Used car turnover for dealers was down £24 billion in 2008, as they saw 360,000 fewer cars sold than in 2007.
The 3.67 million used cars sold last year was the lowest figure recorded since 2004 according to BCA’s 2009 Used Car Market Report. Dealers lost £1.7bn in total in used car revenues.
Dealers also saw their new car market revenue fall from an all-time high of £33 billion in 2007 to £28.1 billion last year, as new car volumes dropped to their lowest point for 12 years and more car buyers opted for smaller, lower-priced models.
Dealers did see a small increase in sales in the 0-2 year age group, which edged up 0.3% to 856,000 last year, with dealers accounting for 87.2% of sales in this segment.
Its effect was to stem some of the losses generated by fewer sales of 3-5 year-old cars (down 5.2% and 80,000 units to 1.46 million) and in the 6-8 year segment where dealer volumes slid by 19.2% to 780,000 units, taking their share down to 49.1%.
The report also revealed that 38 percent of motorists plan to walk more in order to save money on fuel and also that 30 percent would avoid short journeys and cut down on shirt trips.
It also said in that 42 percent of car owners do not plan to replace their car during the recession.
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