Vauxhall chairman Duncan Aldred has said public acceptance of finance offers is helping to maintain stability in UK car retail, despite worries over the falling pound.

Aldred, speaking at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, said the new car market was on course for 2.2 million registrations: "It is stable, not falling. Customers are embracing finance offers despite the economic situation and I believe this is because we now have a generation of buyers who are used to paying out monthly for what they want.

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"Young people, for example, have grown up happily paying £50 a month for a mobile phone."

‘Profound’ fall in pound

However, Aldred, who took on the acting role of vice president for sales, marketing and aftersales at Opel / Vauxhall in January, warned attendees in Geneva the recent drop in the value of the pound may hurt UK carmakers and importers.

Citing the fall of the pound against the euro, from 77p in July 2012 to 80p in December, to 86p at present (latest: 86.35p), Aldred said the effect could be "profound" and could increase prices on the forecourt.

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Aldred said the rise in prices was something Vauxhall would consider, and added the brand still aimed to keep its products "accessible". Speaking at the Paris Motor Show in Autumn 2012, Aldred said Vauxhall would target retail sales rather than chase fleet registrations in competition for the top-selling position in the UK market.

Similar to the prediction by CAP Automotive, Aldred also warned some brands would see the UK market "doing very well versus the rest of Europe and decide to push more products through at discounted prices".

richard.brown@timetric.com