New figures released today by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that new business volumes in the point of sale (POS) consumer new car finance market remained stable in October, compared with the same month in 2017, while the value of new business grew by 5% over the same period to £1.5bn.

The percentage of private new car sales financed by FLA members through the POS was 91.0% in the twelve months to October.

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The POS consumer used car finance market reported new business up in October 14% by value and 8% by volume, compared with the same month last year.

Geraldine Kilkelly, head of research and chief economist at the FLA, said: “The performance of the POS consumer new car finance market in October continued to reflect trends in private new car sales. The consumer car finance market overall remains on track to report single-digit new business volumes growth in 2018 as a whole.”

In the analysis of cars bought on finance by consumers through dealerships , the value of advances totalled £1.6bn, an increase of 14% year-on-year. The number of used cars financed was 130,313, an 8% rise. 

The number of new cars bought on finance by businesses for the month of October was 29,860, while used cars had 9,482 bought. For new cars this represented a fall of 33%, and in the used sector this was a marked increase of 126%.

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In 2017, FLA members provided £128bn of new finance to UK businesses and households. Around £96bn of this was in the form of consumer credit, over a third of total new consumer credit written in the UK in 2017. Another £44bn of it supported the purchase of new and used cars, including over 88% of private new car registrations.

In September car finance new business fell 7% year-on-year to £3.9bn, as lower car deliveries from manufacturers dragged on point-of-sale lending volumes. The retail new car segment saw £2.5bn in business written during the month, down 14% year-on-year, along with a 16% drop in volumes, to 123,173 contracts.