Based on Auto Trader’s Retail Price Index, the average price for a used car in the UK last month was £12,589, marking a £50 drop compared to October, and the first month-to-month drop in the past eight months.
Yet, prices are still higher than they were last year, and diesel searches on Auto Trader accounted for 55% of all fuel searches in November. Meanwhile, petrol-powered cars represented 41% of all fuel searches over the same period.
“The negative rhetoric surrounding diesel, which has been fueled by the government’s recent announcements is undoubtedly contributing to the decline in new and used car sales.”
“Although used diesels have been showing much greater resilience, with their value continuing to increase year-on-year, as well as remaining the most searched for fuel time on our marketplace, the Index does show a small month-on-month decline for the first time in eight months. It’s too early to tell whether this is an emerging trend or not, so we will continue to monitor prices closely,” said Auto Trader exec, Karolina Edwards-Smajda.
Overall, since November of 2016, diesel car searches have declined steadily, falling from a whooping 71% to a low of 54% back in May of 2017. It’s unlikely they will ever bounce back to what they were any time soon, if ever.
PHOTO GALLERY
