U.K. Used Cars Are Getting More Expensive Than New Equivalents

Automobiles manufactured by Mazda Motor Corp., including a MX-5, centre, in the showroom of a dealership, operated by Pentagon Motor Group, a division of Motus Holdings Ltd., in Lincoln, U.K., on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020. As the earnings season picks up pace, an improving outlook for carmakers may further boost the sector thats already leading Europes stock rebound since March. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

Elisabeth Behrmann, Bloomberg News

Oct 20, 2021

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(Bloomberg) -- If you’re living in the U.K., chances are that you’ll have to pay more for a used car than its brand-new equivalent.

Dealers are having such a tough time sourcing autos that 17% of vehicles no more than a year old are now more expensive than their new equivalents, according to Auto Trader Group Plc. That’s up from just 4% at the start of the year, the U.K. vehicle marketplace said Wednesday.

Used-car buyers in the U.K. spent about a quarter more to buy a pre-owned vehicle last week than in the same period last year as “exceptionally strong” demand clashes with low availability.

“We don’t expect to see price growth slow anytime soon,” Richard Walker, who oversees data and insights at the group, said by email.

Automakers like Volkswagen AG and Stellantis NV remain in the grip of the global chip crunch that worsened during the third quarter when Covid-19 outbreaks idled chip packaging and testing facilities in Southeast Asia. Car sales in Europe are on course to fall even below the depressed levels seen last year, when pandemic restrictions choked deliveries.

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