The number of new cars sold on finance fell by 3% year-on-year in January, to 51,932, according to figures from the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA).
January was also the first time new car sales dropped in four years, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
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Despite the dip in sales volume, the value of the finance sold for new cars increased: it grew 3% year-on-year to £821m.
For the 12 months to January, FLA member penetration reached 76.2%, which the FLA said was a new high.
The news was slightly better in the used car sector, were the number of cars bought on finance increased 3% year-on-year to 92,813 in January. In the same period, the value of advances increased 7% to £944m.
Geraldine Kilkelly, head of research and chief economist at the FLA, said: "Consumer new car finance volumes over the last twelve months grew at a faster rate than private new car sales, and so we saw a new record high for the market share of dealer car finance.
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By GlobalData"Despite the quiet start to 2015, we expect the consumer car finance market to grow in 2015 as a whole."
