The fastest selling cars regionally are often miles off the pace nationally.
According to latest Auto Trader research, model variants that flew off forecourts in one region in August, took as much as five times as long to sell elsewhere.
The clearest example of the phenomenon came in London, where the 2011 diesel Vauxhall Insignia sold in an average of 12 days last month. The car’s fortunes nationally however were far less favourable. UK-wide the same Vauxhall variant sold in an average of 65 days.
| Region | Make and Model | Average days to sell in region | Average days to sell UK-wide | Difference |
| Scotland | 2013 Peugeot 208 Hatchback Diesel Manual | 10 | 42 | 32 |
| London | 2011 Vauxhall Insignia Hatchback Diesel Manual | 12 | 65 | 53 |
| London | 2012 Nissan Qashqai Hatchback Petrol Automatic | 13 | 29 | 16 |
| London | 2012 Volkswagen Polo Hatchback Petrol Automatic | 13 | 37 | 24 |
| London | 2012 Nissan Qashqai Hatchback Petrol Manual | 16 | 43 | 27 |
| Scotland | 2014 Dacia Duster SUV Diesel Manual | 16 | 32 | 16 |
| London | 2012 Nissan Note Hatchback Petrol Automatic | 17 | 29 | 12 |
| Northern Ireland | 2014 Seat Ibiza Hatchback Petrol Manual | 19 | 43 | 24 |
| London | 2012 Nissan Qashqai Hatchback Diesel Manual | 20 | 39 | 19 |
| North East | 2014 Nissan Note Hatchback Diesel Manual | 20 | 40 | 20 |
“The diesel Insignia effect is one of the most compelling examples I have seen to support calls for a smart stocking policy,” commented Karolina Edwards-Smajda Auto Trader Director Retailer & Consumer Products. “Other than the Peugeot 208 Hatchback Diesel Manual, which sold in ten days in Scotland, the Insignia moved more quickly in London, than any other car in the UK. Yet in other parts of the country it was a forecourt sloth. It clearly illustrates regional demand variations and how important it is to complement experience in sourcing stock with live market data, including regional desirability ratings, using intelligence tools like Auto Trader i-Control.”
The 2013 Peugeot 208 diesel sold in an average of ten days in Scotland, compared with 42 days nationally, a difference of 32 days. Elsewhere in the table, the 2012 VW Polo petrol, the 2012 Nissan Qashqai petrol and the 2014 Nissan Note diesel were also notable for taking more than twice as long to sell nationally than in their regional hot-spots.
Looking at the national picture, the 2011 diesel Insignia took a lowly 992nd position in the fastest sellers’ league. But the national top ten also provided further evidence for the need to analyse each model variant carefully. The petrol 2012 Insignia, rather than 2011 diesel, was the second fastest selling car nationally at 23 days, one place behind the 2014 Vauxhall Mokka. That was August’s fastest selling car.
Fastest selling cars in August 2015 – nationally
| Position | Make and Model | Days to sell |
| 1 | 2014 Vauxhall Mokka Hatchback Petrol Automatic | 22 |
| 2 | 2012 Vauxhall Insignia Hatchback Petrol Manual | 23 |
| 3 | 2013 Mercedes-Benz C Class Coupe Diesel Manual | 24 |
| 4 | 2010 Ford C-Max MPV Petrol Manual | 25 |
| 4= | 2014 Nissan Note Hatchback Petrol Automatic | 25 |
| 6 | 2007 Citroen Grand C4 Picasso MPV Diesel Manual | 26 |
| 6= | 2008 Citroen Grand C4 Picasso MPV Diesel Manual | 26 |
| 6= | 2012 BMW 3 Series Saloon Petrol Manual | 26 |
| 9 | 2012 Chevrolet Orlando MPV Petrol Automatic | 27 |
| 9= | 2012 Nissan Qashqai+2 Hatchback Petrol Automatic | 27 |
About Auto Trader:
Auto Trader Group plc is a 100% digital business having successfully completed the transition from a print title in 2013. Auto Trader sits at the heart of the UK’s vehicle buying process and operates the UK’s largest digital automotive marketplace.
Auto Trader’s primary activity is to help vehicle retailers compete effectively on the Marketplace in order to sell more vehicles, faster. The Marketplace brings together the largest and most engaged consumer audience. Autotrader.co.uk attracts around 44.5 million monthly cross-platform visits on its sites, with around 68% of visits coming through mobile devices, with the largest pool of vehicle sellers (listing more than 400,000 cars each day). In fact over 80% of all time spent on classified sites is spent on Auto Trader. The Group does not buy or sell any vehicles itself.
Auto Trader has around 92% prompted brand awareness in the UK, with 80% of UK retailer forecourts advertising via the website and around 65% of UK used car transactions involving cars listed on autotrader.co.uk.
Auto Trader’s market-leading position enables it to generate and collect large amounts of data on the UK’s automotive marketplace and leverage it to create a suite of services that allow retailers to:
- BUY – buy the right vehicles, at the right price
- MARKET – market their brands and businesses effectively in the digital world
- SELL- sell more vehicles through advertising on the UK’s largest digital automotive marketplace
- MANAGE – optimise their stock turn and vehicle margin.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Nigel Wonnacott on 07802 483 971 or nigel.wonnacott@jjmarketing.co.uk
