Values Stabilise After ‘Rollercoaster’ Year
- November 29, 2019
- Posted by: John Swift
- Category: Automotive Industry
Second hand car values stabilised this month after price corrections earlier in the year, say trade analysts.
This month has seen far less activity and fluctuation, even allowing for the usual early winter slowdown, than in previous years. Cap HPI says that vehicle values overall fell just 0.6% at the three-year/60,000 mile point against a five-year average of 2.3%.
There is some variation among the sectors within that headline figure though. For example, pre-registrations in September saw a bigger drop for one year/10,000 mile cars of 1.1% and petrol-engined cars faced similar problems, partly because of pre-reg activity and partly because diesel is still the favourite fuel in the second-hand sector.
Climbing up though were city cars and superminis such as the VW Up or Skoda Citigo which are ideal second or third cars and saw an average increase of 1.2%. Oversupply new in September saw one-year-old superminis drop fractionally but the sector generally performed well with values remaining static at the three-year old mark.
There will be little surprise in seeing SUV values remain firm and a drop of 0.6% this month is far less than is usually seen at this time of the year. Cap says SUVs now take almost one in four sales in the sector.
However, while values are calm for now there is the great unknown of the outcome of the General Election and Brexit to come.
Stability Will Reign For The Next Few Weeks At Least
Derren Martin, head of UK valuations, said:
“In addition to the current shortage of supply, the industry saw unusually heavy price drops earlier on in the year. The much talked about realignment of prices felt from the start of 2019, which accelerated from Easter onwards, seem to have had a positive effect on the market. The market drops in Live from April to July equalled almost 10%. Since then, over the last four months, there has been less than a cumulative 2% drop. The realignments seem to have stimulated the market positively.
“As we enter the final weeks of what has been a roller-coaster year for the used car market, it is likely that relative stability will reign – for the next few weeks at least!”
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