Ian Plummer, Commercial Director at Auto Trader commented on the recent rate rise: “Sizeable increases in new car annual percentage rate (APR) averages, up from 5.1 per cent in January 2022 to 8.1 per cent 12 months later, have followed the recent spate of interest rate rises.” “And whilst the impact on used car rates hasn’t been quite as sharp, they’re still on the up, increasing from 9.2 per cent to 11.1 per cent over the same period,” he added. “As most drivers don’t have a choice about whether to stay on the road and with post-Covid stock shortages keeping prices high, motorists are having to swallow extra costs. As a result, many are turning to car finance, with nearly two million finance interactions on our marketplace each month, which equates to 45 every minute.”