8:57 am, July 3, 2024
Used car dealers stocked fewer vehicles last month amid a slight dip in retail prices.
That is according to new data from digital marketplace, Motors, which says that buyers turned their attention towards older models in the sixth month of the year.
The firm, which recently completed a deal for failed used car dealer Cazoo, has today (Jul 3) published its monthly Market View report.
The data revealed that the average price of a used car on the Motors platform ended June on £17,168 – a 1.3% dip on May’s £17,390.
The £222 decrease left the figure well down on the same period last year when the average cost of a used car was £18,511.
Overall, prices dropped 1.8% in the first half of the year, having average £17,475 in January.
The report comes after separate data from Auto Trader revealed the used models which have lost the most value so far in 2024.
Unsurprisingly, that list was dominated by electric vehicles, with the Vauxhall Corsa-e dropping an eye-watering 25% to £15,377.
Motors found that the dip in used car prices was mostly driven by franchised dealers who saw prices slide 4% (£970) from £24,067 to £23,097.
The biggest drops were seen at both ends of the age spectrum with vehicles aged over 10 years falling 2.3% (£165) from £7,060 to £6,895, a year-on-year of 3.1%.
Meanwhile cars aged under two years dropped 1.4% (£444) from £31,134 to £30,690, down 4.2% on the same point in 2023.
When it comes to trade values, pricing experts at Cap HPI recently reported a ‘negligible’ 0.1% dip in June.
Dealers carrying less stock
Motors’ data found that dealer stock levels dropped from an average of 54 units in May to 51 in June. The figure is also down on last June, when dealers were carrying an average of 55 units.
Franchised dealers experienced the biggest drops, down 11% month-on-month to 56 units, while independent dealers remained steady at 39 units, down just one on May.
On the flip side, car supermarkets saw stock levels grow for the third consecutive month, rising from 245 to 254 units.
Overall, stock levels for the first half of the year have been relatively stable having started in January at 54 units.
Analysts also found that buyers researching their next purchase online were mostly focused on older, medium size models priced up to £10,000.
When it came to powertrains, petrol still leads the way accounting for half of all ad views, followed by diesel (44%), hybrid (5%) and electric (2%).
Commenting on the latest data, Lucy Tugby, marketing director of Motors, said: ‘With only small downward movements of prices and stock levels in June, we are seeing further signs of the relative stability that has characterised the first half of the year.
‘The focus for buyers in June was on essential purchase cars with older, cheaper, combustion engine models attracting plenty of online attention. We expect this to continue into July as family and personal budgets start turning to summer holiday spending.
‘While this period of stability is positive news for the sector, dealers will be far from complacent, especially as they plan their stocking needs for July matching both online and local demand with availability in the market.’
