THE chaotic state of the UK's used car market following 18 months of new car pricing uncertainty shows that the Government should not interfere in any market under any circumstances, according to British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association director-general John Lewis.

Residual value price falls have massively outstripped the falls in new car prices following the Competition Commission's investigation into the new car market, heavily impacting on fleet costs.

And Lewis told the congress: 'The cost of change has increased. The Government should not interfere in any market under any circumstances. We can see all too clearly what goes wrong when they do.

'For the first time in our history we have a radical dislocation of the used vehicle cycle and economic cycle which was impossible to predict. Therefore we need to improve residual value predictions and become better communicators.'

With demand for cars being outstripped by supply, there continues to be a recipe for falling prices and Lewis added: 'The situation has been exacerbated by the Government and other bodies calling for reductions in new car list prices. The cost to change a vehicle has increased and that was not the Government's intention.'