The plant and machinery finance sector reported new business up in April by 9%, while new finance for business cars grew by 8% over the same period.
Geraldine Kilkelly, head of research and chief economist at the FLA, said: “Asset finance new business increased by 8% in the first four months of 2017, in line with our expectations of single-digit growth for the year overall.
“The plant and machinery finance sector returned another strong performance in April, with new finance for agricultural equipment and construction equipment up by 17% and 8% respectively.”
Cars bought on finance by consumers through dealerships
| New business | April 2017 |
% change on prev yr |
3 mths to April 17 |
% change on prev yr |
12 mths to April 17 |
% change on prev yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New cars | ||||||
| Value of advances (£m) | 1,174 | -19 | 5,605 | 3 | 18,320 | 6 |
| Number of cars | 61,434 | -28 | 305,190 | -5 | 1,030,839 | 0 |
| Used cars | ||||||
| Value of advances (£m) | 1,204 | 4 | 3,809 | 8 | 14,006 | 11 |
| Number of cars | 109,244 | -1 | 342,797 | 3 | 1,273,976 | 7 |
Cars bought on finance by businesses
| New business | April 2017 |
% change on prev yr |
3 mths to April 17 |
% change on prev yr |
12 mths to April 17 |
% change on prev yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New cars | ||||||
| Number of cars | 47,672 | -7 | 138,382 | -2 | 502,726 | -2 |
| Used cars | ||||||
| Number of cars | 2,780 | -8 | 11,005 | 15 | 53,226 | 42 |
