Used Diesel Car Prices Hit A New High Reducing Chances Of Defeat Device Claims Succeeding.
Thursday, 3. June 2021
As I understand it, unlike other countries, in order to succeed in the class actions being taken out against manufacturers for fitting defeat devices that reduced the CO2 emissions being released into the atmosphere whilst being tested, we have to prove that the owner or lessee of the vehicle suffered a financial loss.
The argument has been put forward that this could effect anyone in the ownership chain since manufacture through to current ownership. For example it is only recently that lawyers have announced actions against ALL car manufacturers.
So whilst no customer may have been affected at the time the cars were originally fitted with devices, as no-one knew about it, owners of the affected cars at the time the stories broke could have a case if their used car plummeted in value.
But with used diesels hitting an all time high the cases are set to fail. On to the story:
Prices of diesel used cars reached a new high during the first quarter of this year, according to Autorola’s latest online remarketing report.
Prices rose to a record of £14,769 from £13,847 in Q4 2020, a rise of 6.6% (£922) at an average age and mileage of 33 months and 25,437 miles.
Wholesale diesel sales also reached record levels for the second successive quarter comprising 43.6% of all used cars Autorola sold online during Q1 2021.
Hybrid used car sales were also strong during the first quarter, accounting for 5% of Autorola volumes. Prices fell back slightly to £14,812 on the back of a rise in average age and mileage to 35 months and 24,797 miles, which compares favourably with battery electric vehicles (BEVs), which saw a fall in both volumes and prices during Q1.
BEV prices fell by 19.6% (£3,391) from £19,978 in Q4 2020 to £16,047 in Q1 2021 as average age rose from 24 to 27 months.
Autorola saw BEV sales halve during the quarter as the trade cleared out its less desirable stock. EV prices continued to find any level of consistency having been as low as £11,100 and as high as £19,900 during the past 15 months.
Jon Mitchell, Autorola UK group sales director, believes diesels have been “written off” by many, because new car sales have fallen dramatically, but he says that in the used market demand and prices have been “very strong” for the past 12 months.
“We are likely to see this continue as used stocks begin to fall over the coming years,” he added. “The popularity of hybrids is becoming very consistent, while EV prices continue their rollercoaster ride and show no signs of stability.”
Autorola saw used petrol prices remain consistent in Q1, rising by an average of 2.6% (£286) from £10,706 in Q4 2020 to £10,992 as average age rose from 32 to 34 months and average mileage fell from 19,336 miles to 17,961 miles. Petrol cars accounted for 51.4% of Autorola’s total sales in the quarter, a fall from Q4. By Graham Hill thanks to Fleet News
