Car Market Overview May 2024
This monthly overview provides an update on the current new and used car markets in the UK. We will report on new car registrations to the end of March 2024 and used car activity at the time of writing. All information is correct as of 24th April 2024. CLICK HERE to read the full article
Plug-in hybrids almost double company car market share
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) have taken market share from pure electric company cars, according to the latest data from Cap HPI’s Insight report. In the first two months of the year, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for more than a third (35%) of the fleet market, down from almost half (44.5%) at the start of last year. Diesel and petrol market share also fell, from 5.4% to 4.5% and 30.1% to 28.1%, respectively. However, Cap HPI analysis suggests that PHEV market share almost doubled from 14% at the start of last year to 26.6% in the first two months of 2024. Andrew Turner, senior product specialist at Cap HPI consulting, said: “The first two months have been a strong period for PHEV, with the Insight market share growing by over 12%, whereas BEV share dropped by nearly 10% while retaining the highest overall fuel share in this market. “The BEV share of 35% is somewhat down on the overall 2023 share of nearly 49%.” In terms of total fleet registrations, Cap HPI says that they were some 9.7% lower than the same period last year. Looking at individual fuel types, diesel volumes fell by 25.2%, BEV by 29.1% and petrol by 15.7%, while PHEV increased by a marked 71.7%. Turner explained: “The market experienced a fall at the start of the year against a stronger 2023. It’s likely driven, at least in part, by the slow start to BEV registrations we’ve seen in 2024, given their huge popularity in this sector.” Cap HPI’s analysis comes after new car sales figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturer and Traders (SMMT) for March showed that petrol cars retained the lion’s share of the overall market, at 55.7%, with registrations up 9.2% year-on-year, as diesel volumes fell 2.7% to account for just 7.3% of demand. Uptake of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) reached record levels, rising by 19.6% to 44,550 units and 14% of the market, while the biggest percentage growth was recorded by plug-in hybrids, up by more than a third to 24,517 units, or 7.7% of all new registrations. Looking at the popularity of individual models in the fleet sector, Cap HPI reports that the Audi A3 made a strong start to 2024, with the PHEV versions leading the way. The two Tesla ranges make up the top three for February. Year to date, 2023’s highest volume fleet car, the Tesla Model Y, has climbed to third. February 2024 Jan-February 2024 (YTD) 1 Audi A3 1 Audi A3 2 Tesla Model Y 2 Volkswagen Golf 3 Tesla Model 3 3 Tesla Model Y 4 BMW i4 4 Tesla Model 3 5 Volvo XC40 5 Volvo Xc40 6 Volkswagen Golf 6 Skoda Octavia 7 Kia Niro 7 Kia Niro 8 Skoda Octavia 8 MG Motor UK MG4 9 Toyota Corolla 9 BMW i i4 10 CUPRA Born 10 Kia Sportage *Article published: https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/plug-in-hybrids-almost-double-company-car-market-share – image(s) extracted from article
Future Light Commercial Vehicle Overview – SMR April 2023
The following factors must be taken into account when setting maintenance budgets All values are standard average discounted rate by Manufacturer.Data includes warranty only covered exclusively by the Manufacturer.No manufacturer goodwill payments are included in the data.All costs are original parts price (manufacturers/franchise dealers).Vehicle usage is set at medium and assumes on road use only.Replacement tyres are assumed to be premium brand.Mortality rates are average for standard use. CLICK HERE hto read the full article
Government PiCG change to have minimal effect on used values
The shock timing of the government announcement on changes to the Plug-In Car Grant (PiCG) has prompted a flurry of questions regarding possible impact on used values for battery electric vehicles (BEVs). The short-term increase in purchase price for those vehicles close to the new threshold of £35,000 is unlikely to immediately affect nearly new values, since used values for those models are generally not close to list price. Example: BMW i3 125kW 42kWh 5dr Auto (cap ID 87355) has a list price of £36,520 and is valued at retail today on a 2121 plate at 1,000 miles at £28,000. Even if there were a small price increase artificially applied by dealers, transaction prices are expected to be largely unchanged and no impact is expected to filter down to three year old values. For the company car driver, there are still multiple incentives in place. The scale of the Capital