11:41 am, February 25, 2021
This year could well see stronger-than-expected sales of used cars, a motor finance specialist is predicting.
Near-prime firm Startline Motor Finance said the market had stayed fairly resilient during lockdown so there were reasons to be optimistic.
Chief executive Paul Burgess said: ‘As expected, this has been a tough period for used dealers but one where the vast majority have managed to continue to sell cars on a consistent basis, if in reduced volumes.
‘Our feeling is that, in general, dealers are now pretty good at operating online click-and-collect models and have done a little bit better than they expected at the start of the latest lockdown.
‘Most, from our conversations, appear to be relatively optimistic about what trading could be like when conditions are relaxed.
“It’s definitely an odd market in which we find ourselves, which is shown in the way that prices have continued to rise.
‘That couldn’t happen in a market that was doing very badly, even though the situation is obviously deeply compromised.
“Certainly, we are continuing to see applications at a rate that we would describe as relatively buoyant given the conditions and, in our view, 2021 could be a stronger-than-expected year.’
But he also warned that the eventual end of the furlough scheme may lead to an increase in job losses, which is likely to affect consumer confidence.
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