British People Suddenly Stopped Buying Cars

– British people suddenly stopped buying cars
– Massive debt including car loans, very low household savings
– Brexit and decline in sterling and consumer confidence impacts
– New cars being bought on PCP by people who could not normally afford them
– UK car business has ‘exactly the same problems’ as the mortgage market 10 years ago, according to Morgan Stanley
– Bank of England is investigating to make sure UK banks are not overly exposed…
– Prudent British people buying gold with cash, not cars with debt

by Jim Edwards, Business Insider UK

Vehicle Sales In UK – Barclays via Business Insider

British people have suddenly stopped buying cars.

It’s not clear why. But a number of anti-car trends have hit Britain simultaneously — such as the rise of Uber and a decline in household savings — driving down car sales.

The chart above of total car sales both old and new, from Barclays, says it all. On this chart, the grey-black line is the crucial one. The blue line (online sales) represents only a small number of purchases. Barclays

Here’s what new car registrations look like:

Pantheon Macroeconomics via Business Insider

The prices of used/second-hand diesel cars has been particularly hard hit. On average, diesel prices are down 5.74% according to the sales site Motorway.co.uk.

Some diesel models are so unpopular that they’re trading at a 26.31% price decline.

The Motorway.co.uk data cover a recent sample of 24,000 used cars valuations of the 10 most popular cars in the UK. This year has already been a total shocker for diesel owners.