Consumer car finance volumes dip 2% in February

New data from the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) reveals that consumer car finance new business volumes fell by 2% in February 2025 compared to the same month in 2024. Despite the drop in volume, the value of new business increased by 5% year-on-year. For the first two months of 2025, overall new business volumes were down 3% compared to the same period last year.

The consumer new car finance segment performed strongly, with February seeing a 19% year-on-year increase in the value of new business and a 17% rise in volumes. Over the two-month period, volumes were up 11% from 2024.

In contrast, the consumer used car finance market experienced a decline. The value of new business in February fell by 1%, while volumes dropped 7% compared to February 2024. For January and February combined, volumes were down 7% year-on-year.

“The consumer new car finance market continued to grow in February supported in part by consumers bringing forward purchases to get ahead of the hikes in vehicle excise duty from April. The consumer used car finance market reported another month of lower new business volumes, but both markets continued to see growth in average advances.

“The US administration’s tariff hikes have weakened an already soft economic outlook.  Uncertainty about jobs and higher inflation in the coming months are likely to weigh further on consumer confidence and spending. Our latest research suggests the value of new business provided by the consumer car finance market will grow by 1% in 2025, with growth of 5% in the consumer new car finance market offset by a 2% fall in the consumer used car finance market.”

Table 1: Cars bought on finance by consumers through the point of sale
New business	Feb 2025	%  change on prev. year	3 months to Feb 2025	% change on prev. year	12 months to Feb 2025	% change on prev. year
New cars
Value of advances (£m)	1,031	19	3,547	14	18,604	10
Number of cars	36,701	17	121,566	10	651,050	2
Used cars
Value of advances (£m)	1,858	-1	5,144	-2	21,341	-3
Number of cars	120,758	-7	335,729	-6	1,422,958	-3
Total cars
Value of advances (£m)	2,889	5	8,691	4	39,945	2
Number of cars	157,459	-2	457,295	-2	2,074,008	-1
Table 2: Cars bought on finance by businesses
New business	Feb 2025	%  change on prev. year	3 months to Feb 2025	% change on prev. year	12 months to Feb 2025	% change on prev. year
New cars
Number of cars	26,917	9	81,439	-5	350,616	-8
Used cars
Number of cars	3,785	-16	11,267	-22	53,801	-12