September 9, 2008

The 18th annual Used Car Market Report, published by vehicle auction company, British Car Auctions (BCA) has revealed that motorists are making choices that are actually good for the environment, albeit in order to save money, rather than the environment.

The Report, which features a survey of over 3,000 UK motorists’ attitudes to motoring and car buying.  It was conducted in April 2008, so may even now have slightly outdated views as the economy has continued to squeeze households.  This year saw the environmental impact register as the least important consideration when looking to buy a new car with 6% of respondents claiming it as the most important factor.  This was a rise from 4% last year and 2% in 2006, so it’s clearly becoming more of a priority, albeit slowly.

“Our latest Used Car Market Report reflects the downturn in the economy seen in the last twelve months”, confirmed Tim Naylor, spokesman for BCA.  “UK drivers are changing their motoring habits to cope with the tougher economic conditions.  And almost as an aside, many of these changes will also benefit the environment. 

“We highlighted a year ago that UK motorists were unlikely to embrace green issues unless their hand was forced.  It seems the credit crunch, combined with worries about Vehicle Excise Duty and rising fuel and living costs, has done just that!”

Price, make and model, age and low mileage continue to dominate motorists’ minds when looking to make vehicle choices.  With the cost of motoring a constant spectre, peering over people’s shoulder most said that they’d be more likely to get out of the car as a means of lowing their carbon footprint, after all it’s cheaper to walk to the local shop than downsize your car so that you can drive there!  They’re also looking much closer at the fuel consumption of their next car as well as changing their driving style to be less right foot heavy.

Statistics Summary

• 6% say environmental considerations were an influencing factor in their most recent car purchase
• 38% of motorists opt to cut their carbon footprint by walking more
• Nearly 30% said they will attempt to reduce mileage to tackle rising fuel costs
• Half of all respondents said they would consider buying a car that does more miles to the gallon
• A fifth of motorists said they would change to a car with lower service and maintenance costs. 
• 28% said they would move to a car with a lower CO2 emission rating to cope with proposed changes in VED
• 16% of respondents said they would consider buying used rather than new next time as a result of the planned changes
• 9% said they would go for a vehicle in a lower insurance group to mitigate the effects of the credit crunch
• 7% plan to postpone their next car purchase in the short term, 4% deferring indefinitely
• The number of consumers who had bought a car in the last two years dropped to 37% compared to 40% in 2007. 
• 28% think they are likely to buy a car in the next 12 months; compared to 47% who say it’s unlikely or they definitely won’t buy a car in the next year

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