Nearly new models aged under six months, with less than 5,000 miles on their clocks were the fastest sellers in January on the Motors marketplace.
Top of the list was the MG MG3, with petrol models averaging just 7.4 days on forecourts, followed by electric versions of the Vauxhall Frontera (9.7 days) and the petrol-engined MG ZS (10.2 days).
Collectively EVs and hybrids increased to their highest ever share of vehicles being sold by dealers, accounting for 20%, up from 17.2% in January 2025.
The retail price of EVs fell for the fourth consecutive month, dropping 3% (£719) MoM to £23,423, a fall of 7.2% (£1,823) YoY. The latest drop sees EVs priced below hybrids (£24,129).
The MOTORS & Cazoo Market View identified independents as the only car retailing sector to see month-on-month (MoM) reductions in days to sell with cars averaging 42 days on physical and digital forecourts, compared to 52 in December.
The average price of cars being sold by independents increased MoM by 1.4% (£192) to £13,902, resulting in a year-on-year (YoY) increase of 6.2% (£816). This contrasted with YoY drops for both franchised dealers (down 1.5% to £23,113) and car supermarkets (down 1.2% to £16,919).
While older profile cars aged over five and 10 years saw the biggest YoY improvements, up respectively by 4.7% to £13,731 and 8.8% to £7,375.
Commenting on the latest Market View data, Lucy Tugby, marketing director of Motors & Cazoo, said: “Seasonal trends were clearly in evidence in January with the market gathering momentum as buyers returned to the market following December’s festivities.
“The standout trend for the month was the strength shown by the independent sector. As a business we recorded a 14% YoY increase in the volume of cars being advertised by independents on the Motors marketplace. We believe this is the result of disgruntled retailers choosing to cast their nets wider than their usual platform and advertise with us.
Overall the average price of a used car in January was £17,815, down 1.6% MoM but up 1.3% year-on-year (YoY). Stock levels dropped from 58 units in December to 54 but increased by two units YoY. While days to sell increased MoM from 31 to 35 days.
