9:22 am, March 19, 2025
While Tesla may be experiencing a slump in new car sales, the American brand is still hugely popular in the used market, new data reveals.
Heycar’s latest Retail Insights Report shows that Tesla Model 3 was the most searched-for used electric car on its marketplace in February.
Interest in second-hand Model 3s picked up last month, allowing the American EV saloon to rank above the Audi Q4 e-tron and larger Audi e-tron SUVs.
The data is an interesting counterpoint to figures released by Motors earlier this month, which showed values of used Teslas plummeted in February.
Tesla was one of the fastest-selling brands at 25.3 days, behind only Volvo at 22.6 days.
The report also showed that the average number of days in stock for used cars dropped from 43.4 days to 34.4 days, while used car pricing remains stable.
The average advertised price on Heycar was £24,269 in February, up £220 on January.
Dermot Kelleher, chief marketing officer at Heycar, said: ‘Things may well change in the coming months, but demand among used EV buyers for Tesla was strong in February, with the brand experiencing one of the lowest days in stock.
‘We’ve recently seen a lot more used Tesla models coming onto the market – a trend we expect to continue as leasing contracts come to an end – and this means wider availability of the cars at more accessible price points.’
Demand for SUVs remain strong, revealed the data, with the bodystyle remaining the most popular among used car buyers.
Nine of the top 15 cars searched for on Heycar in January 2025 were SUVs, with the Nissan Qashqai and Audi Q3 the two most searched-for cars in the UK, ahead of the Audi A1.
‘Buyers continue to favour models that offer a strong all-round value package,’ added Kelleher. ‘While there is a strong bias towards premium brands and image, it’s in the context of family practicality and size, price and equipment.
‘The Qashqai continues to be the go-to model for ticking all of those boxes and maintains top spot as Heycar’s most popular car.’
Interest in EVs increased during February, and although luxury brands such as Tesla, Audi and Mercedes-Benz attracted the most interest, the Hyundai Kona Electric, MG ZS EV, MG4 and Nissan Leaf also generated significant interest.
The Heycar report said that this demonstrated that ‘price sensitivity plays a key role in generating interest, particularly among first-time EV buyers’.
