10:28 am, July 10, 2024
Car finance in the consumer sector suffered a drop in value and volume of new business in May.
Latest figures from the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that they both declined by 4% versus May 2023, with the value of advances coming in at £3.245m and the number of cars financed totalling 175,297.
When broken down into their separate markets, new car finance saw business by value rise by 6% year on year to £1.457m, although the number of cars financed was down 2% at 53,042.
However, used car finance new business value was down by 10% on May 2023 at £1.788m, with the number of cars down 5% at 122,255.
Geraldine Kilkelly, director of research and chief economist at the FLA, said: ‘The point-of-sale (POS) consumer car finance market has seen only a slight fall in new business volumes in 2024 so far.
‘The finance penetration of the private new BEVs market has continued to improve, although the most popular way of obtaining a new BEV continues to be via a salary-sacrifice scheme.
‘Our latest research suggested that the POS consumer car finance market would see new business by value hold steady in 2024 at around £39bn, supported by improved consumer confidence as real earnings continue to grow and with the prospect of lower interest rates.
‘Customers who are worried about meeting payments should speak to their lender as soon as possible to find a solution.’
