8:28 am, March 8, 2023
The Nissan Leaf has topped a list revealing the cars that gave dealers the best profit margins in February.
It’s the first time an EV has come out on top of Dealer Auction’s Retail Margin Monitor, the company said.
The British-built electric hatchback gave dealers an average retail margin of £3,750 last month.
It’s also the first non-Land-Rover product to top the Retail Margin Monitor since the margin tracker’s launch in January 2022.
Dealer Auction said that while there have been other electric models recorded in previous months, such as the Renault Zoe that appeared in January 2022 (£2,540) and February 2022 (£2,400), the Leaf is the first EV to rank with an average margin of over £3,000 – putting it in good company with previous top-ranking products including Land Rover’s Range Rover Evoque.
Dealer Auction’s Marketplace director, Kieran TeeBoon, commented: ‘Not only is it the first time we’re seeing the Leaf, it’s the first time we’ve seen such success for an electric vehicle on our platform.
‘It’s taken a while to see the increasing popularity of new EVs filter down to the used market, so this certainly inspires excitement.
‘We’ll be watching closely to see how the Leaf and other electric vehicles perform in upcoming months.’
The Leaf pushed January’s top model – and second-top performing model in 2021 and 2022 – the Land Rover Discovery Sport into second place with an average margin of £3,240.
The full top 10 is listed below.
For the best profit-generating brands, Land Rover was number one in February with an average retail margin of £2,870.
Further down the table, SsangYong (£2,250) makes its first appearance in the Retail Margin Monitor at eighth place, bordered by other SUV-making brands Jeep (£2,320) and Subaru (£2,180).
TeeBoon concluded: ‘Land Rover has consistently proved to be a profitable brand for dealers since the very first Retail Margin Monitor.
‘Despite a Land Rover vehicle not taking the top model ranking, the marque has two popular derivatives further down the table.
‘And when you consider that Land Rover once again ranked as the number one brand this month, it doesn’t look like the marque’s popularity will be waning any time soon.
‘Most importantly, new-entry marques like SsangYong and the Nissan Leaf’s unexpected appearances serve as the perfect reminder for dealers to keep a varied stocklist and use available data to keep up to date with any potential opportunities for further profit.’
Richard Walker, insights director at Auto Trader, added: ‘It’s fantastic to see change at the top of the table with the Leaf’s impressive almost-£500 lead on the number two spot.
‘Our speed of sale data supports this as in February the three fastest selling used models were alternatively fuelled vehicles.’
Top 10 cars by retail margin
1. Nissan Leaf
Average retail margin: £3,750
2. Land Rover Discovery Sport
Average retail margin: £3,240
3. Mitsubishi Outlander
Average retail margin: £2,870
4. BMW X3
Average retail margin: £2,740
5. Volvo XC90
Average retail margin: £2,670
6. Range Rover Evoque
Average retail margin: £2,630
7. Mazda CX-5
Average retail margin: £2,600
8. Mercedes-Benz C-Class
Average retail margin: £2,450
9. Mercedes-Benz E-Class
Average retail margin: £2,400
10. Jaguar XF
Average retail margin: £2,240
Top 10 brand by retail margin
1. Land Rover
Average retail margin: £2,870
2. Lexus
Average retail margin: £2,640
3. BMW
Average retail margin: £2,520
4. Mitsubishi
Average retail margin: £2,470
5. Jaguar
Average retail margin: £2,400
6. Mercedes-Benz
Average retail margin: £2,325
7. Jeep
Average retail margin: £2,320
8. SsangYong
Average retail margin: £2,250
9. Subaru
Average retail margin: £2,180
10. Volvo
Average retail margin: £2,100
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