The second hand car market is riding the storm well according to some big names in the car auction industry. This is in stark contrast to the new car market which has had a hole its hull for while and is sinking beneath the waves.
The new car market is in trouble, that isn’t in any doubt. Production is down at all the major car manufacturers and lay offs have been announced across the board. The luxurious vehicle market has also seen its far share of problems, with Bentley submitting job losses last month. Official figures show a 30.9% fall in new car registrations according to the Society of Motor Manufactures in January as compared to the previous year. This drop is said to be the largest of its kind for over 30 years and the direction shows no signs of changing soon. Experts in the field are stating that the market for new cars will not witness an improvement until 2012 at the very earliest.
On the flip side of the coin it seems to be that second hand car purchases are on the up, with 2 of the largest car auction names (BCA and Manheim) stating record numbers up since last year. BCA stated that more vans and cars were sold in Jan 2010 than any previous year and prices of vehicles have been on the rise for the last three months. Increases on last year have been pitted around the £300 mark on average.
Car leasing is also on the up it seems as the major leasers are reporting improving numbers this year. This is possibley a result of people making the choice to lease their vehicles during this slow economy rather than commit to purchasing them outright. Traditionaly vechicle leasing companies have done very well from periods of economic downturn, and this one seems to be no different.
Manheim, the auctioneer company has released figures that show a spike in the sale of wholesale vans. The spike comes lengthy long lull and marks the first increase since last September. 4 wheel drive cars have seen the steadiest increases with numbers improving six months in a row.
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