1:08 pm, February 10, 2017
COX Automotive saw year-on-year increases in selling prices in both the wholesale and retail used car markets in January.
Manheim recorded an average selling price for cars at its auctions of £5,713, a 2.1 per cent rise from the same month last year. On Motors.co.uk, cars sold for an average of £12,700, which was 12.2 per cent up year-on-year.
Average mileage for cars sold at Manheim was 5.9 per cent below January 2016 – recorded at 62,247 – as younger, lower mileage stock continues to enter its auctions. On Motors.co.uk the average mileage of cars was 7.3 per cent down from year-on-year at 30,138.
In January, the average selling price of ex-fleet cars at Manheim was £8,990 and for part-exchange dealer stock it was £3,747. Part-exchange cars saw a 4.9 per cent year-on-year increase in prices, with volumes falling by 7.8 per cent compared to January 2016. Ex-fleet cars recorded an increase in sold volumes of 6.2 per cent, with the average selling price 7.5 per cent below the same month last year.
Volume brands performed well in the January wholesale market, with prices up 6.3 per cent from the first month of 2016. SUV prices were also up year-on-year, by 2.4 per cent, and perhaps as a result of a relatively mild December, the average selling price rose by 38 per cent month-on-month.
Both Manheim and Motors.co.uk saw double-digit month-on-month growth in sales volumes in January, so there was an expected softening in prices compared to December, with average selling price at Manheim down 2.7 per cent and a 4.3 per cent drop for cars sold on Motors.co.uk.
Daren Wiseman, head of valuations at Cox Automotive UK, said: ‘We saw strong buyer activity right up until the end of last year, which seems to have continued into 2017. Despite significant increases in volume, buyers have been out in force to support the strong activity in the retail market.
‘Manheim is continuing to focus on providing the best value for buyers, with its improved SureCheck pre-auction inspection and award-winning processes to ensure vehicles are inspected, prepared and presented in the best possible way. Over 30 per cent of cars sold by Manheim in January were sold to online buyers, underlining the confidence that dealers have in our online sales channels.’
Dermot Kelleher, director of marketing and business intelligence at Motors.co.uk, added: ‘We have seen stability in the used car market at the start of 2017. At Motors.co.uk, we saw organic search visits to our website rise by 17 per cent per cent year-on-year, and across our Network of partner websites, average leads per dealer were up 13 per cent from January 2016, which is great news for dealers advertising with Motors.co.uk.’
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