August update: calm before the storm
Holidays and plate-change timing have made August feel slow for everyone. But the real story isn’t the season; it’s exposure. Dealers backing the right brands are thriving; those over-exposed to the wrong ones are heading for some tough conversations.
August is always a quiet month for automotive retail, due to the holidays and buyers holding off until plate change. This year is no different, and every dealer I’ve spoken to says everything feels like hard work. When I point out that this is the same every August, they generally agree.
However, the most important macro issue facing dealers right now is their exposure to the right brands. This is defining their success, or otherwise. 2026 has turned into a three-tier market.
- Tier one – growth by the big four Chinese brands: BYD, Chery, Jaecoo, and Omoda. Their sales have increased by 85,619 cars to date, compared to the same period in July 2025. Dealers with exposure to the big four are making good new car margins. They’re also benefiting from the scale and quality of their trade-ins.
- Tier two – heritage brands treading water in terms of market share. Kia is a perfect example, with sales of 71,033 compared to 71,931 last year. Historically, this would have been fine. But given the phenomenal rise of the Chinese brands, it makes Kia look like it’s going backwards.
- Tier three – heritage brands losing market share to the Chinese brands. The big five in terms of sales decline this year, compared to the same period last year, are:
- Nissan, down 15.7% (8,684 cars)
- Peugeot, down 15% (8,229 cars)
- Hyundai, down 8.6% (4,815 cars)
- Mazda, down 20.8% (3,968 cars)
- SEAT, down 28.8% (3,610 cars)
These dealers are feeling all sorts of pain: reduced new car contribution, fewer trade-ins, and ultimately fewer cars to service.
There must be some very interesting conversations going on in boardrooms at present, especially for those with too much exposure to tier three.
Whichever tier you’re in, the dealers who come out ahead will be the ones who can see clearly where their leads are actually coming from. Mediahawk’s marketing attribution and call tracking give you that visibility, connecting every call, click, and enquiry back to the campaign that drove it, so you can back the brands and activity that are working, and fix the ones that aren’t.
Good luck to all with your plate change.
Author: Harry Bott
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