The used car market showed further signs of price stability in April, as dealer stock levels grew following an influx of vehicles generated by the March plate-change, according to the latest MOTORS Market View.
The average price of a used car on MOTORS was £17,541, up £134 (0.8%) month-on-month (MoM) and £154 (0.9%) higher than 12 months ago. However, monthly prices have now been averaging around the £17,500 mark since October 2024.
Prices across the dealer sectors were mostly on a par with March with franchised sites down £32 to £23,602 and car supermarkets up £39 to £16,794. While independents were up £98 to £12,853, largely driven by a 2% rise in the average price of cars aged over 10 years, the biggest price movement by age for the month.
For the third consecutive month the average price of EVs (£23,849) tracked below hybrids (£24,820).
Days to sell improved MoM from 30 to 28 days, with dealers achieving their fastest sales of the year. Car supermarkets led the way with cars spending just 20 days in stock, closely followed by franchised dealers at 22 days. Independents achieved their fastest sales of the year at 47 days.
The fastest selling used car in April was the Ford Puma, with petrol models under six months old, spending less than a week in stock (six days).
While the most viewed listings on MOTORS were for cars priced £10,000-£14,999.
Overall dealer stock levels averaged 50 vehicles in April, an increase of 5% MoM and unchanged year-on-year (YoY).
Franchised dealers saw the biggest uplift with part-exchanges, generated by the introduction of the 25-plate, increasing inventories by 11% from 55 to 61 units (MoM). Car supermarket stocks increased from 142 to 149 units and independents were up from 37 to 38 units.
Petrol continues to account for half of all cars listed on MOTORS, virtually unchanged YoY, while diesel dipped from 35% to 33%. Hybrids and EVs both grew their YoY market share by two percentage points to 10% and 7% respectively.
“April saw a continuation of the trends we have now been tracking for several months, with dealers benefiting from market stability and strong prices,” said Lucy Tugby, Marketing Director of MOTORS.
“Although the late Easter break and school holidays inevitably took some used car buyers out of the market, dealers remained active online and were rewarded by the fastest sales of the year so far.
“The processing of part-exchanges and de-fleets from the company car and leasing sectors, triggered by the March plate-change, saw franchised dealers and car supermarkets increase their stock levels which we expect to generate plenty of online marketing activity over the coming weeks,” said Tugby.
