Life before the pandemic hit looked so different. As we are slowly starting to get back to our new normal, it’s safe to say that almost every aspect of our lives has changed. Tradesure Insurance Services has conducted a broad piece of research looking at how the pandemic has affected our driving habits.
We stayed home
In a survey of 2,000 UK drivers, 55% said they were driving fewer miles than before the first lockdown in March 2020.
This was great news for the environment during 2020, with CO2 transport emissions falling by 19.6%. However, it did mean many drivers couldn’t make full use of the annual mileage included in their insurance policies.
From those who said their driving habits changed, 40% said it was down to the impact of social distancing measures and being unable to visit family, but interestingly, 30% said they simply didn’t like going out as much.
Working from home was also one of the main causes, with around 22% of participants stating their low annual mileage was down to no longer making their daily commute. This might continue to be the case, with 24% of business leaders saying they now intend to use ‘increased homeworking as a permanent business model’.
Used Cars Gained Value
Tradesure Managing Director Mark Wilkinson stated: ‘We’ve seen a huge rise in second-hand car sales throughout 2021, which is great news for a lot of used car motor trade businesses – both big and small. The value of used cars is still on the rise, with a year-on-year increase of 25.6% recorded in October 2021.
With the semiconductor shortage expected to carry on through 2022, we’re hopeful that the used car motor traders can enjoy some price stability in the first 6 months of the year, although we do urge used car dealerships to keep an eye on industry values when it comes to pricing their stock.’
With a shortage of new models, in the second quarter of 2021 second-hand car sales rose by 108%, a growth of 6.6% on the pre-pandemic figures in 2019.
New cars will continue to be in short supply in the first half of 2022 as a result. Waiting lists for new vehicles are still over 12 months long in some cases.
This led to a massive rise in sales of older used cars throughout 2021, with only 12.7% of all vehicles sold having been made within the last three years, the lowest number on record.
We went electric
Electric vehicle (EV) sales were also at an all-time high during 2020. Sales figures for battery EVs almost tripled and plug-in EV sales doubled, with a ‘combined market share of 10.7%’. Furthermore, non-plug-in hybrids accounted for 18% of car sales.
2021 was considered the most successful year in history for electric vehicle uptake as more new battery electric vehicles were registered than over the previous five years combined. Plug-in vehicles accounted for a record more than one in six registrations, whilst battery-electric cars alone rose to one in nine, with more registered than in 2016-2020 combined.
New problems for young drivers
A staggering 450,000 tests have been cancelled since the beginning of the first lockdown, significantly impacting young people.
Figures from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) showed that only 809,509 practical tests were taken in the UK throughout 2020: a 50% decrease on tests taken in the previous years.
This trend continued into 2021, with only 1,308 learners taking their practical test in the UK between January and March.
What about accidents?
During 2020 the number of road deaths caused by traffic accidents fell by 17%. Likewise, the number of casualties of all severities dropped to 115,584: a 25% decrease from the figures in 2019.
Thefts
In the UK, 74,769 cars were stolen in 2020, compared to 2019, when the number was 56,288.
Surprisingly, there was a rise of 33% during the first year of the pandemic. On average, this means the number of cars stolen throughout 2020 stood at an enormous 205 per day.
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