July is now behind us, giving us a like-for-like comparison with July 2025. With both months containing 23 working days, there is no calendar distortion in the figures, providing a clear view of year-on-year performance across more than 450 dealership rooftops throughout the UK.

New Car Sales Remain Positive Despite Softer Momentum

New car sales finished July up 7.5% year-on-year. While this represents a slight slowdown from the 11.5% growth recorded at the halfway point of the month, it remains a strong result overall. The data suggests that the momentum seen early in July softened as the month progressed, but crucially, growth remained firmly in positive territory.

Used Car Market Continues to Face Supply Constraints

Used car sales closed the month at -2.5% year-on-year, improving slightly from the -2.8% recorded mid-month. Although the market remains behind last year's performance, the rate of decline appears to be easing.

The underlying challenge continues to be supply rather than demand. Stock availability, particularly within the highly sought-after three to seven-year-old vehicle segment, remains constrained, limiting opportunities for growth despite ongoing consumer appetite.

Aftersales Gains Pace in the Second Half of the Month

One of the most notable trends in July was the strengthening performance of aftersales operations.

Hours sold ended the month at +2.1% year-on-year, up from just +0.3% at the mid-month stage. Meanwhile, parts sold experienced the largest improvement, finishing 4.6% ahead of last year, compared with 1.1% growth halfway through the month.

These figures suggest that workshop activity and parts demand accelerated during the latter half of July, providing an important boost to dealership performance.

What It Means for Dealer Groups

For many dealer groups, the second half of July tells the real story. While new vehicle growth remained positive, it lost some of the pace seen earlier in the month. In contrast, aftersales performance strengthened significantly, with workshops and parts departments building momentum as July progressed.

As a result, aftersales may have contributed more heavily to overall profitability than headline vehicle sales figures alone might suggest, highlighting the continued importance of workshop utilisation and parts performance in supporting dealership margins.