SECOND HAND DIESEL SALES REMAIN BUOYANT

There has been little change to sales of used diesel cars in the UK, despite a drop in new diesel registrations and a plethora of bad press for the fuel in the media over recent months.

That’s the view of car sales analysts as new figures reveal on-going confidence around the economic benefits of diesel in the used car market.

New diesel sales slumped in Britain by 17 per cent last year but figures from online car retailer Buyacar.co.uk reveal that diesel’s popularity amongst used car buyers has barely changed.

Almost half of used cars sold on the site last year were diesel-powered. Earlier this month the Auto Trader Retail Price index revealed that the price of second hand diesel cars actually rose by an average of two per cent in the last year.

These latest figures come despite the autumn budget when the Chancellor raised taxes for brand new diesel cars but left rates for existing models level with petrol cars.

Analysts at Buyacar.co.uk believe used car buyers are more likely to ignore the warnings over penalties for diesel emissions and concentrate on daily fuel economy, which still makes diesels cheaper to run for many drivers.

Diesel new car sales declined in 2017 more than three times as severely as the overall market, falling 17 per cent compared with an overall market reduction of 5.6 per cent.

But diesel used car sales for the online motor retail specialists stayed buoyant last year and still accounted for 44.1 per cent of the business’s total in 2017.

This represents a switch toward other fuel types by Buyacar.co.uk’s used car customers of less than three per cent compared with the previous year.

Whether Buyacar.co.uk’s strong used diesel car sales performance reflects national used sales figures will not be known until official figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders are released on February 14.

There are signs that future used car buyers are happier to stick with diesel than those intending to buy a new car next time. More than 1,300 motorists told Buyacar.co.uk about their future purchase intentions and the research makes grim reading for the future fortunes of new diesel cars.

But the negative view of diesel is less pronounced among people who intend to buy used next time.

Nearly four out of five future new car customers say they will change fuel type.

But among those who intend to buy a used car next time more than a third are planning to stick with diesel.

Managing Director of Buyacar.co.uk, Austin Collins, said: “The stronger confidence in diesel among tomorrow’s used car buyers has been an interesting discovery and confirms our own used car sales performance during 2017 which saw rising sales overall and diesel’s share changing very little.”