5 July 2019
Consumer car finance market falls by 3% in May
New figures released today by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that point of sale (POS) consumer car finance new business volumes fell by 3% in May compared with the same month in the previous year. The value of new business fell by 1% over the same period.
New business in the POS consumer new car finance market fell 1% by value and 4% by volume in May, compared with the same month in 2018. The percentage of private new car sales financed by FLA members through the POS held steady at 91.0% in the twelve months to May 2019.
The value of POS consumer used car finance new business in May was a similar level to the same month in 2018, while new business volumes fell by 3%.
Geraldine Kilkelly, Head of Research and Chief Economist, said:
“The POS consumer car finance market reported new business volumes of almost 1.1 million in the first five months of 2019, only 1% lower than in the same period in 2018.”
“We continue to expect broadly stable new business volumes in 2019 as a whole. Consumer confidence about their own personal finances remains relatively strong, supported by a resilient labour market and low interest rate environment.”
Table 1: Cars bought on finance by consumers through dealerships |
|
|
||||
New business |
May 2019 |
% change on prev. year |
3 months to May 2019 |
% change on prev. year |
12 months to May 2019 |
% change on prev. year |
New cars |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Value of advances (£m) |
1,591 |
-1 |
6,494 |
-3 |
19,362 |
0 |
Number of cars |
74,762 |
-4 |
311,710 |
-5 |
944,785 |
-3 |
Used cars |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Value of advances (£m) |
1,563 |
0 |
4,822 |
+4 |
17,968 |
+8 |
Number of cars |
128,712 |
-3 |
393,417 |
+1 |
1,467,835 |
+3 |
Total cars |
||||||
Value of advances (£m) |
3,154 |
-1 |
11,316 |
0 |
37,330 |
+4 |
Number of cars |
203,474 |
-3 |
705,127 |
-2 |
2,412,620 |
+1 |
Table 2: Cars bought on finance by businesses |
|
|
|
|
||
New business |
May 2019 |
% change on prev. year |
3 months to May 2019 |
% change on prev. year |
12 months to May 2019 |
% change on prev. year |
New cars |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Number of cars |
39,135 |
-2 |
126,309 |
-3 |
397,772 |
-10 |
Used cars |
||||||
Number of cars |
4,426 |
+13 |
15,207 |
-3 |
60,384 |
+4 |
Note to editors:
1. In 2018, FLA members provided £136 billion of new finance to UK businesses and households. £103 billion of this was in the form of consumer credit, over a third of total new consumer credit written in the UK in 2018. £46 billion of it supported the purchase of new and used cars, including over 91% of private new car registrations.
2. For media enquiries, please contact the FLA press office on 020 7420 9656.