More than half of dealers (55 per cent) expect 2024’s used car market to be better than this year’s, new research shows. September’s Startline Used Car Tracker shows that 45 per cent also believe there will be better stock supply and 43 per cent that demand for electric vehicles (EVs) will increase. However, just 25 per cent expect there to be an improvement in consumer confidence.
Used electric vehicle (EV) values could fall by a further 5-10% in the next few months, the latest Vehicle Remarketing Association (VRA) member meeting was told. Giving a presentation on market trends for different fuel types, Dean Bowkett of Bowkett Consulting said there continued to be an imbalance between used EV supply and demand, despite recent dramatic falls in value.
“Overall, the used car market is in a strong position heading towards the tail end of the year. Whilst the lack of new car registrations in the past two and a half years has stemmed the supply of used cars for forecourts, values reaching record heights has balanced this out. NAMA Members are reporting stable trading, and that the market is in a good position”, said Paul Hill National Association of Motor Auctions (NAMA) spokesman, after a meeting was held earlier this week with key industry figureheads to discuss current industry issues.
The UK’s used car market fell for the second consecutive quarter this year, with the SMMT reporting a 12.2% decline over the three months of July to September. Some 1,785,447 vehicles changed hands, the first time that quarter three transactions have dipped below two million since 2015, as semiconductor shortages impacted supply of stock. Year to date sales are now down 9.7% to 5,319,482.
Over the last four weeks of trading the retail market has reported fall in demand from consumers, in comparison to the previous four, which is expected from retailers. The well documented issues relating to supply, driving the value of used car values up, has maintained this level and appears to be steady. Demand for diesel is still reducing, whilst petrol and BEV remain as the markets focal point.
“As new car sales continue to be impacted by the ongoing supply constraints, it is encouraging to see that consumer appetite for second-hand vehicles remained robust in the first quarter of the year”, said Sue Robinson, chief executive of the National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA), commenting on the latest SMMT’s used car figures. The UK’s used car market rose 5.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2022 with 1,774,351 transactions. There were 86,596 more cars changing hands compared to the same period in 2021. Despite this increase, used car transactions remain -12.2 per cent below pre-pandemic levels.
Growing confidence in second-hand electric cars is signalled by EVs pushing toward second place as the fuel of choice – particularly among sales of one-year-old cars. According to figures from online car supermarket BuyaCar.co.uk, EVs registered in 2020 have been representing up to 27 per cent of all one-year-old car sales in recent weeks.
Data released by the UK car industry throughout the pandemic has shown the negative impact of Covid-19 on sales of new and used vehicles, but new research shows the figures could have been worse. A study for Kwik Fit indicates that as 3.8 million drivers said Covid-19 caused them to put off a planned car purchase. However, this was partially offset by the fact that 3.2 million drivers were prompted by the impact of the pandemic to buy a new or used car.
Surging demand for new hybrid cars is also being reflected in the used market, with the online car supermarket BuyaCar.co.uk reporting its highest-ever proportion of hybrid customers. But a gap is emerging between brands when it comes to the popularity of hybrid as a consumer choice over diesel or petrol, BuyaCar analysts say.
According to the online car supermarket BuyaCar.co.uk, record sales of used cars online this year signals that motorists are itching to splash out on desirable cars as Britain eases out of lockdown. BuyaCar.co.uk posted an 88 per cent increase in the number of cars sold year on year in March – dwarfing the 11.5 per cent growth in new car sales in the same month.
Electric car sales have reached their highest ever level in the used market, according to the online car supermarket BuyaCar.co.uk. After languishing for most of the year at around one in every hundred sales, December has seen them taking a 15 per cent share of the used market.
Analysis of online used car buying trends reveals that German brands have dramatically extended their lead in sales and searches by motorists during the second half of 2020. The online car supermarket BuyaCar.co.uk has found that German brands grew their share among the 10 most popular cars from 52.4 per cent in the first six months of the year to a whopping 71.7 per cent in the months since July 1.
The National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA), which represents franchised car and commercial vehicle retailers in the UK, has published the findings of the latest ‘post-lockdown automotive retail’ survey. Through the findings, NFDA aims to assess the implications of COVID-19 on the automotive retail sector and understand how the industry is now recovering.
Figures released by the SMMT reveal that used car sales in Q2 2020 were 1,039,303 units; -48.9 per cent down on the same period last year (2,034,236). Year to date, the figures are slightly less depressing, with YtD clocking up 2,891.222 sales, as opposed to 4,054,380 for the first six months of 2019 – a -28.7 per cent fall.
Diesel used car prices rise by 31.3 per cent as demand for older vehicles in the used car market outstrips supply. Vehicle auction group Aston Barclay says it recorded its highest ever used car prices in Q2 as demand exceeded supply during and after lockdown. During Q2 older used cars were the most in demand with stock between 55-78 months rising by 20.6 per cent and stock between 79 and 126 months rising by 13.1 per cent. Diesel used cars rose by 31.3 per cent, which was an all-time high at Aston Barclay.
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