Mixed results for diesel
Diesel searches on Auto Trader have crashed from 64% in February 2017 to 42% last month, but the average price of a second hand diesel rose by more than two per cent.
The latest findings from Auto Trader revealed that petrol now accounts for half (50%) of all fuel related searches that take place on its marketplace, whilst diesel accounts for just 42%. In London, where the new Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) comes into effect on 8t April, the decline has been felt even more keenly, with searches for diesel falling 37% in two years; from 63% in February 2017, to just 26% last month.
In contrast, fuel related searches for petrol in the capital have spiked from 32% to 61% during the same period. Low emission alternatively fuelled vehicles (AFVs), which will be completely exempt from the new ULEZ charges, have seen a growth in searches from four per cent to 12%; significantly higher than the current total market (seven per cent).
Despite these figures, the average price of a second-hand diesel in the UK in February was £14,309; a 2.4% increase year-on-year. This compares to a 2.7% increase for the whole used car market.
Karolina Edwards-Smajda, Auto Trader’s commercial product director, said, ‘The latest used market results along with our own price data highlights the stoicism of second-hand diesels. However, whilst fuel only represents one in five of the 55 searches that take place on our marketplace every second, the ongoing decline in diesel searches clearly highlights the impact a combination of sustained ‘demonisation’ and new legislation is having on consumer perception.
‘Whilst the adoption of alternatively fuelled vehicles has been relatively slow, they are becoming more financially accessible and more technologically advanced with dramatically improved range capabilities. With our latest Market Report revealing that 71% of car buyers are now considering an electric vehicle as their next car, the trends we’re seeing today are only set to accelerate.’
