Used car buyers turn to EVs and diesels
Used car buyers have increasingly turned to electric and diesel vehicles over the last six months to reduce fuel costs, new research indicates.
December’s Startline Used Car Tracker revealed the percentage of motorists who say that they would definitely consider an electric car as their next vehicle is up from 19% to 29%, while for diesel, it has increased from 12% to 22%.
However, interest in other fuel types is relatively static, with petrol falling slightly from 49% to 47% and hybrids increasing from 26% to 30%.
Paul Burgess, CEO at Startline Motor Finance, said: “Our reading of this is that consumers are becoming more and more interested in vehicles that are cheap to fuel and so are more open to the idea of diesel and electric power.
“Electric cars, if charged at home, are very low cost to operate on a day-to-day basis, while diesel generally offers much improved miles per gallon performance compared to petrol and even most hybrid cars.
“It’s interesting that last month, we carried out some research among dealers which showed that 99% thought there was a direct link between consumer enthusiasm for electric cars and high fuel prices, and these new findings potentially underline that trend.”
