Auctioneers remain optimistic about the March wholesale market

“March looks set to be another strong month for motor auctions, with over 80% of members expecting volumes to remain stable or increase,” said James Tomlinson, Chairman of The National Association of Motor Auctions (NAMA), commenting on the latest figures from NAMA’s sentiment survey.

Findings show that a number of auction houses expect to see petrol car values remain strong, with only 10% of respondents expecting a decrease in prices. For diesel cars, almost 80% of auctions generally expect values to remain constant, and there is some indication that values will continue to increase for hybrid and battery electric vehicles as predicted in last month’s survey. 

Average age and mileage look set to remain steady over March, although over 30% of respondents have indicated that both could increase.  More than half of respondents also expect first time conversion rates to increase.

When asked about vans and looking at the difference in values between Euro 6 and pre-Euro 6 vehicles, there is an indication that pre-Euro 6 vehicles will be impacted by clean air zones (CAZs) and an expectation this could impact their resale values.  Results appear to show that pre-Euro 6 vehicles are unlikely to lose value in the current market, perhaps because demand remains strong in areas not impacted by CAZs.

Tomlinson continued, “NAMA is optimistic that demand and prices in the used car market will remain stable and the first quarter of 2019 will mark another successful year for the auction sector.”