Cap HPI: Used car market heading for a bumper year

The news just gets better and better for used car dealerships in the UK, with recent research suggesting that 2017 will be a bumper year for the industry.

According to Cap HPI, strong market performance at the beginning of this year means that 2017 could see a record number of used car sales. As the vehicle valuation services firm states, approximately 3.3 million cars were sold by the end of June – a 0.1% increase on 2016 figures.

March was a notably strong month in terms of sales, with 728,525 cars changing hands; a 6% rise compared with the same period last year. This is only the second time the market has surpassed 700,000 monthly sales since 2004.

Consumer and retail specialist for Cap HPI, Philip Nothard, commented: “Motor retailers are increasingly turning to used vehicles to support margins.”

As AM-online reports, numerous market analysts have suggested that used car values could be negatively impacted as supply begins to outstrip demand. A consequence of this could be potential difficulties with new car finance deals.

However, looking at the Cap HPI data, Nothard explains that this does not seem to be the case. He explained: “To date, strong demand has helped to support stable prices in 2017. If the current trend continues, we will see a record year for used car sales.”

Back in 2016, total used car sales surpassed 7.7 million – beating the 7.2 million recorded in 2015 and the 7,731,609 vehicles sold in 2004, Cap HPI said. If this strong performance continues into the second half of 2017, then hopefully we will see sales well exceeding the 7.7 million mark.

At NextGear Capital we have certainly been benefiting from the buoyant used car market. With a record number of vehicles funded this year we hope to meet – and possibly surpass – 100,000 by the end of 2017.

Source: http://www.am-online.com/news/used-cars/2017/07/21/used-market-on-track-for-a-record-year