• 53% say consumer confidence is up, compared to 34% in February
• A small increase seen in dealers who believe the economy is improving
• However, slight falls in optimism about the state of the used car market and electrification, shows March’s new Startline Used Car Tracker

March’s research also records a smaller improvement in the percentage of dealers who believe the state of the economy is better – from 21% last month to 24% now.

However, the data also indicates some slight falls in optimism across other metrics. Those who said the used car market was improving fell from 59% in February to 55% now, while the mood around electrification slipped from 48% to 45%. The picture for stock supply was unchanged at 45%.

Paul Burgess, CEO at Startline Motor Finance, said: “News about consumer and business confidence has been mixed since the start of the year but there have been reports of relatively strong retail demand and this is probably what is being reflected in our research.

“The dealers we spoke to this month clearly feel that there has been a strong uplift in used car buyer sentiment for this month, which is a very positive finding, especially alongside their slight improvement in the perception of the economy.

“The question is whether this marks a welcome shift in consumer confidence for the longer term or is effectively just a blip in the data, and it’ll be interesting to see the results of our research during the next few months.”

In other Tracker results, 69% of dealers surveyed said they felt positive about the used car market this month – down from 72% in February. Those who were negative remained the same at 10% while the percentage unchanged increased slightly from 17% to 21%.

Paul said: “There’s a mixed message coming through here in our findings – dealers might believe that consumer confidence is up but they’re not correspondingly positive about the used car market overall.

“Our feeling is that there are a range of issues at play here – from the forthcoming impact of higher National Insurance costs and increased minimum wage to the uncertainty surrounding the Zero Emissions Vehicle Mandate and electrification in general. All of these are to an extent weighing down on the general mood of dealers.”

The Startline Used Car Tracker is compiled monthly for Startline Motor Finance by APD Global Research, well-known in the motor industry for their business intelligence reporting and customer experience programs. This time, 302 consumers and 58 dealers were questioned.