Further proof that the needs of the UK’s motoring public have changed dramatically was revealed yesterday when values of larger, less fuel-efficient cars were shown to have fallen at above average rates.
The UK’s motorists are shifting en-masse to smaller, more fuel-efficient cars according to EurotaxGlass’s, the publisher of Glass’s Guide. As larger cars are perceived to have higher running costs and are subject to higher rates of road tax, sales of large executive cars and 4x4s have dropped by eight per cent in a single month this summer.
Adrian Rushmore, managing editor at EurotaxGlass’s believes this is primarily down to the financial strain of owning a large vehicle.
“The current economic climate has accelerated a trend of downsizing in all but the smallest used car segments,” he said.
“Dealers have reported that significant numbers of customers feel coerced into a change of car because their current mode of transport had become a financial drain on their incomes. Others were opting for a change because they feared that the major costs of fuel and VED [vehicle excise duty] would become a greater financial burden in the short to medium term.”
According to its findings, buyers and sellers are becoming more accustomed to the lower prices and more transactions are taking place – with a small consolation for dealers that the current state of the economy is at least driving small car sales. However, according to Mr Rushmore, there is a catch.
He said: “These customers are presenting dealers with a lot of unwanted part exchanges – cars that are fuel inefficient, with high emissions and often large. These include off-road 4x4s, large MPVs, and mid-sized and large executive and luxury saloon cars. Dealers are left to anxiously ponder the demand for, and declining values of, such cars. In some instances trade demand has been totally absent, as dealers consider how low retail prices need to be set in order to attract customer interest.”
