Year-on-year values remain ahead by £967, lower than the figure recorded over the past two months. However BCA says that it expects this figure to continue to fall in the months ahead.

Looking at fleet and lease product by sector, the rise in value was across the board, with the most notable increase in Budget fleet cars, which recorded an 18.6% (£659) rise to £4,194. Volume fleet product rose by 3.5% (£197) to £5,712, with premium fleet stock improving by under 1% (£84) to £11,017.

Values also rose in the part-exchange and nearly-new sub-sectors, however BCA's Pulse report records a small fall in the overall average value of used cars in March. The overall average value for cars sold in March was £5,791 – a month-on-month fall of 2.8% (£168) compared to February's figure of £5,959. The company says that this was due to a change in mix that saw greater volumes of cars sold in the lower-value sectors.

CAP performance slipped by around a third of one point to 98.54% in March.

Values remain 3.7% (£209) ahead year-on-year, compared to a 6% difference in February, 15% in January and 29% in December.

BCA communications director Tony Gannon commented: 'This month's figures suggest the used car market is currently underpinned by plenty of demand across the board. Fleet operators will be pleased to see a third consecutive month of value growth, while the increased volumes and improved values in the dealer part-exchange sector suggest healthy levels of retail activity.'