COVID-19 stopped a third of drivers from changing their car in 2020

Consumer research released from CarGuide has revealed that COVID-19 has stopped almost a third of UK drivers (32%) from changing their car in 2020.

The vehicle check website said the trend is set to continue into next year with a further 36% of car owners stating they are no longer looking to change their car in 2021.

Young car owners have been impacted the most with nearly half (47%) saying they have been put off changing their car in 2020 with drivers aged over 55 impacted less at 20%.

The figures change across locations in the UK with London at 58%, Birmingham at 38%, Bristol 29%, Cardiff at 12%, Edinburgh at 15%, Liverpool at 22% and Nottingham at 46%.

The cost saving continues for car owners with over a half (54%) now more likely to buy a used car instead of a new car, plus a third (32%) likely to spend less on their next car because of the financial impact of coronavirus.

Olli Astley, co-founder of CarGuide said: “Our research highlights the financial impact of Covid-19 for huge numbers of car owners looking to change their car in 2020 or 2021.

“With many of us still working from home you can only imagine the number of cars sat on the driveway barely clocking any miles each week.

“The government moved fast to offer the MOT extension for 6 months because of Coronavirus, but our research highlights that millions of car owners have also avoided the cost of servicing their car too.

“It looks like the pandemic is far from over, so we don’t see any demand surge for car buying for many months.”

Car services have been skipped by around 12.5 million UK motorists left cash-strapped by COVID-19, according to research compiled by BookMyGarage