Nearly one in ten consumers look to buy a car in the next three months

• 8% of UK consumers intend to buy a car in the next three months; three percentage points above Q1 2021 and the highest level in the ten-year history of Deloitte’s Consumer Tracker.
• The Deloitte Consumer Tracker measures UK consumer confidence on a quarterly basis.

Jamie Hamilton, head of electric vehicles at Deloitte, said:

“Many consumers are emerging from the pandemic with built up savings, having had fewer opportunities to spend over this period. As a result, more consumers than ever before are planning to purchase a car in the quarter ahead.

“However, whether this record-high demand can translate into actual sales remains to be seen, with the ongoing global semi-conductor shortage having put the brakes on the supply of new cars and, subsequently, the number of used cars re-entering the market. As a result, consumers looking to buy car in the next quarter will have to contend with longer than usual wait times for new cars, coupled with high prices in the second hand market.”

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Note to editors:

About the research
The Deloitte Consumer Tracker is based on a consumer survey carried out by independent market research agency, YouGov, on Deloitte’s behalf. This survey was conducted online with a nationally representative sample of more than 3,000 consumers in the UK aged 18+ between 18th and 21st June 2021. Overall consumer confidence is calculated as an aggregate of six individual measures: job security, job opportunities, household disposable income, level of debt, children’s education and welfare, general health and wellbeing. Since Q3 2019, respondents have been asked their view on the state of the UK economy.

The Deloitte Consumer Tracker began in Q3 2011.

About Deloitte
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Deloitte LLP is a subsidiary of Deloitte NSE LLP, which is a member firm of DTTL, and is among the UK's leading professional services firms.

The information contained in this press release is correct at the time of going to press.
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