Used car price recovery continues

Manheim’s latest Market Analysis reports that the continued upsurge in used car prices and demand has continued into March. At £6,694 the average wholesale used car selling price in March was up 6.4% (£400) when compared with the previous month and was up 0.08% (£5) when compared with March 2008.

All three sectors – Fleet, Dealer and Manufacturer – reported increases when compared with the previous month. In the Fleet sector average month-on-month values rose by 8.9% (£493) following an increase of 8.6% (£439) in February, while in the Dealer sector average month-on-month values also rose by 8.9% (£159) compared with a rise of 7.6% (£125) in the previous month. The Manufacturer sector also saw a month-on-month increase of 3.4% (£388) following an increase of 12.9% (£1,323) in February.

Examples of the increases in average wholesale used car selling prices in March compared with February include the Small Hatchback, Medium Family and 4x4 segments in the Fleet sector which rose by 10.0% (£412), 6.5% (£322) and 14.6% (£1,412) respectively. In the Dealer sector, the Small Hatchback segment rose by 12.1% (£202), the Medium Family segment rose by 17.7% (£276) and the Compact Executive segment rose by 11.9% (£316). Meanwhile in the Manufacturer sector there were increases in the Small Hatchback, Large Family and Executive segments of 14.1% (£1,098), 5.7% (£590) and 8.9% (£1,568) respectively.

Although most vehicle segments within each of the three sectors recorded increases in average values there were some segments that decreased when compared with February. In the Dealer sector the Large Family segment fell by 5.6% (£81), the Executive segment fell by 6.6% (£187) and the Mini MPV segment fell by 2.6% (£57). In the Manufacturer sector Superminis fell by 7.1% (£415), Medium Family segment fell by 4.6% (£449) and the 4x4 segment fell by 22.6% (£4,277).

Commenting on the March Market Analysis, Mike Pilkington, Managing Director, Manheim Auctions & Remarketing said: “The continued recovery in the wholesale market and the effect on used car prices throughout the first quarter has been unprecedented. While the first quarter is traditionally strong for used car sales we do believe that dealers will continue to invest in used car retailing for the remainder of this year however we expect to see prices levelling off shortly.”