The increase in pre-registrations, once almost totally removed from the UK market, was caused by flagging new-vehicle sales.

Cox Automotive UK customer strategy and insight director Philip Nothard said: “Pressure on new-car sales has driven an increase in pre-registration activity.”

He said that in September last year, 28 per cent of new registrations took place in the last three days of the month.

“Our survey showed that almost half of dealers expect the new-car market to decline further in 2020, but 76 per cent warned that the current level of pre-registration activity was unsustainable,” he said.

“I’m hopeful that the government will reduce uncertainty and allow consumer demand to grow, easing pre-registration pressure as we move through the year.”

Data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) in the UK shows a list of OEMs and their pre-registration activities. In November, Citroen, Renault, Peugeot and Volkswagen were among only a handful of OEMs in the UK market that reported disposing of pre-reg vehicles.

The SMMT said: “The Supply of New Cars Order 2000 requires motor manufacturers to publish the number of pre-registered cars supplied and the gross income received by suppliers from selling those pre-registered cars. This information is published on a monthly basis.”

A Cox Automotive survey of the UK market said that the outlook for 2020 was “a mixed picture”.

It said that 52 per cent of dealers said consumer confidence will improve, while 22 per cent said it would remain the same, and 26 per cent felt it would decline.

Mr Nothard said UK dealers were more positive about used-car market performance in 2020, and 57 per cent expected it to improve while just four per cent believed it will decline.

“2019 brought its fair share of challenges for car dealers,” he said.

“Political uncertainty has had a negative effect on consumer confidence, and rising costs and competition for the best used stock all added to margin pressures.

“That said, we’ve seen some strong performances within the dealer sector, and 21 per cent of dealers reported that they performed better than expected in 2019. This, coupled with the number of acquisitions and new premises opened this year, suggests that businesses are still willing to invest in automotive.”

Cox Automotive expects new-vehicle registrations in the UK to retract 1.3 per cent in 2020 compared to last year.

By Neil Dowling