11:01 am, April 4, 2022
The buoyant used car market has helped Startline Motor Finance to a 30 per cent year-on-year rise in the value of new business volumes for the first quarter.
Chief executive Paul Burgess said: ‘Among the dealers and other introducers who offer our range of motor finance products, trading continues to be strong.
‘During 2021, we saw an overall increase of around 25 per cent in our business volumes and that degree of growth is continuing.
‘Consumer confidence in the sector appears to be resilient and there are also some signs of easing in the stock shortages that we have seen over the last two years.
‘These and other factors have contributed to this performance.’
He added that some risks for the used car sector were emerging but Startline’s opinion was that the market was likely to remain relatively strong throughout 2022.
‘There are clearly a number of areas for concern.
‘The cost of living crisis is set to worsen through the year, while the impact of the situation in Ukraine is not yet clear, although it looks as though it could affect new car production quite significantly.
‘However, the fundamentals of the market remain strong, and we believe that the sector as a whole and Startline in particular are set for a successful 12 months.’
The news comes on the heels of Startline announcing that it is to launch monthly research looking at consumer and dealer sentiment in the used car market.
The Startline Used Car Tracker is designed to provide a regular update on an aspect of the sector where information isn’t widely available, said Burgess.
APD Global Research will be carrying out the regular study.
