7:52 am, February 19, 2024
Meet 2023’s near-unsellable motors – these are the cars that hung around on car dealer forecourts longer than any others.
Auto Trader has crunched the numbers for Car Dealer and worked out which cars stuck around the longest and there’s some surprising models on the list.
In first place with the unwelcome title of slowest car to sell with an average 95 days was the Audi A4 saloon diesel.
The Audi was top by a 10-day margin over the next slowest selling car.
In second place was the slightly more odd-ball Subaru XV in petrol hybrid powertrain taking a worrying 84.5 days on average to find a new home.
And in third was the less-than-popular Maserati Levante SUV taking an average of 83 days to leave car dealers’ stock lists.
Top 10 slowest selling cars of 2023
Source: Auto Trader
- Audi A4 diesel (year old) – 95 days
- Subaru XV petrol hybrid (1-3 years old) – 84.5 days
- Maserati Levante petrol (year old) – 83 days
- BMW 4 Series diesel hybrid (year old) – 81.5 days
- BMW 6 Series diesel (10-15 years old) – 81 days
- Lexus UX 300e electric (1-3 years old) – 80 days
- Fiat Tipo petrol (year old) – 77 days
- Audi A6 Saloon diesel (year old) – 77 days
- Mercedes-Benz G Class petrol (3-5 years old) – 76 days
- Ferrari Portofino petrol (3-5 years old) – 75 days
Auto Trader documents the average days a car takes to sell on its platform working out when a car dealer lists the model for sale and when it removes it. The average days to sell used cars are usually around 50-60 days.
Marc Palmer, head of strategy and insight at Auto Trader, said: ‘Beyond overall demand, there’s various trends and factors that cause certain used car models to take longer to sell, including the fuel-type, price, age, and the volume of stock available in the market.
‘In 2023 the slowest overall model was a diesel, and that trend has continued into this year.
‘Consumer demand for diesel cars on Auto Trader is currently down 7%, and the slowest selling models are largely older diesels, which are not only more at risk of the latest ULEZ standards, but they’re also more expensive to run due to the high, albeit softening, fuel prices.
‘Applying the right data and insights can help navigate these changing dynamics and identify those cars most likely to sell quickly and make more profit as a result.’
