Cap rejects reports on nearly-new over-supply

Cap said just 26 per cent of used cars bought by dealers from auction in October were up to 12 months old. In contrast, cars of two-to-three years old accounted for more than half of the transactions with cars of up to two years taking 23 per cent. Cap said it was unlikely that part-exchanges would increase the nearly-new presence on the forecourt. “The evidence from auction transactions suggests that dealers are building balanced stock profiles rather than trying to shoehorn customers into newer and more expensive cars than they want,” said Cap. The findings were backed up by a report from Manheim Auctions, which found that the average age of cars sold by dealers in Q3 2006 was 87 months.