Used cars sold more quickly in October than in any other month this year, with MPVs flying off forecourts

8:26 am, November 10, 2021

Used cars sold more quickly in October than at any other time this year with MPVs flying off forecourts, new data reveals.

eBay Motors Group’s latest Market View shows advertised prices continued to stabilise last month, and the average stock volume per dealership advertised on Motors.co.uk increased by nine per cent to 40.4 units in October.

The firm said this figure was boosted by part-exchanges entering the market following the September plate-change and after two months of decline.

Franchised dealers led the improved stock inventories where averages per site increased 17 per cent month on month to 60.6 units, followed by supermarkets where averages increased 11 per cent to 309 units.

Independent dealers saw a more modest increase of two per cent to 37 units.

Despite these improvements, average stock levels remained 10 units down year on year, said the firm.

With more stock on physical and digital forecourts, used cars averaged just 33.4 days to sell, two full days faster than September, marking a new record for the year.

The fastest sellers were achieved by supermarkets, averaging 30.5 days, followed by franchised dealers at 31.8 days.

However, independents recorded the only month-on-month improvement, with days to sell dropping from 44.7 to 41 days.

Cars priced between £10,000 and £15,000 were the fastest sellers, averaging 28 days in stock, suggesting an influx of three-year-old cars as a result of the September plate-change.

The average price rise for the top 50 makes and models on Motors.co.uk stabilised in October, increasing by just 0.6 per cent to £13,598.

However, this marked a new high for the year, with the average advertised price of a used car increasing by 12.6 per cent, or £1,527, since January.

Dermot Kelleher, head of marketing and research at eBay Motors Group, said: ‘October proved to be another strong month for dealers, with many benefiting from the combination of increased used car inventories, strong prices, high demand and fast sales.

‘Once again, dealers worked hard to keep on top of demand while paying high prices to restock.

‘The challenge over the coming weeks will be to retail these cars profitably.

‘While average advertised prices of the top 50 leading makes and models on Motors.co.uk were still rising, our Market View shows the rate of increase has slowed down.’

Used car sales drop by more than six per cent over quarter but BEVs and PHEVs soar

Although the market is entering a period of seasonality, eBay Motors Group expects dealers to continue to see strong demand from new car buyers switching to used.

Kelleher added: ‘The widely reported new car supply issues around the semiconductor shortage is about to be compounded by the global shortage of magnesium, a key raw material in car production.

‘As a result, waiting times for new cars will increase further, prompting more buyers to look for alternatives in the used market.’

The top 10 fastest-selling makes and models on Motors.co.uk was dominated by MPVs, with the Ford Grand C-Max averaging just 18.9 days on forecourts, followed by the Vauxhall Zafira Tourer (19.6 days), Ford Galaxy (20 days) and Citroen C4 Grand Picasso (21 days).

Mainstream cars such as the Ford Focus continue to rise, with average prices for three-year/30,000-mile examples increasing 7.7 per cent since September to £18,575 – a year-on-year rise of 28.7 per cent.

Diesel-engined cars remained the fastest sellers by fuel type, averaging just 31.6 days to sell, with petrol models averaging 34.6 days.

However, in a month marked by fuel shortages, alternatively-fuelled cars sold significantly faster than 12 months ago, with hybrids averaging 33 days compared with 52.5 days in October 2020, and electric cars averaging 36.8 days versus 43 days a year ago.

The top 10 fast-selling makes and models on Motors.co.uk is listed below

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