test Drives - Down 4.0%
​Sales - Down 4.5%

After seeing leads experience a significant "dead cat bounce" in June, July saw a slight dip across all sources electronic to f-2-f.  Leads from classified listings websites were fairly static - dropping just 0.2% from June and remaining a great way to reach a wide range of customers in the used space.  Dealership leads decreased by 2.2% and brand generated leads dropped by 6.7% from June to July 2020.

Web - Classified - Down 0.2%
Web - Dealer - Down 2.2%
Brand - Down 6.7%

Test Drive activity remains strong with Saturday by far the most common day for Test Drives.  Although Test Drives decreased overall by 4%, the top 3 sources of Test Drives actually increased with Test Drives from 'Web - Classified' leads increasing by 2.9%, 'Web - Dealer' attributed Test Drives increasing by 3.3% and 'Direct' Test Drives staying strong with a 0.1% increase from June.

Web - Classified - Up 2.9%
Web - Dealer - Up 3.3%
Direct - Up 0.1%

After such a strong month in June, AutoPlay customers saw a small drop in sales recorded in AutoPlay in July.  Sales attributed to the 'Web - Classified' sources decreased by 6.9%, whilst sales from 'Web - Dealer' channels dropped by 4.1% and 'Repeat' customers dropped by 6.2%.

Web - Classified - Down 6.9%
Web - Dealer - Down 4.1%
Repeat - Down 6.2%

A full 2 months after Covid-19 activity in dealership land still remains strong.  With the end of the wage subsidy it's anticipated we'll be seeing a tough few months to close out 2020.  AutoPlay will continue to bring you all the latest market stats (good or bad) - make sure you check back next month.

In the last edition of Autotalk we shared some market stats on the recovery in the NZ market – comparing the first 20 days of May to the first 20 days of June 2020.  Understandably with May just the beginning of the recovery we saw some significant improvement over the first 20 days of each month. 

Now that June is complete, we are seeing a much less significant increase in Leads, Test Drives and Sales as activity has quickly rebounded to pre COVID-19 levels, and then flattened out.  That said the last 10 days of June continued to be positive for kiwi dealers and we saw a increase of 22.4% in the volume of Leads, Test Drives increased by 42.5% and Sales increase by 38.6%.

Leads - Up 22.4%
Test Drives - Up 42.5%
​Sales - Up 38.6%

As with the first 20 days of June, leads from the ‘Brand’ source continue to bounce back at a higher rate than online sources such as 3rd party listing sites and dealer websites.  Leads from the ‘Brand’ source increased by 43.8% from the previous month, compared to an increase of 18.8% in ‘Web Classified’ leads and 10.1% for leads from the ‘Web – Dealer’ lead source.  As we typically experience, despite the growth in the volume of leads provided by the dealers’ brand/OEM, leads from dealer and 3rd party sites still account for more than double the amount of brand generated leads.

Web - Classified - Up 18.8%
Web - Dealer - Up 10.1%
Brand - Up 43.8%

Test Drive activity remains strong with a 42.5% increase from May to June.  Test Drives from ‘Web – Classified’ sources increased by 29.4% from the previous month and overtook ‘Web -Dealer’ (up 20.1%) as the top source of test drives for kiwi dealerships.  Test Drives attributed to genuine walk-ins are often attributed to the ‘Direct’ source in AutoPlay and this source continued to increase – up 71.5% from the previous period.

Web - Classified - Up 29.4%
Web - Dealer - Up 20.1%
Direct - Up 71.6%

As with all other metrics Sales continued to bounce back in June with a 38.6% increase in from May amongst AutoPlay customers.  Sales attributed to ‘Web – Classified’ sources increased by 27.0%, sales attributed to ‘Web – Classified’ sources increased by 27.4% and sales attributed to ‘Repeat’ customers increased by 49.4%.

Web - Classified - Up 27.0%
Web - Dealer - Up 27.4%
Repeat - Up 49.4%

As has been widely discussed June was a pretty successful month for a majority of dealerships.  So far in July we have seen Lead, Test Drive and Sale activity remain pretty constant against June levels, with a slight lull recorded in the middle of the month.