The used car market got off to a strong start in 2016 although dealers were warned of the negative impact self-registrations were having on the values of late-plate vehicles.
According to cap hpi strong demand drove up used values by an average of 0.4% in February.
Derren Martin, senior Black Book editor at cap hpi said: “Strong demand is driving up values across the industry. This comes on top of a generally strong year in 2015, and while it is good news for retailers, it is important to keep an eye on late-plate volumes, particularly those generated by pre-registrations.
“We are seeing some signs of weakness in the nearly new sector, which is not showing the gains of other sectors.
“Within the overall figures, there were vehicle ranges that performed strongly and moved up in value, whilst for others, supply outstripped demand and values did drop. It was not a wholly consistent picture.”
“March is likely to see used car supply levels slightly down for most of it and demand similar. During March last year, values on average stayed level and it would be fair to expect much the same this time around, although there are more cars in the market compared to 2015.
“Franchise dealers will continue to be focussed on new car registrations. Early order take is high – but demand from the non-affiliated used retail sites will remain strong.”
cap hpi said an earlier Easter could impact on demand for used cars. It said values will come under pressure in early April, when part-exchanges and fleet returns generated by purchases of the new 16 plate hit the market in large volumes.
