One-in-three motorists plan to sell vehicle due to ULEZ expansion

One-in-three (36%) Londoners plan to sell their vehicle in the next six months due to the proposed ULEZ extension alongside the rising cost of living, research has found.

Research commissioned by Motorway has revealed that Londoners are growing increasingly concerned about the expansion, with three-in-five (60%) admitting they are worried about how it will affect their finances.

However, two thirds (67%) of those surveyed said they can’t afford to switch to an electric vehicle (EV) or compliant petrol car.

Motorway's data was published as carwow found that 22% of motorists looking to sell their car are doing so in an affort to cut costs in response to the UK's cost-of-living crisis.

Alex Buttle, co-founder of Motorway, said: “The cost of petrol and diesel, along with the cost of living, are rising fast.

“This coupled with the extension of the ULEZ in London, means more urban drivers are questioning their current car and driving habits.

“We’ve seen a 21% rise in diesel cars being sold on Motorway since last month and the research revealed many more motorists will be looking to sell in the next six months due to the likely expansion of ULEZ to cover the whole of the city.”

ULEZ switch

Earlier this month, Motorway reported a 200% uplift un used vehicles sales via its online marketplace in the first half of 2022.

According to data from Motorway’s ULEZ compliance checker, Mercedes and Land Rover are the most likely to be non-compliant with three-in-five (60%) vehicles facing fines.

The research also showed that four-in-10 (39%) Londoners sold their car when ULEZ was originally introduced.

When asked about the reasons for selling their petrol or diesel car, half (47%) of Londoners said they would sell to buy an EV in light of the potential expansion of ULEZ.

The data reveals that a third (36%) of those in the capital are unaware the ULEZ could be expanded by August 2023.

Buttle added: “For dealers, this means they could be seeing a real rise in demand for used EVs in the months to come as more Londoners make the switch to electric - with long wait times for new EVs plus a hefty price tag, they are likely to turn to the second-hand market instead.

“When it comes to diesel, outside of big cities, there is still a real market for these vehicles and with the 21% increase in diesel on our platform, dealers could get a great deal right now.”

Cost-of-living savings

Data from carwow, which has a Sell Your Car offering offering a similar car buying solution to Motorway, found that a fifth of car sellers were looking to save money.

While 31% of reposndents to a carwow survey said they were selling in order to upgrade to a bigger or better vehicle, 23% said they had an additional car they no longer needed.

But 22% said they either wanted to save money by selling a car or downsizing to something more affordable.

Just 11% said they wanted to make the switch to an elelctric vehicle (EV).

Carwow founder and chief executive James Hind - recently profiled in a '10 minutes with...' interview in AM - said: “Our data reflects that the cost-of-living crisis is continuing to hit Brits hard, with many being forced to sell their car to cut costs, while others are having to downgrade their vehicle to make savings.

“The most commonly listed cars are more expensive/luxury brands – BMW, Audi and Mercedes  - which supports the fact many people are downgrading their cars to save money. In fact, most of those looking to buy used cars are not searching for high-end models; top used car searches are for Toyotas, VWs and Peugeots and a third (31%) of all used enquiries are for vehicles costing less than £20,000.”