Strong demand and a well-matched balance of supply has led to a steady improvement in residual values over the past 12 months, reports Glass's.

Three-year-old cars have been the highlight of the UK used market over the past year, with the average retained value increasing from 44.7% in March 2003 to 49.9% in March 2004. "Many dealers have continued to report a lack of three-year-old retailable part exchanges," comments Jonathan Brown, Car Editor at Glass's. Among segments reviewed by Glass's large MPVs, SUVs and large 4x4s have done well in the past year, while in the context of poor performance over recent years, the traditional family car sector is now showing an improvement. The one year old Mondeo/Vectra class has risen to 59.4% from 57.8% 12 months ago, and at three years, to 39.6% - largely through a reduction in used volumes put into the market.