EV prices had dipped below hybrids in the used car market as a result of price corrections and an increase in models aged five to 10 years coming to market
That’s a key finding from Motors which reported the a stable used car sector in March with slight fluctuations in price and stock levels, although dealers saw a welcome improvement in days to sell.
Motors’ Market View analysis of the month shows how solid retail demand resulted in cars averaging just 30 days in stock, three days faster than February and five days faster than January.
The fastest sales were achieved by car supermarkets at just 21 days, followed by franchised sites (24 days) and independents (49 days). All three sectors achieved their fastest sales of the first quarter.
Views on Motors increased across all dealer sectors and price bands, with most buyers searching for cars priced £5,000 to £15,000.
Sold volumes also improved across all three dealer sectors both month-on-month (MoM) and year-on-year (YoY).
The average price of a used car in March was £17,391, up just £6 MoM and £203 YoY. While franchised (£23,647) and independent (£12,758) dealers were virtually unchanged MoM, car supermarkets increased 1% (or £157) to £16,754.
Prices by fuel type across petrol (£16,599), diesel (£15,220) and hybrids (£24,558) were stable MoM. While the monthly falls in EVs, which started in September, continued with a MoM drop of £323 to £24,203, down 14% YoY.
Overall stock levels were unchanged MoM at 48 units per site. Franchised dealers averaged 55 units in both February and March, while independents averaged 38 units every month in Q1. The only fluctuation for March was car supermarkets which increased by three units to 144.
The fastest seller by model and age was the Volkswagen Golf, with petrol versions less than six months old and under 5,000 miles averaging just 10 days to sell.
The top five selling used cars were led by the Vauxhall Corsa followed by Ford Fiesta, Nissan Qashqai, Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus.
“The stability of the used car market in Q1 enabled dealers to focus on solid consumer demand in March demonstrated by an uptick in views on MOTORS over the course of the month,” said Lucy Tugby, Marketing Director of Motors.
“Any impact of the March plate-change has yet to be felt as dealers traded through inventories amassed over the quarter, with franchised dealers only just starting to list their part-exchanges.