carwow, a marketplace for buying new and used cars, has recorded a 29% surge in dealer sign-ups in 2022 to the end of July.
The platform has reported that two-thirds of the new sign-ups in this year occurred from the start of May to the end of July, indicating an improvement in vehicle supply.
The year-to-date data shows that there were 36 million visits on the platform from potential car buyers in the UK.
These visitors used carwow’s new-car configurator, conducted vehicle searches and placed enquiries with dealer partners.
carwow said if a specific make and model of a new car is unavailable its platform providers alerts to customers about dealers’ nearly new and used models that meet their preferences.
Since the start of the year, the platform saw the biggest increase in the North of England.
Most regional increase in sign-ups was recorded from dealers across the North West (33.6%) and North East (31.9%).
carwow commercial director Sepi Arani said: “It is notable that the rise in sign-ups has built in a sustained and consistent way and gathered pace over the past few months. Where previously we saw pockets of retail-ready stock at dealers around the UK, we’re now seeing availability improve more consistently as well as a stronger balance of factory orders versus stock sales.
“We are also seeing a very positive response to our enhanced used car offering and our all-new dealer website. It is very encouraging to see momentum return to the market.”
Last month, the company launched a new website to enable dealers to buy used cars from customers across the UK.
