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DESPITE deepening economic uncertainty and the cost of living crisis hitting household spending, the used car market showed further signs of stability in September with a small increase in advertised prices and improved days to sell, according to the latest analysis from eBay Motors Group.

For the second month in a row retail prices grew on Motors.co.uk, up 0.6% to £16,753, a £98 gain, and were 4.9% ahead year-on-year. The rise was driven by franchised dealers, up 1.5% to £21,027, and car supermarkets, up 1% to £17,904. While independent dealers remained static at £13,765.

Days to sell across all retailing sectors averaged 36.6 days, one day less than August but two days more than September 2021. Improvements were felt mostly by car supermarkets at 29.2 days, compared to 32.5 in August, followed by franchised dealers at 29.7 days, compared to 32.3 days in August. While independents saw an increase from 45.7 to 46.9 days.

Despite the economic squeeze facing buyers, the fastest sellers of the month were cars listed between £20,000 to £40,000, averaging just 30.5 days on dealer forecourts. In contrast cars priced under £10,000 were the slowest sellers with those listed between £5,000 to £9,999 averaging 48.6 days.

However, the industry-wide shortage of used cars continued to bite with stock levels dropping for the fifth month in a row, although the 2% fall to 47.9 equated to just one unit, with inventories on a par with September last year.

Franchised dealers failed to benefit from the typical September influx of part-exchanges generated by the plate-change, with average inventories dropping from 71 to 69 units. Independents were also down from 36 to 35 units, while car supermarkets remained unchanged at 290 units.

“Despite spiralling household costs impacting spending power, supply and demand proved to be well balanced in September with marginal improvements in prices and stock-turn, while inventories closely tracked August,” said Lucy Tugby, Marketing Director of eBay Motors Group.

“At a time of increasing economic uncertainty, this data highlights the robustness of the used car market. However, the coming months may see a bit more volatility in demand with rising finance costs. We encourage dealers to remain vigilant and communicate effectively with consumers to provide them with the confidence to transact.

“Franchised dealers will have been disappointed not to reap the benefit of the September influx of part-exchanges but will be hoping that 72-plate deliveries will be filtering through over the coming months,” she said.

Although dealer listings continue to be dominated by petrol and diesel models, views of electric vehicles across Motors.co.uk are tracking at a higher rate than in the pre-Covid period of 2019 and have consistently outperformed hybrids since May.

“Despite the volume of used EVs remaining relatively small compared to ICE vehicles, interest among buyers is growing month-on-month. Dealers able to source EVs and pricing them to market are achieving some fast sales as illustrated by the Vauxhall Mokka EV which averaged just 4.9 days in stock in September,” said Tugby.

Howevr, September saw customer demand weaken against the same month in 2021 with a 24.8% decline in enquiries for new and used vehicles, according to data from lead management experts at iTrackLEADS.

While test drives and sales (order taking) both fell by 20%, the number of handovers declined by 37%.

Commenting on the market, Adrian Favill, director of iTrackLEADS, said: “It’s clear the market is facing economic headwinds with the cost of living crisis weighing on consumers’ minds. In addition, the supply shortages of new cars and a tight used car market combine to make handovers difficult.

“Despite all these challenges, dealers are continuing to navigate the market and work hard to deliver exceptional customer service with an efficient and speedy sales process. It’s vital that dealers use the technology available to them to operate efficiently and maximise the potential of every enquiry.”

September also saw the impact of the Queen’s funeral, which saw dealers close on the bank holiday. Economists warned that the bank holiday, when combined with the impact of the ten-day national mourning period on consumer sentiment, could weigh on retail sales throughout the month.

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