The UK automotive sector remains on course to deliver its lowest new car registrations total since 1982, despite a 26.4% growth in October, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has said.
The average retail price of used cars advertised for sale via Auto Trader rose for a fourth consecutive month during October – rising £178 on September and a £548 on August to reach £17,587.
The National Franchised Dealers Association (NFDA) has warned that the Bank of England’s decision to raise the UK interest rate to 3% will make funding car purchases “harder for consumers”.
Pawnbrokers are the only lending provider deemed worse than motor finance at assessing customer vulnerability as UK households feel the impact of its cost-of-living crisis, an FCA report suggests.
Finance debt for new and used cars has risen to £40 billion per year, prompting concerns that consumers may default on agreements amid soaring living costs.
Used car values rose by an average of 2% on eBay Motors Group’s online marketplace as the market’s balance of consumer demand and limited supply continued to defy the UK’s economic gloom.
UK new car registrations predictions for 2023 have been downgraded by between 7% and 15% as Coz Automotive predicts faltering vehicle supplies may not recover until Q3 next year.
ICDP has questioned whether car manufacturers will retain a desire to switch from a franchise to an agency retail model if consumer demand and inflation “head on opposite directions” in 2023.
Doing the basics well and driving efficiencies will prepare dealers for the eventual comeback of usual car market volumes, according to Cox Automotive insight and strategy director Philip Nothard.
Less than a third of new cars currently on sale are available with manual gearboxes, an investigation by Carwow has found.
The automotive retail sector’s used car shortages “will stick with us” for some time to come but it is not altogether bad news, Auto Trader commercial director Ian Plummer has told the AM News Show.
BCA has said that used vehicle process will “remain very robust for some time to come” after wholesale used car values rose 2.9% to £9,197 in September.
Consumers are shying away from expensive used electric vehicles (EV) amid escalating cost-of-living pressures, according to used car stock management and marketing specialist Indicata.
Cox Automotive customer insight and strategy director Philip Nothard has warned used car retailers to “remain cautious” as the sector heads into an in certain period of winter trading.
Car retail businesses drove record pay rises in 2022 with bonuses and incentives to management soaring by 70% to deliver average remuneration of £407,000, the latest BDO Salary Survey has revealed.
Increasing numbers of franchised car retailers are considering exit strategies as economic pressures and uncertainty around agency model retail plunge the sector into a period where uncertainty is now the norm, MHA has suggested.
‘High demand’ for petrol and diesel vehicles is continuing to drive the strength of the used car market, according to Cap HPI’s Derren Martin.
The Motor finance market reported growth in both the value and volume of new business for the first time since March during August trading, the Finance and Leasing Association (FLA) has reported.
Used cars are getting older, yet prices of diesel, petrol and used hybrids have remained “remarkably” stable over the past 12 months, according to Autorola.
Used car prices rose by 2.17% on Auto Trader as new car supply constraints continued to drive a buoyant market in September.
