Vehicle data expert cap hpi has called for calm over sensational claims made over the used values of diesel vehicles.

Recent press reports have claimed that some models have dropped by over 25% in the last three months. New research from cap hpi shows these figures to be baseless with diesel values only falling by 2% more than usual so far this year.

Commenting on the data James Dower, senior editor of Black Book, the biggest valuation guide in the UK said: “If you examine the data the diesel sector has fallen by around 8% in the first nine months of the year. This year it has dropped by 10%. That means around an extra £185 on the average three-year-old VW Golf.”

Up to the end of August, cap hpi processed over 1.2 million trade sales records, and they typically receive over 600,000 advertised retail prices daily.

On average a three-year-old diesel car has depreciated by -10.5% since the start of the year, compared with the historical seasonal expectation of -8.5%. Experts at cap hpi say there is variation by sector and diesel Lower Medium (C-Segment) cars have only depreciated by -9.2% for example.

The data company’s analysis of depreciation from January 2017 to September 2017 shows the petrol sector improved throughout 2017. The data shows petrol vehicles have seen record low depreciation in recent months.

Dower said: “It’s a fact of life that cars devalue over time and a cars used price is driven by demand and supply. The scaremongering we’ve seen in recent weeks around diesel vehicles is harmful to the market and has no basis. In fact, diesel depreciation in the past two months has been slightly better than average for the time of year.”

cap hpi provide vehicle valuation and provenance data to car and van manufacturers, finance companies and motor retailers.

Vehicle values in 2017, all cars at 3 years and 36,000 miles:

BMW 318d SE 4dr Saloon – January 2017 £12,300 to September 2017 £11,250VW Golf 1.6 TDi 105 Match 5dr – January 2017 £9,675 to September 2017 £9,250
Ford Mondeo 1.6 TDCi ECOnetic Zetec 5dr – January 2017 £10,250 to September 2017 £9,675.