Car finance market rallies in December

The consumer car finance market grew six per cent in December 2019, to ensure it held steady for the year with 2.4 million cars.

This is according to new figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA).

The consumer new car finance market reported growth in new business volumes of four per cent in December 2019 compared with the same month in 2018. In 2019 as a whole, new business volumes in this market fell by three per cent. The percentage of private new car sales financed by FLA members was 91.7% in the 12 months to December 2019.

The consumer used car finance market reported new business volumes up in December 2019 by seven per cent compared with the same month in 2018. In 2019 as a whole, new business volumes in this market grew by two per cent.

Geraldine Kilkelly, head of research and chief economist at the FLA, said: “The performance of the consumer car finance market in 2019 was in line with expectations. A similar performance of broadly stable new business volumes overall in 2020 is likely if we see a pick-up in consumer confidence.

“FLA members continued to set new records in 2019, with the penetration rate of consumer new car finance reaching 91.7%, and a record level of new business volumes of almost 1.5 million cars reported by the consumer used car finance market.”