“NAMA Members are reporting with sustained optimism. There are anecdotal references that demand has dampened slightly in the retail market, which is to be expected during the Easter holiday period. But overall, the market is still robust and sales are up”, said Paul Hill National Association of Motor Auctions (NAMA) spokesman, following a meeting this week (Tuesday 18 April 2023) with key industry figureheads to discuss current industry issues.

With the new 23 registration plate cars entering the market in March, volumes have increased. Values are expected to drop off as a result of this.

For the car market, values are stable, particularly for good-quality internal combustion engines. Members are forecasting values to reduce by less than 1% over the upcoming month, for cars at 3 years old. It persists that well-presented and good quality grade 1 and 2 cars are in high demand and maintain strong values.

As a whole, commercial vehicles are performing well, both in terms of price performance and conversion rate, with no immediate signs of dropping off. However, vans reaching 100,000 miles and more are experiencing a drop off in value.

Paul Hill concluded: “Electric vehicles remain on a downward trajectory, but it is positive to see that this level of reduction has flattened in comparison to recent months. EVs only represent a small proportion of the industry, however, so it is positive to see that the overall market is still in a very healthy position.”