Motorists are driving fewer miles

Motorists are driving fewer miles

Motorists are driving 21% fewer miles than they did ten years ago an analysis by automotive data experts at CAP HPI has found.

The mileage of an average used car aged between 2.5 and 3.5 years old dropped from 39,583 miles in 2008 to 31,199 in 2018.  Older cars from 4.5 to 5.5 years old fell from by 10.6% to 55,824 over the same period.

“There will be a number of factors driving this trend,” Derren Martin, the company’s Head of UK Valuations, said.  For example, the increasing popularity of cost-effective Personal Contract Purchase and Personal Contract Hire plans has led more motorists to balance mileage with affordability.

“Equally,” Derren Martin said, “as Britain’s roads have become more congested it has an impact on the distances and regularity that people drive.”

The company also reported that used car performed strongly in 2018, and that many in the motor trade have dubbed it the ‘year of the used car’. 

The data shows that, in some sectors, used car values have actually increased.  Average values for all used cars at one-year-old increased by 1% through 2018, equating to just over £100.  As cars traditionally depreciate as they age within their lifecycle, this increase was an unusual phenomenon.  The most significant increase was in the MPV sector, where values increased by an impressive average of 5%, or around £750, throughout 2018.

Derren Martin concluded: “The average used car is a good proposition for the motorist.  It has a lower than mileage than an equivalent model ten years ago and features lower emission engines.”