Consumer confidence in the used car market has reached a six-month high, with 53% of dealers reporting an increase, up from 34% in February, according to the latest Startline Used Car Tracker.
The research also shows a modest rise in the percentage of dealers who believe the economy is improving, increasing from 21% last month to 24% in March.
However, optimism in other areas has slightly declined. The number of dealers who said the used car market was improving fell from 59% to 55%, while confidence in electrification dropped from 48% to 45%. Stock supply sentiment remained unchanged at 45%.
Paul Burgess, chief executive officer at Startline Motor Finance, said: “News about consumer and business confidence has been mixed since the start of the year but there have been reports of relatively strong retail demand and this is probably what is being reflected in our research. The dealers we spoke to this month clearly feel that there has been a strong uplift in used car buyer sentiment for this month, which is a very positive finding, especially alongside their slight improvement in the perception of the economy. The question is whether this marks a welcome shift in consumer confidence for the longer term or is effectively just a blip in the data, and it’ll be interesting to see the results of our research during the next few months.”
Other Tracker results show 69% of dealers feel positive about the used car market this month, down from 72% in February. The percentage who were negative remained at 10%, while those who said their outlook was unchanged increased from 17% to 21%.
Paul added: “There’s a mixed message coming through here in our findings – dealers might believe that consumer confidence is up but they’re not correspondingly positive about the used car market overall. Our feeling is that there are a range of issues at play here – from the forthcoming impact of higher National Insurance costs and increased minimum wage to the uncertainty surrounding the Zero Emissions Vehicle Mandate and electrification in general. All of these are to an extent weighing down on the general mood of dealers.”
The Startline Used Car Tracker is compiled monthly for Startline Motor Finance by APD Global Research, which surveyed 302 consumers and 58 dealers for this month’s report.
