2011 was a record year for cars purchased on finance packages, the latest figures from the Finance & Leasing Association show.
In 2011 62.9% of all new cars were bought by consumers using dealer finance, almost ten percentage points up on the previous year, the latest figures from the motor finance industry trade body shows.
In 2011 almost 1.25 million cars were purchased using finance provided through dealerships. 517,500 new cars were bought using dealer finance in 2011, a 1% increase, while 729,000 used cars were bought on finance, 4% more than in 2010.
Contract Hire deals grew in 2011 to 61.1%, compared with 58.7% in 2010, but by contrast hire purchase fell slightly over the same period. Consumer car leasing continues to grow and accounted for 6.5% of the market in 2011.
Business car finance fell by 2% in 2011, although the final quarter of the year saw growth of 6% in the business new car finance market compared with the same period in 2010.
Paul Harrison, Head of Motor Finance at the Finance & Leasing Association, said, "Despite some of the gloomy headlines, value-for-money offers and flexible finance deals have attracted customers to showrooms and led to an almost ten percent increase in the popularity of forecourt finance for new cars. Consumers are looking for finance that suits their budget, and the importance of affordability is shown by the numbers of consumers turning to leasing or personal contract purchase."
