Consumer car finance new business volumes fall by 3%

New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that the consumer car finance market reported a fall in new business volumes of 3% in October 2020 compared with the same month in 2019.  In the ten months to October 2020, new business volumes in this market were 20% lower than in the same period in 2019.

The consumer new car finance market reported a fall in new business volumes of 4% in October 2020 compared with the same month in 2019. In the ten months to October 2020, new business volumes in this market fell by 25% compared with the same period in the previous year. The percentage of private new car sales financed by FLA members in the twelve months to October 2020 was 94.1%, up from 91.7% in the same period in 2019.

The consumer used car finance market reported a fall in new business volumes of 2% in October 2020 compared with the same month in 2019. In the ten months to October 2020, new business volumes in this market fell by 17% compared with the same period in the previous year.

Commenting on the figures, Geraldine Kilkelly, Head of Research and Chief Economist at the FLA, said “The introduction of new restrictions during October to curb the growth in coronavirus cases has led to a softening in demand for consumer car finance.  The fall in the used car finance market in October was the first since May of this year.’

“The economic outlook has improved following the promised rollout of a vaccine before Christmas. Based on this more positive outlook, our latest research suggests that consumer car finance new business by value is likely to grow by 18% in 2021, following a contraction of 20% in 2020 as whole.”

 

Table 1: Cars bought on finance by consumers through the point of sale
New business	Oct 2020	% change on prev. year	3 months to Oct 2020	% change on prev. year	12 months to Oct 2020	% change on prev. year
New cars
Value of advances (£m)	1,416	0	5,358	6	16,128	-17
Number of cars	63,647	-4	241,586	1	730,540	-22
Used cars
Value of advances (£m)	1,640	3	5,221	9	16,519	-10
Number of cars	125,965	-2	398,756	4	1,280,399	-14
Total cars
Value of advances (£m)	3,056	2	10,579	8	32,647	-14
Number of cars	189,612	-3	640,342	3	2,010,939	-17

 

Table 2: Cars bought on finance by businesses
New business	Oct 2020	% change on prev. year	3 months to Oct 2020	% change on prev. year	12 months to Oct 2020	% change on prev. year
New cars
Number of cars	27,851	-24	77,089	-16	274,789	-37
Used cars
Number of cars	5,450	21	14,474	10	57,581	3