Moody’s Analytics says buyers of used cars are paying 54pc more than pre-pandemic even though prices are dropping

A gradual improvement in the availability of semiconductors has helped car manufacturers lift production levels. Semiconductors are a crucial component in the increasingly sophisticated modern electronics at the core of modern vehicles.

Ms Ell said while global vehicle production had not returned to pre-pandemic levels in Europe and Asia, there had been a significant improvement. Vehicle production in Japan in October was 35 per cent higher than in 2021, but was still 11 per cent…