Car dealers managed to achieve their fastest stock turn so far this year in March as the locked down market showed ‘remarkable resilience’.

New figures released by eBay Motors Group today show the average days to sell dropped eight per cent compared to February as buyers click and collected their new cars.

The average number of days in stock in March was 45.6 – down from 49.5 days in February.

Franchised dealers turned their stock the fastest (44.6 days), independents were second (48.1 days) and car supermarkets were third (50.1 days).

Dermot Kelleher, head of marketing and research at eBay Motors Group, said: ‘With the UK in lockdown throughout March, the used car market continued to show remarkable resilience with dealers achieving their fastest stock turns so far this year on the back of high levels of online consumer activity.

‘Our March analysis reflects a strong desire among buyers to research and complete purchases as the UK prepares to move out of lockdown’

£12,684
Average price of a used car in March

The average price of cars advertised on the platforms dipped slightly after rising in February by 0.8 per cent in March down from £12,784 to £12,684.

Car supermarkets, though, bucked that trend with an average rise of 1.2 per cent.

Kelleher added: ‘With lockdown restrictions now being eased and buyers able to return to dealer forecourts in April, we’re encouraged by just how strong online activity and enquiries have performed throughout Q1, suggesting a positive start for dealers once they’re able to engage with customers face to face.’

Diesels are selling fastest at the moment with an average of 42.3 days in stock compared to 47.1 for petrol models.

Demand for EVs remains low in the used market, though. In March they accounted for just 1.1 per cent of dealer stock and took an average of 56.6 days to sell.

Hybrids were worse – averaging 67.7 days to sell.

67.7
Number of days on average it takes to sell a used hybrid

Kelleher said: ‘EVs continue to be relatively expensive in the used car market, compared to similar petrol or diesel models, an issue compounded by ongoing concerns among buyers about battery range and the rollout recharging infrastructure, meaning for now at least they remain a very small part of the used market.’

Fastest selling cars

Premium brand SUVs were among the fastest selling cars in March, according to eBay Motors Group.

Volkswagen’s Touareg was the fastest selling model in March, taking an average of just 29 days to sell on Motors.co.uk.

Also among the top 10 fastest sellers were the Mercedes-Benz GLC and GLE, BMW X4, Audi Q7 and Land Rover Discovery Sport.

The Top 10 list is available in full below to Car Dealer members. Sign in with your name and email address, or sign up in seconds, to get instant access to the list.