Buyers searching online for used cars remained active in December despite the distractions of the festive period.
The final quarter of 2024 saw higher than average levels of online searches going into the traditionally slow pre-Christmas period, with MOTORS reporting its highest ever volume of December traffic.
The relative strength of this online activity in the first three weeks of December meant the uplift in traffic immediately following Christmas Day was less pronounced, rising 31% on Boxing Day, compared to 38% in 2023.
“December is always a challenging time for dealers selling used cars. However, our analysis of search trends reveals the momentum going into the month was stronger than previous years, despite the ongoing cost of living squeeze,” said Lucy Tugby, Marketing Director of MOTORS.
“With higher underlying demand in Q4, the coming days and weeks will reveal whether 2025 has got off to a solid start with December’s browsers becoming January’s buyers.
“Used car purchases are increasingly driven by need and affordability, so dealers will be pulling out the stops to ensure they have stock prepped, priced and uploaded to a high standard to give them the best chance of success,” said Tugby.
