Fastest Selling Index | February 2020

• 2016 Ford Ka current fastest selling used car according to Auto Trader’s live market data
• EVs drop off top 10 list
• Surge in popularity of petrol and diesel small hatchbacks

The 2016 Ford Ka (petrol manual) is now the fastest selling used car in the UK according to Auto Trader’s live market tracker, the Fastest Selling Index. The Renault ZOE EV, which was previously top of the Auto Trader Fastest Selling Index for four consecutive months, no longer features on the list having been replaced by internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.

The Ka’s top spot on The Fastest Selling Index, which live tracks the speed at which vehicles sell combined with a 1-100 retail rating determined by live supply and demand, was indicative of an increased demand for small, affordable hatchbacks with 70% of the list made up of such vehicles, the remainder being made up of ever popular SUVs.

The disappearance of the ZOE from Index has allowed for more ICE vehicles to creep onto the list, however there is a 50/50 split between petrol and diesel vehicles indicating that the impact of the so called “demonization of diesel” maybe softening.

Commenting on the Index, Auto Trader’s director of commercial products, Karolina Edwards-Smajda, said: “Despite four months on top, our Fastest Selling Index has shown a decline in the appeal of used EVs with consumers moving towards the more familiar low cost, ICE hatchbacks and SUVs. Despite this slowdown though we continue to see evidence of growing consumer interest in EVs with the recently announced ban on the sale of ICE vehicles by 2035, rather than 2040, spurring a 144% surge in searches for EVs on Auto Trader.”

The speed at which these vehicles sold was further complimented by their Auto Trader Retail Rating metric which, rather than being retrospective, offers a clear metric on how likely the vehicle will sell if priced correctly in the current market.

The metric is based on analysis of over 1.9 million vehicles each day, including 90,000 vehicle updates and an average of 19,000 vehicles added or removed from Auto Trader. Coupled with data from circa 450,000 daily trade used car listings, as well as additional dealer forecourt and website data, it’s the industry’s largest and most robust dataset.

Such analysis allows Auto Trader to provide industry leading, up to the minute data, to ascertain the very best and slowest performing stock available to retailers in the current market.

Current fastest selling used cars (by days to turn) – as of 7^th February 2020:

Current slowest selling used cars (by days to turn) – as of 7^th  February 2020:

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About Retail Accelerator

Retail Accelerator is Auto Trader’s complete forecourt management solution, designed to complement a retailer’s own expertise by using the industry’s most comprehensive data set to inform every aspect of the retail process.

Monitoring over 1.9 million vehicles each day (including 90,000 vehicle updates), as well as data from circa 450,000 daily trade used car listings, dealer forecourt and website data, and industry data (including the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), and the National Franchise Dealers Association (NFDA)), Retail Accelerator is the most powerful tool to sell more stock, faster and for more profit.

To ensure retailers have the most accurate picture of the fast-moving live retail market, Retail Accelerator includes the unique Auto Trader Retail Rating metric, which scores each car based on how quickly they are likely to sell at their market value from a retailer’s exact location. It’s powered by Auto Trader’s unrivalled insight on real time buyer demand on Auto Trader, the live market supply and historical days to sell performance.

About Auto Trader

Auto Trader Group plc is the UK and Ireland's largest digital automotive marketplace. Auto Trader sits at the heart of the UK's vehicle buying process and its primary activity is to help vehicle retailers compete effectively on the marketplace in order to sell more vehicles, faster. Auto Trader listed on the London Stock Exchange in March 2015 and is now a member of the FTSE 100 Index.

The marketplace brings together the largest and most engaged consumer audience. Auto Trader has over 90% prompted brand awareness and attracts circa 50 million monthly cross platform visits each month, with over 70% of visits coming through mobile devices.

The marketplace also has the largest pool of vehicle sellers (listing around 450,000 cars each day). Around 80% of UK automotive retailers advertise on autotrader.co.uk.

For more information, please visit http://about-us.autotrader.co.uk  

For all media enquiries, please contact:

Rachel Newby | rachel.newby@autotrader.co.uk