Approximately a fifth of new cars in the UK are approximated to be “pre-registered” to dealerships.

These automobiles are surplus stock offered inexpensively to dealerships who keep them prior to selling on to consumers at discount rates.

Some dealerships state pre-registering is “like a drug” utilized to strike their sales targets, a BBC investigation found.

A market body challenges the figures and said the genuine total was substantially less.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) states the system enables dealers to handle stock effectively.

The vehicles are offered inexpensively by providers to dealerships, who then register them under their own company name.

In effect this suggests they end up being the very owners of the vehicles.

After being deflected the road for 90 days, the vehicles can then be sold to customers, generally at discount rates of 20% and higher.

A crucial factor there are numerous pre-registered automobiles is that they are typically the only way dealerships can attain regular monthly sales targets set by makers.

If dealerships miss out on targets they run the risk of losing month-to-month rewards from the manufacturers.

There is likewise issue that the pre-registration market could alter new automobiles sales figures, as they are not in fact on the road.

Motor market experts Cap HPI stated its research study recommended the numbers were growing, and might amount to about 100,000 vehicles in one month.

In a study of 200 dealerships, 80 forecasted that pre-registered automobiles in September would represent 11% to 20% of the new vehicle market. An additional 52 anticipated them to represent 21% or more of the industry.