Used diesel car prices rose by 3% as the average price of a used car rose 6% during January, according to Auto Trader’s Retail Price Index.

Despite a fall in the share of searches by fuel-type targeting a diesel vehicle, from 71% in November 2016 to an annual low of 53% in January, diesel car sales via the online marketplace generated an average value of £14,405 in last month, compared to the £12,775 realised by the average used car sale.

Auto Trader analyses data from over 500,000 trade used car listings every day, as well as additional dealer forecourt and website data to deliver its monthly statistics.

It said that the £777 increase in the value of a diesel car sold via its platform represented “a promising start for used diesel prices”

However, petrol saw a more impressive leap in used prices in January, recording an average price of £10,713, which is a £1,733 jump on January 2017 – representing a 10% increase on a like-for-like basis.

Online searches for petrol cars, meanwhile, have steadily risen and accounted for 43% in January 2018, compared to just 26% in November 2016.

In January 2018 4% of all fuel-related searches were attributed to alternatively fuelled vehicles, which was no movement from December and a 1% increase year-on-on.

Comparing the total volume of AFV searches across the year, the number of searches for AFVs on Auto Trader increased 65% between 2016 and 2017, with electric alone recording a huge jump of 84% in searches.

Karolina Edwards-Smajda (pictured), Auto Trader’s retailer and consumer product director, said: “With new diesel registrations continuing to tumble, it’s very reassuring to see used diesel prices not only retaining their value, but actually increasing in January.

“It’s clear, however, just how harmful the government’s strong anti-diesel stance has been on the automotive industry.

“We can see that the misstep in not clarifying the difference between new Euro6 and older vehicles has seriously dampened consumer buying confidence, reflected in both the ongoing fall in new diesel registrations, as well as the searches on our market place.”