Allowances and Class 1A Contributions benefits mean that most companies will still want their drivers to be able to take advantage of the zero Benefit In Kind rate and are likely to adjust company car bandings to compensate for vehicles which now fall outside of the PiCG subsidy. Although many of those who were considering quotes before the 18th of March will now be back to square one, there is probably less impact towards the previous threshold of the £50,000 list price as monthly lease rental bandings will tend to be wider. Generally, the PiCG is not the determining factor in the purchase decision for retail customers. Although some may choose an alternative model, or a lower specification version, many are unlikely to be pushed into a used car transaction and for most models the registration volumes are dominated by fleet drivers in any case. There will almost certainly be actions from the manufacturers to alleviate the problem. Many existing IDs are not far above the £35,000 limit and would become eligible for the PiCG following small reductions in list price. Other options undoubtedly being currently considered are reducing specification of existing vehicles (most of which are generously equipped) and accelerating the introduction of smaller battery versions to reduce up front prices. Some OEMs may also apply reductions to dealer discounts to partially alleviate the reduction in profitability. It is possible that we will now see a list price ‘vacuum’ between £35,000 and £40,000 in the same way that we saw one develop between £50,000 and £55,000 under the previous scheme, whilst at the other end of the price bracket we expect some list price inflation for those vehicles which were previously constrained by the £50,000 limit and this could benefit used values in a small number of cases. The biggest factor that is likely to influence used car supply and demand in the future is the availability of supply of new cars. Manufacturers may be tempted to divert supply to other, more profitable markets which are applying larger (and increasing) incentives, rather than build vehicles for the UK market. However, although the reduced speed of adoption would be expected to have a positive impact on used values due to reduced supply, used car demand in this situation is also stimulated by the new car demand: more cars on the road drive increased awareness and also fuel increases in used car demand. The situation is complex and further changes can be expected in March 2022, but our current expectation is that there is no overriding impact on used values in either direction. We expect BEVs to continue to reduce in price by more than internal combustion engine cars, but to retain a significant premium for the foreseeable future, partly due to the intrinsic value of the battery itself. There will of course be a lot of variation on an individual model level, but broadly we see the impact on used values of the changes to the PiCG as neutral.
Future Light Commercial Vehicle Overview – New Commercials April 2024
This is the cap guide to future residual values for light commercial vehicles. Individual forecasts are provided inpounds and percentage of list price for periods of twelve to sixty months with mileage calculations up to 200,000. CLICK HERE to read the full article
Future Heavy Commercial Vehicle Overview – Used Commercials April 2024
This is the cap guide to future residual values for used heavy commercial vehicles. Individual forecasts are providedin pounds for periods of twelve months to seven years. CLICK HERE to read the full article
Future Light Commercial Vehicle Overview – Used Commercials April 2024
This is the cap guide to future residual values for used light commercial vehicles. Individual forecasts are provided in pounds for periods from twelve months to four years. CLICK HERE to read the full article
Commercial Overview April 2024
February New LCV Registrations – best performance for 20 years. Although down by 25.2% month on month, according to the latest report from the SMMT, February’s new LCV sales performance was the best we’ve seen in 20 years. With 17,934 new LCV units registered, that’s 394 more than February 2023. CLICK HERE to read the full article
Future Car Market Overview Used Car April 2024
Welcome to the latest version of our overview. Our aim is to bring you the best content and layout, making it easy to identify new and revised information. CLICK HERE to read the full article
Future Car Market Overview SMR April 2024
Welcome to our latest overview of Service Maintenance and Repair (SMR) Budgets, previously known as the ‘gold book SMR editorial’. This is aimed at our Fleet sector customers, who may use the budgets when setting their lease rates. CLICK HERE to read the full article