Car finance continues to grow in volume and value

The Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) have announced that new car finance for the month of September was up by 12 per cent when compared to the same time last year. Car finance numbers are some of the highest since 2001, when the government switched to a two new number plate per year system.

The car industry continues to show impressive signs of growth, with car finance leading the change. For the month of September, 75.8 per cent of private new car sales bought on finance were financed by FLA members.

The number of cars sold also increased by 15 per cent over the same period last year, with values also rising by 23 per cent.

Strongest year since 2007

The finance figures reflect the strong market, with 2014 set to be one of the strongest since pre-financial crisis 2007. For the first time in seven years, new car registrations passed two million in October, reaching a total of 2,137,910 cars for the year-to-date.

“The October new car market outperformed expectations, with registrations showing the strongest growth in a month since March’s 18% rise,” said Mike Hawes, Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) Chief Executive.

“We still expect the overall market to level off as we head towards 2015, but the exception to that rule will be alternatively-fuelled vehicles, demand for which will continue to accelerate.”

So far this year, over 40,000 new car registrations have been alternatively-fuelled, which includes petrol/electric hybrid, diesel/electric hybrid, other electric (plug-in hybrid/range extender) or pure electric.

This trend is predicted to continue as environmental concerns dominate the news and consumer’s mindset, as well as an increased variety of makes and models available with these technologies. In fact this year’s total is already 12,000 more than the entire of 2013.

Sources: smmt.co.uk and the FLA.org.uk

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