Strong gains for alternative fuels
Auto Trader has revealed a strong gain in marketshare for alternative fuel cars, currently showing the highest year-on-year market growth compared with petrol and diesel models.
Launched this month, the Auto Trader Retail Price Index tracks the market value of all cars advertised by retailers on AutoTrader.co.uk. Tracking the trends and changes driven by supply and demand dynamics across makes, models, segments and fuel types – the Auto Trader Retail Price Index offers detailed insight into any significant movements in used car prices and overall market shares.
Data for November 2015 has revealed there are 3,000 more alternative fuel cars in the market compared to 2014, marking a 62% increase in alternative fuel cars within the marketplace year-on-year. Diesel model volumes have been rising, increasing the diesel market share by 0.23% – with petrol cars decreasing at a rate of 0.59%.
Prices for alternative fuel cars have risen this year on average by 6.5%, which is largely due to a combination of increasing demand and marketplace model mix. In response to the increase in marketshare, diesel models were the only fuel type to decrease in price, with buyers reportedly paying £124 less on average for diesel cars compared to 2014. This significant shift brings diesel price averages below petrol for the very first time, a result of more diesel models entering the market and the overall market share for petrol shrinking.
This latest data also reveals two distinct trends within the alternative fuel vehicle segment. Hybrid cars are depreciating the least initially compared to other fuel types, but trends are showing signs of depreciation eventually levelling out at rates similar to petrol and diesel models.
