Online car marketplace Auto Trader has revealed its latest data which shows that the SEAT Leon is currently the UK’s fastest-selling used car, taking an average of 10 days to be sold.

The national average time to sell a car is around 26 days, which is currently the quickest it has been for three years and shows the current state of the used car market.

Also shown in the data are the specific types of cars that are selling well at present. Petrol cars are the most popular of any fuel type, taking an average of 25 days to sell, compared to 28 days for diesel and 32 days for electric cars. The stocks of petrol and diesel cars are down -9.3% and -31.5% respectively, whereas used electric vehicles under the age of five are up by 4%. The reason for this is believed to be the drop in sales over the pandemic, as well as the current trend which is seeing a broader move away from diesel overall. Now there is more demand for used electric vehicles, due to more manageable prices and improved availability which has seen a 56% increase in demand compared to last year.

The slowest selling car was revealed to be the Lexus RX, taking an average of 103 days to shift. A common trend amongst many of the other slowest sellers was that premium convertibles, such as the BMW Z4, Porsche 911 and Mercedes SL class, were more difficult to sell overall.

Fastest selling used cars - average time to sell

1. SEAT Leon - 10 days
2. Vauxhall Crossland - 10.5 days
3. Vauxhall Grandland X (petrol) - 11 days
4. Skoda Kodiaq - 11.5 days
5. Skoda Superb - 11.5 days
6. MG HS - 12 days
7. Tesla Model Y - 12 days
8. Volkswagen T-Roc - 12.5 days
9. Vauxhall Grandland X (diesel) - 12.5 days
10. Ford Focus - 13 days

Slowest selling used cars - average time to sell

1. Lexus RX - 103 days
2. Citroen C4 - 98 days
3. BMW Z4 convertible - 96 days
4. Porsche 911 convertible - 92 days
5. Mercedes-Benz SL Class convertible - 91 days
6. BMW M2 coupe - 90.5 days
7. BMW iX - 89 days
8. BMW M4 convertible - 86 days
9. Volkswagen ID.4 - 85 days
10. Abarth 124 Spider convertible - 85 days

words: Mike Booth
pictures: SEAT & Lexus