11:47 am, December 12, 2008
USED car sales have crashed to their lowest level since 1999, says information services company Experian.
Sales between July and September were down by 7.7 per cent compared to 2007. This is comparable with the lowest point reached in quarter 3 1999.
Then, they plunged by 15.3 per cent.
Headline figures from Experians’s findings reveal:
• All makes experienced their biggest used car fall in 2 years
• Cars between 3 and 6 years old fell the most – by 10.3 per cent
• The used luxury car sector fell the most – by over 15 per cent
• Used SUVs suffered its largest drop, of 11.3 per cent
• Diesel used car sales fell by 4.1 per cent
• The only sector to see a sales increase was used MPVs – up 6.5 per cent
• Electric and hybrid used cars recorded a sales increase
Kirk Fletcher, MD of Experian’s automotive division, said: ‘The criteria for choosing a car has changed significantly, with price-consciousness now featuring heavily on the list for most consumers.
‘As a result, the biggest casualties in the used car market have been the more expensive to run vehicles, such as the luxury, executive and – in particular – SUV segments, which in the case of the latter had, up until recently, seen a leap in sales.
Fletcher’s advice for dealers is to ‘re-evaluate their stocking policies, by using market insight to help them make better informed decisions. Feedback from our clients highlights the value of knowing what type of vehicle is selling the most in certain areas.’
Dealers, he says, should use this information to review and manage their stocking policies.
Used car price rise ‘illusion’
