Motor Trader The award-winning and longest running UK magazine for car retailing professionals. Your first stop for News, Jobs and Reports for the motor industry.
The Renault Zoe took the top two spots in Auto Trader’s lastest Fastest Selling Index, marking the first time this has been done by an EV.
The 2015 (automatic) ZOE took first place but was closely followed by its younger 2016 (automatic) counterpart in second – if priced to the market, they’re capable of taking a respective 21 and 23 days to leave UK forecourts.
Auto Trader said that the fact the ZOE is performing so well on a national level not only underpins the growing appetite for used electric vehicles, but the demand for zero emission vehicles isn’t limited to just large cities such as London.
Karolina Edwards-Smajda, Auto Trader’s director of commercial products, said: “This month’s result is hugely significant as it marks the first time a pure electric has taken both the first and second spot on our list of fastest turners, and it’s only the third time since we’ve been tracking the market that one has been named the overall fastest.
“This clear appetite for used and new EVs represent an exciting opportunity for retailers at a time when the market is facing such unprecedented challenges.
“Businesses should begin to make provisions for the accelerating demand, such as featuring charging points on their forecourts, train sales teams to explain the benefits and latest capabilities of electric vehicles, and importantly, market their alternatively fuelled vehicles the same way they do their petrol and diesel counterparts.
“Our research shows car buyers are increasingly viewing AFVs the same as any other car; it’s vital retailers do too.”
The current speed of sale is determined by Auto Trader’s unique Retail Rating metric which is based on analysis of over 1.9 million vehicles each day, including 90,000 vehicle updates and an average of 19,000 vehicles added or removed from Auto Trader.