Cazoo’s acquisition of used car valuations data provider Cazana left a “gap in the market”, according to its former vice president of insight and analytics Rupert Pontin.
The battery health of electric vehicles (EV) “must” join age and mileage as a key used car valuation metric, but new legislation might be required, it has been claimed.
Wholesale used car values rose by 8.8% month-on-month at BCA auctions across the UK during June as the remarketing giant recorded its first price growth of 2022.
Vauxhall’s zero-emissions Corsa-e hatchback has emerged as the most desirable’ car at Aston Barclay auctions as EVs and premium cars attract the most attention from buyers.
Despite signs that the UK’s cost-of-living crisis is starting to impact the value of older vehicles, there are no signs of prices “crashing” in the used car sector, Cap HPI’s director of valuations has told AM.
The average retail price of a used car has grown for the 27th consecutive month, reaching £17,252 in June, up 41.5% on June 2019.
The average age and mileage of used cars at auction has continued to rise in the second quarter of 2022, according to Autorola.
Used car sales slowed as the average price of a car advertised for sale declined by 4.7% in Q2 according to eBays Motors data which showed the impact of the UK’s growing cost-of-living crisis.
The UK is now the only used car market in Europe where the value of vehicles continues to fall, according to data published by Indicata.
UK inflation reached a 40-year high of 9.1% as the pricing pressures forcing car buyers to think twice about their next purchase continued to intensify.
Solera has introduced eBay Motors’ live used car retail data to its Audatex Market Value Manager to help insurance claims handlers offer more accurate valuations in a fast-moving market.
Diesel cars remain the UK’s fastest selling used cars and continue to buck the trend of declining values, Aston Barclay has told the BVRLA.
The UK’s used car sector would be “a bloodbath” for dealers without the high values and strong margins maintained as a result of 2022’s supply shortages, Cap HPI’s Derren Martin has suggested.
Auto Trader has urged car retailers not to “jump to rash conclusions about the health of the market” after car price rises eased in May with the prospect of tough times ahead for car buying consumers.
Used car retailers have experienced a May sector “down on hopes and expectations” with average values down by 0.7% as a result, Cap HPI has reported.
The used car market has been enjoying stellar growth over the past two years as demand has outstripped supply; there has been a lack of new vehicle availability and more buyers are willing to pay a premium.
With retailers operating in an increasingly challenging used car environment where stock is in short supply and prices are continually adjusting, it has become even more imperative to price used vehicles correctly to both maximise margins and maintain stock turn.
In a used car market starved of supply vehicle acquisition has become the boom industry, with retailers launching their own car buying platforms to rival third-party providers.
Wholesale used car prices have declined for a fourth successive month at BCA remarketing centres across the UK as chief operating officer Stuart Pearson asserts “we have seen the market soften”.
Auto Trader has struck-up a new partnership with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which will see the used car marketplaces data become an official economic barometer for the authority.
