Car dealer issues new profit uplift

CAR dealership Pendragon has increased its fullyear profit outlook as supply issues have proved to be not as bad as feared.

The shortage of new cars was lower than expected in October and November. And price rises and strong sales of used vehicles also boosted profits.

The Evans Halshaw and Stratstone owner now expects full-year profits of around £80m, up from guidance of £70m in October.

That profits haul for 2021 will mark a sharp improvement on the £8.2m in 2020. It comes despite car showrooms being hit by a global shortage of microchips used in vehicle electronics.

Car production has ramped up again as demand began to grow, but chip manufacturers have been unable to keep up. This has had a knock-on effect on used car demand and cost, with the most recent official inflation data showing prices have soared by 27.4pc between April and October.