8:21 am, December 4, 2023
The used car market remained stable in November with increased customer demand for older, cheaper vehicles.
That is according to analysis from the newly-rebranded Motors, which found ‘steady’ demand for cost-effective essential purchase cars last month.
The firm’s latest Market View report found a shift in consumer focus towards vehicles priced under £10,000, as the cost of living crisis continues to impact buyer behaviour.
Models listed under £5,000 and between £5,000-£9,999 sold in 44 and 38 days respectively, both seeing a three per cent improvement on October.
Demand in this area was further illustrated by the Vauxhall Corsa with three-year-old models, with up to 30,000 miles on the clock, averaging £16,553 – a four per cent rise.
There firm, formerly known as Motors.co.uk, also reported increased demand for even older cars, led by 14–16-year-old examples of the Ford Focus, which was the biggest month-on-month price improver, up nine per cent to £5,054.
On the flip side, younger cars dominated the biggest price fallers, led by two to three-year-old Vauxhall Crossland X models, which tumbled by 14 per cent to an average retail price of £11,839.
Despite this, the average price of a used car remained flat at £17,619, just £76 (or 0.4 per cent) higher than October and two per cent ahead of November 2022.
However, within the mix average advertised prices of cars under five-years-old dropped 1.5 per cent month-on-month.
Dealer stock levels, which have been slowly rising since September, remained on a par with October at 49 units, although three per cent ahead year-on-year.
Days to sell remained unchanged month-on-month at 36, with car supermarkets achieving the quickest sales at 27 days. Franchised dealers were flat at 30 days and independent dealers improved from 49 to 48 days.
As reported over the weekend by Car Dealer, the fastest selling car, for the second month in a row was the discontinued Toyota Prius Plus hybrid, averaging just 14 days on dealer forecourts.
Electric vehicles were the fastest growing fuel type, increasing 18 per cent for the month and 46 per cent year-on-year, taking a three per cent share of all listings.
It was also a strong month for hybrids, up 14 per cent for the month, doubling their year-on-year volumes, to account for seven per cent of all listings.
When it came to fuel types, petrol volumes also grew, up three per cent for the month and up ten per cent on last November, accounting for 53 per cent of listings.
There was also a slight rise in remand for diesel which rose two per cent for the month but remained four per cent down year-on-year.
Lucy Tugby, marketing director of Motors, said: ‘November proved to be a relatively stable month for the used car market.
‘Despite the widely reported falls of wholesale values in October and November, our Market View analysis shows signs of dealer resilience as they held firm on advertised prices.
‘Our data also identified a strong month for no-frills cars, with demand prompting price rises for older mainstream models such as the Ford Focus, Ford Fiesta, Hyundai i10 and Citroen C4 Picasso.
‘As household budgets, already squeezed by cost of living pressures, factor in Christmas spending, we expect these essential purchase cars to continue to attract buyers over the coming weeks, ahead of consumers going online during the festive break to search for their next car.’
