United Kingdom saw big drop in car buying during COVID-19 crisis

Visual form

Index Chart: two-panel indexed line comparison of UK new-car and used-car purchase intent.

Layout / body structure

The chart has two side-by-side panels. The left panel tracks new-car purchase intent, the right panel tracks used-car purchase intent, and both lines are indexed to the pre-COVID-19 level.

What is being compared

It compares UK consumers’ likelihood of buying or leasing a new car and a used car from the pre-COVID baseline through late March, early April, late April, and May 2020.

Measurement system

The vertical scale is an index where pre-COVID-19 equals 100. Each plotted point represents the share of respondents likely or very likely to buy, indexed against that baseline.

Visible structure inside the graphic

Both indexed lines fall well below 100 after the crisis begins. Used-car intent briefly rebounds in early April before falling again, while new-car intent remains far below the baseline across the visible period.

Main takeaway from the visual

The chart shows that UK vehicle-purchase intent dropped sharply during the pandemic for both new and used cars. The indexed format makes the size of the decline visible even though the two markets are shown separately.

Key standout values or extremes

Both panels carry a minus 39 percent decline callout. New-car intent drops near the low-50 index range in April, while used-car intent falls near the high-50 to low-60 range later in the series.

Controls / sequence, when applicable

This is a static two-panel index chart; there are no in-chart controls to operate.

Companion media, when applicable

There is no separate companion audio or video; the indexed line chart is the full visual on this page.