Uncertainty surrounding Brexit and the general election as well as potential legislative changes has meant a challenging time for the region's vehicle dealers who were out in force at the Royal Norfolk Show 2017.
Government has plans for a diesel tax, which would impact older engines, which has put a focus on fuel, with the hybrid sector reporting a surge.
Gareth Bailey, sales director at Busseys Group, said trade had slowed but the business was looking to build the used car market to alleviate some of the pressure.
He said: 'The biggest impact we have had recently has come from the government plans about diesel.
'We have seen people turning to small petrol engines which are more efficient.
'We are lucky because our business is stronger on the personal side and not so good on the fleet side where you get more diesel vehicles.'
Mr Bailey said the firm, which employs around 250 across Norfolk with a turnover of around £50m, had seen a 10% hit on diesel sales which had not been predicted by manufacturers – resulting in overstocking of diesel cars.
'The market is down generally,' he added. 'People are bit uncertain at the moment and don't want to spend large amounts of money.
'We are trying to work more efficiently and find a better approach to used car sales, which has increased.'
Terry Lee, sales manager at Thurlow Nunn Norwich, said the company, with the support of manufacturer Vauxhall, had cut margins to boost sales.
He said: 'We have been running a £2,500 scrappage scheme on any car which has helped us bring in customers who aren't necessarily Vauxhall buyers.
'It has been very successful for us.'
Dingles, which sells makers including Toyota and Hyundai, said it had seen one of the best first quarters it had ever seen, up 15% year-on-year. Group operations director Simon Brydon put the rise down to selling Toyota and Hyundai's hybrid and electric vehicles as well as customers buying before vehicle excise duty went up in April.
He said: 'People are looking at the lifetime economy of the vehicles which can be a lot cheaper.
'A big customer is taxi firms who are running fleets of them because they are cost effective. We find they are also good adverts as people come in because they have had a chat with their taxi driver about it.
'With Toyota we are probably selling 50/50 hybrids now.'
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