Auction firm BCA has reported rising used car values during August, including new records in key market sectors.
Overall, the average value of used cars sold rose by £234, or 2.4%, a month-on-month increase that took average values to £9,697 – the second-highest ever recorded.
The figure also represented a year-on-year rise of £613, or 6.7%.
Breaking down market sectors, average fleet and lease values rose during the month by £122, or 1%, to £11,223, setting a new record for the fourth time this year.
This represents a year-on-year rise of £689, or 6.5%, with a small increase in vehicle age and a fall in vehicle mileage.
Average dealer part exchange values rose in the month by £32, or 0.5%, to £5,065 – the seventh consecutive monthly record, and a year-on-year increase of £390, or 8.3%, although this was helped by the decreasing age and mileage of vehicles sold.
Nearly new vehicle values were up month-on-month by £656, or 2.6%, to £25,033 – a year-on-year increase of 36,277, or 33.4%, though BCA warned of the effect of model mix and availability in this very low volume sector.
BCA UK remarketing COO Stuart Pearson said: “Given the combination of seasonal factors it would have been no surprise if values softened a little in August; however, sales attendance remained high during the month with professional buyers bidding competitively across all market sectors, both in-lane and online.
“Reports of used vehicle retail activity being healthy certainly pushed average values upwards across the board.”
