Current volumes
Where does time go? We are now easing hopefully towards the final leg of the restrictions which brings with it a positive vibe across all sectors. Everyone is better equipped for any change to this but hopefully, we continue to normality (whatever that is these days!)
This year has seen a positive trend in our volumes, with record months in March, which followed with another divisional record in our direct channel and this doesn’t seem to be slowing.
Used car prices are creeping back up as the supply and demand economics start to impact with the shortage of new cars hitting the dealerships.
As mentioned in the last update, whilst people have been restricted from eating out, and the lack of holidays, this has accumulated in a higher disposable income and people are ‘splashing the cash’ where they can which seems to be on cars, and a vast array of stay at home items such as garden, furniture, and hot tubs – all of which are also struggling to meet demand.
This shows that people are optimistic, and I believe people will continue to catch up on things they have missed in the months ahead, so don’t see it slowing down any time soon.
Lenders’ Appetite
Lenders are now starting to look at the return to offices, and across all our partners we have seen a delay in decisions due to higher than anticipated volumes. This has caused delays both in gaining the credit decisions, but then converting the deals at payout stage. With a return to the workplace, whilst it is never going to be the same as March 2020, it brings consistency and an increase in efficiency, which is what we have experienced ourselves, so this should help ease the congestion too.
Residual values still seem to be an area of contention and it is unlikely this will change any time soon. It is very cyclical and as the market confidence from a lenders perspective improves, we should see this area increase too. Whilst it means higher payments, it does also stand clients in a better position with more equity in the vehicle too.
Unity Auto Finance
Our new lending partner is due to launch any day now and after several years in development it’s getting exciting to finally go live and we have big expectations in the months ahead once we have completed the soft launch.
It will offer a unique proposition in the marketplace that is fully digital, yes 100% online(!) with all the bells and whistles you would expect of a prime lender… watch this space.
Supporting your business
We continue to add new lenders onto QST (our quoting system) and we encourage you to contact us for logins (or even just to reset them if you have had access previously) as this will provide the solution to compare all these lenders and ultimately help sell more cars. With packages on HP and PCP, including Fixed and Variable offers, there are plenty of choices available AND this will be the point of access for our new lending partner when launched.
