The situation in the automobile market remains complicated. Supply chains still haven’t recovered and that means delivery times on many new car purchases are still too longwhile pricesboth in new cars and in the used market, keep climbing. Some manufacturers hope that the situation will continue throughout the next year and that the supply of semiconductors may recover by the end of 2023.
In a situation like this It may be somewhat surprising that more than 1 in 10 vehicles registered in Spain in September were self-registrations or, in other words, cars that the brands themselves have bought or, rather, have been registered by the dealers themselves. So that these cars will no longer be sold as new cars, strictly speaking, but as kilometer zero or, if used for a time in the usual tasks of the dealer, as a pre-owned vehicle.
Why do brands keep buying cars from themselves? How can the buyer take advantage of this situation?
More than 1 out of every 10 vehicles registered in September in Spain were self-registrations
Registrations up in September
According to data from the consulting firm MSI that publishes Europe Press these days, of the 76,940 vehicles that were registered in Spain in September, 9,325 corresponded to self-registration, also known as tactical operations. They not only include vehicles that will end up being sold as kilometer zero, but also fleets of the brand, or even vehicles that may be destined for export. While the market grew by 10.5% year-on-year in September, self-registrations increased by 15.94%.
Fiat would have been the brand that closed the most tactical operations, with 1,097 vehicles, followed by Peugeot with 810 operations, SEAT with 626 operations and Volkswagen with 567 vehicles.
The brands that added the most self-registrations in September, in decreasing order, were Fiat, Peugeot, SEAT and Volkswagen
Why do self-registrations occur?
As we were saying, the fact that the phenomenon of self-registration continues to be present at a time when, a priori, the demand for cars exceeds the supply, and many customers have to wait several months to buy a car through a factory order, can be somewhat surprising, but it can also respond to numerous factors and reasons. So this situation cannot be explained solely by one reason.
But in a situation in which the supply of cars has decreased, due to the reduction in production and the bottlenecks generated by the shortage of supplies and especially of semiconductors, could explain why dealers have increased their orders to the factory in recent months, to ensure they have cars to sell and therefore maintain their activity, of cars to have a stock of cars and, ultimately, be registered to be sold as zero kilometer. It could also lead to the arrival on the market of more equipped cars with more expensive configurations, which would continue to be in demand due to the market situation and would guarantee a higher profit margin for brands and dealers.
The rise in car prices that has occurred in recent months, which also affects the second-hand market and, above all, second-hand cars and zero kilometers, would make this type of operation more profitable for dealers. And it is that the immediate availability of a car is leading to some zero kilometers and pre-owned cars being able to have an outlet on the market with prices similar to those of a new car.
The market situation and the reduction in the supply of new cars could encourage manufacturers to increase factory orders and self-registrations to have cars for their customers
Stock cars, kilometer zero and pre-owned
From the buyer’s point of view, for a long time we have been recommending the purchase of stock cars and consulting the brand and the dealer for this type of vehicle, which has already been manufactured and therefore has a certain configuration and few possibilities. for customer customization, but by cons they are cars that are sold with immediate delivery. Stock cars no longer enjoy as many discounts and prices as accessible as before and brands have seen their stock reduced, precisely because of the high demand. Even so, they are still a good option to buy a car that, for all intents and purposes, is a new car.
The destination of many self-registrations is that of kilometer zero, a car that already cannot be considered new because it has been registered but that, in practice, it is a car that has not been used and that we will buy with just a few dozen kilometers – or less – on the odometer. They are a good option to buy a car at a good price and, above all, with immediate delivery, although again they no longer enjoy so many discounts, or such adjusted prices, due to the high demand for new cars with immediate availability.
Lastly, we have the pre-owned cars, used cars with thousands of kilometers and a few years (even one year or less) since their first registration. This type of second-hand car is also enjoying a very high demand in recent months and prices are high but, again, they are an interesting option to immediately have a car that, although not new, has little use.
