Used car sale decline
December 17th, 2009 by Richard Aucock
USED car sales fell by nearly 5 percent in Q3 2009, with smaller cars emerging as biggest casualties.
This contrasts directly with booming new car sales in these categories.
It seems car buyers have switched, for now, from used cars straight into new ones. It is the scrappage scheme that has led to this, reports the firm behind the stats, Experian.
Things are not down across the entire used car sector, though. Experian Automotive general manager Mark Nuttall reports that used sports cars are bucking the trend.
‘Demand for diesel models in particular (has seen) a 75 percent increase.’ Taken over a year, this is an 8.1 percent rise.
Other used car sectors to record an increase on 2008 sales were MPVs and luxury cars. The latter was the ONLY car sector to see both year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter gains.
It is costs-capping that is going to focus the minds of buyers going forwards, added Nuttall – and this may well lead to a resurgence in the used car sector as scrappage schemes draw to a close.
‘Cars that are cheaper to run, such as electric, diesel and hybrid, are continuing to see sales rise.’
And the best selling used car? Shock, horror – it’s not the all-dominant Ford Fiesta! Vauxhall’s Corsa actually overtook it for Q3 top honours, outselling the Ford by 4 percent.
BMW, meanwhile, was the only car brand to see an increase in used car sales during Q3.
Do Experian’s findings match your experience of the used car market recently? What trends are you banking on going forward?