While used car performance helped to deliver stable levels of profit and volume in 2019 there have been some signs of an early wobble in 2020 with pressure on petrol values in particular.
The automotive industry is starting to look beyond the end of lockdown and weigh-up what the short and medium-term impacts of the COVID-19 coronavirus crisis will be.
Car retailers must be ready for the challenge of stocking and selling cars while respecting consumer concerns and observing Government legislation after the COVID-19 coronavirus lockdown.
The high-demand for sub-£10,000 used cars seen in Q1 is expected to continue when the COVID-19 coronavirus lockdown is lifted, according to Aston Barclay.
Used car values have continued to fluctuate online despite calls from Cap HPI and Auto Trader to maintain a stable market through the postponement of changes amid the COVID-19 coronavirus lockdown.
Auto Trader has urged used car dealers to resist the temptation to reduce the values of their vehicles to retain hope that the market will “pick up where we left off” after the COVID-19 coronavirus crisis.
There is nothing in the current trade or retail data to suggest that used car values will crash due to the COVID-19 coronavirus lockdown period.
Auto Trader has launched a new AT Market Insight data tool which claims to utilise “up-to-date” information from the car retail sector to deliver an accurate appraisal of market conditions.
Used car dealers had begun to reduce the value of their forecourt stock as the UK transitioned from normal trading into a Government-imposed COVID-19 coronavirus lockdown, according to Cazana.
Used car values declined 2.2% in March as retail and trade demand fell due to the Covid-19 coronavirus crisis, according to Cap HPI.
BCA has revealed that the average value of a used vehicle rose 1.6% to a record £10,002 at its auctions in February as it praised the sector's resilience in the current COVID-19 coronavirus health crisis.
Coronavirus has been acknowledged among a series of “significant challenges” facing the automotive retail sector in the middle to long-term in Cox Automotive’s monthly Market Tracker report.
Car retailers’ efforts to acquire affordable used cars for their forecourts have driven the sector’s vehicles to their highest February value growth since 2012, according to Cap HPI.
The average value of a used car offered for sale at BCA’s auctions declined by 1.2% during December, but maintained the month’s fourth highest value on record.
Prices of used hybrids and electric cars reached a record level in Q4 2019, according to the latest used car report from Autorola.
The used car market defied any market uncertainty created by the General Election to deliver its strongest December performance since 2012, according to data published by Cap HPI.
An influx of SUVs and premium vehicles into the used car sector has helped to mitigate a 3.5% decline in values year-on-year, according to Auto Trader’s monthly Retail Price Index.
A seasonal downturn in used car values as the holidays failed to impact sales at BCA and strong demand delivered a “strong month for used car activity”.
Affordable pure electric vehicles (EVs) are moving into the used car sector’s fast lane as consumers show less enthusiasm for a new crop of expensive zero-emissions cars.
While consumer confidence seems to have improved during the key number plate change month of September efforts to prop up ailing new car sales seem to be hampering parts of the used car market.
