Average used car values at three years/60,000 miles have recorded their first growth in nearly a year, according to Cap HPI.

The 0.7% rise is the fourth largest upward movement in February since Cap Live was launched in 2012

It’s reported a small increase of 0.7% in February, equivalent to £50, marking the first increase since March 2023.

The rise is the fourth largest upward movement in February since Cap Live was launched in 2012. The average movement over the last 11 years is a slight increase of 0.2%.

Values at the one-year age point increased by a minimal 0.2%, whilst values at the five-year point went up by 0.6%. However, older cars recorded a 0.6% decline, with some high-mileage cars proving relatively undesirable.

Cap said the overall changes point to a stable-to-strong used car market, following a relatively normal seasonal pattern for the first two months of the year.

Derren Martin, director of valuations, continued: “The market remains strong, retailers are busy, and wholesale supply levels are well under control.

“With the new 24 plates from 1 March, there will be increased volumes in the used market, from fleet returns and part-exchanges, as we progress deeper into the month and beyond. There will also be strong new car offers, particularly on BEVs, as manufacturers chase market share whilst attempting to hit stringent ZEV mandate targets. However, these increased volumes are unlikely to adversely affect used values until April at the earliest, and even then, any effect is unlikely to be overly harsh.”
 
Superminis were the strongest mainstream sector, increasing by 2.4% at both one and three years old, equivalent to £375 and £250, respectively. Some of the largest increases were for the Hyundai i20, up 3% or £300,  the Renault Clio, up 3% or £260, the SEAT Ibiza, up 4%/£400, and the Vauxhall Corsa, up 5%/£400. That’s down to rising demand and falling volumes, with a 14% reduction in sold trade data since 2019, partly due to the dominance of SUVs.

Battery electric vehicles were the weakest fuel type, dropping by 1.7% or c.£375 at three years old in Cap Live in February. While most BEVs continued to experience a decrease in value, some models did show a positive movement.  Examples include the Seat Mii (1.8%/£125), Renault Zoe (1%/£85), and Mercedes EQA (1.9%/£365).

At the one-year age, BEV values decreased by 2.3% or c.£850 in February due in part to the strong new car offers available, with some discounts of up to £15,000 or 30% off the list price.
 
BEV volumes continue to rise, and Cap HPI has received nearly double the amount of sold data compared to this period last year. The first two months of this year have seen almost a quarter of last year’s total sold volume already. More BEVs are entering the used wholesale market than ever; they are selling, and values are holding up better than last year, primarily due to last year’s severe realignment. However, average values are still dropping, while petrol and diesel cars are increasing by 1.2% and 0.5% respectively.

Derren Martin concluded: “March is generally a month where values do not move by much, with the strongest movement being 0.5% up, in both 2023 and 2014. In 2022, values dropped by 2.1%, so, there can be variation, but this time around, there is no reason to suggest anything untoward or anything other than a continuation of small positive movements.”