2:29 pm, January 7, 2022
Auto Trader says it saw a massive spike last night (Jan 6) in response to ITV’s delve into used car prices.
Yesterday evening’s edition of the consumer affairs programme Tonight show – which was partially filmed at the 2021 Car Dealer Used Car Awards – saw motoring journalist and broadcaster Ginny Buckley reporting on the booming used car market, and how prices for some models have skyrocketed.
Entitled How Much Is Your Car Worth?, the 30-minute show, which aired at 7.30pm, included comments from Swansway Group’s Peter Smyth, Derren Martin from Cap HPI, plus event host Mike Brewer and Car Dealer founder and editor-in-chief James Baggott.
It also featured an interview with Auto Trader’s chief operating officer Catherine Faiers, pictured, plus other top industry figures and, said the automotive marketplace, the show drove a 38 per cent increase in the number of users to its website between 7pm and 9pm versus the previous two hours.
Visits were also up by 46 per cent compared with the same two hours the previous week, it added, although no actual figures were given.
The prime time programme examined the huge increase in average used car prices, which has been driven by massive consumer demand and continuing supply constraints in the new and used car markets.
Faiers highlighted how the average consumer would be surprised at just how much their current car might be worth.
‘It’s interesting with houses, often people are in the habit of checking the market regularly, but it’s not something people typically do with cars,’ she said.
‘However, at the moment, given we have seen a number of months of pricing growth well in advance of 20 per cent, I think it will be a shock for many people just how much value might be sitting on their driveway.’
Auto Trader said the show led to an enormous surge in people using its consumer valuation tool to check the price of their current vehicle, with a 155 per cent increase in valuation page views compared with the same period the previous week.
