A NEW residual value forecasting system has been launched, promising greater accuracy thanks to its ability to take into account various economic conditions.

Autofutura, which has been in development for two years, has been conceived by former founding directors and shareholders of Henley Systems, Ian Liesnham and Kim Sandom. They have developed the system to use data such as the retail price index, new car sales volumes, unemployment rates, interest rates, fuel prices, exchange rates, and consumer spending to predict values.

Liesnham said: ‘Most companies do not have the resources to input, analyse and then interpret all the data that can impact on vehicle residual values. As a result there is an element of guesswork. Getting the numbers wrong will have a huge impact on the financial provision they must make to guard against residual value losses.

‘In developing Autofutura software we are using new methodology that enables contract hire and leasing companies to deliver their own, more accurate, residual value forecasts based on the data we supply.’

The software also allows companies to re-evaluate their current risk portfolio and value the risk-book of possible acquisition opportunities.

Contract hire and leasing firm ALD Automotive is the first business to announce it will use Autofutura.

Deputy managing director Nigel Fletcher said: ‘We have never had such a wealth of information at our fingertips.’