8:16 am, July 17, 2023

Mazda’s CX-5 was the quickest car to sell on dealers’ forecourts last month while Land Rovers generated the highest margins, new data shows.

Dealer Auction’s latest Retail Margin Monitor shows SUVs remained the flavour of the month in June, and it was a good time for dealers to be selling premium models.

The Range Rover Evoque generated the highest average retail margin of £3,800 in June, but it was the Mazda CX-5 which was the quickest model to sell taking on average just 25 days to shift.

The Japanese SUV also jumped from ninth to second place in the average retail margin standings.

Three models of Mercedes-Benz appeared in the month’s top 10 list, while it was the first time the Land Rover Discovery Sport dropped out.

The full data is listed below.

Land Rover remained the most profitable brand for dealers, though, with an average retail margin of £3,630 in June.

Top 10 brands by retail margin

Source: Dealer Auction Retail Margin Monitor. ‘ARM’ stands for ‘Average Retail Margin’

Land Rover – £3,630 ARM
BMW – £2,800 ARM
Volvo – £2,720 ARM
Audi – £2,650 ARM
Mercedes-Benz – £2,640 ARM
Mini – £2,380 ARM
Seat – £2,200 ARM
Nissan – £2,170 ARM
Kia – £2,165 ARM
Volkswagen – £2,120 ARM

Talking exclusively to Car Dealer, Sarah Marley, Dealer Auction’s sales and marketing director said: ‘Once again, our data shows that when it comes to the used car market, nothing can be taken for granted!

‘From almost nowhere, the Mazda CX-5 has shot up the profitability league and Seat is a new entrant, but the Discovery Sport has dropped out of the list for the first time.

‘It just shows the importance of staying agile and open to new opportunities; profit isn’t always where you most expect to find it.’

Richard Walker, director of data & insights at Auto Trader, added: ‘The recent rise in retail values has done little to dampen consumer demand, reflected in the very strong levels of engagement we’ve seen on our marketplace.

‘The fluctuation shown in Dealer Auction’s figures not only highlights just how fast-paced the market is right now, but also underpins the importance of taking a data-led approach to stocking and pricing decisions.’