VEHICLE data expert cap hpi has called for calm on used diesels depreciation, rubbishing  ‘sensational’ claims of falling values made in some media.

Recent press reports have claimed that some models have dropped by over 25% in the last three months. New research from cap hpi shows these figures to be baseless with diesel values only falling by 2% more than usual so far this year.

Commenting on the data, James Dower, senior editor of Black Book, the biggest valuation guide in the UK, said: “If you examine the data the diesel sector has fallen by around 8% in the first nine months of the year. This year it has dropped by 10%. That means around an extra £185 on the average three-year-old VW Golf.”

Up to the end of August, cap hpi processed over 1.2 million trade sales records, and they typically receive over 600,000 advertised retail prices daily.

On average a three-year-old diesel car has depreciated by 10.5% since the start of the year, compared with the historical seasonal expectation of 8.5%. Experts at cap hpi say there is variation by sector and diesel Lower Medium (C-Segment) cars have only depreciated by 9.2% for example.

The data company’s analysis of depreciation from January 2017 to September 2017 shows the petrol sector improved throughout 2017. The data shows petrol vehicles have seen record low depreciation in recent months.

Check out the cap hpi update.