Finance & Leasing Association9 June 2017
New figures released today by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that new business in the point of sale (POS) consumer new car finance market fell 19% by value and 28% by volume in April, compared with the same month in 2016. This mirrored a reduction in private new car sales in April which also fell by 28.5% over the same period.
The percentage of private new car sales financed by FLA members through the POS was 86.2% in the twelve months to April, compared with 86.5% in the twelve months to March.
The POS consumer used car finance market reported new business up 4% by value and down 1% by volume in April, compared with the same month in 2016.
Commenting on the figures, Geraldine Kilkelly, Head of Research and Chief Economist at the FLA, said:
“The fall in new business volumes reported by the POS consumer new car finance market is in line with recent trends in private new car sales. Many customers brought forward their car purchases ahead of changes to vehicle excise duty effective from 1 April.
“In the first four months of 2017, POS consumer car finance new business volumes were 1% higher than the same period last year. We expect broadly stable new business volumes in this market in 2017 as a whole.”
| Table 1: Cars bought on finance by consumers through dealerships |
||||||
| New business |
Apr 2017 |
% change on prev. year |
3 months to Apr 2017 |
% change on prev. year |
12 months to Apr 2017 |
% change on prev. year |
| New cars |
||||||
| Value of advances (£m) |
1,174 |
-19 |
5,605 |
+3 |
18,320 |
+6 |
| Number of cars |
61,434 |
-28 |
305,190 |
-5 |
1,030,839 |
0 |
| Used cars |
||||||
| Value of advances (£m) |
1,204 |
+4 |
3,809 |
+8 |
14,006 |
+11 |
| Number of cars |
109,244 |
-1 |
342,797 |
+3 |
1,273,976 |
+7 |
| Table 2: Cars bought on finance by businesses |
||||||
| New business |
Apr 2017 |
% change on prev. year |
3 months to Apr 2017 |
% change on prev. year |
12 months to Apr 2017 |
% change on prev. year |
| New cars |
||||||
| Number of cars |
47,672 |
-7 |
138,382 |
-2 |
502,726 |
-2 |
| Used cars |
||||||
| Number of cars |
2,780 |
-8 |
11,005 |
+15 |
53,226 |
+42 |
Note to editors:
- In 2016, FLA members provided £118 billion of new finance to UK businesses and households. £88 billion of this was in the form of consumer credit, over a third of total new consumer credit written in the UK in 2016. £41 billion of it supported the purchase of new and used cars, including over 86% of private new car registrations.
2. For media enquiries, please contact the FLA press office on 020 7420 9656.
