Figures released today by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that new business in the point of sale (POS) consumer new car finance market grew 31% by value and 27% by volume in April, compared with the same month in 2017.

Private new car sales financed by FLA members through the POS was 89.7% in the twelve months to April 2018. There were 81,734 new cars bought on finance through dealerships in the month, putting the total for the calendar year at over 300,000. Used cars also scored a 28% increases in year on year on the value of advances, now standing at £1.5bn.

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The data did however show a 3% decline in year on year in cars bought on finance by businesses in the twelve months to 2018.

2017 was the first year since 2011 to display a drop in the UK on year-on-year registrations, and at current rates new car sales may continue the trend for this year.

Geraldine Kilkelly, head of research and chief economist at the FLA, said: “These figures partly reflect a relatively subdued April last year. Trends in the new car finance market in 2018 so far have been affected by the pattern of demand for private new cars over the same period last year, when car purchases were brought forward into the first quarter prior to vehicle excise duty changes in April.

“The POS consumer car finance market overall reported new business volumes up in the first four months of 2018 by 4% compared with the same period in 2017, in line with expectations of modest single-digit growth in 2018 as a whole.”

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The April data shows some encouragement for the motor finance industry. March figures had displayed a 5% drop in year-on-year, down to £4.8bn (€5.4bn). The May results for new car registration from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) also showed improvement with a 3.4% rise in year-on-year figures.