Dealers protect cashflow and buy high value premium used cars to order

HIGHER value premium used cars are the most desirable with buyers at auction according to Aston Barclay’s June desirability index.

The higher value premium used cars between £25-50,000 are seeing multiple bids from buyers as they purchase stock to satisfy orders rather than to add speculatively to their forecourts.

Cashflow is king for dealers currently and many are stocking the lower value high turnover used cars. Dealers are then chasing the same higher value premium cars which is keeping prices strong at a time when overall used car prices are falling.

18 out of the top 25 models on the index were higher value premium used cars such as the VW Touareg, Audi Q7, BMW X5 and Mercedes GLE. Mercedes-Benz models made up 20% of the entire list as used stock from the German manufacturer remains in short supply.

The MG ZS in 14^th place was the highest placed bread and butter car closely followed by the Suzuki Jimny and Fiat 500C. In fifth place, Tesla’s Model 3 was the only pure EV in this month’s index, while the Toyota Prius maintained its consistent presence in the top 25.

Martin Potter, Aston Barclay’s Chief Customer Officer, said: “With retail demand softening in recent months dealers are proactively adjusting their stocking policies accordingly. They continue to protect their cashflow by bidding on and buying higher value premium cars to order. Many dealers stocked up on higher value used cars after Xmas and have slowly run them down in favour of lower cost, higher turnover stock.”

The index takes into consideration three key metrics: web views prior to sale, number of physical and online bids per sale, and the sale price achieved as a percentage of CAP average.