Publication featured in: City AM
Ownership of luxury cars,* has increased 9.2% in the UK in the past year, from 221,124 in 2020 to 241,391 in 2021.
Porsche remains the most popular luxury brand with 173,523 vehicles on the road, a 10% increase on the 157,916 in 2020. Ownership of Maseratis is growing the quickest, with 10.3% more on UK roads, from 10,078 in 2020, to 11,113 in 2021.
Supercar ownership in the UK also increased in 2021, rising 19% from 15,299 to a record high of 18,186 in 2021. The supercar category includes Bugatti, Ferrari, Koenigsegg, Lamborghini and McLaren.
Windfalls from cryptocurrency may have boosted luxury car ownership before the market corrected. Many crypto investors would have quickly gained newfound wealth and chosen to spend it on high-status purchases like Bentleys and Maseratis.
The increase in luxury car ownership in 2021 coincided with the bounce back in the economy following the pandemic. With interest rates near historic lows last year, options to purchase luxury cars on finance were widely available at attractive rates. This made luxury cars an option for many that couldn’t afford them previously.
There are concerns, however, that the luxury car market will slow down this year following the economic downturn. Soaring interest rates have made financed purchase options less attractive and the rising cost of living has lowered many people’s appetite for luxury purchases.
The surge in luxury car ownership was a feature of the last stages of the post Covid economic recovery. Ultra-low interest rates meant that luxury cars were affordable to a much wider group of motorists.
We also saw how the crypto-currency boom created ‘overnight millionaires’ who found they could suddenly afford expensive luxury vehicles – a process made much easier by very low interest rates on financed purchases.
With interest rates soaring and the crypto bubble bursting, it is unlikely that people will have the appetite to spend so heavily on luxury vehicles. The luxury car market should expect a big challenge until some of the clouds lift from the economy.
Luxury car ownership in UK jumps 9.2% in 2021 to over 240,000 vehicles
*Aston Martin, Rolls Royce, Maserati, Bentley, Porsche
