Publicly listed dealer group Caffyns reports trading "ahead of plan" and says it is continuing the improvements that resulted in its turnaround last year.

The group, which had to fight to maintain trading profits during much of the last decade after MG Rover collapsed and the recession hit, achieved 39% growth in new car unit sales in Q1 this year.

"Forward orders into August and beyond for the September plate change are running ahead of last year's orders at this date, confirming that we have so far been successful in replacing scrappage scheme sales with ordinary retail sales," chairman Brian Birkenhead told shareholders at Caffyns' AGM yesterday.

Used car unit sales are down 1% on last year, while aftersales results are in line with expectations, Birkenhead added.

"The Board remains cautious about the outlook for our market for the rest of the financial year. However, the actions that we took last year, and continue to take this year, have strengthened our operations and structure. This has allowed us to adapt more quickly to the variable economic environment and enabled us to continue our improved operating performance," he said.