Oracle Finance 2023 Review

After the record performance of 2022 at Oracle Car Finance, the cost-of-living crisis during 2023 and the rates rising consistently over the past 12 months, we surely couldn’t keep the momentum up this year. Of course we could. 2023 saw Oracle fund more cars than ever before, more than 4,300 in fact, and saw £200 million funded for yet another year, taking us ever closer to the £2billion landmark of funding provided over the years.

In a year that saw us awarded the prestigious title of ‘Best Specialist Car Finance Provider’ for the 4th year in a row, and our 5-star Trustpilot customer reviews passing the 2,000 mark, we are proud of the work that Team Oracle have put in over the last 12 months, and the results certainly speak for themselves.

But of all the cars we funded during 2023, what percentage were petrol, diesel, hybrid or electric? Which brands were the most funded by our customers and what was the most popular model that our customers bought? Are SUV’s still the number one body style? How many supercars do we fund over the course of a year? You may be surprised at some of the results.

Take a look at the Oracle Finance 2023 Review:

Body Type

With more SUV models on the market than ever before it is not surprising that the body style is our most popular funded by our customers yet again. The percentage of SUV’s funded has grown to 42.7% for 2023, up from just under 40% last year, and shows that that in this country we continue to buy more SUV’s than any other type of vehicle.

Despite the percentage falling by almost 7% since last year, Coupe’s continue to be the second most popular type of car funded, accounting for just under 20% of all vehicles in 2023. Considering the amount of sports cars and supercars we fund each year, it is hardly surprising to see the Coupe body style in second place. The third most popular body style funded was Saloons at just under 13.3% followed by Hatchbacks around 10%.

Surprisingly however, despite the unpredictable British weather, we continued to fund even more Convertible models than the previous year, 4.3% compared to 2022’s 3.7%. The number of Estate cars sold also rose from 3.4% to 3.7% in 2023, and Commercial Vehicles comprising of Vans, Pickups and Trucks funded increased to 4.2% of the total.

Of the Coupe and Convertible models finance packages passing through the Oracle offices, over 280 of them were considered as supercar or hypercars, that’s almost 6.5% of all the cars we funded over the past 12 months, and accounts for more than 5 funded a week, every week throughout the year. Also funded in 2023 were 27 Camper Van/Motorhomes, 11 Motorbikes and 6 cars intended to be used as a Track or Racing car by our customers.

Brand Power

Following a strong performance last year, Land Rover were once again the most funded brand in 2023, with over 740 Land Rover products funded in the past 12 months, a 6% increase on last year. That means more than 2 Land Rover products funded each and every day for the whole year. Of this total, over 50% were Range Rover models. In fact, 17% of all cars funded by our customers in 2023 were Land Rover or Range Rover products.

Porsche, the most popular brand from 2021 but only 4th most popular in 2022 saw a 20% increase in the number funded by our customers to almost take second place for the most funded brand, however they were just beaten by BMW, who were the second most funded brand by the matter of just a few cars. The resurgence of Porsche saw them overtake fellow German manufacturers Mercedes Benz and remain ahead of Audi, who continue to be the 5th most funded car brand for our customers yet again. Those 4 German manufacturers alone make up over 51% of all cars Oracle sourced funding for in 2023.

Tesla may be the most popular electric car manufacturer but they remain a long way back from our most funded brands with just over 130 Tesla vehicles funded in 2023. Their market share may be just under 20% of the electric car sector, however they make up almost 40% of electric-only cars funded by Oracle in the past 12 months. Despite this there was actually a marginal decrease in their numbers this year, with just 3% of our customers funding a Tesla model.

Some of the most exclusive brands that we have sourced funding for may also surprise you with the numbers throughout the year. In 2023 we funded over 80 Ferrari’s, there were 80 Aston Martins bought by our customers, 60 Lamborghinis were financed, the equivalent to more than 1 Rolls Royce funded every fortnight throughout the whole year, the same can be said about McLarens too. Then in single figures, a trio of Morgans, a trio of Fiskers, 2 Triumphs, a Noble, an Austin Healey, a Caterham and even a Sunbeam.

Model Specific

There is one model that in recent years we fund more than any other, and by some margin as well, the Porsche 911. From classic and future classic models to the latest 992 Dakar or GT3 Touring, GT3 RS or fearsome GT2, in 2023 we funded over 230 Porsche 911’s of very similar shape and sizes. Through our partnership with Porsche Club GB to our competitiveness with finance packages for the model, the number of 911’s we funded this year grew by almost 10% over 2022. If we parked all the Porsche 911’s we funded in 2023 nose to tail, they would stretch for over a kilometre.

With Land Rover being the most popular brand we funded this year, it is not surprising that the next most popular models we funded in 2023 were the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport. Of the various models we funded, 172 were ‘full size’ Range Rover models and 193 were Range Rover Sport models.

For the second consecutive year the Mercedes C Class is the next most popular car funded, with 130 C Class models funded in 2023. Interestingly when it comes to Mercedes Benz products, just under a third of all Mercedes cars funded were full AMG (not just ‘AMG Line’) vehicles, from the A45 to the G63, even a future classic SLS AMG.

