Press release

January 3, 2017

Used car sellers fail test purchases

Trade medium "Gebrauchtwagen Praxis" analyzes weak points in the used car trade in Germany

Germany's used car sellers regularly come off badly in mystery shopping tests, i.e. test purchases. The benchmark study "The German used car trade 2016" by management consultants Concertare delivers a devastating verdict: "Everything is simply lacking."

In the 1/2017 issue, the specialist magazine "Gebrauchtwagen Praxis" sheds light on the areas that the German used car trade should quickly tackle together with the manufacturers.

There is a backlog in training, for example. Birgit Behrens, Managing Director of the Zentralverband Deutsches Kraftfahrzeuggewerbe (ZDK) and the Gütegemeinschaft geprüfter Automobilverkäufer (GVA), confirms that the subject of used cars is being neglected by too many parties. So far, just eleven of the 43 car manufacturers in Germany have taken part in the "Certified car salesperson - used cars" training course.

There is also a lack of performance monitoring: a survey by "Gebrauchtwagen Praxis" revealed that a large majority of car manufacturers do not carry out their own mystery shopping measures with their used car partners and therefore do not obtain their own feedback.

"Even if the used car business is initiated via digital channels in most cases, personal contact with the dealer ultimately decides the purchase. In this respect, it is worth investing in further training for sales staff," says Silvia Lulei, Editor-in-Chief of "Gebrauchtwagen Praxis".

Journalists can order a free reading copy of the current issue 1/2017 of "Gebrauchtwagen Praxis" from: pressestelle@vogel.de.

"Gebrauchtwagen Praxis" is the leading information service for the professional used car business. The topics covered by the monthly trade journal range from sales and purchasing, legal and tax aspects to preparation and service. www.gebrauchtwagenpraxis.de offers useful tools, a database with exclusive KBA data, as geodata with in-depth selection down to municipal level. The parent company Vogel Business Media is one of the leading German specialist information providers with 100+ trade journals, 100+ web portals, 100+ business events as well as numerous mobile offerings and international activities. Its headquarters are in Würzburg. The company celebrated its 125th birthday in 2016.

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Corporate Communications
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