Average used car retail prices rose 3% in July with SUVs flying off forecourts

12:49 pm, August 10, 2021

Average used car retail prices rose three per cent in July, new figures show.

eBay Motors Group (eMG) said the average used car advertising price shot up to £12,525 during the month as dealers traded with stock levels tracking significantly below their pre-Covid levels.

Month-on-month stock levels only improved marginally to 40.2 units, from the 39.9 low point recorded in June, while average time to sell increased by two full days to 38.5 days, said the company.

Stock levels grew in franchise and supermarket, with independents seeing continued challenges.

eMG’s findings back up figures released by Cap HPI last week which said used car prices went up by three per cent in July – as was exclusively predicted to Car Dealer.

eMG found the biggest increases were recorded by supermarkets, up six per cent from £12,544 to £13,296, followed by franchised dealers up four per cent from £14,336 to £14,943.

However, prices dropped two per cent in the independent sector from £9,124 to £8,958.

Dermot Kelleher, head of marketing and research at eBay Motors Group, said: ‘We’re seeing the impact of the widely reported monthly rises in wholesale values playing out in the retail sector with dealers adjusting prices upwards to maintain margin, as supply continues to fall short of demand.’

While franchised dealers and supermarkets saw small but welcome increases in their stock levels, independents dropped to 29.8 units, down 37 per cent on the pre-Covid average of 47.5 units in July 2019.

Kelleher said: ‘Independent retailers are feeling the effect of the shortage of nearly new stock, forcing them to replace sold vehicles with older inventory at lower prices.’

eMG concluded the dealers who were able to source good quality desirable used stock saw some significant month-on-month increases in price.

One of the best performing cars on eMG’s Motors.co.uk platform was the BMW 3 Series where three year-old/30,000 mile examples were being listed for an average price of £25,603, up eight per cent month-on-month and 16 per cent higher than July 2020.

The fastest selling cars in the month were priced from £15,000 to £40,000, averaging just 34 days to sell.

Kelleher added: ‘With the semiconductor shortage seriously impacting new car supply, it appears buyers are switching to used and maxing out their budgets to buy the best possible vehicles.

‘Even cars priced £40,000 to £60,000 are averaging just 38 days to sell, compared to 47 days in July 2019.’

Family SUVs continued to dominate the top 10 fastest selling makes, listed below.

The Kia Niro range of EVs and hybrids was also among the top five fastest sellers, averaging just 24.1 days on dealer forecourts.