In this issue

Hello and welcome to the first Motor Finance digital supplement of 2022. In this issue, we take a look at some of the key sectors within the market and look ahead to what 2022 may bring.

Our lead story sees reporter Chris Farnell check in with the motor insurance sector, which has faced significant hurdles since the beginning of the pandemic. New FCA regulation taking effect on 1 January 2022 represents a fundamental change to the industry, ensuring that renewing motor insurance consumers are quoted prices that are no more than they would as a new customer.

We also do a deep dive in the mysterious waters of crypto finance, and how the progressive technology may be, and is already being, put to use in the motor finance sector.

The final story in our In Depth section tackles the Million Dollar Question: when will the chip crisis come to an end. Using data from industry professionals, GlobalData analysts assess the current situation and the likelihood of a return to production normality.

Julian Rance, managing director of Paragon Motor Finance, kicks off our Comment section with a piece on how the latest new vehicle production figures with influence used car values. The latest data from the SMMT revealed that production fell to its lowest level in 65 years due to the semiconductor shortage, and the impact of this will continue long into the new year.

Next up, Leasing.com has published the top seven trends seen on its website in 2021 to help the industry prepare for the year ahead as consumers increasingly veer towards smaller, in stock body styles and rapidly adopt electric vehicles (EVs).

Finally, Philip Williams, managing director of Oodle, offers some insight into how the motor finance industry needs to evolve in order to meet changing consumer demands.

Enjoy the issue!

Welcome to the first Motor Finance digital edition of 2021.

Roughly a year ago, reports of a deadly virus in the Wuhan district of China began gaining real traction in the global press. Videos of overran hospitals and deserted streets flooded social media, but for most people (myself included), the virus still seemed like a distant problem in a distant land.

Fast forward a few weeks and most of the world’s population found itself in various forms of lockdown. Governments scrambled to alleviate the immense stress on health services, while industry screeched to a halt.

Automotive was one of the most adversely affected sectors, as factories and dealerships were forced to close their doors and shut down production. Government schemes and support packages were rolled out across the world to support struggling businesses, with some countries launching automotive-specific rescue packages worth billions of pounds.

The summer months brought a welcome fall in Covid-19 cases and a relaxation of lockdown measures, however hopes of a V-shaped recovery were soon dashed by the emergence of a second wave of the virus. Recovery remains fractured and unpredictable, but with vaccines being rolled out at a rapid rate, there is now real hope that we are approaching the end of this very dark tunnel.

In this edition we look back at how various automotive industries around the world reacted to the outbreak, and question what lasting impact Covid-19 will have on consumer behaviour and business processes.