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A buoyant used car market has resulted in Startline Motor finance delivering a 30% increase in the value of new business generated in the first quarter.
CEO Paul Burgess said that despite a significant rise in the cost of living and the war in Ukraine, the used car market was set to remain ‘relatively strong’ in 2022 with strong demand.
“Among the dealers and other introducers who offer our range of motor finance products, trading continues to be strong. During 2021, we saw an overall increase of around 25% in our business volumes and that degree of growth is continuing.
“Consumer confidence in the sector appears to be resilient and there are also signs of easing in the stock shortages that we have seen over the last two years. These and other factors have contributed to this performance.”
“There are clearly areas for concern. The cost of living crisis is set to worsen through the year while the impact of the situation in Ukraine is not yet clear, although it looks as though it could affect new car production quite significantly.
“However, the fundamentals of the market remain strong and we believe that the sector as a whole and Startline in particular are set for a successful 12 months.”
Founded eight years ago, Startline works with around half of the UK’s top 50 franchise dealers by turnover as well as 70% of the top 50 independent car retailers, and currently accounts for around 2% of the UK used car motor finance sector by value..