Sales of three year old low cost/low emission cars signpost budget-conscious 2020 market says Auto Trader

Dealers should be stocking fuel-efficient superminis – ideally 2016 cars back from a PCP – smaller SUVs or EVs to fit in with the trend for low cost or green cars.

Auto Trader says analysis of its marketplace this month shows that Renault’s ZOE EV, 2016 superminis and a sprinkling of smaller SUVs of the same age are the fastest-selling used cars so far this year and their performance could set the tone for 2020 as buyers search for low cost, good value or low emission cars.

It says that despite greater consumer confidence from post-election political stability, buyers still retain a degree of austerity attitude and are being pushed towards fitting in with the green agenda. Aside from the pure EVs, it doesn’t seem to matter which fuel type they are with sales evenly split between diesel and petrol.

In its first Fastest-Selling Index of the year, its data show the ZOE could take around 25 days to find a buyer with the second-fastest mover, the 2016 Mazda CX-5 (diesel/manual) needing just three more. Superminis take the lion’s share of the top ten – all of them 2016 versions – with the Toyota AYGO, Ford Ka, Volkswagen up! and Audi A1 in there.

Underlining the prevailing mood for a good deal, budget brand Dacia has three of its models in the list.

Buyers Being Cautious With Their Money

Karolina Edwards-Smajda, Auto Trader’s director of commercial products, said:

“We can see a clear demand for 2016 vehicle variants, which are reaching the used market after three-year finance cycles. Despite consumer confidence increasing post December’s General Election, these newer and low mileage second-hand cars offer cautious consumers excellent value; almost the same quality as their brand-new counterparts but at a much lower price tag.”

Adding further weight to the argument that buyers are being cautious with their money there seems to be a turn away though from nearly new stock with 2019 bigger models from Audi, Volvo and Subaru taking up to 150 days to shift and being the Index’s worst performers.

2020 could be the year where second hand EVs really take off though. Karolina added:

“Despite a slight increase of traditional fuelled vehicles on the top 10, it’s impossible to ignore the huge shift in consumer perception towards low emission cars. Whilst we’re a long way from mass adoption, every metric on our marketplace indicates an ever-growing appetite for electric. Not only has the ZOE continued its reign into the new year, but over the last 12 months, we’ve seen a significant 78% increase in searches for EVs on Auto Trader. With more and more new generation models set to reach showrooms this year, coupled with fast-improving infrastructure, it’s looking increasingly likely that 2020 will indeed be the year of electric.”

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