The September Plate Change: Is Your Business Ready for the Rush?

September has long been one of the busiest periods in the UK automotive retail calendar, and early indicators suggest the arrival of the new ‘76’ registration plate could bring another important sales opportunity for dealers.

According to Auto Trader, visits to its new-car platform increased by 9% month-on-month in August and were 2% higher year-on-year, as customers began researching ahead of the September plate change. The number of new cars advertised was also up 18% year-on-year, while average discounts across all fuel types had risen to 10.5%.

The wider market has also entered September with momentum. Figures from the SMMT show that 156,571 new cars were registered in July, an increase of 11.7% year-on-year and the strongest July since 2019. Private buyer registrations were up 12.6%.

More demand can mean more opportunity, but increased showroom

activity can also put dealership processes under pressure.

When Volume Increases, Efficiency Matters

A busy sales period can quickly expose bottlenecks in the finance process. Re-keying customer information, moving between different lender systems, chasing documents and manually checking proposals all take time that sales teams could otherwise spend with customers.

At the same time, speed cannot come at the expense of accuracy, compliance or customer understanding. Customers still need a clear, consistent finance journey, no matter how many proposals are being handled.

This is where connected technology can make a difference. DealTrak allows dealers to submit proposals to multiple lenders while only keying customer information once. It also allows viewing lender packages and decisions within one system and maintains an auditable record of the finance process.

Preparing for the September Opportunity

Ahead of a high-volume period, dealerships should consider where unnecessary friction exists within their current process.

Are teams repeatedly entering the same information? Can they quickly see which lenders and packages are available? Is compliance rooted in the journey, or treated as an additional administrative step? And can managers easily access the information they need to understand performance?

DealTrak currently connects dealers and brokers with 65 integrated lenders and supports around four million accepted proposals each year. Its integrated compliance functionality, reporting tools and lender connections are designed to help teams work efficiently while maintaining consistency throughout the customer journey.

A busy September should be an opportunity rather than an operational challenge. As customer interest increases around the new plate, having the right systems in place can help dealerships respond quickly, reduce avoidable administration and give their teams more time to focus on customers