British Car Auctions (BCA) has recorded
£231.4m in sales of upper executive, sports and luxury cars in the
opening six months of the year.
The remarketing company sold 8,356 cars over
£20,000 from January to June 2012, at an average 102.57% of CAP
clean, mainly through BCA sales
at Blackbushe and
Nottingham.
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Between £20,000 and £69,999, and over
£110,000, all average prices (by £10,000 band) broke 100% CAP
clean, although the average price for each band from £70,000 to
£109,999 failed to reach 100% CAP clean.
Tony Gannon, BCA communications director, said
it was a “peculiarity of the economic downturn that demand for high
value cars has remained high over the past two years.
“Despite the difficult economic conditions,
the market for high value prestige vehicles is exceptionally
buoyant, with buyers prepared to invest six-figures for the right
vehicle.”
‘Recession proof’
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By GlobalDataCommenting on the results, Tim Marlow, owner
of
independent prestige vehicle financer Bridford, which
specialises in cars costing from £25,000 to hundreds of thousands,
said: “The prestige, luxury and top end sports supercar market has
remained very strong over the last few years despite the overall
slow down in the global economy.
“Customers who can afford to buy and maintain
top end cars like Ferraris, Bentleys and Rolls Royces are, on the
whole, ‘recession proof’ because their wealth is so great that the
general rising cost of living barely affects them.”
Marlow and Bridford previously reported a new ‘spike’
in finance deals for luxury cars in March, a high which
also
attracted Investec to the prestige market.
Similarly, Richard Lawton, marketing manager
of
ReallyGoodDomains.com, which runs MainDealerOffers.co.uk and
CarAndVanAuctions.co.uk, told Motor Finance the market for
high-end motoring was on the rise, despite the recession.
“It’s absolutely booming. In times of
recession, people at the top end get richer. The gap between rich
and poor probably expands.”
Lawton pointed to activities by brands such as
McLaren, Bentley and Eterniti as evidence of the appetite for
opulence on UK roads.
“It’s not just this country. China at the
moment can’t get enough of really high-end, luxury vehicles.”
Further comments and data on the prestige
and prestige auction market will be published in
the August issue of
Motor Finance
magazine.
richard.brown@vrlfinancialnews.com
