The fast and slow of the February used car market

The new car market faltered in February as car dealers struggled to cope with falling diesel registrations and low consumer confidence. In fact the market declined -2.9% for the month with 79,594 models sold. Registrations by private buyers fell -7.4%, giving a true indication of consumer demand. In February diesel and petrol registrations were down -27.1% and -7.3% respectively. Diesel accounted for just over a fifth of registrations and sales have now declined for 35 consecutive months.

In the used car market, demand was strong for some models, less so for others. For February we looked at the fastest selling cars overall on eBay Motors and also the fastest selling petrol, diesel and electric hybrid models. We also looked at the slowest selling cars to see how long it took for them to shift off forecourts.

The fastest selling car in the UK by a mile was the Suzuki Jimny, which sold in just 20 days. There has always been a strong market for the Suzuki range in the UK. In second place was the Peugeot 206, which sold in 24 days followed by the DS3 and Suzuki Alto, both retailing in 25 days. The DS4 was the fifth fastest selling car in February, shifting off forecourts in 27 days. The other cars in the top 10 fastest selling table were the Ford Ka, Mini One, Volkswagen Polo, Land Rover Velar and Skoda Citigo, all selling in 28 days.

What about the slow sellers? The car that took longest to shift was the Volkswagen Arteon, which took 68 days to sell. Some way behind was the Lexus NX, which sold in 60 days while the Porsche Boxster and Peugeot Partner retailed in 59 days. The Hyundai Kona sold in 58 days while the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, Hyundai i800 and Mercedes-Benz V Class sold in 57 days. The final cars in the top 10 slowest table were the BMW X1 and Kia Caren, selling in 56 and 55 days respectively.

This month, we also looked at the fastest selling electric and hybrid cars on eBay Motors. In the new car market sales of electric vehicles  are increasing fast from a low base. In February, for example, Hybrids (HEVs) recorded an uplift of 71.9% to 4,154 units. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) rose more than three-fold to 2,508 units and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) were up 49.9% to 2,058. However, these vehicles still make up a fraction of the market.

Demand and interest in electric is surging, according to a recent survey from Close Brothers Motor Finance. It revealed that two in five drivers (39%) would consider buying an electric vehicle as their next purchase, almost three times the figure just two years previously (15%). This equates to an increase of 7.5 million drivers who are now considering taking the leap from fossil fuel to electric. Similarly, online trends suggest that the number of searches for electric vehicles doubled in the last two years.

The fastest selling used electric or hybrid car on eBay Motors platforms in February was another Suzuki, the Ignis, which sold in 24 days followed by the popular Renault Zoe, which sold in 32 days. The Volvo XC90 and Hyundai Kona took 33 days to retail and the Hyundai Ionik and Mini Countryman 34 days. The Honda Jazz shifted off forecourts in 37 days, the Honda Civic in 38 and the Audi A3 and Toyota Prius in 39 days each.

And finally, we come to diesels. In the new car market diesel has been under the cosh. In March, even without the impact of COVID-19, we would have expected diesel sales to fall once again. In the used market it is a different story. According to data from Indicata UK dealers sold used diesels faster than any other market in Europe in 2019.

The fastest selling used diesel car in February was the budget Dacia Sandero Stepway, which sold in just 22 days followed by the Vauxhall Zafira and DS3 selling in 24 days. The Fiat 500X and Volkswagen Polo took 26 days to sell followed by the Dacia Duster, which sold in 27 days. The remaining cars in the top 10 fastest selling diesel cars were the DS4, Range Rover Velar and Skoda Fabia, all taking 28 days to retail. Meanwhile the Audi A1 was the 10th fastest selling car in February selling in 29 days.

What can we glean from this? Certainly there is no easy fix. The number of days it takes to sell impacts directly on profitability, given good judgement, sourcing the right stock in the first place, using digital tools and traditional retailing skills. In February getting the mix right was a challenge for all dealers. In April, with COVID-19, it is doubly so.

 Keeping safe and well comes first

Dermot Kelleher, Head of Marketing  and Research, eBay Motors Group

The COVID-19 pandemic has put everything into perspective. While trading successfully is important to all of us; the health, safety and welfare of family, colleagues, friends and customers is absolutely paramount.

It’s therefore been heartening to see how the car retailing sector has rallied to support the NHS, the emergency services and key workers during the crisis; a timely reminder that this is a people industry.

With the sector on lockdown, one of the few consolations is that used stock was in short supply in both January and February, which will mean some car retailers had relatively low inventory levels in March.

With consumers self-isolating but still online, dealers are likely to see a sharper decline in leads than vehicle views on their own websites.

For those that are still working remotely, make it clear that you are still contactable by phone, email and chat through messaging on your vehicle adverts.

One of the many challenges facing retailer owners and managers, many of whom will have key staff on furlough, is how to handle these leads and build a pipeline.

This is where email and social media channels will continue to provide a valuable point of contact between you and your customers.

This is an extremely difficult time for car dealers, with many facing big questions about how to manage through this period.

Yet car retailing is an incredibly resilient sector that will weather this crisis. In the meantime our message to you, your family and colleagues is to keep safe and well.