Cost-of-living cooling car ownership

A new survey of dealers has identified a growing trend among motorists now wishing to own their own vehicles.

According to Startline’s Used Car Tracker, drivers choosing not to own their vehicles is a challenge for 42% of respondents compared to just 18% in August.

Paul Burgess, CEO at Startline Motor Finance, said: “This is an interesting point from the Tracker research. We are hearing limited anecdotal feedback in the market that in direct response to the cost of living crisis, some families who previously owned two cars are making savings by cutting back to one. Plus, there are undoubtedly other people who are selling their only car when faced with spiralling living costs.

“This may explain why dealers feel that, in the current climate, there are simply fewer people who want to own a car. However, these are almost certainly relatively small numbers, otherwise the trend would be much more visible in market information regularly provided by the usual sources.

“It’s important to remember that the Tracker research is designed to monitor sentiment rather than represent what is actually happening in the market and this is probably one of those moments when we are seeing a concern being expressed based on a few instances, rather than the first sign of a major trend.”

Other factors named as future challenges by dealers include stock availability (65%), concerns over ICE vehicle values (42%), finance availability (36%) and increasing compliance requirements (22%).