As the new car market plummets to another all time low, there is better news in the second hand vehicle arena as auction houses are starting to see climbing figures.

There is no arguing with the fact that the new car market is suffering. Production is down at all the major car manufacturers and lay offs have been announced across the board. The prestigious national icon Bentley have announced redundancies last month. This move is clear evidence that it is not only bottom level car manufacturers seeing dwindling sales. Official figures show a 30.9% fall in new car registrations in January as compared to the previous year according to the Society of Motor Manufactures. This drop is said to be the largest of its kind for over 30 years and the direction shows no signs of changing soon. 2012 has been the date suggested by many industry names that the new car market will see any increase in revenue.

There has been better news in the second hand market, with the two big players in the auction world, Manheim and BCA reporting that sales have been getting better week on week. BCA reports that vehicle prices have risen now for 3 months in a row, and yet more vans and cars were sold this January than in any previous year. An average of £300 increase on the previous years levels have been the estimated figure.

Car leasing is also on the up it seems as the major leasers are reporting improving numbers this year. This is possibley a result of people making the choice to lease their vehicles during this slow economy rather than commit to purchasing them outright. Traditionaly vechicle leasing companies have done very well from periods of economic downturn, and this one seems to be no different.

Manheim, the auctioneer company has released figures that show a spike in the sale of wholesale vans. The spike comes lengthy long lull and marks the first increase since last September. Vehicles with four-wheel-drive have witnessed the most improved sales, with 6 months of increased sale figures in a row.

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