Car dealerships have reported a jump in new and used vehicle sales in July as buyers rushed to secure alternatives to public transport following the easing of the UK’s coronavirus lockdowns. The struggling Lookers chain said sales across new and used cars were up 17% for the usually quiet month compared with 2019, after revenues fell by £1bn in the first half of the year – a 38% slump. Vertu, the UK’s fifth largest dealership, said that new car sales rose by 18% year on year in July, while secondhand sales were up 14%. Vertu said it had made an adjusted profit before tax of £7.4m in July, more than making up for the £5.2m loss during the lockdown months from March to June. The car industry is hoping that a bounceback in sales thanks to pent-up demand will help it to recover some of the losses suffered during the lockdowns, when showrooms were forced to close. Showrooms in England were allowed to reopen on 1 June but it was not until 29 June that all dealerships across the UK could let in customers. Vertu and Lookers said there was pent-up demand from customers unable to buy during lockdowns, providing some welcome relief for an industry that was already under pressure from the move to online sales before the pandemic. Some 95% of UK car dealers are confident their business will survive the impact of the pandemic, with growth in generally cheaper used car sales seen as the biggest opportunity, according to a survey by Close Brothers Motor Finance. However, the industry is nervously looking ahead to September, the crucial month for new sales when numberplates change. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, the UK lobby group, has warned that further job losses could come if sales up to September disappoint. Lookers has already made 1,400 workers redundant, albeit 100 less than initially announced in June. Mark Raban, Lookers’ chief executive, is cautious about the outlook for the industry. “This has been a very challenging period for Lookers but it is encouraging that we are beginning to see some healthy signs of recovery in vehicle sales since the easing of lockdowns,” he said. The company also announced that it had extended the scope of its 2019 audit, forcing it to delay its 2019 results statement after an investigation found potentially fraudulent transactions. In June the group put aside £19m to cover the gap. In a statement to the stock market, Lookers said: “The extended scope of the audit has identified further work on the group’s corporate leasing division and vehicle financing arrangements and the 2018 and earlier balance sheets to ensure correct identification and allocation of adjustments. Further work is ongoing to finalise the 2019 accounts.”