Auto Trader reveals Britain’s top 10 most popular secondhand cars
Britain is in the middle of a used car market boom.
It is all to do with semiconductors (also known as microchips) which are essential parts of new techy cars. Global semiconductor output has slowed over the past year amid supply chain and logistics issues seen in the pandemic, stalling production and supply of new cars.
Auto Trader, the FTSE 100 online car marketplace, has 436,000 mostly second-hand for sale. Last week it reported seeing its market record five years' worth of growth inside just six months, with the average sticker price of a car on its website up £3,400 between May and November.
People with a secondhand car to sell are benefitting, and today Auto Trader shared information on which vehicle models are most popular in an already competitive environment - sharing data on its most in-demand used cars with the Standard.
The new list measures popularity by volume of ad views. The reliable (and ever-popular) Volkwagen Golf came in top, closely followed by the BMW 3 series, and the C Class Mercedes-Benz.
It comes as online car retailers Cinch and Cazoo - and rival marketplace Motorway - have jumped on the opportunity the hot market has offered. The used car buying process has been modernised, and there is a lot of venture capital cash in the sector.
Analysts and sector insiders expect the boom to ease later in 2022, however, as supply chain pressures ease. The shift towards greener vehicles is also expected to have an impact.
Auto Trader's own CEO, Nathan Coe, recently told the Standard he expects the boom will continue for "a few more months" as "the new car supply is not coming back anytime soon, probably not until the back half of next year".
The full list of Autotrader's top 10 most popular cars by ad views:
Volkswagen Golf
BMW 3 Series
Mercedes-Benz C Class
BMW 1 Series
Mercedes-Benz E Class
Ford Fiesta
Ford Focus
BMW 5 Series
Audi A3
Volkswagen Polo
