COVID 19: The effect on vehicle values

On 24th September Webinar concentrating on COVID 19, our expert panel of editors reviewed the latest market considerations and subsequent value movements across cars and light commercial vehicles over the last few weeks.
The panel reviewed the current scenario and looked forward to the short to medium term future of values as a second wave of COVID 19 hits and with Brexit on the horizon.

You can watch the webinar here for a complete view by our experts

Overall, the current outlook remains positive, with August new car registrations remaining strong, especially in a month that tends to be one of the quieter times of the year. We continue to see EVs rise at the expense of ICEs.

The market overall still remains strong and trade values remain high. Sales continue to be consistently high, despite an expected small dip in the august ‘summer’ month and the related Bank Holiday. Dealers continue to see strong sales across both online platforms and in person deals. Similarly, auctions have been busy, both those who have opened physically and those providing online routes to purchase.

From a retail perspective, dealers are holding out for strong prices, but this is not affecting their ability to sell. There is some concern over future stock supply, but dealers remain upbeat if not quite as bullish as they were last month.

Going forward, we expect consumers to press ahead with a propensity to online trading, for vehicles, something they have got increasingly comfortable with over the last few months.
In the LCV market 2018 was dubbed the year of the used van. We are on course to overtake this in 2020. Our guide values have increased over the last few months for a typical 3 year old vehicle. Lost production as a result of the lockdown will have a knock on effect, with new vehicles more difficult to obtain.
Moving forward, we do expect to see values to fall significantly next year. Next year certainly, supply will outstrip demand.