The ongoing growth in vehicle funding has led to warning for dealers not to become complacent about the vitality of the market.

Latest figures from the Finance & Leasing Association reveal sustained growth in both new and used car funding, with consumer new car finance volumes up by 9% in June, and up by 15% for the first six months of 2014.

Samantha Cripps, head of sales development at Alphera Financial Services, said: “It is reassuring that the figures are remaining strong, with a great start to 2014 for both new and used car markets.

"The continued strength of the motor finance market is reflective of wider economic confidence and comes as good news for the vehicle industry as a whole.

“More specifically these positive results are reflective of competitive point of sale credit. As such it is important that the industry does not become complacent. With the cost of money increases on the horizon, we will have to prepare for the inevitable effect this has on the finance industry.

"In order to remain competitive, dealers will need to work with their finance companies to deliver creative and bespoke finance packages to customers in line with the new Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) customer fairness legislation.”
 
The used car finance sector also saw strong results for June, with its best performance for the second quarter of the year.

Data shows an increase in used car sales of 22% for June compared with the same period last year, while volumes in the first half of this year increased by 18%.