12:31 pm, January 14, 2022
The 2016 Nissan Leaf automatic has been named the UK’s fastest-selling used car of 2021.
Auto Trader said today (Jan 14) that the EV, pictured, took just 17 days to shift from forecourts on average.
It’s only the second time that a fully electric vehicle has topped Auto Trader’s annual top 10 Fastest-Selling Index during the seven years it has been monitoring the market’s fastest sellers.
The index tracks the potential speed at which vehicles will sell based on live supply and demand. Auto Trader said it reflected the recent surge in demand for electric and low-emission vehicles.
As well as the Leaf, the top 10 included its French EV counterpart, the Renault Zoe (2018, automatic), which took an average of just 20 days to leave forecourts, putting it in seventh place.
Two petrol-hybrids also made it on to the list: the 2016 Toyota Prius (automatic) and the 2016 Toyota Yaris (automatic). They took an average of 19 days and 20 days to sell respectively, placing them second and sixth.
The fastest-selling used cars by days to turn on Auto Trader, also showing – in the fourth column – their retail rating on the marketplace
Meanwhile, Ford’s Mustang Mach-E was the most-viewed new EV in 2021, with the Hyundai Ioniq 5, and Volkswagen ID.3 in second and third place respectively.
Auto Trader said engagement in electric cars on its site was up 74 per cent year on year, while one in five new car searches on its marketplace were for an EV.
The Mach-E was the only pure-electric vehicle to make it on to the list of top 10 viewed new cars in 2021, reaching ninth. The Ioniq 5 and ID.3 were 11th and 12th respectively.
Karolina Edwards-Smajda, Auto Trader’s commercial product director, said: ‘It’s incredibly positive to see a pure electric at the top of the list for 2021 for just the second time in the seven years we’ve been tracking the fastest selling used cars.
‘There’s been a real breakthrough for EVs in the UK over the past few years, but 2021 really did mark a major step forward in terms of heightened levels of demand.
‘This was driven, in part, by the greater choice and availability of models, as well as the recent fuel shortage, which helped to further accelerate consumer consideration.
‘Although we’re still some way off EVs being financially accessible for the mass market, our data does offer another clear sign of things to come and the exciting opportunity that electric vehicles represent for the industry.’
