I recently went to the NACFB’s ‘Meet the Patrons’ networking day
at the National Motorcycle Museum in Solihull. It was a great
chance to talk to vehicle finance brokers, and their funder
partners, about market sentiment.
No clear picture emerged of what is happening in the
marketplace. Some said they were writing more business than ever,
while others bemoaned the dearth of funds available and the
conservatism of funders. One finance house that has become more
conservative in its choice of which brokers to use is British
Credit Trust – see Non-prime lender review broker
connections for more.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Perhaps more worrying, there were unconfirmed rumours of
spiralling bad debt at several major motor lenders. There
appears to be an uneasy mix of a ‘business-as-usual’ attitude and
concern over wider economic factors among vehicle finance brokers,
while anecdotal evidence of tighter funding criteria from lenders
abounded.
News that the government will not go ahead with a 2p rise in
fuel duty in the autumn has brought some small comfort to the motor
retail sector, but the pressure caused by the rise in pump prices
still persists. In times like this, dealers must look to income
from finance and insurance to see them through, and getting more
benefit from existing customers seems like an easy win. However,
the picture is more complicated, as Brian Rogerson finds in the
cover story.
Fleets are having a tough time of it, too, thanks to ever-lower
residual values for ex-fleet/lease cars. Diversity should be
fleets’ watchword, with diversity of remarketing channels helping
to boost prices achieved for de-fleeted stock, and diversity of
models sent to auction helping to cushion the blow of lower prices,
as, while more fuel-efficient vehicles are holding up, anything
thirsty or petrol-engined is not getting anywhere near last year’s
values at auction (see Fleets bitten by RV crunch). Colin
Tourick also muses on how fleet operators can get the most when
remarketing.
Finally, some much-needed light relief: official National
Treasure and comedic genius Stephen Fry is a lessee, and keen to
trumpet the joys of non-ownership (see Motor Spy). Is the
good news about the benefits of leasing finally reaching a wider
audience? We can but hope.
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By GlobalDataWith best wishes for a sunny and prosperous summer.
Jo Tacon
jo.tacon@vrlknowledgebank.com
Motor Finance Issue: 45 – July 08
Published for the web: July 25 08 9:18
Last Updated: July 25 08 9:23
