9:58 am, May 8, 2020
New business volumes in the consumer car finance market fell by 27 per cent in March compared with the same month last year, according to new figures from the Finance & Leasing Association.
The trade body for the asset, consumer and motor finance sectors added that they dropped as a whole by 13 per cent in this year’s first quarter.
New business volumes in the consumer new car finance market were 29 per cent lower this March against March 2019.
FLA members financed a record high of 95.6 per cent of private new car sales in the year to March 2020, said the association.
Meanwhile, the consumer used car finance market suffered a 24 per cent fall in new business volumes this March compared with March 2019.
Geraldine Kilkelly, head of research and chief economist at the FLA, said: ‘The motor finance market has been hit hard by the lockdown in March as the main route to customers through dealerships closed.
‘Our latest research suggests that the consumer car finance market is likely to see the value of new business fall by 29 per cent in 2020 as a whole.
‘The FLA urges the government and Bank of England to open up financial support schemes to all lenders, including non-banks, so that they can meet the significant current demand for forbearance and provide new lending when the economy reopens.
‘This will also ensure that the motor finance market remains diverse, innovative and competitive after the crisis.’
More: Consumer car finance dipped by one per cent in February
More: Consumer car finance market held steady in 2019, says FLA
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