Author:

ROBIN ROBERTS

Used car value fall by 2.2% in June compared to May according to BCA’s latest Pulse Report.

The fall was generated by lower sale volumes and values of nearly-new cars, while values in the fleet & lease and part-exchange sectors continued to rise. BCA’s figures show that average values fell by £134 to £5,964 in June.

Despite this, fleet values reached a new high point, averaging over £8,000 for the first time on record as BCA sold a slightly richer mix of cars from fleet and lease operators during the month.  Part-exchange values also posted a small month-on-month rise of £27.  Nearly-new values fell by nearly £2,000, entirely as a result of changing model mix as fewer prestige and executive cars reached the market in June.

Across the board, used cars averaged 96.1% of CAP Clean in June, up by half a point compared to May, while average age and mileage both rose marginally over the month, up to nearly 63 months and 60,000 miles.

Year-on-year, June 2012 average values are a substantial 5.3% ahead of 2011, while average age and mileage have climbed by 6.0% and 2.5% respectively in the same period.

BCA’s Communications Director Tony Gannon said, “The market tends to slow down in the early summer and we have also had a short-term hangover from the Jubilee double Bank Holiday.  Volumes are down month on month, and year-on-year for that matter, underlining the shortage of supply reaching the marketplace.”

“In many ways, this dearth of stock is keeping values high as consumer confidence is still reported to be flat.   According to the CBI, retail activity is subdued and uncertainty over the economic outlook is putting a brake on consumer spending across the whole retail sector.”

Fleet & lease cars averaged £8,042 in June, up £106 (1.3%) month-on-month and the highest average monthly value recorded since Pulse began reporting in 2005.  CAP performance climbed by over a point to 96.8% with the average age rising marginally and average mileage climbing by nearly 500 miles over the month.  Performance against original MRP (Manufacturers Retail Price) was level month-on-month at 39.6% for the second month running.

Year-on-year, the fleet & lease sector recorded a significant 13.7% uplift (compared to the 7.9% rise seen last month), with CAP comparisons improving by over 2 points.

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