Car Finance Facts April 2016

Welcome to the Creditplus car finance facts for April 2016 – an inside look at what’s going on across the car and car finance industry. Which car was most popular? What colours are people choosing? Read on for all this information and more.

The new car registrations market continued to see steady growth during April, with a 2.0% increase to 189,505 units. This is the highest number of registrations since April 2003, when 194,312 new vehicles were matched to new owners. Year on year, more than 3,700 cars were registered compared to April 2015. The number of petrol and diesel vehicles being registered has also seen some differences year on year, with 574 less diesel vehicles and 2,957 more petrol vehicles being registered.

So how has April’s registration performance affected statistics? For the same period in 2015, registrations are up 4.4%. This increase follows on from a highly successful March, which saw more than 518,000 cars being registered; the second biggest month on record.

The steady growth outlook has so far remained, but will this change as the year continues? Mike Hawes, Society of Motor Manufacturers (SMMT) Chief Executive commented: “After such a strong March, April’s steadier performance was to be anticipated, and is in line with our expectations for the year. Consumer confidence remains high as buyers continue to capitalise on attractive finance deals, although this could be affected by political and economic uncertainty in the coming months.”

Here are the month’s key facts and statistics

Vauxhall Insignia	The most popular car choice here at Creditplus was the Vauxhall Insignia. This big family car benefits from both low running costs and its sleek design, making it perfect for getting you and yours from A to B. In second and third place were the Nissan Juke and BMW 3 Series respectively.
2.0%	New car registrations were up by 2.0% from the same period last year, with 189,505 new cars registered.
37	On average, our customers were 37 years old. Creditplus provide finance for anyone from first drivers to retirees, so it's interesting to see the average age is almost bang slap in the middle of those we can help.
£11,222.16	We loaned an average of £11,222.16 to our customers in April. We can finance from £3,000 to £150,000, but most of the cars our customers choose are between £7,000 and £15,000.
Black	Black is always the most popular colour choice month on month. It's an interesting counter to the rest of the UK market, as White is the most popular colour nationwide.
£1,391.44	Average deposit last month was £1,391.44. In most cases our minimum deposit is £300. Larger amounts can reduce the overall cost of car finance and reduce monthly payments. We can do no deposit car finance too, speak to your customer advisor for details.
54	The average loan term was 54 months. The long duration shows confidence our customers have in the UK economy and job sector.
Ford Fiesta	The Ford Fiesta remains the UK's most popular car, with 44,240 sold across the UK. The Vauxhall Corsa was second with 28,639 sold, with the Ford Focus in third place with 26,218.
961,285	Registrations for 2016 to date are 961,285, an increase of 4.4% from this time last year.

*Source: The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders – Motor Industry Facts May 2016

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