National auction average decreases in December

NAMA reports during December, the average month-on-month value of used cars sold at auction across the board decreased 1.2% from £5,736 to £5,670. However, this figure is 2% higher than December 2013.

Sales volumes for December 2014 are down by 37% in comparison to the November 2014 figures. However this reduction is a more sensible 6% against December 2013. The drop in volume suggests that December 2014 has been a slower sales period than the same time last year.

The volume of vehicles sold first time during December 2014, dropped from 76% in November to 73%. On the face of it this may not seem to be a surprise bearing in mind the time of year. However, this is 6% lower than December 2013 and this suggests that there may have been a greater level of stock in the market to choose from.

The price premium for vehicles sold first time round in December 2014 reversed the recent trend of decline by moving up £25 to £200, and the average days on site increased to 9.7 days.

Paul Hill, NAMA chairman said: “With the new car market finishing 2014 up 8.7% on 2013 at 2.476 million units and higher than any year since 2004, it is fair to say that franchised dealers have had little to complain about. The new car success story is set to continue through 2015, and January will prove to be the first and one of the most profitable new car months of the year. From a used car perspective 2014 can also be hailed as a great success.

“The early part of December saw a continuation of November’s buyer driven period, during which dealers were presented with opportunities to do business by retail buyers rather than necessarily being given the chance to sell to the customer.

"This balance shifted as the month progressed and retail buyers returned to the market in numbers as the days passed, and by Christmas things were getting back to normal. January has seen a very encouraging start with plenty of retail footfall and good demand for cars across all ages and price ranges and this will continue through until the end of the month.

“From a trade perspective December saw the usual drop in defleet volumes and the natural tail off in trade demand as cheque books were put away for the month. However, there were still some vendors looking to sell cars right up to the Christmas break which gave trade buyers the chance to stock at a higher level than in previous years.

"The impact of this activity is evident in the fact that the early January market did not bounce back in quite the way that many had hoped for and stock volume has remained fairly high in the trade as a whole, however activity from the second week has been very strong.

"With greater volume coming to the market every month this year it will be interesting to see how the market develops, although it is fair to say values are likely to remain firm for the remainder of January.”