THE good news from cap hpi is that in February the average three-year 60,000-mile RV increased by 0.7% – equivalent to £50 – the first increase since March 2023.
The valuations provider said this was the fourth largest upward movement in February used values since 2012. The average movement over the last 11 years has been a slight increase of 0.2%.
One-year values increased by 0.2%, whilst five-years went up by 0.6%. Older cars saw a 0.6% decline, not helped by some high mileage cars proving relatively undesirable.
“Overall, the average movements in Cap Live values point to a stable-to-strong used car market, following a relatively normal seasonal pattern for the first two months of the year.
“The market remains strong, retailers are busy, and wholesale supply levels are well under control. With the new 24 plates from 1 March, there will be increased volumes in the used market, from fleet returns and part-exchanges, as we progress deeper into the month and beyond.
“There will also be strong new car offers, particularly on BEVs, as manufacturers chase market share whilst attempting to hit stringent ZEV mandate targets. However, these increased volumes are unlikely to adversely affect used values until April at the earliest, and even then, any effect is unlikely to be overly harsh.”
Cap hpi found superminis had the strongest mainstream sector used values, increasing by 2.4% at both one and three years old, equivalent to £375 and £250, respectively. Some of the largest increases were for the following cars:
- Hyundai i20, up 3% or £300,
- the Renault Clio, up 3% or £260,
- the SEAT Ibiza, up 4%/£400,
- and the Vauxhall Corsa, up 5%/£400.
These types of vehicles have been in particular demand, and there are fewer of them around, says cap – a 14% reduction in sold trade data since 2019, partly due to the dominance of SUVs.
BEVs were the weakest fuel type, dropping by 1.7% or around £375 at three years old in Cap Live in February. While most BEVs continued to decrease in value, some models showed positive movement, such as the SEAT Mii (1.8%/£125), Renault Zoe (1%/£85), and Mercedes EQA (1.9%/£365).
At the one-year age, BEV values decreased by 2.3% or c.£850 in February due in part to the strong new car offers available, with some discounts of up to £15,000 or 30% off the list price.
BEV volumes continue to rise, and cap hpi says it has received nearly double the amount of sold data compared to this period last year. The first two months of this year have already seen almost a quarter of last year’s total sold volume already, cap hpi reports.
It adds that more BEVs are entering the used wholesale market than ever; what’s more they are selling, and their values are holding up better than last year, primarily due to last year’s severe realignment. However, average values are still dropping, while petrol and diesel cars are increasing by 1.2% and 0.5% respectively.
Derren concluded:
“March is generally a month where values do not move by much, with the strongest movement being 0.5% up, in both 2023 and 2014. In 2022, values dropped by 2.1%, so, there can be variation, but this time around, there is no reason to suggest anything untoward or anything other than a continuation of small positive movements.”
Catch up with last month’s used car values
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Russell Hayes’ early career was 14 years of motoring journalism in print (for What Car?), television (for Top Gear), as well as online. Since 2007 he has authored 12 motoring history books on subjects including TVR, the Earls Court Motor Show, the Volkswagen Golf and Aston Martin – see Russell Hayes on Amazon. However, he’s not forgotten how to be a motoring journalist and now writes for UK consumer motoring sites – not to mention Broker News. When he’s not writing, Russell can be found in the cinema or planning his next travel adventure.