The popularity of Land Rover products this year mean that the Land Rover Defender and Land Rover Discovery are the next most popular, yet still less than the number of Porsche 911’s funded combined. Porsche’s ever popular Macan rounds off the top 7 with almost 100 models funded this year.

Some of the more interesting statistics of other models that we have funded also include over 40 Audi R8’s, 43 BMW M2 and 44 BMW M4’s. Amongst the 32 BMW M3 models were 6 of the sought after M3 Touring, as well as a rare CSL and even a future classic E30 M3. Of the 60 Lamborghini’s funded in 2023, 15 of them were a Urus, whilst 8 Aventadors were also funded, as well as a desirable and increasingly rare Diablo.

Other popular models were from Porsche, just under 70 of them being Taycans, whilst 58 were Cayman models ranging from the 987 to the new GT4 RS. From Aston Martin, we funded more than enough DBS Superleggera’s throughout the year to do 1 per month for every month, as well as 9 DBX models and even a very special Valkyrie hypercar.

Deliveries for the new Ineos Grenadier started in 2023 and 11 of them were funded by Oracle in 2023, 3 more than we funded of the new Lotus Emira and whilst on the Norfolk brand, we also sourced funding for the new Eletre, with more of those awaiting delivery in early 2024. Also with all new models, we funded 3 of the all-new all-electric Fisker Ocean models late in the year and thanks to our competitive finance packages have plenty more enquiries for those in the pipeline at the moment.

At the other end of the spectrum from the all-new models for 2023, we sourced funding for 4 classic Jaguar E-Types, a Porsche 912, a Lamborghini Countach, and a range of future classic Ferrari’s from a 308, a couple of 328 GTS’s, a 348 and four 355’s.

These are just some of the models that we funded in 2023, to see more take a look at our FUNDING HIGHLIGHTS OF 2023 blog post.

Or to see some of the more unusual or standout vehicles that we funded during 2023, have a read of our THE MOST INTRIGUING VEHICLES FUNDED IN 2023 blog post.

Fuel Type

With the impending combustion engine ban delayed by a further 5 years to 2035, a lot of interest remains in the fuel types of the cars that are being funded. Whilst many news stories over the past few years highlight an exponential increase in electric car sales, there are certainly signs that the demand isn’t what it once was at the moment.

The types of cars being funded by Oracle customers remain overwhelmingly in favour of combustion engines and in petrol cars in particular. With the Porsche 911 being our most popular model funded and the increasing number of supercars and performance SUV’s also on the rise, it isn’t surprising to see that there are a large number of petrol-powered cars funded in 2023. What may be a surprise however is the fact that the number of petrol cars funded are on the rise, from 55.8% of the total last year and now at 58.3%.

In 2022 a third of all cars funded were a Diesel vehicle however this year the total has fallen to under 30%. Hybrid models have fallen slightly compared to last year to 4.3%, but despite this the fact remains that over 92% of vehicles funded are either fully combustion engine driven or have a combustion engine as a main source of driven power.

The proportion of fully electric vehicles funded in 2023 may have risen by almost 30% since last year, however this still only makes up 7.6% of the total number of cars funded. Whilst this represents quite an increase year on year, many would expect the share of electric cars to be a larger proportion of total. This means that either the market share of people purchasing electric cars is not as great as you would expect, or that Oracle Finance customers are reluctant to switch to electric only power.

Onwards To 2024

Whilst you may expect the rises in the Base Rate and the cost-of-living crisis to mean that fewer people would be buying new cars in the first place, the increase in the number of cars we have sourced funding for may show that people are merely being more savvy with their car finance. The increase in rates and the reduction in disposable income means that rather than merely accepting finance from the manufacturer or dealership, people are starting to realise that a finance broker like ourselves may be able to find you a more suitable finance package.

The reduced finance rates that dealerships could once offer are a thing of the past and customers are becoming more aware to the fact that they are well within their rights to arrange their own finance for the car they are buying. With the rates expecting to remain at their current level for some time yet, and the cost of living not showing much sign of reducing any time soon, the free and impartial services from a finance broker will ensure your budget is going as far as it can for the type of purchase you are looking for.

As of the start of 2024, the ZEV Mandate means that manufacturers are under pressure to meet certain targets for what proportion of their new car sales are electric. As of this year that is 22% of all new cars, by 2030 that rises to 80%. With considerable fines imposed for those manufacturers not meeting those targets, there is surely going to be a bigger push than ever to get customers into brand new electric cars prior to the 2035 combustion engine ban.

Some of our most popular models, like the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, have a fully electric model on the horizon which may help to encourage an increase in the number of fully electric cars being funded. Yet on the other hand our most popular model, the Porsche 911, currently has no such plans. The demand for electric cars does not appear to be as strong as it once was, and many people who haven’t already made the switch are reluctant to do so until they have no choice. It will be interesting to see how the figures look come the end of 2024.

Financing Your Car In 2024

Looking to purchase a car in 2024? Why not get the ball rolling with a no obligation conversation with your dedicated Account Manager about your funding options. You can get in touch with us either by calling 0800 012 6666 or online by clicking here.

With over 2,000 Trustpilot reviews, four-time consecutive award winners of the Best Specialist Car Finance Provider award from 2020 through to 2023, and having funded over £1.9 billion and counting, you too can find out why thousands of people trust us time and time again to find a smarter, tailored funding solution when looking for your next car.

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