Car retailers in the UK are missing out on £166 million in aftersales revenue due to a failure to tap into manufacturers’ vehicle safety recalls, research conducted by Auto Data Solutions has found.

The automotive data and technology consultancy found that around 3% of vehicles in the UK have outstanding safety recalls during an in-depth audit of revenue opportunities conducted to mark its second anniversary.

It believes that the untapped opportunity could generate £94m in extra labour revenue or a total potential revenue, including parts and labour, of over £166m.

Jon Sheard, director of Auto Data Solutions, said: "We connect dealers with recall databases to identify vehicles that need work. It's a low-cost way of generating additional aftersales revenue and an opportunity that could be worth up to £300m over the next five years, and in addition to the financial benefits for the sector, we are also helping to improve UK road safety.”

Auto Data Solutions advises dealers to remind customers of their obligations to schedule recall work after receiving notification from the OEM.

Some motorists may be putting off a visit to a dealership to have recall work done due to concerns about the cost-of-living crisis, so emphasis should be placed on the terms of work carried out under warranty in any communications.

AM recently offered advise on how to serve cost-conscious customers in a special aftersales insight section.

It included five potential areas where aftersales revenues could be boosted.

In a recent interview for the 2022 AM100 report, meanwhile, Swansway Group director Peter Smyth said that connected cars’ alerts to vehicle owners had the potential to be the biggest driver of aftersales efficiencies in 2023.

Auto Data Solutions is led by former Cap HPI senior managers Jon Sheard, Amanda Morgan and Mark Bassford.

It claims to help dealers, fleets and OEMs trade more efficiently by using the latest technology and smarter data.

Auto Data Solutions' customers include fleet software company Digital INNK and international media group, Autovia.

It has recently helped dealers meet their compliance requirements with audits and advanced data cleansing.

Sheard said: "Our business has grown as we help dealers and the automotive supply chain harness the power of data to create new revenue streams. Our combined expertise and experience have helped launch new digital services and unlock opportunities for dealers. We've come a long way, and the future has never looked more exciting."

Morgan said: "It is possible to balance customer satisfaction with corporate profitability by adopting a data-centric approach. The latest technology can create hyper-personalised offerings that deliver the loyalty of happy customers. The recall study shows that using data can provide benefit to the customer while improving revenue for the dealer."