Auto Trader has reported that online searches for diesel powered used cars stabilised in March as their price failed to keep pace with their petrol equivalents.
Diesel vehicles accounted for 53% of online used car searches via Auto Trader but the fuel type failed to keep pace with petrol powered alternatives 10% year-on-year price rise in February.
Auto Trader sees used diesel car prices rise by 3% Used diesel car prices rose by 3% as the average price of a used car rose 6% industry-wide, according to Auto Trader’s Retail Price Index. Despite a fall in the share of searches by fuel-type targeting a diesel vehicle, 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. The Auto Trader Retail Price Index 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, 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.”
Prices for used diesel cars rose by 2% in 2017, despite the dramatic shift towards petrol seen in the new car market.
The average price of a used car increased 6% year-on-year in October, according to data published by Auto Trader.
Used car prices increased by 5% as diesel vehicle prices rose 2% in September, according to the latest data from the Auto Trader Retail Price Index.
The fastest selling car in the UK in June was the 2015 Hyundai ix35 Crossover in petrol manual form, which took just 19 days to sell.
Alternative fuel vehicles have increased in value by an average of £1,502 year-on-year in Q1 2016 – a 7% increase over Q1 2015.
Auto Trader’s biannual market report has highlighted the "death of haggling" as a key characteristic of the changing automotive market over the past 12 months.
Alternatively fuelled cars are showing the highest year-on-year price increase in the used market of all fuel types. The average prices for diesel cars has fallen below petrol for the first time.
