Car dealer finance increase in September despite fewer sales

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Car dealers enjoyed a good September, as figures from the Finance & Leasing Association showed an increase in new and used car finance compared to September last year. The number of new cars sold on finance to consumers was up by 5% and the number of used cars by 6%, despite a fall of almost 19% in the total number of private new car sales in September.

Consequently, the percentage of new cars sold to consumers on dealer finance over the last 12 months rose by more than two percentage points, from 47.5% in August to 49.6% in September, showing that dealer finance remains a popular choice for consumers.

However, despite the welcome growth in the consumer market, business usage of financing for cars dropped by 17% for new cars, and by 4% for used cars in September.
Commenting on September’s motor finance figures, Paul Harrison, Head of Motor Finance, said:

“The rise in the use of motor finance is great news for dealers, coming as it does in such an uncertain and volatile economic climate. Over the year we have seen ups and downs in the number of people using dealer finance for both new and used cars, so it is encouraging to see a strong performance in the important month of September.

“But we still have some concern about the business cars sector, where new loans have fallen. Businesses are still cautious about investment and this is likely to continue while the economic effects of last month’s Comprehensive Spending Review remain unclear.”

Cars bought on finance by consumers through dealerships

	Sept 2010	% change on prev. year	Q3 2010	% change on prev. year	12 months to Sept 2010	% change on prev. year
New cars
Value of advances (£m)	990	+3	1,681	+3	6,569	+26
Number of cars	75,057	+5	126,201	-1	518,055	+24
Used cars
Value of advances (£m)	504	+1	1,520	+9	5,817	+6
Number of cars	54,112	+6	162,700	+9	622,994	0