London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 23, 2025

Bye bye beamer: drivers downsize their cars as cost of living crisis bites

Bye bye beamer: drivers downsize their cars as cost of living crisis bites

Dealerships in UK report drop in demand for BMWs and Audis and more interest in used models

Drivers all over the UK are downsizing to cheaper, less prestigious and more fuel-efficient vehicles and banking the cash difference as the cost of living crisis continues.

BMWs and Audis are out – instead, dealerships report an increase in demand for used cars, particularly mid-range models such as Vauxhall Corsa, Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus in the past two months. There has also been a drop in the number of people seeking to lease vehicles, with those who do so wanting cheaper deals.

The shift in driver behaviour is expected to continue as the reality of the current crisis deepens, says Lisa Watson of Close Brothers Motor Finance, which provides financing for vehicles. “We’re getting people coming from more expensive vehicles switching into more fuel-efficient ones … because clearly consumers are feeling the pinch,” she said.

“We have started seeing these changes over the last two to three months, and they are now becoming more apparent.”

She said that people were clearly growing increasingly nervous about the rising cost of energy. However, she expected that buyers would continue to fund their cars through finance deals such as hire purchase rather than shelling out large sums to buy a vehicle outright.

Vehicle leasing comparison sites have reported a fall in the number of inquiries for vehicles. Auto Lease Compare said the number of enquiries was down 17% on September last year. And LeaseLoco reported that 1,500 vehicles were sold through the platform in January but there had been a slowdown since consumer confidence dropped.

With disposable income now severely squeezed, motorists are looking to reduce their monthly car payments through cheaper lease deals, said LeaseLoco chief executive John Wilmot.

“There is a significant trend towards people looking for cheaper alternatives as they are concerned about their outgoings.

“People are concerned over paying their energy bills and the last thing they want to do is overcommit themselves on a car payment. So it’s only natural that they will try to reduce that expenditure.

“There’s a pretty big cohort of people that go ‘I want or need a new car for that reliability aspect but I can’t have the premium marque that I once had, so I’m going to downgrade’.”

Trends in car finance were changing, said Watson. She has seen instances where people who in the past were buying cars such as BMWs and Audis are now switching to cheaper and more efficient vehicles.

“We’ve just seen this trend in the past two months,” she said. “There’s a lot of nervousness about what’s going to happen. And every time you turn on the news, it’s all about fuel prices and how much it’s going to cost.

“I think people are having to look at their expenses quite closely and see where they can still have the luxury of a car… but an affordable luxury.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×