New fleet registrations were up marginally in 2012, the volume of vehicles financed for business users in November climbed on the previous year, while the value of ex-lease vehicles at auction reached a record level, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers (SMMT), the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) and British Car Auctions (BCA).
According to the SMMT, fleet new car registrations for 2012 totalled 1,025,501 units, up by 0.6% on the figure for 2011 and equivalent to a 50.2% share of the total market for new registrations, down by 2.3ppts from 2011. Business new car registrations stood at 89,668 units for the year, down by 9.5% on 2011 and dropping in market share from 5.1% to 4.4%.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Access deeper industry intelligence
Experience unmatched clarity with a single platform that combines unique data, AI, and human expertise.
In the 12 months to November, according to the FLA, 398,334 new cars were bought on finance by businesses, up by 6% on the previous 12 months. A total of 65,371 used cars were bought on finance by businesses; a rise of 55% on the previous 12 months.
For November itself, 30,018 new cars and 4,902 used cars were bought on finance by businesses, a drop of 4% and rise of 69% respectively.
The BCA Pulse Report has also recorded an all-time high for average fleet and lease used values at auction of £8,509 in December 2012, up by 11.1% on December 2011. This beats the previous record, set in October 2012, of £8,376, and, like 2011 and 2010, saw the highest monthly value recorded in December.
BCA figures for December also show, year-on-year, the average age of fleet and lease cars at auction was down from 40.38 months in 2011 to 39.52 in 2012; with average mileage also down from 49,816 to 47,024.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDatarichard.brown@timetric.com
