Finance & Leasing Association11 April 2013
New figures from the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that the number of new cars bought by consumers using dealer finance grew by 31% in February 2013 compared with same month in the previous year. FLA members’ penetration of the private new car registrations market was 71.9% in the twelve months to February 2013, up from 64.5% in the year ending in February 2012. The consumer used car finance sector also saw an increase of 7% compared with February 2012.
Commenting on the figures, Paul Harrison, Head of Motor Finance at the Finance & Leasing Association, said: “The new car finance market was strong in February and again outperformed the growth in new car registrations. This shows the importance of point-of-sale credit to the UK automotive industry, employment and the wider economy.
“The Government must make sure that its new regulatory regime for consumer credit maintains a competitive marketplace and supports the continued availability of affordable credit for customers.”
| Table 1: Cars bought on finance by consumers through dealerships | ||||||
| Feb-13 | % change on prev. year | 3 months to Feb 2013 | % change on prev. year | 12 months to Feb 2013 | % change on prev. year | |
| New cars | ||||||
| Value of advances (£m) | 478 | +42 | 1,724 | +33 | 9,696 | +36 |
| Number of cars | 33,995 | +31 | 118,226 | +27 | 679,429 | +28 |
| Used cars | ||||||
| Value of advances (£m) | 666 | +11 | 1,793 | +12 | 7,398 | +8 |
| Number of cars | 71,544 | +7 | 189,875 | +7 | 796,583 | +7 |
| Table 2: Cars bought on finance by businesses | ||||||
| Feb-13 | % change on prev. year | 3 months to Feb 2013 | % change on prev. year | 12 months to Feb 2013 | % change on prev. year | |
| New cars | ||||||
| Number of cars | 20,149 | -4 | 81,495 | +1 | 398,900 | +4 |
| Used cars | ||||||
| Number of cars | 12,038 | +170 | 20,030 | 36% | 70,785 | +48 |
Note to editors:
- In 2012 FLA members provided £76.3 billion of new finance to UK businesses and households. £54.9 billion of this was in the form of consumer credit, 30% of all unsecured lending in the UK. And £23.3 billion of it supported the purchase of new and used cars, including more than 70% of private new car registrations.
