8:31 am, July 4, 2013
EXPERIAN has published its latest Used Car Sales Index, revealing the lowest first quarter sales figures since 2005.
According to the results, a total of 1,653,668 used cars were sold from January to March this year, which represents a five per cent decrease compared to the same quarter in 2012, when used car sales hit the highest quarter one since 2009.
The Specialist Sports category, which includes the Audi TT and the Mazda MX5, saw the most significant fall, with sales down 10.4 per cent on quarter one of last year.
The Upper Medium segment, which includes the Ford Mondeo and BMW 3 Series, suffered the second hardest hit with a 10.1 per cent drop in sales on quarter one 2012.
Surprisingly, despite challenging conditions, both electric and hybrid models continued to show significant increases in sales with a 13.6 per cent and a 13.1 per cent uplift on quarter one 2012, respectively.
4x4s also continue to perform well, as all-wheel-drive vehicles such as the Range Rover Vogue and BMW X5, were the only segment to enjoy an increase in sales compared to quarter one 2012 with an uplift of 7.4 per cent.
The results revealed that all areas across the UK, experienced a decrease in used car sales in the first quarter of 2013, with sales in Greater London falling by 7.9 per cent and sales in Scotland experiencing the second highest fall at 6.7 per cent, compared to quarter one 2012.
Nevertheless, the Ford Focus kept its crown as best-selling used car of the quarter selling over 77,000 units from January to March. Meanwhile, the Volkswagen Polo retained its position in the top ten narrowly, overtaking sales of the Ford Ka, which kept it out of the top ranked used cars in Q2 and Q3 last year.
In addition, Volkswagen and Nissan were the only two to see an increase in used car sales, with a 1.2 per cent and 1 per cent increase, respectively.
Principle consultant at Experian Automotive, Andrew Ballard said: ‘Our figures show that some categories are consistently performing well even in a challenging environment.
‘Electric and hybrid vehicles, and also the 4×4 segment, have shown strong growth in used car sales indicating that reliable mobility in harsher weather conditions plus environmental and cost saving factors are front of mind.
He added: ‘These trends are important indicators for dealerships when identifying and building the optimum, profitable stock mix.’
