Used car buyers move towards energy efficient and green cars

Despite flagging used car sales during 2007, sales of used diesel cars continued to shoot upwards, according to Experian, the global information services company, with the biggest increases coming from the southern regions of the UK.

Sales of used diesel cars increased by 4 per cent, while sales of used petrol cars continued to fall (down 4.4 per cent). Greater London saw the highest increase as sales of used diesel cars went up by 9 per cent during 2007, followed by 5 per cent in the South East and 4.4 per cent in the South West.

Overall, sales of diesel cars have increased by around 50 per cent throughout the UK in the last five years. The latest used car sales statistics from Experian also revealed that during 2007, used electric and hybrid vehicles grew significantly in popularity (up 473.5 per cent and 71.8 per cent respectively). East Anglia saw the highest increase in the sale of electric vehicles, jumping from one sale in 2006 to 35 sales in 2007 (3,400 per cent increase), while the North West saw the highest increase in the sale of used hybrid cars, up 99.1 per cent (from 155 to 309 sales). However, the most sales of these vehicles came from the Greater London region followed by the South East.

Kirk Fletcher, Managing Director of Experian's Automotive division, said: "There has been a lot of media attention, not only around the environment and the effect of the most polluting cars, but also on the forthcoming car tax increases and the rise in fuel duty. These latter factors appear to have played a more significant role in consumer buying habits over the last few years.

"A slow housing market and the squeeze on spending have left consumer confidence low and this, in turn, hit the used car sector hard last year. The extra costs of running a car have not helped matters. The industry recorded the highest drop in sales (down 2.4 per cent) since 2005, when used car sales first started falling.

"However, it was interesting to see that despite concerns around running costs and the environment, multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs), sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and sports cars continued to see an increase in sales during 2007."


North East saw the highest fall in used car sales.
Scotland saw the smallest drop in used cars sales. However, it is the first year Scotland has seen a drop in sales since Experian started collating the data in 1997.
Used MPV sales were strongest in Greater London.
North East was the only region to see a fall in the sale of SUVs.
Scotland was the only region to see sales of the luxury segment grow.
West Midlands saw the highest increase in the sale of SUVs and the also in the sale of small city cars.
North East was the only region to see sales of diesel cars fall.
Greater London saw the biggest fall in the sale of super minis, the most popular selling segment in the UK.

Kirk concluded: "The new car market is particularly competitive at the moment and, in contrast to the used car market, saw a revival of sales last year. It indicates that there is still a willingness to spend on a car, but used car dealers are having to work harder to attract customers who are seeing the value of buying a new car over a used one.

"Consumers are more aware and want more information upfront before making a decision. For used car dealers, tools such as Experian's Environmental Report that enable them to provide the Vehicle Excise Duty and CO2 emissions details on a specific used car in the same way new car dealers currently do on new cars, could be valuable in helping to sway the car buyer."