BCA Pulse report shows average values rose sharply in December

Vehicle auction company, BCA has just posted their Pulse report which showed that average values rose sharply in December, the short month for trading. They also say that December was relatively short of stock. Per the post,  used cars averaged £7,361, a significant month-on-month rise of £940 (14.6%) compared to November and the highest monthly figure on record.  Year-on-year, December 2012 was ahead by £910 or 14.1%.

Model mix was largely responsible for the increase, says BCA. As they sold a greater proportion of high value fleet/lease and nearly-new cars during December, while dealer part-exchange volumes fell in the immediate pre-Christmas period.  BCA also sold an increased number of high value vehicles via the online Buy Now channel over the Christmas break.

Alongside the change in mix, professional buyers were relatively active in December, competing to secure stock for retail forecourts over the usually busy New Year period.   Values improved in all three sectors, with year-on-year values remaining well ahead for fleet/lease, dealer part-exchange and nearly-new cars. See a portion of the year on year data tables from the BCA post below.

Year-on-year table: All cars

All cars	Avg Age	Avg Mileage	Avg Value	Sale vs CAP
Dec 2011	58.75	57,832	£6,451	96.36%
Dec 2012	57.40	55,591	£7,361 (+14.1%)	96.14%

Average values climbed in the nearly-new sector by £1,808 to £22,337, while performance against CAP Clean improved by half a point 99.3%.  Nearly-new values will always be affected by changing model mix in this low volume sector.

Nearly-new	Avg Age	Avg Mileage	Avg Value	Sale vs CAP
Dec 2012	7.32	8,119	£22,337	99.29%

For all of the results posted in the BCA Pulse report including fleet & lease and part exchange data, please click here to view the report on the BCA website.