8:06 am, June 25, 2024

Used car prices have dropped a ‘negligible’ 0.1% in June as the market remains strong into the summer – with no great falls predicted any time soon.

For large parts of the month, pricing experts at Cap HPI even thought used car prices may even rise in June, such was the strength seen in trade valuations.

Petrol and diesel cars remained the strongest performing fuel types as an ‘air of positivity’ flowed through the used car market during the month.

Speaking exclusively to Car Dealer Live in a video you can watch above, Cap HPI director of valuations Derren Martin explains the market in 2024 has ‘returned to normal’.

He explains that following drops of 0.9% in April and 1% in May, the market began to stabilise from mid-May with improved conversion rates seen in auctions.

‘There’s not a lot of negativity out there,’ said Martin.

‘May was stronger than expected even when you’ve got bank holidays in there, but June has just felt better really.’

Petrol cars saw their prices increase 0.2% during the month, diesels dropped 0.2% and hybrids fell 0.5%. Electric cars were by far and away the worst performing, dragging the rest of the market down with a drop of 1.7% on average.

Top 10 Biggest Used Car Price Falls

Source: Cap HPI, June data

Alfa Romeo Giulietta diesel – down 10.1% (£1129)
Kia Stonic diesel – down 8.7% (£825)
Dacia Logan diesel – down 7.8% (£600)
Vauxhall Corsa electric – down 7.3% (£705)
Subaru XV – down 6.9% (£1125)
Alfa Romeo Giulietta – down 6.0% (£800)
Ford Ecosport diesel – down 6.0% (£712)
Dacia Logan – down 5.9% (£397)
Jeep Renegade hybrid – down 5.8% (£950)
BMW i3 – down 5.8% (£833)

Cap HPI reports on trade prices – so the amount of money cars change hands for in the motor trade at auctions and other sales.

Martin said: ‘So electric vehicles continue to be the weakest fuel type, but it is better than it’s been doing over previous months. There’s a bit of stabilisation there.

‘But [EVs] continue to be the weakest and it’s going to carry on like that because you’ve got some that are continuing to drop in value and you’ve got others that are performing well now.’

Three-year-old used cars saw the smallest fall in prices at 0.1% in June, one-year-old cars fell 0.2% while 10-year-old cars dropped 2%.

Martin added: ‘Younger cars are actually doing okay for those that are fuel types other than electric.

‘It’s those older ages that are more heavily affected, but a 2% drop on a 10-year-old car is about £75, so it’s not much.

‘There’s probably slightly less demand for those older cars and a bun fight for the prime stock. Those ex-fleet and leasing cars, that’s where the demand is really strong.

‘That’s where we’re seeing strong conversion rates. We’re seeing a strong uptick in percentage of Cap achieved for those sales.’

Top 10 Biggest Used Car Price Rises

Source: Cap HPI, June data

SEAT Arona diesel – up 6.8% (£753)
Mercedes-Benz AMG C Class Cabriolet – up 5.1% (£1,716)
BMW 2 Series Coupe diesel – up 5.0% (£733)
BMW X2 – up 4.0% (£780)
BMW X5 – up 4.0% (£1585)
Land Rover Discovery Sport – up 4.0% (£906)
DS7 Crossback hybrid – up 4.0% (£710)
Mercedes-Benz SL Class – up 3.9% (£1525)
Mercedes-Benz C Class Cabriolet – up 3.9% (£855)
Jaguar F-Pace – up 3.9% (£1,042)

Martin also predicts a stable summer for used car prices ahead and said the company’s experience shows that elections have little impact on the used car market.

He also doesn’t think there will be a considerable fall in values again at the end of 2024, like there was in the final quarter of last year.

In 2023, the winter months saw values plummet more than 10% that punishes dealers and saw several close their doors for good as a result.

Martin said: ‘I can’t really see any reason to predict anything other than what we’re having. When you look back again at our figures, the average move for July is just over a 1% drop but what happens could be similar to June. I don’t think we’re going to see anywhere near that 1% drop.

‘There’s a potential that values could go up in July – that wouldn’t surprise me. And I think we will see more of what we’ve seen in June.

‘There’s a bit of a myth around that elections affect values, but they don’t. The Euros, big sporting events, Olympics, they don’t really have an impact either. The school holidays can mean a bit of a slowdown in retail, but I just think there’s not enough stock to cause too much of a downturn in value still.’

To watch the full video interview with Martin, click on the link at the top of this page.