7:37 am, October 16, 2020
Purchases of used sports cars and four-wheel-drive vehicles have boomed in the UK this year, new research suggests.
Information collected between June 1 and August 31 found that the number of people buying sports cars shot up by a massive 82 per cent against the same period in 2019.
The West Midlands had the greatest appetite for the speedsters, with sales up by 200 per cent on the previous year, while the north-west saw an increase of 185 per cent.
The most popular make and model of all the sports cars was the Mercedes-Benz SLK, pictured.
The research was carried out by CarShop using a sample of 45,000 used car sales, and it also found that used four-wheel-drive sales were up by 17 per cent versus the same period in 2019.
Chief executive Nigel Hurley said: ‘The surge in used sports car sales across England and Wales doesn’t surprise me.
‘In these distressing times, people are looking for something positive, fun and exciting to distract them from the current climate.
‘Holidays are on pause, weddings and large family gatherings are postponed, so why wouldn’t you treat yourself?’
Sales of used four-wheel-drives increased the most in London, where they went up by 35 per cent, followed by Yorkshire and the Humber.
People have also been spending more in general. They paid £11,219 on average for their cars between June and August this year, against £10,008 in 2019.
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