8:03 am, July 20, 2021
The Volkswagen Touareg is currently the fastest-selling used car in the UK while the Suzuki Swace and Mercedes EQV proved the toughest for dealers to shift, new data shows.
As of July 15, 2021, 2016-registered diesel automatic versions of the German premium SUV took on average just 22 days to shift.
The Touareg topped data compiled by Auto Trader in its Fastest Selling Index, which also showed SUVs are flying off forecourts.
Out of the current top 10 fastest-sellers, eight are SUVs are crossovers with the remaining two being sports cars.
Auto Trader said SUVs are currently the most in demand body type on its platform.
Based on the volume of searches and advert views, demand levels have increased 10 per cent year-on-year (as of July 15, 2021), while levels of supply have dropped 8.7 per cent.
The firm said this imbalance of supply and demand has not only given SUVs a very strong market health, a 20.5 per cent increase year-on-year, but also helped drive used prices up significantly.
Last week, the average price of a used SUV was £22,288, which is a year-on-year increase of 13.1 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Swace and the EQV took the longest average time to sell, at 150 days.
They were closely followed by the Subaru XV which takes an average of 149 days to sell.
Commenting on the Index, Auto Trader’s director of commercial products, Karolina Edwards-Smajda, said: ‘We’ve seen already very strong levels of buyer demand accelerate following the reopening of physical forecourts in April, but it looks as though it’s been given an extra boost in anticipation of the easing of most COVID-19 restrictions this week.
‘This is having a significant influence on the speed of sale and used car prices, as well as the overall market health.
‘It is still crucial however, that retailers keep abreast of the micro and macro market conditions to inform their pricing and sourcing strategies, and ultimately, to ensure they are making as much profit from their forecourts as possible.’
Auto Trader’s market analysis has also revealed that the overall national average days to sell has seen a dramatic decrease since the start of the year.
Its data shows that it currently takes an average of just 23 days for used vehicles to turn on UK forecourts, down from 43 days at the start of the year and representing a decrease of 47 per cent.
The data comes as exclusive figures compiled for Car Dealer by Auto Trader show that demand for used vans shows no signs of slowing down.
June saw used van prices rise by 18 per cent with 2008-registered Ford Transits taking on average just eight days to shift from dealer forecourts.
Fastest-selling used cars
Volkswagen Touareg
Year: 2016
Fuel & transmission: diesel, automatic
Auto Trader Retail Rating: 99.25
Predicted days to sell: 22
Ford Edge
Year: 2018
Fuel & transmission: diesel, automatic
Auto Trader Retail Rating: 98.13
Predicted days to sell: 22
Ford Kuga
Year: 2018
Fuel & transmission: diesel, manual
Auto Trader Retail Rating: 99.33
Predicted days to sell: 23
Land Rover Discovery Sport
Year: 2016
Fuel & transmission: diesel, manual
Auto Trader Retail Rating: 98.85
Predicted days to sell: 23
Mercedes-Benz GLA
Year: 2018
Fuel & transmission: diesel, automatic
Auto Trader Retail Rating: 97.79
Predicted days to sell: 23
Mercedes-Benz SLC
Year: 2017
Fuel & transmission: diesel, automatic
Auto Trader Retail Rating: 99.03
Predicted days to sell: 24
Hyundai Tucson
Year: 2018
Fuel & transmission: petrol, manual
Auto Trader Retail Rating: 93.30
Predicted days to sell: 24
Nissan X-Trail
Year: 2018
Fuel & transmission: petrol, manual
Auto Trader Retail Rating: 92.18
Predicted days to sell: 24
Mazda MX-5
Year: 2016
Fuel & transmission: petrol, manual
Auto Trader Retail Rating: 91.72
Predicted days to sell: 24
Range Rover Evoque
Year: 2018
Fuel & transmission: diesel, manual
Auto Trader Retail Rating: 91.78
Predicted days to sell: 24
Slowest-selling used cars
Suzuki Swace
Year: 2020
Fuel & transmission: petrol hybrid, automatic
Auto Trader Retail Rating: 0.93
Predicted days to sell: 150
Mercedes EQV
Year: 2020
Fuel & transmission: electric, automatic
Auto Trader Retail Rating: 1.08
Predicted days to sell: 150
Subaru XV (2021)
Year: 2021
Fuel & transmission: petrol, automatic
Auto Trader Retail Rating: 1.00
Predicted days to sell: 149
Volvo S90
Year: 2021
Fuel & transmission: petrol plug-in hybrid, automatic
Auto Trader Retail Rating: 0.97
Predicted days to sell: 148
Subaru Levorg
Year: 2020
Fuel & transmission: petrol, automatic
Auto Trader Retail Rating: 1.07
Predicted days to sell: 148
Renault Captur
Year: 2020
Fuel & transmission: petrol plug-in hybrid, automatic
Auto Trader Retail Rating: 1.13
Predicted days to sell: 147
Cupra Leon
Year: 2020
Fuel & transmission: petrol plug-in hybrid, automatic
Auto Trader Retail Rating: 0.91
Predicted days to sell: 143
SsangYong Korando
Year: 2020
Fuel & transmission: petrol, automatic
Auto Trader Retail Rating: 1.15
Predicted days to sell: 142
Subaru XV (2020)
Year: 2020
Fuel & transmission: petrol hybrid, automatic
Auto Trader Retail Rating: 1.23
Predicted days to sell: 141
DS Automobiles DS3 Crossback
Year: 2019
Fuel & transmission: diesel, automatic
Auto Trader Retail Rating: 1.12
Predicted days to sell: 136
