INVESTIGATION
USED CAR PRICE GROWTH REACHES RECORD LEVELS • PRICES HAVE HIT AN ALL-TIME HIGH, ACCORDING TO AUTO TRADER • INDEX REVEALS THAT GROWTH REACHED 17.2 PER CENT YEAR ON YEAR IN AUGUST • JAGUAR XK SEES BIGGEST HIKE IN AVERAGE ASKING PRICE – RISING BY 48.3 PER CENT TO £26,447
1. Jaguar XK Average asking price: £26,447 Price change: 48.3 per cent
by Jack Williams @JournoJack25
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rice growth reached an all-time high in August as the used car market continues to boom, data from Auto Trader has revealed. The Auto Trader Retail Price Index found that growth reached 17.2 per cent year on year last month. It also saw the largest single month-on-month increase – up from 14.1 per cent
in July. The spectacular figure was also more than double the rate of growth recorded in May, surging from an already very strong 8.1 per cent. The index is based on a daily pricing analysis of around 900,000 vehicles, giving what Auto Trader says is an accurate overview of the state of the market. It found that in August the Jaguar XK rose by 48.3 per cent to an average asking price of £26,447. That was closely followed by the Jeep Grand Cherokee, which rose by 34.2 per cent to £20,704, and the Mazda MX-5 which jumped by 33.9 per cent to £13,091. The market strength, fuelled by ‘massive’ levels of consumer demand, was reflected in a huge growth in traffic to Auto Trader over recent months. In August, there were 70.2m cross-platform visits, representing a 36.4 per cent increase on the same period in 2019. It also marked a record level of August consumer demand and is the second-highest number of monthly visits ever recorded. Consumers spent 10 million hours researching their next car on the marketplace, which is an 18 per cent increase on 2019. Richard Walker, Auto Trader’s director of data and insight, said: ‘To put the price movement into context, in August 2020 average prices were increasing at a rate of six per cent year on year, which at the time marked a new record. ‘Whilst few could have imagined that a year later growth would be accelerating at nearly three times that rate, we’ve said throughout the pandemic that we anticipated sustained levels of growth fuelled by the strong consumer demand in the market, even when other commentators predicted a collapse in prices. ‘It reinforces the importance of being data-led in all aspects of your business, especially when the market is moving so quickly. ‘The data still indicates exceptionally strong levels of used car demand, which has been given an additional boost from the ongoing new car supply constraints. ‘With what we’re observing we expect the growth rate to continue for some time to come.’ 12 | CarDealerMag.co.uk
The data still indicates exceptionally strong levels of used car demand, which has been given an additional boost from the ongoing new car supply constraints. Richard Walker Auto Trader’s director of data and insight
