Average values at BCA rise by 75% in the two months since lockdown

With a full quarter of used vehicle pricing data now available since lockdown was imposed on the UK, BCA has released valuation insight that underlines the recovery in used vehicle values from the initial price pressure experienced in April.  BCA Valuations has tracked the sold price performance throughout the lockdown period and has provided an immediate and detailed view of market performance based on actual auction prices.

Used car values at BCA continued to rise in June, averaging £8,565 over the month, an improvement of £1,029 (14.0%) compared to May.  The value improvement compared to April was even more pronounced at £3,689, equivalent to a 75.7% increase over the two-month period as many dealers returned to the market following their businesses reopening on 1st June.

* Source: BCA Valuations

BCA COO UK Remarketing Stuart Pearson commented “The momentum we reported in May has continued into June and BCA has expanded its online remarketing programme significantly to meet the demand.  BCA are running up to 20 sales in parallel at any one time with auctioneers and clerks, vendor representatives and buyers operating remotely and safely socially distanced.”

“Daily entries are now often exceeding 5,000 vehicles and demand across most sectors is ahead of what we would typically see at this time of year.  Our focus has been on creating online events that are targeted to make it easy for customers to find the stock they need, provide maximum choice, along with the ability to scale quickly to meet the demands of the market.”

Pearson added “We have had up to 1,500 buyers logging in for some individual sales, underlining the appetite the market has for the stock on offer at BCA, particularly when this is multiplied across the many concurrent sales taking place each day. In addition, the activity through our fixed price BCA Buy Now channel and BCA Bid Now timed auctions has significantly accelerated from the period prior to lockdown, with many customers having the confidence to purchase from these channels for the first time.”

“June was notable for the upswing in demand for higher value, retail ready vehicles which significantly influenced the overall average price performance – it was no surprise that this coincided with the reopening of many franchised dealerships and car supermarkets.  Demand for lower value, budget vehicles remained incredibly buoyant throughout the month, maintaining the trend we have seen since the first days of lockdown and resulting in some unprecedented price increases.”

Pearson concluded “As the month progressed, most areas of the market stabilised and some of the niche product, achieved exceptional prices.  With many retailers having furloughed mechanic and body shop staff it was notable that higher grade, well-presented vehicles with full histories and clean BCA Assured reports have been at a premium.”

BCA announced the introduction of online only sales on Wednesday 25th March, initially selling exclusively via the fixed price BCA Buy Now platform.  In April, BCA was the first remarketing operator to introduce a programme of Online Sales, held in real time with competitive bidding and accessed through BCA Online and the BCA Buyer app.  Used car values and demand from professional buyers rose as the number of online bidders participating in BCA’s Online sales programme climbed significantly.

*Article Source www.bca.co.uk