Used car sector values rise, despite average fall

BCA’s latest Pulse report shows that despite a small fall in the overall average value of used cars in March, this was due to a change in mix that saw greater volumes of cars sold in the lower value sectors.

Average values actually rose in each of the fleet/lease, part-exchange and nearly-new sub-sectors, highlighting that the underlying relationship between supply and demand remains positive.

The overall average value for cars sold in March was £5,791 – a month-on-month fall of £168 (down 2.8%) compared to February’s figure of £5,959.  CAP performance slipped by around a third of one point to 98.54% in March.

Values remain ahead year-on-year by £209 (a 3.7 % increase), compared to a 6% difference in February, 15% in January and 29% in December.

However, average values rose in all three of the main product sectors.  Fleet & Lease values rose by £229 (3.1%) to £7,593 – the third consecutive month of growth.  Nearly-New values improved by just £275 (1.4%), but established a new record value in doing so at £19,197.  Part-Exchange values improved by £47 (1.7%) to £2,705, after a modest fall the previous month.

Part-exchange volumes in March increased by 32.7% over February, with Fleet sold volumes increasing by 13.1% and Nearly-new volumes almost exactly the same as February – in line with plate change expectations.  This change in model-mix towards lower valued vehicles resulted in the small fall in the overall average monthly value.

BCA Communications Director Tony Gannon commented “This months figures suggest the used car market is currently underpinned by plenty of demand across the board.  Fleet operators will be pleased to see a third consecutive month of value growth, while the increased volumes and improved values in the dealer part-exchange sector suggest healthy levels of retail activity.”

Fleet & Lease Sector – March

Average Fleet & Lease values rose for the third month running, with £229 (3.1%) added to the average value in March.  Values increased from £7,364 to £7,593, while performance against CAP Clean improved for the fourth month running, rising by half a point to 99.1%.

Year-on-year values remain ahead by £967, lower than the figure recorded over the past two months.  BCA expect this figure to continue to fall in the months ahead.

Fleet & Lease – by sector

Looking at fleet and lease product by sector, the rise in value was across the board, with the most notable increase in Budget fleet cars, which recorded a £659 rise (equivalent to 18.6%), improving to £4,194.   Volume fleet product rose by £197 to £5,712 (3.5%) with premium fleet stock improving by £84 to £11,017, an increase of less than 1%.

Part Exchange Sector – March

Part-Exchange values improved by £47 (1.7%) to £2,705, after a modest fall the previous month.  P/X sold volumes at auction increased significantly for the second month ruining, with March figures increasing by 32.7% over the previous month, having also increased by 16.2% between January and February.  Performance against CAP fell by nearly two points to 94.29%. in line with increased trasffic from plate changes.

Looking at P/X product in detail, premium P/X cars rose by £82 (a similar amount to last month) to £4,744 (up 1.7%), volume P/X values improved only marginally by £6 to £1,878, while budget P/X values recovered some ground from last month, increasing by £85 to £1,440 (up by 6.2%).

Nearly-New values improved by just £275 (1.4%) in March, but established a new record value in doing so at £19,197.   With lower numbers than the fleet and part-exchange sectors, model mix has a greater role to play and BCA recorded some significant results for nearly-new cars in both manufacturer closed sales and Top Car and Prestige sales during the month.  Performance against CAP Clean was relatively static at just under 103% for the third month running.