Our latest investigation is into car finance, updating a report which we first published in 2004. Since then the whole world has gone pear-shaped and the financing of car purchases has been hit hard in the credit crunch.

The background to the present troubles began with a financial crisis in the banking system in 2007, followed by a credit crunch in 2008, which has resulted in worldwide recession. The UK government and the Bank of England have taken fiscal and monetary measures to lessen the effects of a potentially severe recession, but so far these actions appear to be having a limited effect on the fundamental problem underlying the recession - the unwillingness of banks to resume lending to small businesses and consumers.

The consequences for car sales have been dire. Registrations of new cars to private buyers were down by 11% in 2008 compared with 1999, but they were down 44% compared with their peak of 1.25 million registrations in 2003. Sales of used cars have remained more resilient falling by an estimated 3% between 2003 and 2008 but still 12% higher than the 6.46 million used sales in 1999.

We estimate that the total retail car finance market including dealer point of sale (POS) and direct lending declined by 50% in value between 2003 and 2008. In real terms, taking into account the effect of inflation, the market fell in overall value by 58% between 2003 and 2008.

The dealer POS car finance market declined in value by 17% between 2003 and 2008 with the number of finance transactions declining by 23%. So clearly the dearth of available direct lending is a major cause of the present problems in the new and used car markets.

Competitors in the retail motor finance market comprise vehicle manufacturers' captive finance companies, independent finance companies, the high street banks and building societies, and other direct lenders. The number of independent finance companies operating in the UK motor finance market has declined over the past decade, due largely to consolidation effected by mergers and acquisitions.

The independent finance companies rely on their bank parents for long-term funding, but the banks' need to shore up their own balance sheets, and coupled with their inability to raise funds cheaply in the wholesale markets, it raises questions over the long-term future of their motor finance subsidiaries. Here in the UK vehicle manufacturers' finance companies need to access state-funded liquidity and credit guarantee schemes to continue lending, which they have so far been unable to do.

Recovery of the new and used car markets, particularly retail, clearly depends on the availability of finance. We estimate that the total number of loans and finance transactions for both new and used retail car purchasing fell by 51% between 2003 and 2008. And although our forecast for the next five years is for an increase of 38%, this falls well short of 2003 levels and represents a market volume similar to 2006/07.

Written by Trend Tracker director Chris Oakham, this piece first appeared his column in the subscription monthly Auto Retail Bulletin in March 2009. (See www.auto-retail.com for subscription details.)