Interested in becoming a MotoNovo dealer? Get in touch today.

Become a dealer partner

Home

Why MotoNovo

Complaints data

Terms of service

Privacy Policy

Item 5.1 Modern Slavery Statement Nov 2023 (Group) Board.pdf

Slavery & Human Trafficking Statement

2a86004f8506287891a8b404d874376a.pdf

Gender Pay Gap Report

The Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) Lending Code

Cookie Policy

About us

Our products

Consumer Duty

Discount Shopping

Tariff of charges

Customer site

Careers

Products & links

The used Electric Vehicle (EV) market is growing, which will continue into 2024. The growth is inevitable, reflecting the increase in new EV sales over recent years, but how well is that momentum growing?

According to SMMT data, ‘Battery Electric Vehicle (BEVs) sales soared in Q3’. The ‘soaring’ reflected a rise of 99.9%, recording a record 1.8% market share, up from 1.0% in the same period in 2022.

Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and hybrids (HEVs) also grew, up 34.6% and 46.4%, resulting in combined plug-ins increasing by 70.9% to comprise 2.8% of the market. 

Meanwhile, petrol and diesel cars grew by 4.0% to 1,065,448 and 2.3% to 704,204 units. It means that ICE cars dominate used sales. However, the trajectory, notably in the newer end of the second-hand market, is starting to see increased demand for EVs.

 The top three fastest-selling used cars in the UK were all EVs and hybrids for the very first time in October and November, according to Indicata UK’s latest insights report.

The Toyota Prius topped the table of the UK’s fastest-selling used cars under four years of age, closely followed by the Tesla Model Y and Renault Zoe.

The report revealed that used BEVs had a Market Days’ Supply (MDS) of 52 days, hybrids had 53 days, and petrol cars led the way at 46 days.

Interestingly, the UK continues to have the lowest EV MDS in Europe, well ahead of the European average of 85 days.

This increase in demand for EVs has been helped by the 39.7% reduction in prices since the 1 of January 2023, and Indicata points to ‘an increased interest from dealers who are beginning to stock sub-£15,000 models on their forecourt in response to growing consumer demand.”

As I noted earlier, the outlook for EVs in 2024 is one of inevitable growth, and more dealers are seeing this trend and showing their customary agility to get on board with the rising demand. 

The used Electric Vehicle (EV) market is growing, so what does 2024 have in store? Find out from Commercial Sales Director, Debbie McKay. 

2024: what's next for used EVs?

Writing this outlook for 2024 on the day that the BBC business page led with the headline, “UK economy falls unexpectedly in October as higher rates bite”, it may seem curious to some that I am cautiously optimistic for the year ahead.

Looking at the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) report published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the manufacturing and construction sectors were hit by worse-than-expected declines in growth. However, when we look at the vehicle industry, the SMMT reported that UK car manufacturing output was up 31.6% in October. Production for home and overseas markets were up 23.9% and 33.4%.

We must pay attention to this type of nuance in the economy. Indeed, October's monthly fall in GDP could come with a silver lining, with some city traders immediately forecasting a fall in UK interest rate cuts during 2024 designed to boost economic activity.

Looking back to outlooks for 2023, the UK economy has shown surprising resilience this year. While there are unquestionably ‘headwinds’ to be addressed and growth is unlikely to be ‘stellar’, I believe the theme of resilience could be repeated.

Consumer confidence: GfK’s long-running Consumer Confidence Index increased six points to -24 in November. All five measures of its measures rose month on month in November. Encouragingly, the Major Price Index rose 10 points. 

 Wage growth: Annual wage growth (excluding bonuses) was 7.3% from August to October 2023. This was among the highest annual growth rates since comparable records began in 2001.

 Inflation has fallen back to 4.6, with an expectation that it will be back to the target level of 2% by 2025. 

Interest rates: the Bank of England kept Bank Rate at 5.25% on December 15th, the third successive month with no rate rise. While there is no sign yet of a rate cut from the Bank, the greater likelihood that rates have peaked is a positive and one that saw the FTSE rise rapidly on the day. 

Looking ahead to next year, the overall market outlook for 2024 is marginally more positive than previously anticipated, up 1.0% to 1.970 million units (a 4.4% rise on the 2023 outlook). 

Sentiment among homeowners and buyers in the property market has improved, with 33% saying they think UK house prices will rise over the next year. This compares with just 20% who had the same prediction in the previous quarter. Additionally, recent house price indices have reported that UK house prices have been rising once more. 

The counterpoint for this optimism is that the high cost of borrowing, relative to recent years is seeing more people struggling to service their debts. According to the Bank of England, residential mortgage arrears jumped to a six-year high between July and September. 

To provide some context to this position, the value of loans in arrears equates to 1.14% of outstanding balances. While it is a long way from the 2009 peak of 3.64%, as people’s fixed-rate mortgage terms end, such people are likely to find themselves paying more for their mortgage.

Affordability is likely to remain a central theme for consumers, businesses, borrowers, and lenders. Caution, whether self-exercised, the result of prudence, or regulatory consumer duty, will play a prominent role in the vehicle sales sector next year. 

The rise in inflation and interest rates in recent years has been a new, unexpected, and unwelcome reality for many people. It will take time to rebuild peoples’ confidence, but I expect this to happen over the year.


Chris Rowthorn, Motor Sales Operations Director

With 2024 just around the corner, Motor Sales Operations Director, Chris Rowthorn, is exploring what we can expect for the new year. 

The outlook for 2024

According to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), Britain's economy is forecast to grow by 0.7% in 2024. The new prediction for growth next year was much weaker than a forecast for an expansion of 1.8% in the OBR's previous outlook published in March. However, the all-important factor in economic growth is consumer confidence, and it is on the rise.

 “Consumer confidence strengthened in November with improvements across all measures. Encouraging news about falling inflation and wage growth is offset by high personal taxation, alongside costly fuel and energy bills. Although the Overall Index Score is still tracking firmly in negative territory, it is good to see that consumers are more optimistic about their personal financial situation. This shows people are thinking about their future with increased confidence and willingness to look beyond the short-term.” 

All of this according to Joe Staton, Client Strategy Director at GfK, who publishes the long-running consumer confidence survey in the UK that is often in the media.

The Overall Index Score increased six points to -24 in November. All five measures were up in comparison to last month’s announcement. 

Personal Financial Situation – at -16; it was eight points better than November 2022. At the same time, the forecast for personal finances over the next 12 months increased five points to -3, which is 26 points higher than this time last year.

General Economic Situation - the measure for the country's general economic situation during the last 12 months is up five points at -49; this is 18 points higher than in November 2022.  Expectations for the general economic situation over the next 12 months have increased by six points to -26; this is 32 points better than November 2022.

Major Purchase Index - up 10 points to -24; this is 14 points higher than this month last year.

Consumers are not alone in feeling more upbeat; UK employers' confidence about making hiring decisions and investments improved by one point from August to October 2023 to net +6, according to the most recent Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) JobsOutlook. 

Just what we need: a little positivity as we head into 2024.

According to the Office for Budget Responsibility, Britain's economy is forecast to grow by 0.7%. The all-important factor in economic growth is consumer confidence, and it's on the rise. Find out more. 

News - December 2023

2024: what's next for used EVs?

The outlook for 2024

Consumer confidence rises in November

Become a dealer partner

Find an Account Manager

Trustpilot reviews